“The concept of ‘Startling String’…” Elder Zhi drew the bow without an arrow, his fingers positioned as if holding one. Suddenly, his demeanor changed, all traces of his advanced age vanishing.
An Jiu watched intently. As Elder Zhi released his withered fingers, the bowstring emitted a sharp sound like a crane’s cry. It seemed as if an invisible arrow had been launched. Accompanied by the humming of the bowstring, the ornate door five zhang away shattered. Immediately after, four trees as thick as lantern mouths in the courtyard were snapped in half at their midsections.
An Jiu’s pupils dilated slightly, suddenly finding the crossbow in her hands uninteresting.
Elder Zhi’s technique was comparable to firearms! Though its range was limited, its power surpassed any cold weapon.
“Alas!” Elder Zhi sighed, openly expressing his regret about his archery skills. “This shot may seem powerful, but it’s an inferior form of archery.”
“How so?” An Jiu’s interest was piqued.
“With my inner strength, even a palm strike through the air would cause similar destruction,” Elder Zhi said with a bitter smile. “When wild geese fly high and hear the bowstring, they die. Those who don’t understand think the geese died from fright, hence the term ‘Startling String.’ In reality, the archer uses their inner strength as the arrow, releasing it without a physical arrow, harming invisibly.”
After listening, An Jiu said coldly, “So, you’re saying that holding the arrow was just for show and has nothing to do with ‘Startling String’?”
“You impudent girl!” Elder Zhi fumed, his mustache quivering. Even if it was true, did she have to state it so bluntly? She showed no respect for her elders.
He coughed a few times. “It’s not quite like that. The bow helps focus inner strength, and better bows provide greater assistance. For instance, I only used 30% of my inner strength just now. If I had used 30% of my palm force directly, I couldn’t have achieved this level of destruction.”
The news that 30% of his inner strength could be so powerful delighted An Jiu. “What level of martial artist are you?”
“Hehe,” the old man said proudly. “This old man’s skill is beyond the ninth rank, at the second grade.”
This statement sounded impressive. But, “How high is the second grade…?”
Perhaps because he found An Jiu’s personality appealing, Elder Zhi didn’t mind answering such a basic question. He patiently explained, “Martial arts skills are ranked from beginner to ninth rank, with fifth rank and above-considered experts. Beyond the ninth rank is the realm of transcendence, divided into three grades. Unlike the previous ranking, the third grade is the lowest, and the first grade is the highest.”
An Jiu nodded, then asked, “When will you be able to reach the first grade?”
Elder Zhi glared at her. “Do you think martial arts is so easy?! Progress becomes increasingly difficult after the fifth rank. There are fewer than a hundred ninth-rank martial artists in the world. Those who have reached transcendence can be counted on one’s fingers!”
An Jiu understood, but seeing Elder Zhi’s anger, she thought about still needing him to teach her martial arts. So she comforted him, “If you can’t advance, then you can’t. I didn’t say anything. Even if you’re not first grade, I definitely won’t look down on you.”
“You’re killing me!” Elder Zhi roared. “It’s unknown if there are any first-grade masters in the world. Those old fossils are only at the ninth rank. This old man is a natural martial talent to have achieved this level! You should be burning incense in gratitude instead of looking down on me!”
An Jiu rubbed her ears, waiting for him to finish shouting before frowning and explaining, “I said I wouldn’t look down on you.”
Was this old man hard of hearing due to his age? Or was his intelligence declining?
Elder Zhi panted in anger. “Get out! No lesson today!”
Mei Jiu trembled at the shouting. It took her a long time to recover after Elder Zhi stormed out like a whirlwind. She timidly asked, “Aren’t you afraid of angering him like that?”
“When did I ever anger him?” An Jiu pondered. “The old man just seems emotionally unstable.”
Mei Jiu remained silent, realizing that An Jiu never seemed to understand how every word she said could hurt people deeply. She said softly, “Don’t you think there’s a problem with the way you speak?”
“I don’t think so,” An Jiu replied.
An Jiu walked towards the exit to meet Yaoyue and leisurely headed to Yuwei Residence.
Mei Jiu tried a different approach. “I think… there’s a problem with the way you speak.”
An Jiu looked at the snow-covered landscape, ignoring her.
Not sensing An Jiu’s displeasure, Mei Jiu bravely continued, “When you said to Elder Zhi, ‘If you can’t advance, then you can’t,’ weren’t you questioning his ability?”
“Obviously,” An Jiu, in a good mood, elaborated a bit more. “I was indeed questioning his ability.”
“…”
Mei Jiu was speechless for a while before saying, “Even if it’s true, others will be unhappy hearing it, especially someone like Elder Zhi who has nearly reached the pinnacle of martial arts.”
“…” An Jiu was silent for a moment. Would they be unhappy? So what if they were?
Mei Jiu gradually realized that her concern about everything and constant cautiousness was indeed weak and pathetic. But An Jiu’s attitude of not caring about anything was also worrying!
Unable to convince her otherwise, Mei Jiu focused on the most important point. “What if you anger him and no one teaches you martial arts anymore!”
“Hmm.” This point finally caught An Jiu’s attention. “I’ll go back and apologize to him now.”
As they walked, Yaoyue was caught off guard when An Jiu suddenly turned back. It took her several steps to react. “My lady? Where are you going?”
An Jiu said, “Back.”
Yaoyue hurried to catch up.
“You won’t upset Elder Zhi again, will you? How do you plan to apologize?” Mei Jiu worried that she might make things worse, as An Jiu didn’t seem to understand how irritating her words could be.
“Don’t assume everyone in the world is an idiot!” An Jiu said coldly.
Mei Jiu fell silent, deciding to trust her this once.
Upon returning to Yongzhi Hall, they learned from a servant that Elder Zhi had gone to Elder Qi’s place.
Yaoyue led the way to Elder Qi’s residence.
Qiming Hall was vastly different from Yongzhi Hall. It was a small two-courtyard compound. Though not expansive, the all-wooden buildings were made with exquisite materials. Even the carvings on doors and windows were detailed down to the flower stamens, with every inconspicuous corner seemingly carefully designed.
An Jiu, unfamiliar with architectural layouts, simply found every part of the courtyard beautiful. The air was filled with the fragrance of medicinal herbs, which was particularly pleasant.
Mo Sigui crouched in the corridor, grinding herbs while watching a medicine furnace. A folding fan was tucked into the back of his collar. Seeing An Jiu, he glanced at her sideways and said casually, “Well, what a rare guest.”
An Jiu asked, “Where’s Elder Zhi?”
Mo Sigui was pulling out the fan from behind his neck to fan the furnace. Hearing her cold, hard tone unlike her usual timidity, he perked up. “Tingzhao!”
A seven or eight-year-old boy peeked out from behind a door. “What?”
“Come help me watch the medicine furnace,” Mo Sigui said.
Mei Tingzhao frowned unhappily. “We’re both apprentices. Why should I help you watch?”
“Ahem!” Yaoyue suppressed a laugh, almost choking. Many people of Mo Sigui’s age were already married with children. How could he still be considered a boy? Probably… he wasn’t even a virgin anymore…
“I’ll give you an interesting prescription later,” Mo Sigui tempted.
Mei Tingzhao glanced at An Jiu, pursed his lips, and smiled, dimples appearing on his cheeks. “Five, or no deal.”
“You little opportunist! Deal.” Mo Sigui cursed but agreed generously.
Mei Tingzhao immediately grabbed a palm-leaf fan and scurried out to squat by the kiln.
“Cousin, let me take you to Elder Zhi,” Mo Sigui said eagerly.
“Shouldn’t we announce ourselves first?” Yaoyue reminded.
Mo Sigui waved his hand dismissively. “Two old men huddled together, what’s there to announce? We won’t stumble upon anything we shouldn’t see, don’t worry.”
“You jest,” Yaoyue gently tugged at An Jiu’s sleeve, indicating that Mo Sigui was truly unreliable.
“So fussy!” Seeing Yaoyue’s displeasure, Mo Sigui changed his tone. “But I like it when women are fussy, it shows carefulness. What kind of woman isn’t careful?”
An Jiu was never fussy, but she didn’t care about Mo Sigui’s words.
“They’re in the herb garden, still some distance away. Let’s head there first,” he explained.
“You know how to tease people. Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Yaoyue complained.
Mo Sigui hadn’t been formally included in the family register, so his status in the Mei family had plummeted. The Mei family had plenty of money, so they didn’t skimp on his food and necessities, but the servants’ attitudes towards him were vastly different from before. Moreover, he didn’t maintain his dignity, always appearing carefree and nonchalant. Even some stewards dared to lord over him. Yaoyue’s politeness was already quite courteous.
Mo Sigui grinned, “Let’s go.”
The two followed him out through the side door. He racked his brains trying to engage An Jiu in conversation, but despite talking for a while, he received no response.
“You must be very sad about your aunt leaving, cousin?” Mo Sigui decided to use a stronger approach.
Yaoyue quickly interjected, “You must be tired from all this talking. Why don’t you rest?”
An Jiu remained impassive, but Mei Jiu was deeply saddened. These words had truly struck a painful chord.
Seeing An Jiu’s unchanged expression, Mo Sigui grew even more curious. “Cousin…”
Sensing Mei Jiu’s sadness, An Jiu turned her head and coldly stared at him. “Try saying one more word.”
Having already gone too far to back down, Mo Sigui was now certain something was amiss with her. She simply stopped hiding it.
Yaoyue, walking behind them, couldn’t see An Jiu’s expression. Although she felt the tone was off, she assumed it was due to intense sadness and anger.
Mo Sigui pursed his lips, his bright eyes never leaving An Jiu, as if he wanted to crack open her skull to see what was wrong inside.
This was the fervor of a doctor toward a patient, not unfamiliar to An Jiu. She had faced many such gazes before.
“We’ve reached the herb garden,” Yaoyue said, spotting the bamboo fence in the distance.
An Jiu stopped. “I hate you,” she said, looking at Mo Sigui. “So don’t let me see you again…”
The latter half of her sentence remained unspoken, but her eyes conveyed the message clearly: if he continued to cause trouble, there would be consequences!
This was an outright threat!
“Ahem.” Mo Sigui wanted to retort, but the atmosphere was so cold and solemn that he suddenly felt he might be out of his depth. He laughed dryly, “Don’t be so serious, it’s scary… I’ll go inform the two elders!”
With that, he quickly slipped away.
Yaoyue was stunned for a moment, then smiled, “My lady is so impressive. He won’t dare to bring up sensitive topics so carelessly anymore!”
An Jiu didn’t think so. Mo Sigui could be summed up in three words: shameless!
If he truly learned his lesson, he wouldn’t repeatedly seek trouble. An Jiu felt that if there was a next time, she would have to eliminate him! Because she despised doctors from the depths of her soul, and she despised shameless doctors even more!