Lou Xiaowu muttered to herself: “Although ignoring people is impolite, it does give off an aura of expertise…”
She hesitated about whether to reinstate An Jiu as one of her objects of admiration.
The Mei family members looked at An Jiu with varying expressions, but Mei Tingjun and Mei Tingzhu likely had the most complex feelings. They were considered outstanding talents within the clan, but today they realized that being at the top among their peers wasn’t particularly remarkable.
Mei Tingzhu had always thought Mei Fourteen was a freak. Such powerful spiritual energy couldn’t possibly be cultivated at their age; it must have been obtained through some fortuitous encounter. Thus, he could only marvel at Mei Fourteen’s good character and luck. While envious, it didn’t shake his confidence. But Lou Mingyue was different. She had trained in martial arts from a young age like them, with only a few years of age difference, yet she was already at the eighth level! A height many couldn’t reach in a lifetime.
This was a true genius.
Lou Mingyue seemed to sense Mei Tingzhu’s thoughts. “No matter how good one’s martial arts are, they can only be a chess piece. Only with wisdom can one become the player.”
Mei Tingzhu shook his head with a bitter smile, sighing, “Difficult!”
Playing chess was a game reserved for those with great power, and pawns were just pawns. If they carelessly revealed their wisdom before rising, they might die even sooner.
Mei Tingzhu saw that Lou Mingyue was an open-minded woman and felt quite favorable towards her. His tone was no longer as cold as before. “Let’s go then.”
Lou Mingyue also set aside her previous reservations.
Highly intelligent people often see things too clearly, weighing pros and cons when considering matters, which makes them seem cold and aloof. It’s harder for them to invest true feelings in others. However, once they determine someone is worth befriending, they rarely waver. Mei Tingzhu was such a person.
Human interactions are so subtle; one moment they could be at odds, and the next they could admire each other.
…
The group carefully entered the pine forest.
“Miss Mei Fourteen, we’ll have to trouble you to be extra vigilant,” Lou Mingyue said.
The stronger one’s spiritual energy, the keener their perception. In this pitch-black pine forest, An Jiu became crucial.
“Mm,” An Jiu responded, suddenly feeling a body press tightly against her. The soft sensation made her hair stand on end. “Get away!”
Lou Xiaowu pouted, moving back half an inch.
In the darkness, Mei Tingxuan couldn’t see but guessed what had happened. She lowered her voice to mock, “Standing next to an expert doesn’t guarantee safety. They might not bother with you, ha.”
Lou Xiaowu snorted twice, expressing disdain for talking to her.
“Conceal your spirits,” Lou Mingyue said.
Everyone fell silent.
The pine forest was as still as a dead pond, but focusing spiritual energy allowed one to hear the soft rustling of falling pine needles, like fine rain.
A breeze passed, and An Jiu caught a sour odor. She turned to see Lou Xiaowu looking around. Suddenly, she raised her hand to push down Lou Xiaowu’s head. “Duck and move quickly!”
Something like dew fell from the pines above, making a sizzling sound as it touched their cloaks, corroding small holes in the sword-proof fabric.
No one dared speak. They quickly tightened their cloaks and rushed forward, concentrating their internal energy.
At this point, An Jiu’s weakness became apparent. Her newly formed internal energy provided limited lightness. In her previous body, keeping up wouldn’t have been difficult, but this body was still relatively weak. Muscles, ligaments, and other tissues need exercise to strengthen. Even forcibly stimulating potential now would be limited, and exceeding the body’s capacity could cause harm.
Even the strongest spiritual energy wasn’t much use now!
The people in front ran with their heads down. As soon as they left the pine forest, they leaned against the stone steps, panting heavily.
An Jiu usually had a low presence, and Lou Xiaowu, who paid the most attention to her, was the first to notice. “Fourteen Miss is gone!”
“How could that be?” Lou Mingyue looked at Mei Tingzhu. “She…”
Mei Tingzhu frowned, staring at the dark pine forest. He had always been half-skeptical about Mei Jiu’s lack of internal energy, but now it seemed to be true.
“What should we do?” Mei Tingxuan asked.
“Can you not sense her either?” Mei Tingzhu asked Lou Mingyue. She had the strongest spiritual energy here; if even she couldn’t detect An Jiu…
“There are footsteps.”
As soon as Lou Mingyue spoke, everyone heard the sound. Most people here would use lightness skills, so footsteps were usually very soft. Only An Jiu would make such a loud sound.
“There are people,” An Jiu said. “Members of other families have arrived successively.”
Mei Tingzhu’s mind raced through various possibilities. This ambush could have been orchestrated by other families or by the previous group. Regardless, it indicated one thing—the attack was targeted, not aimed at all families. Otherwise, how could the later arrivals easily cross the broken plank road?
Could it be that the Emperor truly couldn’t tolerate the Four Great Families anymore?
“How many people?” Mei Tingzhu asked.
“Ten,” An Jiu replied.
Hearing that the number wasn’t too large, everyone relaxed a bit.
Mei Tingzhu said, “I think the people who attacked us on the plank road will strike again. Let’s slow down and wait for them to walk together. If they dare to attack, Fourteen Miss and Second Miss Lou can use their spiritual energy to intimidate them.”
Lou Mingyue nodded, “Alright.”
An Jiu also agreed.
The group behind emerged from the forest, noticed people not far ahead, and after a brief discussion, followed.
“Everyone,” the leading young man clasped his hands and spoke directly, “Our two groups are quite numerous. Surely we all have a couple of maps. Why don’t we settle things when we find the item?”
He suggested that each group should seek their own Celestial Book fragments, and if they happened to have the same map, they could fight when they found the item.
Lou Mingyue looked around and realized there were six families represented.
It turned out these people were either lone wolves or remnants of teams that had banded together.
Seeing that the other party was from the Mei and Cui families, they turned in a different direction.
Mei Tingzhu suddenly spoke up, “You originally planned to go this way. Why deliberately change direction?”
The group halted, and their leader asked, “How do you know?”
“Heh,” Mei Tingzhu chuckled lightly, switching to a contemptuous tone, “Cowards! Let’s go.”
As he turned, he released his internal energy, walking firmly on the ground like An Jiu.
The group suspected it was a provocation and surely a trap, but then they noticed two members with very low internal energy and several others who seemed ordinary. Observing their bedraggled state, they guessed that the Mei and Cui families had suffered heavy losses.
“Follow them,” the young leader said.
“Big brother, could it be a trap?” someone asked.
The young man replied, “What’s there to fear? We outnumber them. Do you want that woman to look down on us?”
Lone wolves either wanted to preserve their lives, were uninterested in the Celestial Book fragments, or were extremely skilled and feared competing with their family members in the end. This group had already come this far, clearly after the Celestial Book fragments, so their martial arts must be formidable.
Even if they fought with the two great families, they weren’t afraid.
The first level of the giant pagoda was very spacious. The tower body was covered with reliefs, and niches lined the flat stone path, housing statues An Jiu couldn’t identify as bodhisattvas or Buddhas.
Nineteen people walking together boosted their courage. The lone wolves who hadn’t been ambushed by the mysterious attackers immediately relaxed. Someone even dared to tease Mei Tingzhu, “Little miss, didn’t you say we were cowards? Come closer and take a good look, don’t mistake us.”
Mei Tingzhu remained silent. Those people found it boring when she didn’t react, but didn’t dare to harass her, so they just laughed it off and stopped causing trouble.
After walking a short distance, Lou Mingyue stopped in front of a cave. She probed with her spiritual energy, sensed no one inside, and then led the way in.
An Jiu walked at the back. She paused to look at the statue in a nearby niche. The Buddha statues here were life-sized, creating the illusion of people everywhere. If a skilled person were holding their breath and hiding among them, it would be hard to detect.
Entering the cave, they found a narrow passage with no visible end in either direction. The further they went, the darker it became. Even An Jiu’s vision could barely make out shadows, while the others were essentially blind.
The people behind, who had been relaxed before entering, were no longer in the mood for mischief.
“One of the Celestial Book fragments is at the very center of the first-level pagoda,” Lou Mingyue said slowly.
After discovering that someone was targeting the Four Great Families, the Celestial Book fragments held little allure for the Mei and Lou families. All Four Great Families had treasures that could enhance power, and while perhaps not as potent as the Celestial Book fragments, they were certainly not inferior. They were fighting desperately only for family honor. Right now, survival was paramount.
Mei Tingjun asked the people behind, “Have you seen the other two families elsewhere?”
He was referring to the Four Great Families, and everyone understood.
After a moment of silence, someone said, “I saw the Cui family when I first entered the temple and avoided them. I haven’t encountered anyone since.”
The Mei and Lou family members all speculated: Could the other two families have also been ambushed?
“Who would dare to attack you?” the young lone wolf suddenly asked.
“We don’t know. It wasn’t any family,” Lou Mingyue replied.
The young man suddenly laughed, “You deliberately provoked us to follow you, wanting us to help resist those people?”
“That’s right,” Mei Tingzhu took over. “Those people seem to be looking for lone wolves who have privately teamed up to attack. You all registered for independent action like us, right?”
Her reasoning was so thorough and confident that even those who knew the inside story almost believed her, let alone those who were unaware of the situation.
The young man, partly joking and partly serious, said, “I am Qiu Yunran. We’ll have to rely on all of you.”
“The Qiu family specializes in poisons. It’s we who should rely on you,” Lou Mingyue calmly exposed him, with a hint of warning.
Qiu Yunran was slightly shocked. Decades ago, the Qiu family was unknown in the Crane-Controlling Army. Years later, they had declined further, unable to even gather five eligible people. With no choice, they had brought him, a man over twenty-five and approaching thirty, to make up the numbers. He hadn’t expected someone to see through this so easily. It seemed the Four Great Families’ influence in the Crane-Controlling Army was indeed formidable, even knowing details from the “Secret Register.”
“There’s light ahead,” Lou Xiaowu said excitedly.
Everyone eagerly looked forward, indeed seeing a faint yellowish light not far away.