Cui Yichen and Lou Xiaowu’s sister had been in love, but the Cui family favored Lou Xiaowu’s talents and decided to arrange a marriage between her and Cui Yichen. The Lou family agreed to this union after considering various factors.
It was a common tale of family alliances thwarting young love, but now both lovers had passed on.
Lou Xiaowu stared straight ahead, her eyes misty. She feared that if she blinked, tears would fall.
The second floor of the pagoda was empty. The bas-reliefs on the surrounding walls were covered in blood, but no corpses were visible. The central Buddhist shrine was empty, with neither the box nor the Celestial Book remnant.
An Jiu headed directly for the third floor, with the others quickly following.
On the third floor, rows of bookshelves had been overturned. Ancient scrolls and fragments of sutras were scattered on the ground, mixed with corpses and blood.
Qiu Yunran glanced around and sighed, “The Crane-Controlling Army must have a grudge against Buddhism.”
Although Buddhism had declined, it still had many followers among the common people. Moreover, matters of spirits and ghosts were always unclear. Wasn’t it unethical for the Crane-Controlling Army to arrange their training ground here, using Buddhist sutras to incite conflict and drenching the ancient temple in blood and killing?
“With so many scrolls, which one is the Celestial Book remnant?” An independent cultivator kicked at a scroll near his foot.
Lou Xiaowu shot four illumination arrows toward the four corners, suddenly brightening the entire floor and making the scene inside clearer.
“You all go back,” An Jiu suddenly said.
“Hm?” Lou Mingyue thought she had misheard.
An Jiu repeated, “You all go back.”
“Why?” Lou Mingyue slowly extended her spiritual power to sense the surroundings. When she perceived the situation, she broke out in a cold sweat!
This floor concealed no fewer than thirty people!
An Jiu drew her dagger and retreated cautiously.
The others also assumed defensive postures, forming a circle back-to-back, slowly retreating from the third floor.
“What should we do?” Qiu Yunran was drenched in nervous sweat.
Lou Mingyue added, “Mei Fourteen, you make the decision.”
Faced with the situation, An Jiu could only voice her thoughts, “The second floor has no exit. The third floor has at least four exits. Now we either choose to break through from the third floor or return from the first floor.”
No one questioned how An Jiu had discovered the exits on the third floor. With so many people in ambush, if they tried to break through, it would be certain death.
“If we go out from the first floor, there might already be people lying in ambush at the exit,” Mei Tinchun said.
This was a trap, but no one blamed Mei Tingzhu for her earlier choice. Those who knew the “inside story” understood that once they entered the temple, they were already trapped. Inside or outside the pagoda made no difference. The independent cultivators who didn’t know the inside story had chosen to enter the pagoda themselves.
“What’s your choice?” Lou Mingyue asked An Jiu.
“Fight our way out,” An Jiu replied. This was her style – faced with certain death, she would at least take down twenty or thirty enemies before feeling satisfied.
An Jiu raised her dagger, pointing to the third floor, indicating they should break out from there.
Everyone was stunned. Lou Mingyue asked, “Why?”
“I meant myself. You all do as you please,” An Jiu said, then pressed against the blood-covered wall and fell silent.
She had the powerful crossbow taken from the enemy, which made the others feel somewhat more secure. After much hesitation, they all prepared to charge up to the third floor.
These people must be blind!
An Jiu frowned slightly, then focused on carefully sensing the positions of those hidden on the third floor, silently calculating where it would be easiest to break through.
After the bookshelves on the third floor had collapsed, the entire space was visible at a glance, with no place to hide. Moreover, if all those people had been inside, they would have attacked long ago! So the ambushers must all be outside the pagoda.
From the distribution of people, An Jiu was more certain of her guess. There were thirty targets in total, irregularly spread across four entrances, each entrance in a different direction and far apart.
Lou Mingyue wanted to use her inner force to communicate with An Jiu, but after a slight attempt, she found that An Jiu’s spiritual power was like an impenetrable fortress, not allowing even a trace of inner force to penetrate her consciousness.
An Jiu didn’t know Lou Mingyue’s intention, but sensing she was calling her, she turned her head to look at her.
Lou Mingyue immediately gestured, indicating: Let An Jiu give her the crossbow, she would draw the enemy’s attention from the north wall, while the others escaped through that side.
“No!” Lou Xiaowu objected, staring at An Jiu. “You have the highest martial arts skills here.”
An Jiu didn’t want to argue with her and simply nodded in agreement.
Being the bait wasn’t necessarily the most dangerous role. The ambushers would quickly discover the others escaping from the south. As long as she could withstand the initial fierce attack, it would become relatively easier afterward, and she could also separate from this burdensome group.
Lou Xiaowu admired strong people because they could play a crucial role at critical moments, but An Jiu’s quick agreement made her feel somewhat guilty.
“This is a grappling crossbow,” Lou Xiaowu unfastened a crossbow from her arm and attached it to An Jiu. After securing it, she pressed the trigger.
With two clicks, an arrow shot out from the crossbow, its tail trailing a rope that embedded deeply into the rock wall.
Lou Xiaowu tugged on the rope, and An Jiu found that this seemingly thin rope was elastic and extremely sturdy.
Pressing the trigger again disconnected the rope from the crossbow.
“I only recently made this grappling crossbow. It has many flaws, such as the arrows can’t be retrieved, and there are only four arrows in the crossbow,” Lou Xiaowu said. “But it can be useful in crucial moments. I suppose I don’t need to teach you how to use it!”
The weapon’s function has been demonstrated; its specific use should be decided by the user.
“Mm,” An Jiu responded.
They waited patiently for a moment.
As An Jiu stood up, Mei Tingzhu suddenly called out to stop her, “Fourteen!”
An Jiu halted. Mei Tingzhu hesitated, seeming to have much to say, but in the end only awkwardly said, “Be careful.”
“Nonsense,” An Jiu replied.
She took the lead, and the group ran up to the third floor together. An Jiu quickly darted to the north, chose an exit, and leaped out.
A tremendous boom sounded, kicking up billowing dust. At the same time, the others began to break through from the south.
Eight people were lying in ambush on the south side, while they had over ten people. Moreover, Lou Mingyue alone could fight two or three enemies. Qiu Yunran took the opportunity to administer the antidote to Mei Tingyuan. Forced to the edge, all her hatred for Mei Tingjun’s death surged forth. She wielded her sword and joined the battle, determined not to rest until all enemies were slain.
The group easily escaped with overwhelming strength.
In contrast, An Jiu’s situation was perilous.
Eight black-clad figures surrounded her, with people from the east and west rushing over. The dust raised by the crossbow arrows further reduced visibility in the already night.
An Jiu used her dagger to cut off the plum blossom on her clothes’ hem, then raised her hand to fire the grappling crossbow.