The madman’s loss of control scattered his qi everywhere. An Jiu felt a sense of familiarity…

That’s right! It was the master archer who had ambushed them at the ancient temple!

Appearances might be deceiving, but each person’s spiritual energy has subtle differences. The madman suddenly froze, “You’re not Mei Fourteen! Where is she?”

“If she’s not Mei Fourteen, then kill her,” the black-clad person said nonchalantly.

“Cui Yichen! You caught the wrong person. Where is Mei Fourteen?” the madman roared, his invisible qi rampaging wildly, sweeping and breaking the surrounding trees.

Cui Yichen! The name flashed through An Jiu’s mind. Lou Xiaowu had mentioned him in the Pagoda. He was from the Cui family, yet he was mixed in with those who ambushed the trial! Did this mean the Cui family had betrayed the Controlling Crane Army?

Cui Yichen’s eyes flashed, killing intent suddenly erupting. Earlier, when he spoke of silencing her, he was calm, but now he truly intended to kill, because the madman had called out his name.

An Jiu’s thoughts raced. The current situation was clear – if they determined she was useless, they would kill her immediately. Even with all her experience, An Jiu couldn’t handle these two experts.

An Jiu immediately took control of the body, her focused and cold killing intent instantly engulfing everything.

Cui Yichen’s movements slowed, and he said in disbelief, “State Transcendence!”

It wasn’t difficult for someone in State Transcendence to deceive a ninth-rank martial artist like him, so Cui Yichen didn’t doubt it. But the madman was shocked!

He was at the third level of State Transcendence, approaching the second level. Only because his spiritual power was slightly lacking, he couldn’t break through the barrier. Yet this little girl could easily deceive him, indicating her spiritual power far surpassed his!

The madman’s mind was in turmoil, his behavior becoming even more frenzied. He had been practicing martial arts since he was six, obsessed with the martial way for forty years, yet he couldn’t match a teenage girl! For a moment, he felt as if all his efforts had been negated.

He couldn’t have known that An Jiu had the advantage of dual souls, allowing her to easily deceive him. In a fair comparison, it would be hard to say.

“I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it!” The madman raised his palm to strike.

Seeing the fierce attack coming, An Jiu immediately leaped towards Cui Yichen, grabbing his clothes tightly and using the momentum of his qinggong to fly away. As they landed, An Jiu let go and rolled on the ground several times before standing up.

Cui Yichen gritted his teeth. He had been too eager to escape earlier and hadn’t had a chance to deal with her. He had missed a good opportunity!

Regardless, he had to kill Mei Fourteen today! Otherwise, if his identity was exposed, not only he but the entire Cui family would be finished!

With this thought, Cui Yichen taunted loudly, “Madman, you’ve practiced day and night for decades, yet you can’t even handle a little girl. Do you still dream of reaching the peak? Keep dreaming!”

Such blatant provocation would be easily recognized by any normal person, but Cui Yichen knew these words would enrage the madman.

The madman was a martial arts fanatic. His talent in martial arts was extraordinary, and in his prime, he was already close to reaching the second level of State Transcendence. However, he was extremely simple in other aspects. He couldn’t control his emotions like normal people, couldn’t take care of himself in daily life, and was very antisocial. He had hidden away to practice alone for decades, and over time, his mental state had deteriorated.

The situation took a sharp turn that An Jiu hadn’t anticipated!

The madman was like an enraged beast, his bloodshot eyes filled only with destruction. An Jiu could empathize, as she had once been in a similar state. She knew clearly that in this situation, there was no hope of persuading him.

Escape? She had no qinggong, and would probably be smashed to a pulp within ten meters! She still had the long bow, but without any internal energy, forget about the Startling String – even ordinary arrows would lack their former killing power.

As An Jiu pondered, she had already started running towards Cui Yichen.

The madman had no rationality left. If she went to Cui Yichen, even if he wanted to kill her, he would have to save himself first.

“Trying the same trick again?!” Cui Yichen had already gathered his internal energy in his palm, but seeing the madman’s palm sweeping over from the corner of his eye, he had no choice but to give up.

An Jiu knew the situation was dire. As she saw the madman approaching, she thought she was surely dead this time. Unexpectedly, the madman hesitated for a moment as he was about to strike.

Seizing the opportunity, An Jiu immediately moved closer to Cui Yichen.

Cui Yichen had fully expected An Jiu to die under the madman’s palm. This sudden change left him completely surprised.

In an instant, he noticed the bow in An Jiu’s hand and understood that the madman had shown mercy to the weapon that had been with him for over a decade.

An Jiu also understood why she had escaped death and was immediately grateful she hadn’t discarded the bow earlier while fleeing.

Constantly staying close to Cui Yichen was also a poor strategy, as he was the one most intent on silencing her. He was also an expert, and if he took action, she couldn’t escape.

Fortunately, the madman didn’t disappoint, launching attacks one after another without pause.

An Jiu pushed her body to its limits, but even if her meridians hadn’t been destroyed, she would be no match for this madman. Moreover, Mei Jiu was frozen in fear, and An Jiu had to use some of her spiritual power to resist Mei Jiu’s subconscious control over the body. She felt like she was escaping from a tiger’s mouth with lead weights tied all over her body. For the first time since her rebirth, she felt on the brink of death.

While dodging, An Jiu looked for opportunities to trigger the crossbow mechanism tied to her arm. Although it didn’t have much effect, it at least diverted the madman’s attention slightly.

This negligible interval gave her a chance to escape.

An Jiu turned and ran into the forest, using the grappling crossbow Lou Xiaowu had given her to anchor to a tree trunk. With a strong swing, she leaped seven or eight zhang in the blink of an eye.

As she ran wildly, she untied the thin rope, and then shot another arrow toward a nearby branch. With a quick thought, she tightened the rope and tied it to another tree while untying it.

These ropes seemed transparent and were extremely resilient, difficult to spot at night. If dozens or hundreds were set up as an obstacle, they could have a significant effect. Unfortunately, although the item was useful, the two ropes in the crossbow were ones An Jiu had added herself later.

Doing so much in such a short time was already An Jiu’s limit.

“Mei Jiu, I’m trying my best to save us, but the hope is slim. If we die here, don’t blame me.”

Understanding Mei Jiu’s worries and hesitation, An Jiu now felt that destroying the meridians without permission had been wrong, so she felt somewhat guilty and was unprecedentedly gentle and patient with Mei Jiu.

The wind whistled in her ears, her vision swaying. Her mind was blank, her body simply running forward endlessly.

After about half a cup of tea’s time, An Jiu suddenly realized that no one seemed to be chasing her.

She didn’t dare slow down, but she was amazed. With those two’s martial arts skills, catching up to someone just running on two legs should have been effortless.