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.