When Mei Jiu awoke in her room, she breathed a sigh of relief. But memories of the corpse she had seen the night before quickly resurfaced, causing her heart to sink. She might be able to avoid it once, but could she evade it forever?
“An Jiu, you said Elder Zhi would vouch for us. Why do we still have to attend the shadow lessons?” Mei Jiu asked anxiously.
“…”
“I want to persevere, but I’m truly afraid.”
“…”
“I don’t know how my mother is doing now. Is she in danger? Is she scared?”
“…”
“I miss my mother so much.”
“…”
“An Jiu, what do you do when you miss your mother?”
“Kill people,” An Jiu finally gave a concise, definitive answer.
Wiping away her tears, Mei Jiu asked, “Why kill people?”
“It makes me happy.” Just as many people buy things to cheer themselves up when they’re feeling down, An Jiu used this method to alleviate her loneliness.
“Isn’t it terrifying? All that blood, and the hateful looks in their eyes as they die…” Mei Jiu shuddered at her own words.
An Jiu had never seen a hateful gaze. Her victims usually died before they even realized what was happening.
“My lady, you’re awake?” Yaoyue closed the door and approached the bed, lifting the curtains. “We didn’t go to Elder Zhi yesterday, so we can’t skip today.”
“Mm.” After last night’s events, Mei Jiu suddenly felt that visiting Elder Zhi wasn’t so frightening anymore.
Seeing that she didn’t show any signs of fear, Yaoyue smiled. It seemed that Lady Yan’s efforts hadn’t been in vain.
After washing up, Mei Jiu ate a bowl of porridge and then headed to Yongzhi Hall.
Upon arrival, a servant led Mei Jiu to a room in Yongzhi Hall before withdrawing.
Mei Jiu looked around. The room was spacious and empty, devoid of furniture. On the opposite wall hung a calligraphy scroll with the vigorous character of “Buddha” dominating the space. The side walls were adorned with various bows and crossbows.
“Was Gu Jinghong’s lesson interesting?” Elder Zhi entered, smiling.
Mei Jiu bowed respectfully. “Elder.”
Elder Zhi sensed that the current Mei Jiu was different from the one who had shot arrows that night. He frowned slightly. “What did you think of Gu Jinghong’s lesson?”
Mei Jiu had fainted as soon as she entered the room last night. How could she know who Gu Jinghong was or what he had taught?
“An Jiu, you took my place last night, didn’t you?” Mei Jiu asked internally.
“Yes,” An Jiu replied.
Steeling herself, Mei Jiu answered Elder Zhi, “It was… very good.”
“Very good?” Elder Zhi smiled oddly. “Gu Jinghong has been training recruits for the Crane-Controlling Army since he was barely a teenager. Not one person he’s trained has ever dared to say it was ‘good.'”
Mei Jiu’s heart raced, and she nervously clutched at her clothes.
Noticing this small gesture, Elder Zhi was displeased. Where had that arrogance and decisiveness from the initial test gone? And where had that impressive aura during archery come from?
Elder Zhi felt that he hardly deserved to be called wise, as he couldn’t make sense of this conundrum!
“Gu Jinghong will be responsible for training you for six months,” Elder Zhi explained, walking slowly toward the wall. “The first three months will be lessons, and the last three will involve some mission executions. Since your martial arts skills are lacking, I’ve assigned Qianshan to protect you.” He effortlessly retrieved a small crossbow hanging high on the wall and handed it to her. “I designed this compact crossbow three years ago. It’s light and convenient, suitable for close-range sneak attacks. Try it out.”
Mei Jiu took it, completely at a loss as to how to use it.
An Jiu, however, quite liked it. She took control of Mei Jiu’s hands to examine the small crossbow. Those familiar with bows generally had some understanding of crossbows, a weapon between bows and guns in the realm of cold weapons.
The part of a gun called the trigger corresponded to the xuandao on a crossbow, while a gun’s sight was called the wangshan on a crossbow. This particular crossbow mechanism was rectangular, with a concealed xuandao and no wangshan, classifying it as a sleeve arrow.
After a moment of exploration, An Jiu loaded the arrow, raised her arm, and pressed the xuandao.
The arrow whistled through the air, embedding itself in the opposite wall.
Sensing Mei Jiu’s extreme nervousness, An Jiu took full control of the body and said, “It’s quite good.”
“Hmph!” Elder Zhi appreciated her decisive and efficient handling but feigned displeasure. “Your experience is limited. A crossbow mechanism is inflexible, with restrictions on range and power. A bow is different.”
He took a bow from the wall and plucked its string. “The highest level of archery is called ‘Startling String.’ Do you know what that means?”
An Jiu shook her head.