The mortuary’s unique architecture, with its tightly enclosed buildings and walls, allowed almost no light to penetrate. On such a night, one could barely see their hand in front of their face.
“An Jiu, An Jiu,” Mei Jiu called, her body trembling uncontrollably, her chattering teeth breaking the silence.
Frightened, Mei Tingyan clutched Mei Tingchun’s clothes.
They seemed to pass through the first room. Tiny lights flickered on the walls on both sides, casting eerie shadows and creating an even more unsettling atmosphere than the darkness.
“We’re here,” the lead black-clad figure stopped and opened a door. “Please enter.”
They then stepped aside.
Mei Tingjun, at the front, saw light inside and felt slightly reassured. He stepped in.
“Ah,” came his low cry from within.
Mei Tingzhu hesitated momentarily before entering as well.
Mei Jiu’s legs shook so much she could barely stand. She began to cry in distress.
An Jiu had no choice but to silently infuse her consciousness to control the body and enter the room.
Sensing that powerful force, Mei Jiu’s panic subsided slightly. However, upon seeing the contents of the room, she fainted!
An Jiu naturally filled the void.
Previously, controlling the body required great effort, but it had become easier over time. Now, she could automatically take over when Mei Jiu lost consciousness. This discovery provided some consolation to An Jiu, making her less concerned about Mei Jiu’s fainting.
The room’s contents didn’t faze An Jiu; they were merely two recently deceased bodies. What caught her attention was the masked man standing in the flickering lamplight.
“We meet again,” a gentle male voice dispelled the gloom.
It was him! The man she had encountered while herding sheep. According to Mei Yanran’s guess, wasn’t he a member of the Crane Control Army?
The masked man stood with his hands behind his back. “I am the Deputy Commander of the Crane Control Army’s Divine Strategy. I will be instructing you for the next half year. You may address me as ‘Deputy Commander’ or ‘Sir’.”
No one knew the exact rank of “Deputy Commander of Divine Strategy” within the Crane Control Army, but it sounded significant.
The masked man unrolled a scroll and hung it on the wall.
An Jiu looked up to see a human anatomy chart! It differed slightly from modern diagrams, focusing mainly on meridians, with organs depicted primarily to clarify acupoint locations.
“I won’t be teaching you martial arts,” the masked man said, his voice like a gentle breeze. “I’ll teach you how to take lives more efficiently.”
Ignoring their expressions, he continued, “In life-or-death battles, speed means survival, slowness means death. The Crane Control Army’s blood-written creed is: Strive to defeat your opponent in one move. Therefore, intimate knowledge of human vulnerabilities must be ingrained in every shadow’s bones.”
The Deputy Commander explained, “Ears, back of the head, neck, ribs, waist, and groin. Attacking these areas with sufficient force, whether by palm, fist, or blade, can be fatal. Of course, these areas are easily defended. Against a skilled opponent, you won’t find such opportunities. Thus, we need a deeper understanding of the human body.”
“There are 702 acupoints in the human body, 108 of which are vital. Among these 108, 72 are non-lethal, but the remaining 36, when struck with just 30% of your inner force, can be fatal.”
He said casually, “With so many vulnerabilities, killing is quite easy, isn’t it?”
Humans are contradictory; life is both tenacious and fragile.
“I assume you’ve learned some of this at home, so I won’t elaborate further,” he said, walking to the stone table with the two corpses.
No one saw where he produced the unsheathed short sword from. “Today, we’ll start with the six major vulnerabilities.”
He placed the sword in An Jiu’s hand. “You go first. Choose one vital point and strike.”
An Jiu frowned. This man was deliberately challenging her, but she didn’t care to argue. Taking the sword, she plunged it into the corpse’s throat without hesitation or even blinking.
An Jiu’s action turned the others pale. Despite their martial arts training from childhood, they had never used a blade on a person. Mei Rujian felt especially fortunate; during his recovery, he had often regretted yielding to An Jiu’s threats, but now he was glad he had. She truly dared to act!
“Decisive and fierce strike. Excellent,” he commented while slowly withdrawing the sword and handing it to Mei Tingzhu. “Your turn.”
Mei Tingzhu’s fingers trembled slightly, but unwilling to show weakness, he took the sword and gritted his teeth as he stabbed the corpse’s left ribs.
“It should be an inch more to the right. The deviation is quite large, but the strike was swift. Good,” the Deputy Commander evaluated.
As the sword was passed to Mei Tingjun, the room filled with the scent of blood. Seeing blood oozing from the corpse, Mei Tingyan covered her mouth and ran towards the exit.
“Follow her. If she leaves the courtyard, kill her,” the Deputy Commander said calmly as if discussing a pleasant evening breeze.