Volume One: The Youngest Among Three Hundred Chapter Twenty-Four: Each Unlocks Their Own Cheat

When the bright gaze met the pale one at a single point, they spoke in unison: “It seems the murderer has been nearby all along, watching our every move.”

Chen Chang’an, unusually, pressed a hand to his forehead. “We were too careless. Should’ve thought of this sooner. All your fault—you just had to tell that story about the great Detective Ye’s adventures!”

Ye Lin was silent.

Muttering, Chen Chang’an and Ye Lin dashed toward Huaiyuan Ward. Su Dingfeng, arms folded around his sword, rolled his eyes. “Hmph. As a proud disciple of the Bashan Sword Sect, how could I ever set foot in such a den of ill repute?”

He turned arrogantly, preparing to seek out a taller building and continue striding about with his head held high. But in an instant, he caught sight of the street on either side: Liu’s Famous Dog Meat Shop, the Chen Family Dog Noodle Stall, and, a little farther away, a vendor hawking live dogs—black, yellow, white, and mottled—all yapping away.

A vein throbbed on his brow. He fought the urge to draw his sword, coughed twice, and said, “To venture into such a place is also a kind of cultivation. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take a look.”

Up ahead, Ye Lin called over his shoulder as he ran, “Hey… Chen Chang’an, who’s that white-robed swordsman behind us? He looks to have some skill—at least the middle stage of Innate!”

“Innate middle stage? What’s that supposed to mean? Is that higher than your Qi Initiation realm?”

Trailing behind, Chen Chang’an didn’t answer but shot back another question. He remembered that when Li Shu had explained the first three martial realms in the forest, there had been no mention of anything called ‘Innate.’

Ye Lin grinned. “Qi Initiation is part of the martial artist’s system. But that swordsman is clearly a cultivator—their realms are completely different.”

“Oh, right!” Chen Chang’an was momentarily embarrassed. Seems he’d need to take some time to really study the systems and levels of this era, their strengths and weaknesses. After all, he intended to walk the path of cultivation himself.

Of course, knowing more would also spare him awkward silences in conversation!

Chen Chang’an, keeping Little Leaf from bumping into things by holding her sash, deliberately steered the topic back. “He’s my ex-brother-in-law.”

“Ex?” Ye Lin, puzzled by the unfamiliar term, asked for clarification.

Chen Chang’an patiently explained, “That means he used to be my brother-in-law. Just a local expression from back home.”

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they arrived at the entrance to Huaiyuan Ward, where most of the residents had been cleared out and stationed soldiers frantically hauled in water.

In the middle of the ward, a tall building was ablaze, thick smoke billowing furiously, flames spreading with uncontrollable ferocity in all directions, the fire devouring an ever-greater swath of ground.

Even Chen Chang’an, whose vision was as patchy as a mosaic, could see the red waves surging.

As they drew within a hundred paces of the fire, they could hear Li Shu and Wu Yuanheng cursing. “The villain is despicable beyond measure! We’re still half a step too late!”

“Damn it, damn it!”

Princess Changning and Hua Mulan stared at the Spring Cloud Pavilion, now tottering in the heart of the inferno. Though they said nothing, their moods were as foul as a gathering of aunts at the height of their monthly woes. After all, so little survived the flames.

After half an hour, the combined efforts of the Three Offices and the stationed soldiers finally subdued the fire. Amid the sodden ruins, smoke still drifted up in thin, intermittent wisps.

“My Zhiyuan—he’s still inside the Spring Cloud Pavilion! Zhiyuan, please… Sirs, I beg you, save him!”

“Dreamer… Dreamer can’t have burned to death, right? I was going to buy her freedom. Why? Why did this happen?”

“Good thing I didn’t visit a courtesan today, or I’d be dead!”

The hubbub of cries all around was unending. Li Shu gazed in despair at the charred, crisscrossing beams that were all that remained of the Spring Cloud Pavilion and sighed. “The clues… all gone, just like that!”

Wu Yuanheng said nothing. Hua Mulan gripped her knife.

Princess Changning shouted, “You fiend! You killed my maid, burned my people! I, a princess of Great Min, will not let you go unpunished, you dog!”

Ye Lin stroked his chin, adopting the air of a scholar pondering advanced mathematics. “Even so, I want to try. Maybe I’ll find something useful.”

He glanced at the side of Chen Chang’an’s face. “Care to join me?”

Li Shu, Wu Yuanheng, and Hua Mulan all focused their attention.

But Chen Chang’an shook his head. “I’m blind. I rely on hearing and smell. All I can sense here is the townsfolk shouting and the stench of burning. Better if I don’t go. You go ahead.”

“Ah!” Ye Lin’s eyes brimmed with a pure, tragic sympathy, as if fate itself begrudged such talent. “All right, I understand. I’ll look for clues at the scene and tell you what I find!”

“No.” Chen Chang’an waved his hand, his tone firm. “Do not tell me. No matter what you discover, don’t let me know. Remember, right now we’re competing, a contest between us. What you find is yours; what I find is mine. We don’t share. Understood?”

His words were spirited and brooked no argument.

After all, Chen Chang’an planned to visit the Perfumed Courtyard to consult Peach Blossom for information. If Ye Lin shared what he found in the Spring Cloud Pavilion ruins and he didn’t reciprocate with what Peach Blossom told him, it would seem a bit…cutthroat.

But if he refused Ye Lin’s offer in advance, even if Peach Blossom pointed directly to the killer and he kept it to himself, it was no great offense.

If I don’t know what you know, why should you know what I know?

Yes, that settles it!

Ye Lin took a deep breath, patted Chen’s shoulder, and said admiringly, “Brother Chen, I didn’t expect you to be such a principled man. Good, very good. Let’s see which of us uncovers the truth first.”

“Mm.” Chen Chang’an nodded and turned away.

“Where are you going?” came a chorus of voices—male and female, some sharp, some deep—from behind.

Without looking back, Chen Chang’an waved as he walked away. “I’m off to see Little Lotus again—maybe I’ll turn up a clue.”

Ye Lin, the Three Offices’ vice ministers, and Princess Changning were speechless.

After a brief silence, Princess Changning tugged Ye Lin’s arm and hopped beside him, “Is there anything else we can do? Any way to find more clues?”

Unused to the princess’s boisterous manner, Ye Lin was dazed for three seconds before coming to himself. “Rest assured, Your Highness. As long as I’m here, I’ll find a way.”

“How?” Li Shu, Wu Yuanheng, and especially Hua Mulan all felt their hearts pounding.

Ye Lin answered mysteriously, “Most people think the 23rd Prime Technique, ‘Boundless,’ is the same as the 135th, ‘Crossing the Void’—just that the former can be used infinitely.”

He paused, then continued, “But in truth, ‘Boundless’ doesn’t just connect spaces without limit—its true power is in linking objects. As long as anything related to the headless corpse still exists at the scene, even if partially burned, they can be drawn together.”

As he spoke, he produced a scrap of cloth—clearly torn from the victim’s clothing—raised his hand, and traced a circle in the air. A vortex formed, similar yet not identical to the one before.

“Perfect. Now’s the time!”

Muttering to himself, Ye Lin tossed in the cloth scrap. After a moment, a second vortex appeared above the ruins of the Spring Cloud Pavilion, and slowly, steadily, two objects emerged: a torn bit of cloth and a naturally oval stone covered in charred soot, both of which obediently floated into his palm at a beckoning gesture.

Princess Changning, unable to contain her excitement, asked, “This stone is connected to the headless corpse?”

Ye Lin nodded. “In theory, yes.”

Hua Mulan pressed, “And in practice?”

Ye Lin replied, “In practice, yes as well.”

Hua Mulan was speechless.

A chill ran inexplicably down Ye Lin’s spine. He shivered, took a rag from a nearby officer, and wiped away the soot. The stone’s surface revealed a riot of colors, with three characters engraved at its center.

Musk Moon, Erlang, Forevermore.

“Erlang—the headless corpse must be Erlang!”

“Sigh, Brother Chen, I had wanted to share this with you, but you refused. With ‘Boundless’ at my command, how could I possibly lose? I’ll definitely uncover the truth before you!”

So Ye Lin judged, muttering to himself.

Meanwhile, a maid in a pale green dress hurried through the crowd to Princess Changning, curtsied, and said, “Your Highness, Master Xu has arrived!”

…

Chen Chang’an left the ruins of the Spring Cloud Pavilion, seeking a quiet spot to open the Annals of the Perfumed Courtyard and consult Peach Blossom for clues. After all, it was mostly thanks to her that he’d been able to locate Princess Changning last time.

Remembering that Peach Blossom required a sacrifice to work her magic, Chen Chang’an felt a pang of guilt and hesitated.

But then he recalled that she was a spirit and her fingers would quickly grow back. Well, what’s the use of a cheat if I don’t make the most of it? The more, the better.

As he crossed the ward’s street, he spotted Su Dingfeng herding all the scholars and literary types who’d come to patronize Huaiyuan Ward into a dead-end alley by force, whipping and berating them, shouting, “I ask you: ‘You possess a keen blade, long dulled by dust and toil. When at last the dust is gone, what should come next?’”

“Speak! No one’s eating tonight until someone gets it right!” he roared.

Under Su Dingfeng’s intimidation, the normally self-important scholars trembled and offered their answers.

“You possess a keen blade, long dulled by dust and toil. When at last the dust is gone, its light outshines the sun!” someone ventured.

Smack! Su Dingfeng slapped him. “And you call yourself a scholar? What nonsense! Next!”

He couldn’t think of a proper line himself, not knowing the first thing about literary composition, but he could deeply appreciate the meaning of the first three lines. That last answer, though, was utter rubbish!

“You possess a keen blade, long dulled by dust and toil. When at last the dust is gone, I long for my homeland!” another ventured.

Smack! Again, Su Dingfeng’s palm struck.

“You possess a keen blade, long dulled by dust and toil. When at last the dust is gone, I am the boldest in Chang’an!”

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Gradually, the scholars’ voices fell silent in the alley, leaving only the crisp sound of slaps echoing off the walls.

Chen Chang’an was speechless. He thought to himself, My ex-brother-in-law really suffers from the drawbacks of transmigrating and showing off. All this fuss over a couplet? But the higher he gets, the more satisfying the fall!

Chuckling to himself, he slipped into another secluded alley, pulled out the Annals of the Perfumed Courtyard, and whispered in his heart, “Sister Peach Blossom, you’re the best cheat in the world—Chen is here to pay you a visit!”