Volume One: The Youngest Among Three Hundred Chapter Seventy-Nine: Taking Action

On the stone bridge, three people stood side by side. The woman on the right spoke with a hint of complaint in her voice, “When we first arrived at Stone Bridge Town, you said we had to wait for the night of the full moon. Then this afternoon, you said it would be tomorrow at sunset. Now, it’s the first ray of sunshine after the rain. What exactly are you doing?”

“Aman, that’s precisely why the Blood Ancestor sent me to accompany you.”

“Do you know? The Water Mirror Sword, being one of the eight swords fixed by Fuxi’s divination, is interconnected with the three forces of heaven, earth, and man. The surrounding environment, weather, the contours of mountains and rivers—all the subtle changes at every moment affect the opportunity to retrieve the sword.”

“Fine, Ying Si. The Blood Ancestor told me to follow your lead anyway. As long as we can bring the Water Mirror Sword back safely, that’s all that matters.” The woman called Aman gazed calmly at the water and said nothing more.

Ying Si, the man, remained silent as well.

“Who’s there?”

Suddenly, Aman’s sharp eyes, piercing the rainy night like an eagle’s, turned to a certain direction.

Ying Si’s gaze followed hers.

A moment later, Lan Huamu, holding her short blade, appeared in their sight. The wind howled, the rain intensified. Each step she took stirred up muddy waves half a meter high, swirling outward. From afar, she resembled a goddess wrapped in water and storm.

Stopping less than five meters from the bridge, Lan Huamu slowly and steadily raised her weapon, flipping the blade upright. Torrents of rain lashed the steel, washing it until it gleamed with a chilling brilliance.

“You two—return my sister to me!”

With a fierce roar, Lan Huamu slashed upward. Instantly, an overwhelming surge of blade intent swept forward, gathering every raindrop suspended in midair and every stream of water flowing across the ground. The force grew ever more mighty, boundless as the horizon.

By the time this blade intent reached the bridge, it towered like a hundred-foot pillar, turbulent waves surging skyward.

...

In a courtyard somewhere in Stone Bridge Town, two small windows creaked and swayed in the wind. By the flickering light of a single lamp, she straightened her back, casting off her habitual stoop, her spirits invigorated. She looked out at the gloomy rain and murmured, “Yimei, there are eight left.”

“If we kill them all tonight, the debt between us will be settled.”

With that, she took off her rough hemp clothes, donned a black outfit with a masked face, and extracted a dagger from the drawer, gripping it expertly. She walked forward and pushed open the door.

Her pace was steady, uninterrupted even by the act of opening the door. Yet strangely, her front foot stepped onto the threshold while the back foot lingered inside, unmoving as the wind and rain whipped at her face covering.

Opposite her stood Chen Chang’an, holding an umbrella. Beneath it was a woman—Madam Jin.

“Wow!” Madam Jin gripped Chen Chang’an’s arm tightly. “Master Chen, just as you said, she’s really come out in black clothing with a dagger!”

“Expected,” Chen Chang’an replied simply, paying her no further heed, focusing all attention ahead. He spoke, “Granny Gui, the murderer behind the Stone Bridge Town serial killings. Long time no see.”

“Oh, that’s not quite right. We met this afternoon, after all.”

Indeed, the woman in black, dagger in hand, about to kill, was none other than Granny Gui, the mortician responsible for preparing the dead in Stone Bridge Town.

“How did you know I was the killer? I can’t understand!” Granny Gui was genuinely surprised.

Chen Chang’an deliberately coughed, recalling detective dramas he’d watched in his previous life, where the protagonist would clasp his hands behind his back and explain the case to the culprit. He mimicked the posture and said with a hint of gravitas, “The truth is simple.”

“At first, I didn’t suspect you. I truly noticed you when Yan Yuer died.”

“Yan Yuer?”

Granny Gui pondered. “I don’t think I left any flaws, did I?”

---

Chen Chang’an nodded, then shook his head. “To be precise, the flaw wasn’t yours, but a coincidence. When I entered the Arhat Temple, I saw a tombstone for Master Yimei, stating he died of illness on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.”

“At Yan Yuer’s house, the clerk from the paper shop arrived with funeral supplies and asked if you wanted to order paper money for the fifteenth as you always had in previous years. I wondered, as an outsider, whom would Granny Gui be burning paper for, and why always on the fifteenth?”

“Stranger still, when he asked, you said you didn’t need any this year. A habit maintained for years, suddenly changed right when the serial killings began. It was worth pondering.”

“That’s all?” Granny Gui remained unmoved.

Chen Chang’an smiled, “Of course not. Those details only drew my attention. What truly confirmed it for me was Master Yimei’s face, which, after so many years, had not decayed at all.”

“The mortuary makeup on his face was identical to what you applied to the other victims. Combined with the fifteenth of the seventh month, the two key clues pointed straight at you.”

“His body is still intact?” Granny Gui’s voice trembled.

Chen Chang’an didn’t answer, but signaled to Madam Jin.

She understood, stepped forward, then retreated under the umbrella again, embarrassed by the rain. She coughed softly, “Yes, during the nationwide suppression of Buddhism, I secretly moved his remains from the temple courtyard.”

“No wonder I couldn’t find them,” Granny Gui realized.

Chen Chang’an’s lips curled slightly. “Now it’s your turn. Tell us about your relationship with Master Yimei.”

Granny Gui’s hand trembled, the cold gleam of her dagger reflecting on Chen Chang’an’s face. “What if I refuse?”

Chen Chang’an twirled the umbrella’s handle. Raindrops sliding down its ribs hung suspended in midair, halted by the intent of the Immortal-Slaying Heart Technique. His eyes narrowed. “Whether you speak or not, the outcome is the same. Your hands are stained with five lives—you must be executed.”

“Besides, even if you don’t say it, I can guess: Granny Gui, mortician of Stone Bridge Town, is Master Yimei’s lawful wife.”

“What? She’s Master Yimei’s wife?” Madam Jin’s eyes widened, feeling oddly like a mistress meeting the legitimate spouse.

“How did you know?” Granny Gui was aghast.

Chen Chang’an answered with emotionless calm, “The mortuary makeup you applied to the victims and to Master Yimei’s face aren’t merely similar—they complement each other.”

“And your ruthless slaughter of his children by other women—such malice could only come from the legal wife. If you were a sibling or friend, you’d never go so far.”

“Yes, you’re right!” Granny Gui looked at Chen Chang’an, separated only by suspended raindrops, as if she were facing a ghost. Fear flickered in her gaze. “The Black Robe Guards truly live up to their reputation. If it weren’t for you, with only Peng Wanli, I could have continued killing into next year without being discovered.”

Uh… don’t praise me at Peng Wanli’s expense. Is he really comparable to Chen? Chen Chang’an grumbled inwardly, then analyzed, “If I’m not mistaken, he left you more than a decade ago, came to Stone Bridge Town, and became Master Yimei.”

“When you found him, he was dead. Out of marital affection, you stayed in Stone Bridge Town, burning paper for him every year on the fifteenth, never changing, until a few days ago, when you discovered a secret passage in the temple ruins and found a ledger listing the women Master Yimei harmed after arriving in town.”

“After reading it, you learned the truth behind the infamous temple fertility miracles. As his wife, you felt betrayed and abandoned, and began a crazed revenge, killing his children.”

“Yes!” Granny Gui laughed bitterly. “That summer, we’d just married and had a child. He told me he needed to leave for a while, and never returned.”

“I was pregnant and couldn’t travel. After the baby was born the next year, I tried to find him, but traveling with an infant was near impossible. I… I…”

Her voice choked with sobs. “Our son died searching for him.”

“Three years later, I learned in Stone Bridge Town that he had died. I was helpless, resentful, devastated. But having bowed to heaven and earth together, I struggled and finally decided to stay, keeping vigil in town.”

“But as you said, a few days ago, reminiscing, I went to the temple ruins, found the secret passage and the ledger, and instantly felt foolish—and hatred overwhelmed me.”

“Heh.”

---

With a self-mocking laugh, Granny Gui’s voice suddenly rose. She stepped out, letting the rain beat on her face, and shouted in fury, “I thought he had his reasons for never returning. Our child died searching for him. Every year, I secretly went to the temple to mourn him. But what about him?”

“He enjoyed himself in Stone Bridge Town, fathering children everywhere. Is that fair, Chen Chang’an? If you were me, could you accept it?”

“So I decided to kill all his bastards, and cut out their most vital organs to show him in the temple.”

“The mortuary makeup was something we developed together—it preserves the face from decay, meant to witness everlasting love. But in the end, everlasting love is a joke.”

“A huge joke. Men only chase fleeting pleasure, never truly remembering or loving a woman.”

“So I wouldn’t just kill his bastards—I’d paint that makeup on them, symbolizing undying love. How ironic.”

Do men only seek brief pleasure, never true feeling? Well, not me—I truly love Peach Blossom, oh, Su Wanqiu is nice too, and the fairies from the other floors of Fragrant Pavilion.

Pulling himself back from his thoughts, Chen Chang’an spoke, “That’s another flaw of yours!”

“What do you mean?” Granny Gui’s gaze sharpened.

Chen Chang’an, playing the role of detective, patiently explained, “Though you tried to destroy the ledger in the temple’s secret passage, a scrap remained, marked ‘thirteen.’”

“When the coroner found drugs among the secret items—aphrodisiacs—I realized the truth behind the temple’s fertility rumors, and knew the ledger must list the victimized women.”

“And at Yan Yuer’s house, I noticed your wooden box held eight unused eyebrow pencils, plus five used—thirteen in all.”

“Remember when you said each mortuary item was single-use, never reused? The real reason is, you prepared a set for each person.”

“One set per person—just thirteen.”

Hearing this, Granny Gui’s forehead veins throbbed, her teeth clenched. “Chen Chang’an, you’re a terrifying man. I concede defeat—but it changes nothing. The guilty must still die.”

Recalling his high school days boldly confessing love with a cactus to his first crush, then thinking of Master Yimei’s undecayed face, Chen Chang’an said gently, “No matter how men change or betray, I believe the one they first loved always holds an irreplaceable place in their heart.”

“The best memories, the sweetest moments—otherwise, Master Yimei wouldn’t have painted your makeup on his face before death.”

He silently cursed—this was the first case that touched on humanity, and he’d let his own feelings seep in.

He straightened, adopting the attitude of an enforcer, and spoke sternly, “Put down the dagger. Don’t persist in your error. Your method is wrong. They’re innocent.”

“No!”

Granny Gui roared, “I said, they must all die!”

Unaccustomed to late nights, Chen Chang’an yawned lazily. “But you can’t defeat me.”

“Haha! Hahaha!” Granny Gui’s body and limbs trembled with laughter. “Don’t forget, you’re at my doorstep now. Master Yimei had another identity you don’t know, and the consequences of overlooking it will be grave.”

“Die, Chen Chang’an!”

“Bang!”

Granny Gui slammed her palm to the ground. Instantly, the surrounding walls rose up like mountains, towering higher and higher. Cold air drew the rain into a clockwise vortex, with Chen Chang’an and Madam Jin at its center. The water tornado raged, wild and relentless.