Volume One: The Youngest Among Three Hundred. Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Plague in Sweet Spring Village.

“What... what?”

Chen Chang’an’s eyes widened at once, almost bulging like a pair of silver bells. What was this about, Ye the Hero? Hadn’t he once said that first he would establish himself in the Wuyi Guard, then find a way to bring him in? And now he had gone and disappeared himself.

“Lady Cao... Deputy Commander, what exactly is going on?” Chen Chang’an asked in detail.

Cao Wu replied, “Do you remember what I said when I announced the rankings just now? Ye Lin is temporarily placed at thirteenth.”

“Since the day before yesterday, after he took the twenty-third mission issued that very day, he has never returned. If a candidate dies during a trial mission, the Wuyi Guard bears no responsibility. But according to the intelligence my people found, he is not dead yet.”

“Perhaps, for some reason, he has been restrained, or perhaps he is in danger. I intend to send the top three among the new recruits to bring him back!”

“That is, you, Ruan Jingchu, and Song Jiu!”

A dark line seemed to cross Chen Chang’an’s forehead. “For Ye Lin’s sake, I think Sister Ruan alone could take on a thousand troops?”

Ruan Jingchu tilted her little head. “What did you say?”

Chen Chang’an hurriedly waved his hands. “N-nothing. I mean, let’s get moving.”

“Mm.” Cao Wu nodded. “In a moment, someone will bring over the details and address of the last mission Ye Lin took before his disappearance. You three prepare yourselves first.”

“I’ll have someone inform Song Jiu.”

“Understood!”

A short while later, Song Jiu, Ruan Jingchu, and Chen Chang’an gathered at the entrance of Black-Robe Alley, forming a special rescue unit to bring Ye Lin back. Ruan Jingchu sat blankly by the roadside, chin resting on one hand, making it impossible to tell what she thought of all this. Was she eager to take part, or had she only joined under pressure?

As for Song Jiu, he made it clear on the spot: “I really don’t get what Deputy Commander Cao is thinking. She clearly said before that the Guard takes no responsibility for deaths during missions, and now she wants us to go find him.”

“To be honest, what use is there in finding someone like Ye Lin, who can even lose himself while doing a mission?”

Besides genuinely looking down on Ye Lin a little, Song Jiu also harbored the intention of provoking Chen Chang’an. After the first Qinghua Mountain assessment, he had heard around that Ye Lin and the fellow surnamed Chen were on good terms.

The day he heard Chen Chang’an spreading rumors in the street that he had broken his promise and was unfit to join the Wuyi Guard, he had been looking for a chance to take revenge. And now, at last, such a chance had arrived.

Stir up a conflict first, then use the opportunity to finish him off.

“Shut your mouth!”

Sure enough, the more Chen Chang’an listened, the worse his mood became. Even if he had never known Ye Lin, Song Jiu’s behavior was disgusting enough on its own; how much more so now that there had once been some connection between him and Ye Lin?

“Hah.”

Song Jiu’s lips curled almost imperceptibly. So he couldn’t hold it in after all? Chen surnamed fool, last time at Qinghua Mountain I held back because of the assessment rules and let you get the better of me. Today I’ll make you pay.

After a burst of inward calculation, he said coldly, “And what if I said it? What then?”

“Am I wrong? What use is a trash like that, even if he joins the Wuyi Guard? He’d only be making trouble for his comrades.”

“Damn it...” Chen Chang’an’s hand closed around the hilt of Hidden Name. “I told you to shut up. Didn’t you hear me?”

“If you don’t know what mission Ye Lin took, then stop spouting nonsense. If it were you going, you might not do any better!”

Song Jiu snorted dismissively. “That just means he overestimated himself. Missions are chosen voluntarily; they aren’t assigned by force.”

With a sharp clang, Chen Chang’an drew Hidden Name, its cold edge leveled at him. “Say one more word, and I’ll cut you down.”

Ever since the grudge formed after the first Qinghua Mountain assessment, this fellow had come looking for trouble almost every day. The matter of the lost bet from last time aside, now he was deliberately provoking him again.

With Chen Chang’an’s intelligence, how could he fail to hear that Song Jiu was intentionally shouting for his benefit? Fine. You want a fight? I’ll grant it to you one hundred percent. Don’t think I have a good temper.

Besides, Ruan Jingchu was standing right there. If he failed to react at all after hearing Song Jiu’s nonsense, wouldn’t that lower his image as a stalwart, manly hero in the young lady’s eyes?

“Very well, Chen surnamed bastard. If you want to fight, then come. Don’t think I’m afraid of you!”

Song Jiu’s right hand moved to his waist, drawing the Taian Blade he had just received from the Wuyi Guard. His left hand reached toward the sash at his back and pinched three Shadow-Pinning Needles.

At Qinghua Mountain, if he had gone for the kill, the Wuyi Guard would surely have disqualified him for violating the rules. But things were different now. They were only newly recruited rookies; at worst, a fight would result in some other punishment.

Every step had been carefully planned, and he had laid his schemes with precision.

Ruan Jingchu was just about to intervene when Chen Chang’an stopped her. “Sister Ruan, stand back a bit. Don’t get caught in the crossfire!”

Then he looked at Song Jiu, who was standing some five or six steps away, and suddenly blurted out, “Have you ever seen snow falling all over the world?”

“Hmm?” Song Jiu frowned.

With a sudden flash, the blade of Hidden Name reflected the sunlight and stabbed at Song Jiu’s eyes, making them blur. Seizing the opening, Chen Chang’an left behind a trailing afterimage and lunged forward like a bolt of lightning.

“Ah!”

Song Jiu was shocked and hurriedly swung his arm, firing the three Shadow-Pinning Needles he had prepared in advance.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Chen Chang’an twisted his body in midair and avoided them. With both arms, he gripped Hidden Name and raised it high, gathering force; the muscles of his arms swelled and tightened as he roared toward the heavens, “Primordial Art No. 333333: Don’t Get Too Cocky, It Won’t Help!”

Song Jiu was completely stunned by the deadly turn of events and the bizarre name of the technique he had never even heard of. In panic, he hastily raised the Taian Blade to block.

Clang!

Amid the crisp, pleasing ring of metal, the Taian Blade snapped in two and flew, stabbing into the wall of the alley beside them. Hidden Name’s cold edge came to rest against his throat.

Ruan Jingchu clicked her tongue. “Impressive... so impressive, this Primordial Art No. 333333: Don’t Get Too Cocky, It Won’t Help...”

“Chen Chang’an... you...”

“No... you’re only at the early stage of soul cultivation? I’m at Fourth Rank Mountain-Breaking. That’s impossible!”

Song Jiu’s facial muscles, veins, even the fine pores in his skin were trembling violently. He could not accept that he had lost. In the martial way, crossing realms to kill did happen, but most of the time it relied on magical treasures.

How could Chen Chang’an possibly win without borrowing any external force?

“No... it must be that the Wuyi Guard’s blade was too brittle and inferior to Hidden Name. I couldn’t have lost.”

Chen Chang’an smiled faintly. “The weak are always unwilling to admit defeat. I understand.”

“You...” Song Jiu’s eyes were red, his fists tightly clenched.

“What are you doing? What do you think you’re doing?”

Just as the second round of battle was about to erupt, a man in a pale blue robe came hurrying over, cursing under his breath. His hair was gray, tied back with a wooden hairpin, and his face was kind and mild. He looked to be in his fifties.

Ruan Jingchu recognized him at once and quickly greeted him. “Greetings, Master Tao!”

She then shot Chen Chang’an and Song Jiu a warning glance.

Chen Chang’an withdrew Hidden Name. “Greetings, Master Tao.”

Song Jiu did the same.

As everyone knew, the ranks within the Wuyi Guard, from low to high, were Earth Class, Heaven Class, Mysterious Class, Deputy Commander, and Commander. The newcomer was one of the rare Mysterious Class members, Tao Yuan.

And “Master” was the official form of address the Wuyi Guard used for juniors speaking to superiors. Of course, this did not include Cao Wu, Cheng Mulong, or Commander Wang You. When Chen Chang’an first heard of it, he had laughed about it for ages, wondering whether that meant superiors called their subordinates “underpants.”

Tao Yuan swept them with a cold gaze and demanded, “What’s going on?”

Song Jiu said nothing.

Ruan Jingchu did not know how to explain.

Chen Chang’an grinned shamelessly. “It’s nothing, Master Tao. We... just had a little disagreement.”

In a lecturing tone, Tao Yuan said, “Whatever the disagreement, you should have gone to Deputy Commander Cao or Deputy Commander Cheng to settle it. Don’t draw blades over every little thing. Since you have all joined the Wuyi Guard, you are family now.”

“The Taian Blade is meant to be pointed at enemies!”

“Yes, yes, yes, Master Tao’s lesson is correct!” Chen Chang’an nodded repeatedly, accepting the criticism with great humility.

Ruan Jingchu pouted slightly, looking a little unhappy. In theory, she was the victim; in practice, she really was. It was much like the students her class teacher punished for fighting in a previous life of Chen Chang’an’s, only for even the onlookers to end up sweeping toilets as well.

Song Jiu opened his mouth as if to speak, then swallowed his fury.

“Mm.”

Seeing that the two of them no longer intended to continue fighting, Tao Yuan stroked his gray-white beard in satisfaction and took a sheet of paper from his sleeve, handing it to Chen Chang’an. “These are the details of the mission Song Jiu last took. Deputy Commander Cao specifically asked me to bring them over. Once you’ve read them, set out immediately.”

“Understood!” Ruan Jingchu and Chen Chang’an replied in unison.

Song Jiu remained silent, looking as though he owed the world three strings of cash.

“Remember, comrades must not draw blades against each other without cause. If there is a next time, be careful that the two deputy commanders do not strike your names from the Wuyi Guard!” Tao Yuan warned them once more before turning back the way he had come into Black-Robe Alley.

After quickly scanning the document, Chen Chang’an gained a rough understanding of the situation. The location of Ye Lin’s last mission was Ganquan Village, some seven or eight li northeast of Chang’an City, where a plague had broken out. The task for the executor was to find a way to suppress it.

“As Cao Wu said, Ye Lin took joining the Wuyi Guard very seriously. Today is the day the star points are tallied. He would certainly have rushed back.”

“If he hasn’t returned, then something must have happened. There is no doubt about it.”

“Sigh, this kind of thing has to be investigated on site. Come on, let’s go!” Chen Chang’an put away the paper, and he and Ruan Jingchu mounted their little horses separately before shouting at Song Jiu, “Hey, kid, are you coming or not?”

Damn it... Song Jiu nearly wanted to strike again, but thinking of what Tao Yuan had said on his way out, he could only force down his rage with clenched teeth and curse under his breath, “What’s the rush? My blade’s broken. Am I not allowed to go get a new one?”

...

The three of them set out at the sixth quarter of the hour of Si and officially arrived at Ganquan Village at the second quarter of the hour of Wu. At the village entrance stood two towering pagoda trees whose branches and leaves formed a single canopy of shade, and a fence woven into a netlike enclosure more than three zhang high separated the inside from the outside.

The houses were neat, the fields orderly; one could tell at a glance that it was a small mountain village with fairly decent development. Yet not a single person could be seen anywhere. Now and then, wind would howl through, sending up dried grass and revealing two or three dead cats and dogs.

Sitting upright on horseback, Chen Chang’an sniffed twice. “The smell in the wind is wrong. Don’t go in yet. Let me prepare first.”

According to the dossier Tao Yuan had given him, Ganquan Village had recently suffered a plague, and Chen Chang’an had now obtained the Herbal Compendium granted by Tao Hua. One might say he had just the right hammer for this nail.

From the wind blowing straight out of the village, he clearly caught an unusual scent, fundamentally different from the fresh air outside. If they entered carelessly, something could go wrong.

“Hmph.”

Unfortunately, Song Jiu did not listen at all. With a mocking laugh, he said, “I don’t want to waste time searching for some useless trash. Chen surnamed bastard, if you’re afraid, then stay here properly!”

With that, he slapped his horse’s rump and charged straight in.

Ruan Jingchu frowned and, somewhat impatiently, urged him on as well. “There is a plague inside, but if we’re all martial artists, shouldn’t we be fine? Let’s find him early and head back sooner!”

“No. No. No.”

Chen Chang’an raised his index finger and waved it. “The plague in Ganquan Village is different from the usual kind. Don’t believe me? Just watch.”

“Watch... watch what?” Ruan Jingchu asked, her brows lifting slightly.

Chen Chang’an lazily blew a whistle and pointed at Song Jiu’s receding figure. “Watch him fall.”

The final note of the word had barely faded in Ruan Jingchu’s ears when Song Jiu, who had gone alone into Ganquan Village, suddenly let out a shriek and toppled from his horse. He rolled seven or eight meters across the ground with a series of thuds, crying out miserably without end.

The sight of his agony made tiny beads of sweat appear in Ruan Jingchu’s palm, and her scalp tingled. “Th-this is terrifying. If we can’t even get inside, how are we supposed to find anyone?”