Volume One: The Youngest Among Three Hundred Chapter Eight: The Clash

Unable to fly—truly an irrefutable excuse. With a physique like this, even getting onto a kang bed is a struggle. Chen Chang’an stopped wasting words, tapping the ground ahead with his bamboo cane. Relying on the original host’s years of blindness, he sensed his way forward into Sanyuan Temple.

Whether he could safely bring back Princess Changning was a matter of life and death. He couldn’t rest easy handing over the operation entirely; he had to oversee it himself.

What if Li Shu and Hua Mulan came running out in a moment, faces ashen, declaring the rescue a failure—or worse, carried out a lifeless Princess Changning? Then all his efforts would have been for nothing!

Not that the princess herself would be wasted—just the case...

…

Behind Sanyuan Temple stood a crooked-necked tree, its lush canopy shading a dry well below. Following the winding, twisting tunnel at the well’s bottom led to a natural cavern.

At this moment inside the cave, a figure dressed in a long, narrow black robe sat, each wrist encased in razor-sharp steel talons. His face was hidden behind a bronze beast mask. Idly cracking sunflower seeds, he kept his eyes on the woman opposite him.

That woman was none other than the missing Princess Changning.

Having just finished a bowl of spicy noodles brought by her captors, she cleaned her teeth with a slender pick—utterly at ease, showing not the slightest sign of distress. There was nothing regal or haughty about her; her every gesture was grounded and natural.

After flicking away the toothpick, Princess Changning clapped her hands and called out, “Hey, thief, when exactly are you letting me go?”

The beast-masked man tossed a blue-covered square book onto the table, his voice cold and shrill: “I told you—when you tell me how to make the writing appear on this record, I’ll let you go.”

Princess Changning tugged at the corners of her mouth, sticking out her tongue and mumbling, “I told you, I don’t know. I really don’t know. What’s this book for, anyway? Does it list good food?”

The masked man’s breath rasped: “Don’t play dumb. If I could get this book, I know the inside story. With your temperament, Princess Changning, you’d never come here just to offer incense and fulfill a vow.”

“‘Fulfilling a vow’ was just a pretext. You came to Sanyuan Temple to retrieve this record your brother Zhao Yantai left behind, didn’t you? Just tell me how to reveal the writing on its blank pages, and you’re free.”

A sly smile curled at the corner of Princess Changning’s lips, her eyes twinkling: “Oh my, you’re a strange one. If it’s just blank pages, where would the writing come from? Silly, silly! The biggest fool in Granny Wang’s shed!”

Muttering to herself, she picked up a twig and drew four or five lines on the ground, then hopped along them with her skirts lifted, leaving the “kidnapper” fuming at the stone table.

The beast-masked man’s teeth ached with frustration. He’d never seen anyone act so carefree and fearless after being captured.

Nearby, a woman in Western attire, her hair braided into thin plaits, snapped, “Zhao Changning, I advise you to cooperate—or you’ll suffer for it.”

The beast-masked man’s tone darkened as well: “Princess Changning, this is the third day. If you don’t speak, I’ll carve up that pretty face of yours.”

As he uttered the last word, the steel talons were already poised at her delicate cheek, ready to strike.

“Ah!”

Princess Changning’s heart skipped a beat. Inwardly, she cursed the hapless fools of the court for not rescuing her yet, but outwardly she remained calm: “Oh please, big brother, no need for violence. You just want to see some writing on the record, right? Fine, I’ll show you. Bring me a brush.”

The beast-masked man’s eyes gleamed with triumph. “Now you’re being sensible. Someone—bring brush and ink!”

Soon, a black-clad, hooded underling arrived with the writing tools. Princess Changning took up the brush, opened to the first page, and with swift, practiced strokes, wrote the words “bastard” across it.

She tossed the brush aside, clapped her hands, and grinned, “There you go. Now you can see writing on the page.”

“How dare you mock me!” The beast-masked man’s talons glinted with murderous chill. “We’re not allowed to kill you, but nothing forbids us from doing other things.”

With a flash of steel, his claws slashed down, tearing open the front of her dress and exposing her to the cave’s leering shadows.

He sneered, “Brothers, it’s been a long time since you’ve touched a woman, hasn’t it? And now—a princess! Enjoy her well.”

“Thank you, sir!”

“Hahaha! Who’d have thought we’d get a chance to play with a princess? Don’t worry, we’ll serve her well.”

Four or five masked, black-clad men approached, eyes burning with primal hunger, saliva soaking their cloth masks.

“What are you doing? Stay back! I’m a princess—if you dare touch me, your whole families will be executed! Don’t come any closer!”

No matter how carefree and fearless Princess Changning usually was, she couldn’t stop herself from crying out in terror. After all, any woman would fear such a fate.

Behind his mask, the beast-masked man’s face twisted with satisfaction at her panic and despair. He spoke icily, “Zhao Changning, it’s not too late to answer my question.”

Princess Changning hugged her head and squeezed her eyes shut, shouting with all her stubbornness, “I don’t know! I don’t know! You’re a bastard—a villain!”

Her obstinacy revealed the steel of royal pride.

“In that case!” The beast-masked man waved his hand. “Treat her well.”

The masked underlings, already eager, lunged at the princess, their eyes wild with feverish anticipation.

Suddenly—

“Whoosh!”

“Whoosh, whoosh!”

“Splurt!”

“Ah!”

Just as their hands touched Princess Changning, a series of sharp, whistling sounds cut through the air. In a flash, coins pierced flesh and bone, blood spraying as several men dropped lifeless to the ground.

As fate would have it, those who weren’t meant to taste swan’s flesh shouldn’t covet it—such a miserable end.

The woman from the Western regions reacted first, whipping a silver lash from her sleeve, sending killing intent surging in all directions. Her robe billowed, her gaze wary.

The remaining masked men quickly formed a human wall, crossbows raised and aimed at the cave entrance.

The beast-masked man was the slowest to react. Only when he heard unfamiliar footsteps did he turn.

Standing at the entrance were Hua Mulan, Li Shu, and behind them, over ninety soldiers of the three judicial offices. The beast-masked man’s voice quivered with disbelief: “You? Impossible!”

“How did you find this place? My plan was flawless!”

Li Shu lifted his chin, smug. “Your petty tricks are nothing before me, just—”

He stopped short. It was Chen Chang’an who had told them Princess Changning was at the bottom of Sanyuan Temple’s dry well. But as for how he’d figured it out? Li Shu had no idea.

That damned brat—couldn’t he be more specific? Having his grandstanding interrupted was the worst. Coughing awkwardly into his sleeve, Li Shu huffed, “That’s none of your business!”

The beast-masked man’s face twitched.

Just then, Chen Chang’an, leaning on his bamboo cane, groped his way to the front of the crowd. He sighed quietly—so ignorant, hopelessly so.

Only the wise can unlock the doubts in your heart and receive the baptism of divine wisdom.

He struck a pose, his clouded, sightless eyes blinking toward the beast-masked man. Mimicking the classic gesture of adjusting his glasses, he intoned with grave authority, “Allow me to give you the answer!”

“Out of the way!” Hua Mulan shoved him aside before the words had faded. Her slim, razor-sharp dagger flashed from her hip, arching like a rainbow across the night sky.

In a heartbeat, she was airborne, blade poised above the beast-masked man’s head, and brought it crashing down with a shout:

“Villain! You dare kidnap the princess? Prepare to die!”