Ten Thousand Sword Masters

Comparing the two bodies, Zhang Jianyun discovered that both corpses had their eyes open and unable to close. The pupils of both bodies showed signs of fear, indicating that they had clearly seen something strange before them.

"The strange creature must have entered and exited the room, but it didn't leave any trace. That means the strange creature could probably fly and enter and exit the room through the house, which is why it didn't leave any trace," Zhang Jianyun said as he walked to the window of the house.

The windows were open, a common feature in both of the deceased's rooms.

"This is the bridal chamber. Last night was the day Master Zhao entered the bridal chamber. There's no reason to leave the window open," the fat constable said, puzzled.

Zhang Jianyun turned around and said, "Didn't Zhao Tiancai just say that he hasn't consummated his marriage with this concubine yet? In other words, Zhao Tiancai didn't come to this room to enter the bridal chamber last night. The weather has been hot these past two days, and the bride must have felt stuffy staying in the room. It makes sense that she opened the window to let in some fresh air."

"In this weather, even if you're going to your wedding night, you shouldn't close the windows completely. It's strange that a gust of cold wind can easily blow the windows open," Liu Fei said.

Just as the group was analyzing the situation, Jiang Gulin arrived.

"Brother Jiang, what brings you here?"

When the constables saw Jiang Gulin arrive, they all surrounded him.

"I went to plead with Pavilion Master Yang of Cangxi Pavilion to allow me to work with the Nine Star Guards on this case," Jiang Gulin said.

The constables were taken aback upon hearing this and hurriedly asked, "Has Pavilion Master Yang agreed?"

Jiang Gulin raised the fish-patterned knife in his hand and shook it a few times. "After Pavilion Master Yang learned about my connection to this case, he agreed to the matter and even lent me a fish-patterned knife to use during the investigation."

Seeing the fish-patterned knife in Jiang Gulin's hand, the constables all showed expressions of envy.

"Brother Jiang, welcome to join us," Liu Fei called out to Jiang Gulin.

Jiang Gulin approached Zhang Jianyun and Liu Fei, solemnly cupping his hands in greeting, and said, "Please, both of you, help me eliminate the monster and avenge my daughter!"

"No problem." Liu Fei reached out and patted Jiang Gulin on the shoulder.

"We must avenge not only your daughter, but also the deceased before us," Zhang Jianyun said.

Jiang Gulin approached the body, his expression shifting as he looked at the young victim. Finally, he sighed and said, "This is a girl about the same age as Tingting. She died before she even had a chance to experience life."

Just then, a young constable came running towards them.

The young constable ran straight to Zhang Jianyun and Liu Fei. "My lords, Lord Cao sent me to tell you that a woman has died, and the cause of death is also the disappearance of her heart."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jianyun and Liu Fei's eyebrows twitched simultaneously, and they shouted at the same time, "Lead the way."

Immediately, led by the young constable, Zhang Jianyun and Liu Fei ran towards the location of the third victim, with Jiang Gulin following closely behind.

At this moment, Jiang Gulin's chest heaved violently, filled with extreme anger.

The group ran and soon arrived at the residence of the third deceased. Inside the room, besides the two relatives of the deceased who were weeping, there were also Constable Huang Zhong, the coroner of the yamen, and Cao Jin, the mayor of Cangxi Town!

"Greetings, Lord Cao."

Zhang Jianyun and the others greeted Cao Jin.

"Master Yang assigned you two to handle this case. You're all old acquaintances. This is the third victim to die. Take a look," Cao Jin said.

Zhang Jianyun and Liu Fei walked to the body and saw that the deceased was also a young girl in the prime of her life.

"How old was the deceased?" Zhang Jianyun asked.

"My daughter just turned 17 last month, ahhh~" the deceased's mother answered while continuing to sob.

"Lord Cao, the first two victims were both 17 years old. I suggest we quickly gather all 17-year-old girls in the town and protect them," Zhang Jianyun said hastily.

Cao Jin was taken aback upon hearing this. "All three victims were 17 years old?"

Zhang Jianyun and Liu Fei nodded in unison.

Cao Jin frowned and pondered for a moment before ordering, "Huang Zhong, take my verbal order to Registrar Qi and have him lead the yamen runners to gather all the 17-year-old girls in the town to the Cangxi Pavilion."

"Yes." Huang Zhong accepted the order, turned around, and strode away.

"Lord Cao, why didn't you gather these 17-year-old girls together sooner?" The deceased's mother grabbed Cao Jin's trouser leg and cried bitterly. "Why did you have to wait until my Yan'er died to do this?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Jin felt ashamed. Who could have known beforehand that the strange creature would specifically target 17-year-old girls?

Upon seeing this, Liu Fei hurriedly pulled the deceased's mother's hand away, saying, "Strange things are handled by our Nine Star Guard. Lord Cao is an official; he doesn't understand these things."

"You all stay here and examine the body. I'm going to Cangxi Pavilion now to help Pavilion Master Yang protect the 17-year-old girl in town," Cao Jin said, hurriedly leaving the room, afraid of being entangled by the deceased's mother.

"Ahhh~"

The deceased's mother burst into tears.

Looking at the body, Zhang Jianyun noticed that the deceased's eyes were open, and there was the same look of fear in them, and the windows of the house were wide open.

"Now the whole town is in a panic," Liu Fei said helplessly.

"This is the fastest way to reduce deaths," Zhang Jianyun sighed. He was more reluctant to see any more girls die than to plunge the entire town into panic and chaos.

"A flying monster, a monster that can take people's hearts from a distance, a monster that specifically targets 17-year-old girls, what kind of monster is this?" Zhang Jianyun thought to himself, and then fell into deep thought.

"Gather all the 17-year-old girls and protect them. What if the monster takes their hearts right under our noses..." Liu Fei's words trailed off, and he didn't continue.

Zhang Jianyun shook his head. "No, the anomaly wouldn't be that strong."

"I hope so," Liu Fei said leisurely.

"If that monster appears, I will fight to the death, even if it means I die, I will drag it down with me," Jiang Gulin said viciously.

Seeing Jiang Gulin's fierce expression, Zhang Jianyun and Liu Fei exchanged a glance and thought at the same time, "As long as this man doesn't think about dying anymore, that's fine."

"Let's go, let's go to the pavilion too," Zhang Jianyun said.

The group then left the deceased's room and returned to Cangxi Pavilion.

On the way, they saw yamen runners leading 17-year-old girls quickly toward the location of Cangxi Pavilion. These girls looked very relaxed, probably unaware of the deaths that had occurred in the town.

Upon arriving at Cangxi Pavilion, Zhang Jianyun saw Zhou Wei and Peng Zhong nervously guarding the entrance with knives in hand, suggesting they knew what had happened.

"So, have you guys noticed anything strange about that?"

Zhou Wei approached Zhang Jianyun and Liu Fei and asked them in a low voice.

At this moment, Zhang Jianyun also noticed that the 17-year-old girls who had arrived outside the pavilion suddenly became nervous, as if they remembered what Cangxi Pavilion was for.

"We haven't figured out what the strange thing is yet," Liu Fei replied softly.

"Zhang Jianyun~"

Just then, a girl's shout came from behind Zhang Jianyun.