I, Wang Ha, the Three Red Unparalleled Assassin

"Give them a push from behind..."

Then the girl felt a sudden pain in the back of her neck, her vision went black, her body went limp for no reason, and she knew nothing more.

After recalling the events and understanding the whole story, Kazami Yuuka showed a brief moment of hesitation and surprise, raising her hand to touch her still slightly sore neck.

"I was actually knocked unconscious? This is probably the worst defeat I've ever suffered in a fight. I was practically powerless to fight back."

Yuuka Kazami stood up from the sunflower carpet and casually brushed the dust off her plaid dress.

With her red-glowing eyes scanning the surroundings, the girl released her demonic power to carefully sense the sunflower field, but found no trace of the Old Man of the Mountain.

"Has he already left? That unknown powerful figure with the skull mask."

"It seems that it wasn't a creature hired by humans specifically to subdue me. Otherwise, even if they didn't kill me, they wouldn't have given up so easily."

"Moreover, even the underworld officials and gods don't possess that pure, ominous power of death. It truly makes me curious and excited!"

After a long absence of a worthy challenger and surpasser, Kazami Yuuka, upon experiencing such a crushing defeat, showed no signs of learning from her experience. Instead, she focused all her attention on how to defeat the old man of the mountain next time.

Clenching her fists, Yuuka Kazami gazed at the distant horizon where heaven and earth met, her passionate fighting spirit rising high, seemingly enough to pierce the clouds.

"I can't keep being so lazy. The world is so big, there must be many hidden strong people out there."

"And my goal, from beginning to end, has always been: to be the strongest!!"

The old man of the mountain, who knocked Yuuka Kazami unconscious with a single blow and then left without a trace, finally encountered human habitation a few days later.

Driving the Mountain Elder with its scent concealed, they brazenly approached the small village intending to investigate, but the village was inhabited by poor people struggling at the bottom of society, and the information they could obtain was extremely limited.

Therefore, the old man of the mountain came to Heian-kyo again, and swaggered into several seemingly decent mansions before walking around them.

He finally figured out where he was and what era he was in: the Eastern Country, which was still in the middle to late Asuka period.

Based on the timeline of human history, it was around 650 AD.

Meanwhile, across the sea, the Tang Dynasty had just completed a power transition. Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi took the baton from his father, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin, and was about to work diligently to expand the Tang Dynasty's territory to its zenith.

After wandering around Heian-kyo for a few more days, the quiet-loving old man of the mountain quietly left Heian-kyo and aimlessly came to a village with about a hundred people living by the mountains and water.

Behind this village, on the mountain, lies a lush and secluded bamboo forest, where a terrifying monster dwells, occasionally descending the mountain to devour people.

The villagers are less like people who have lived here for generations, and more like food kept here by an unknown great monster.

That night, the loud and melodious sound of the evening bell echoed in the air, and the awakened villagers huddled in the corners of their homes, bewildered and praying for divine protection.

As the echoes of the bell faded, the villagers gathered in twos and threes and found that nothing particularly strange had happened, taking it all as a false alarm.

From then on, the villagers never saw the man-eating monster again, but often encountered a burly old man who came down from the mountain to buy things in the village.

The old man called himself Suzuki Satoru, a swordsman who had traveled extensively before choosing to retire to the mountains and forests, and temporarily planned to settle down in the bamboo forest.

In this ancient era, where most people were nameless and faceless, villagers preferred to call the elderly "Old Mountain Man".

Although people often see the old man, no one can clearly remember his specific appearance. Even if they were talking face to face one second, their memory becomes blurry the next second after they part ways.

This undoubtedly adds another layer of mystery to the suddenly appearing, enigmatic old man.

But ever since the old man settled in the bamboo forest, the villagers have found that no monsters have bothered the village anymore.

Every few days, they would hear a loud bell ringing from somewhere, solemn and dignified, which made them spontaneously worship in the direction of the bamboo forest when the bell rang.

The legend of the old man of the mountain was spread by word of mouth among the villagers, and everyone living in Heian-kyo heard of it.

In a bamboo forest hundreds of miles away from Heian-kyo, lived a reclusive swordsman named Old Mountain Hermit, whose strength was so great that he could kill a great demon single-handedly.

Time flies, and decades have passed in the blink of an eye. The wheels of history have turned to the early Nara period.

Deep within a serene bamboo forest stands a bamboo house enclosed by a fence, and in the center of its courtyard, a large, jet-black sword stained with blood is stuck in the ground.

The simple bamboo house is furnished with nothing but everyday furniture and utensils such as chairs, bowls, and chopsticks. There are no other useless luxuries. The only decoration is a skull mask hanging on the wall.

Not far from the bamboo house, by the stream, sat an old man fishing with a fishing rod.

He wore a bamboo hat, his snow-white, half-length hair cascading down his back, his face without a single wrinkle, and his deep blue eyes fixed on the fishing float on the water.

"The time of destiny has come..."

The moment the fish took the bait, the old man of the mountain lifted the rod and flung the fish into the air. With a glare, ghostly fire appeared out of nowhere and enveloped the freshly caught fish.

When the big fish fell into the hands of the old man of the mountain, it had already become a delicious grilled fish cooked to perfection.

Although the food burned by the Netherfire contained enough death energy to kill ordinary people, the Old Man of the Mountain had no need to care about it.

For more than a decade since he came into this world, the old man of the mountain had lived a life no different from that of ordinary people, and he missed this long-lost simple daily routine.

Sitting by the river, listening to the babbling water, the old man slowly finished his lunch, picked up his fishing rod, and began his journey home.

Meanwhile, on the path from the river to the bamboo house, a slender bamboo stalk emitted a golden light, exuding an incredibly strong life force.

Chapter Ninety-Two: Sinners of Eternity and Fleeting Moment

"Why···"

"Is this the ground? The legendary place filled with filth?"

"If you can't kill me, then exile me. Perhaps this is the fate that sinners who break taboos deserve..."

Kaguya Houraisan sighed to herself, looking at the pitch-black darkness before her, feeling a sense of unease and immense worry about her unknown future.

The story takes us back several decades to the Moon Capital, a place even more deserted than before.

The Moon Capital, which suddenly lost more than half of its population at the sound of the evening bell, was severely damaged and could not recover in a short time.

Despite the fact that the leadership team, headed by Tsukiyo Mitsuki, had issued a series of orders after discussions, such as banning condom production, banning abortions, and rewarding individuals who made outstanding contributions, all of which were conducive to promoting rapid population growth.

Meanwhile, Eirin Yagokoro also began developing various highly effective drugs that could increase the chances of conception and protect the pregnancy, while minimizing the side effects as much as possible.

At least, the medication will certainly not affect the fetus after it is taken, but only God knows what kind of treatment the mother will suffer.

However, since the population growth rate of the Moon People was already ridiculously low, the Moonlit King's government's strong policy of encouraging childbirth did not have any obvious effect in the short term.

The reason why the highly developed Lunar Capital did not fall into the predicament of negative population growth is that no one has ever died in Gadu.

Having spent his days sitting in the main hall, rubbing his head in frustration, Tsukiyo no Mikoto had no interest in going into seclusion to try and break free from the shackles of the gods. He was practically ready to use his authority to force all the Moon People to go home, lock themselves in their rooms, and start making babies every day.

In this time of rebuilding and when important figures are busy to the point of exhaustion, perhaps the happiest person is Kaguya Houraisan, the Moon Princess.

Because Eirin Yagokoro was busy making medicine every day, the boring and tedious classes were canceled.

Although Yagokoro Eirin also gave Watatsuki Yorihime, Watatsuki Toyohime, and Houraisan Kaguya a mountain of homework, and gave them an ultimatum that they would have to submit it for inspection later.

But the girl said she would rather do flower arranging, study tea ceremony or chess, or even needlework and embroidery than touch those tattered books full of classical Chinese that people can only half understand.

As for Kaguya Houraisan's rebellious and stubborn nature, the consequence was that when Eirin Yagokoro resumed her job of teaching the Moon Princesses a few years later, she was mercilessly given a beating with a cane and forced to stay behind for the dreaded after-school tutoring.

Inside Eirin Yagokoro's residence, Kaguya Houraisan wrote with her right hand while blowing on her left hand, which was bright red from being beaten, and muttered to herself:

"Yonglin has become increasingly cruel and monstrous lately. She really has the heart to do such a thing. She's beaten me up like this. Could it be that she's going through menopause?"

"Hmm? Princess Kaguya, did you just say something?"

Eirin Yagokoro emerged from the room where medicine was being prepared, a smile playing on her lips as she gazed at Kaguya Houraisan, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"No, it's nothing. It's just that these things are so boring. What's the point of learning them? Anyway, we're all immortal beings, and it'll never be my turn to lead the Lunar Capital."

Kaguya Houraisan hurriedly changed the subject, glancing cautiously at Eirin Yagokoro, unsure whether she had heard her reckless words.

"Princess, you can't have such thoughts. Do you really want to be a worthless, useless person in the future? Or just a pretty vase with a beautiful appearance?"

Eirin Yagokoro strolled over to Kaguya Houraisan's small table, looking down at the girl kneeling on the ground. Just as she was about to begin a long lecture, a knock sounded on the door.

"Sage, Lord Tsukiyo requests your presence in the main hall now, as there are important matters to discuss."

"Okay, I'll be there soon."

After dismissing the soldier responsible for delivering the message, Eirin Yagokoro turned her gaze back to Kaguya Houraisan.

"Princess Kaguya, please continue to focus on your studies here. Before I return, you should at least memorize and write this article fluently!"

"Okay, okay, Teacher Yonglin, you can go without worry."

Kaguya Houraisan nodded her little head, watching Eirin Yagokoro's figure gradually disappear into the distance, then threw down her pen and fell backward to the ground.

"Ugh, I'm so tired. I wish I could stay in my room all day, drinking tea and playing games."

"By the way, what has Eirin been busy with lately? If it's just making some drugs that are not suitable for children, it shouldn't take her so much effort."

As Kaguya Houraisan spoke, she glanced at the half-open laboratory door, where Eirin Yagokoro usually researched drugs. It seemed that no one else had ever been inside except for herself.

Now that such a great opportunity is presented to her, how could Kaguya Houraisan, whose curiosity is naturally strong, give up this once-in-a-millennium chance?

Meanwhile, Yagokoro Eirin, who had been summoned, arrived at the main hall of the Lunar Capital and saw Tsukiyo Mikoto still holding his head with his hand.

Although she wanted to laugh every time she saw the other person's comical appearance, Yagokoro Eirin, who had long since mastered the art of keeping her emotions hidden, managed to suppress the urge.

The other Moon Sages arrived in the main hall one after another after Eirin Yagokoro. Once all the gods who held power and the high-ranking members of the Moon People were present, the meeting officially began.

Eirin Yagokoro then realized that she seemed to have forgotten to lock the door to her laboratory when she hurriedly left, but she could not leave the meeting midway through since it had already started.

So she put the matter out of her mind for the time being, and after thinking about the medicine she had just made after a long time, she muttered to herself.

"Although it has been hundreds of years since it was made, the craftsmanship is still as good as ever! The elixir of immortality from Penglai."

(Note: Originally, Kaguya had Eirin create it on a whim, but the plot has been modified here. Also, Chang'e and Xu Fu had both taken the elixir of immortality earlier.)

Kaguya Houraisan crept into the laboratory, looking around but not touching the various bottles and jars with labels on them or the tools and machines whose purpose she didn't know.

"Huh? What's this? Is it a new drug that Eirin made?"

Kaguya Houraisan picked up a pure white jade bottle that Eirin Yagokoro had placed on her workbench and curiously uncorked it.

An indescribable medicinal fragrance wafted out of the bottle, as if just a few breaths would make one feel energetic and full of vitality.

The emerald green light illuminated the dim laboratory, allowing Kaguya Houraisan to see the three pills inside the bottle.

"How beautiful! Is this the elixir of immortality from Penglai? Its effect is to grant the user true eternal life."

After pouring out a pill, Kaguya Houraisan turned the bottle over and saw the note attached to it, from which she learned all the relevant instructions.

"It seems to have no side effects, and this medicine must be very expensive..."

Recalling the grudge from the bamboo shoot and pork incident earlier that day, on a whim, Kaguya of Houraisan angrily stuffed the Hourai Medicine into her mouth, making an important choice at the crossroads of fate.

After finishing her crime, Kaguya Houraisan stuffed the medicine bottle back into its place and then ran back to the table to continue slacking off until Eirin Yagokoro returned, at which point she pretended to be studying diligently.

"A medicine to dispel the power of death? It's not difficult, but to dispel that level of death power is quite a challenge."