Water Drop, the Last Person to See Master Wenyuan

Although Prince Nolan and Serena had come up with countless explanations for Master Wenyuan’s actions, neither of them truly believed that he would calmly wave away his guards and expose himself to danger.

There was clearly more to the story, but it couldn’t be spoken aloud. First, it would damage Master Wenyuan’s reputation; second, it would make Prince Nolan look like he was shirking responsibility.

With unspoken agreement, Prince Nolan and Serena pressed the matter down and brought Left Bank to examine Master Wenyuan’s body.

Master Wenyuan’s corpse had been frozen with ice and hadn’t yet decayed. Left Bank inspected the fatal wound and declared with certainty, “Master Wenyuan died from Water Drop.”

“Water Drop? What’s that?” Serena asked.

“It’s a hidden‑weapon technique. When it enters the body, it’s like a drop of water hitting paper—spreading out…” To make it clearer, Left Bank demonstrated using actual drops of water.

He let the water drop fall onto the tabletop, where it splashed outward—just like the wound on Master Wenyuan.

“With this kind of hidden weapon, you don’t need to get close—just aim and strike. The attacker definitely wasn’t standing near Master Wenyuan.” Left Bank flicked another drop at the wall; the effect was the same.

“Ah, I remember now—Master once said there’s someone who’s especially skilled at Water Drop!” Beanie suddenly jumped up, face excited. “Serena, I can help you find the killer!”

Left Bank gave Beanie a cool glance and cut in, “You mean Three-Inch, right?”

“Yes, yes, that’s him! Master said his Water Drop skill is nearly supernatural—almost no one in the Assassin Alliance can match him. He can kill from a hundred meters away.” Beanie nodded vigorously. Only after he spoke did he realize Left Bank had stolen his thunder, and he cursed, “Damn you, Left Bank, I thought of it first! You totally stole my answer!”

…Left Bank merely glanced at Beanie, saying nothing. Serena soothed him gently until he calmed down. Then Prince Nolan asked, “Who exactly is Three-Inch?”

“A dwarf less than three feet tall, but a big name in the Assassin Alliance.” Seeing the wound, Left Bank was certain—the killer was Three-Inch.

Three feet is about one meter, so the suspect is an adult, but not adult-sized.

“I can’t believe we missed this possibility. We kept looking for adults and forgot there are dwarfs in this world.” Serena pressed her forehead in frustration.

So embarrassing, so shameful. If her senior sister found out, she’d probably kill her with a scalpel.

Never overlook any possibility! Seriously…

“It’s a special case—missing it is understandable.” Prince Nolan offered a bit of comfort. Serena sniffed and nodded.

“Let’s go catch him before things get more complicated.” Serena knew she wasn’t cut out for detective work; after a moment of regret, she let it go.

“I’ll go with you. That guy’s sly and strong—he always pretends to be a child. If he escapes into a crowd, he’ll be impossible to find.” A person who looked like a child in a crowd had no killing aura; most people would never suspect him.

No one was getting any sleep tonight. To be safe, Prince Nolan personally led a team to search for the presence of that special 'child.'

In this city, the staff knew exactly who lived in every house and which ruined temples sheltered outsiders. As soon as Prince Nolan described Three-Inch’s traits, they pinpointed several ruined temples.

“Outsiders, whether children or adults, all temporarily stay here.”

“Left Bank, Beanie, each of you take a team to these two places.” Prince Nolan laid out the map, marking Left Bank and Beanie’s destinations. The other two places, he would handle himself.

“Got it!” Beanie thumped his chest in promise. Prince Nolan shot him a cold look, then decided to have an aide go with Beanie.

He really didn’t trust Beanie’s sense of direction.

Mobilizing troops in the dead of night caused a stir. Yana Zhan and Princess Vivian of Southlyn were jolted awake and rushed to find Serena.

“Serena, what happened?” Yana’s pale face was flushed from hurrying; Princess Vivian followed behind, expression calm and silent.

Since Master Wenyuan’s death, Princess Vivian had barely spoken, seeming even more grief-stricken than Yana, his real daughter.

Serena glanced at them both, then calmly looked away. “We’ve found the killer. Prince Nolan is leading the team to catch him.”

“You’ve found the killer?” Princess Vivian was even more agitated than Yana. Serena glanced up and happened to notice Vivian’s fingers moving oddly.

Recalling Left Bank’s earlier warning, Serena gave Princess Vivian a meaningful look. She remembered that the day before entering Eastlyn territory, Vivian had visited Master Wenyuan.

Of course, as Master Wenyuan’s half-disciple, it was normal for Vivian to visit him. But in times like these, Serena refused to overlook any detail.

Serena didn’t want to spook Vivian, so she avoided staring and simply explained the situation to Yana. To test Vivian, Serena deliberately mentioned Three-Inch.

Vivian had been pretending to stay calm, but now she was visibly restless, trying several times to get up—only to be ignored by Serena.

The three of them sat for half an hour. Vivian hinted to Yana that it was getting late and they should leave, but Serena said, “Yana, don’t you want to see your father’s killer the moment he’s caught?”

At that, no matter how Vivian tried to persuade her, Yana refused to go. Vivian grew anxious but didn’t dare show it, so she just stared at her teacup—unaware that her behavior only made her more suspicious.

Serena grew more certain that Vivian was involved in Master Wenyuan’s death. She silently resolved to have Prince Nolan investigate Vivian’s recent actions.

Even if she wasn’t the killer, she was an accomplice.

Time crept by. All three grew impatient—Yana kept craning her neck to look outside, but Serena had sent her servants to a side room, so no one could go out and ask for news.

An hour later, there was finally movement outside. A servant came to report: “Miss, His Highness is back and asks you to bring your medicine chest.”

“Is His Highness hurt?” Serena sprang up, forgetting to ask if the killer had been caught.

“His Highness isn’t hurt—someone else is.” The servant didn’t know who; he just knew Prince Nolan wasn’t bleeding.

Relieved to hear Prince Nolan was safe, Serena let out a silent sigh of relief, though her face showed nothing. She told Yana and Vivian, then went to fetch her medicine chest.

“I’ll go with you.” Yana was desperate to see her father’s killer, unconcerned that it was late and there were men outside.

Serena nodded and told Yana to wait for her.

Serena jogged back to her room, grabbed the medicine chest, and strode outside. Her pace was far too brisk for a pampered girl like Yana, but Yana was determined—she ran after Serena, panting, but never asked her to slow down.

Before, with her father alive, Yana never had to work as hard as Serena. Now, things had changed…

She and Serena were the same now: no father, no mother, no brothers. With no one left to protect her, she had to be strong—or she’d become just another pawn in a family marriage.