Finest Servant

Chapter 168 Deceiver

Upon observing a touch of melancholy in Qin Xian'er's countenance, Lin Wanrong couldn't help but sigh. This Xian'er, when not constantly engaged in fights and skirmishes, was incredibly gentle and endearing. If only she would change her fiery temperament, it would be such a wonderful thing. Yet, he soon pondered, if she did change, would she still be Qin Xian'er? It was quite a contradiction.

Seeing Lin Wanrong and the demoness from the White Lotus cult whispering together and the severed red thread, the Eldest Miss felt rather disquieted. She blurted out angrily, "You demoness, you are so detestable."

Lin Wanrong sighed, "Eldest Miss, don't blame her. She too is a person with a sad fate."

The Eldest Miss snorted and retorted, "She's your sweetheart, naturally you would take her side."

Surprised, Lin Wanrong looked at Xiao Yuruo and said, "Eldest Miss, I didn't expect you to use such crude words as sweetheart."

The Eldest Miss blushed and retorted softly, "Why do you care? I'll say what I want. This demoness, whatever her enchanting tricks, has managed to bewitch you, the scoundrel."

In his heart, Lin Wanrong thought, ‘Isn't she Qin Xian'er, the most famous courtesan in Jinling? Just an enchantress indeed.’ But he decided to keep this secret to himself.

With Qin Xian'er's support, the situation was vastly different for the White Lotus cult. Qin Xian'er was a master martial artist, worth ten regular fighters. She single-handedly took down several guards, rapidly tilting the balance back in favor of the White Lotus cult.

Seeing Qin Xian'er risking her life in such a manner, Lin Wanrong began to worry. ‘You foolish girl, are you not concerned about your own life? Xu Wei's aggressive approach to dealing with the White Lotus cult was well-known. Why persist like this? Have your fellow disciples hold them off while you escape.’ Among the White Lotus Sect, Lin Wanrong only had affection for Qin Xian'er, as for the others... whatever happens, happens.

The Eldest Miss was witnessing a person being killed for the first time. With a shriek, she hastily turned her head, unable to bear the sight of the bloodshed.

"Quickly turn around, don't look," Lin Wanrong said, rushing to shield her with his body.

The Eldest Miss gave a faint nod, feeling significantly relieved with his body shielding her. However, upon seeing the half-severed red thread still tied around his foot, she couldn't help but tremble slightly. She glanced at Qin Xian'er who was still in the midst of battle, bit her lip, and huffed angrily. Her gaze was so mixed with emotions that even she could not understand.

The number of guards surrounding Xu Wei continued to grow, and several large ships quickly approached. Countless soldiers aimed their arrows at the ship, ready to fire at the signal.

Xu Wei yelled, "White Lotus Cult rebels, lay down your weapons and surrender, I will spare your lives."

As he spoke, several more of the rebels fell. Out of the dozens, only four or five remained to fight. These few, however, fought fearlessly, retreating while resisting, and even made their way toward Lin Wanrong.

The man in the front was the same who had earlier attempted to assassinate Xu Wei. Lin Wanrong recognized him immediately as Lu Zhongping, the youngster whom he had once thoroughly humiliated.

In the midst of the chaos, Lu Zhongping had no time to deal with Lin Wanrong. He shouted, "We are defeated today, flee immediately!" The other four followed, leaping towards the lake in an attempt to escape.

Only Qin Xian'er seemed to have not heard the call. She gave Lin Wanrong a glance, her expression somewhat desolate. Then, with a long, piercing yell, her beautiful figure vaulted into the air, charging directly at the archers.

"Fire the arrows!" At Xu Wei's command, countless arrows shot towards Qin Xian'er who was twirling in mid-air.

Even though Qin Xian'er was an unparalleled martial artist, she was helpless against the dense shower of arrows. This move was like a moth flying into a flame, surely a one-way journey.

She suddenly turned her head, giving Lin Wanrong a smile. Her eyes were filled with helplessness, infatuation, but also, a great deal of hope.

Lin Wanrong saw it all too clearly. ‘Ah, this is bad,’ he thought, ‘this girl is seeking death. Damn it, at such a young age, why not learn something useful instead of learning how to commit suicide?’ Recalling the times when Qin Xian'er risked her life to warn him and saved him several times in the lair of the White Lotus cult, he knew she had deep feelings for him. He couldn't just stand by and watch her suffer.

In his urgency, he had no other plans. He had a sudden inspiration, yelled, "The demon of the White Lotus Cult, prepare to meet your death!" With these words, he rushed forward.

The Eldest Miss saw him running into the shower of arrows and cried out in alarm, "Lin San, no—"

But Lin Wanrong had already rushed to the front, too far to hear her cry. The Eldest Miss wondered, who was this masked woman to make him disregard even his own life? Seeing Lin Wanrong rushing forward without any hesitation, the Eldest Miss clenched her teeth, took a light step, and followed him.

Xu Wei, who had a high opinion of Lin Wanrong, was shocked to see him rushing out. He quickly waved his hand and commanded, "Stop—" The rain of arrows immediately halted.

Qin Xian'er, still in the air, saw Lin Wanrong rush out disregarding his own life. Her eyes filled with tears, but a smile broke across her face. She seemed to suddenly gain strength, her long sword swung swiftly, deflecting the arrows. She quickly landed, standing unharmed at the bow of the ship, directly across from Lin Wanrong.

"We've caught them, we've caught them—" A burst of shouting came, and Lin Wanrong turned back to see the few bandits who had escaped earlier, including Lu Zhongping, were trapped in a huge fishing net. They jumped around on the net, all dressed in black, looking from a distance like a few big black fish.

A faint smile appeared on Xu Wei's face. Lin Wanrong thought, ‘this old man has good tactics.’ Judging by the current situation, this must have been his plan all along. The reputation of Xu Wenchang was indeed well-deserved. He never had a good impression of the White Lotus cult, so seeing the people in the net made him happy. However, with Xu Wei's tactics, he wouldn't let Qin Xian'er off easily, which made him worry.

"Little brother Lin, come back quickly," Xu Wei, seeing Lin Wanrong so close to the last bandit of the White Lotus cult, called out anxiously.

Lin Wanrong glanced at Qin Xian'er and said softly, "Why are you so desperate, even willing to risk your life?"

Qin Xian'er's beautiful eyes welled up with tears, yet a smile appeared on her face. "I wanted to see if I was in your heart, to see if you would worry about me. If you care about me, you would save me. If I don't matter to you, then living in this world is no longer interesting to me. It would be better to die."

‘God, this girl has more character than I do,’ thought Lin Wanrong. ‘All this reckless behavior, only to test me, to see if I would save her. Darn it, is it worth risking your life for such a trivial matter? This is just too much.’

"Do you know now?" Lin Wanrong asked, half amused and half annoyed. Dealing with a woman as gentle yet stubborn as Qin Xian'er left him feeling quite helpless.

"I treat you as you treat me," Qin Xian'er replied with a sweet smile. Even through the light veil, he could sense her radiant smile. Seeing Lin Wanrong rush into the rain of arrows, she had felt relieved. Her heartfelt words came naturally.

‘It's over, it's over. The words of this girl moved me greatly. What can I do, her charm is just too irresistible.’

Qin Xian'er's eyes were filled with tenderness as she stared at him. If they weren't surrounded by people, she might have already thrown herself into his arms. They were whispering to each other in front of everyone, but to the outsiders, they were still enemies. The thrill of it was like having a secret affair.

At this moment, apart from feeling touched, Lin Wanrong also felt a strange sense of joy. Having such a girl who cares about you, gets a little jealous from time to time, can be quite appealing to a man. Of course, it would be even better if she only gets jealous and doesn't kill. Men's thoughts can be so cheap.

"Little brother Lin, don't risk your life. Come back quickly," Xu Wei called out loudly. The Eldest Miss Xiao had been moving slowly and wanted to follow Lin San, but she was immediately stopped by Xu Wei's guards.

‘Ah, this is not the time for romance.’ Lin Wanrong thought. Now that Lu Zhongping and his companions were caught by Xu Wei, the priority was to find a way to help Xian'er escape.

Xu Wei's words reminded him. He winked at Qin Xian'er and shouted, "The demon of the White Lotus cult, you plundered our Xiao family in the past, today I won't spare you."

Upon hearing this, Qin Xian'er let out a soft giggle. Quickly, she pulled a stern face to play along, "If you want to fight, then fight. Why so much talk?" After saying this, she thrust her long sword towards Lin Wanrong, but her aim was miles off.

Lin Wanrong quickly sidestepped, retreating to stand at the edge of the ship.

Eldest Miss Xiao knew what was going on. These two were definitely putting on a show. How could that woman harm Lin San when she was so infatuated with him? "You liar," Eldest Miss Xiao muttered under her breath, stamping her foot in frustration.

"Little brother Lin, do not engage! Come back quickly!" Xu Wei urgently shouted.

But his warning came a moment too late. The last remaining bandit of the White Lotus cult had swiftly closed the distance to Lin San. With a swift move, she wrapped her arms around Lin San. Lin San let out a startled shout as they both plummeted into the lake.

"Where is the felt net?" Xu Wei hurried to the edge of the boat and yelled. The felt net, initially prepared for the capture, had already been used to arrest the other White Lotus cult bandits. Where could they find it now? Seeing the soldiers about to shoot arrows into the water, Xu Wei quickly waved them off, "No!"

Eldest Miss Xiao saw the White Lotus demoness nestled in Lin San's arms as they fell into the water together. It didn't look like a hostage situation, but rather an intimate moment. "Liars, all liars," she muttered through gritted teeth, her heart filled with resentment.

However, seeing Lin San fall into the water still triggered an involuntary surge of concern in her heart. ‘This scoundrel,’ she wondered, ‘does he even know how to swim? And if he doesn't... did he risk his life just for her?’

The more Eldest Miss Xiao thought about it, the more frightened she became. She focused her gaze on the lake, scanning the calm water for any signs of the two. But the surface was serene, revealing no trace of their figures.

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