Finest Servant

Chapter 370 Avant-Garde Thoughts

Du Xiuyuan and Lin Wanrong hurriedly looked forward, only to see an old man standing at the entrance, glancing left and right before he picked up the knocker and tapped lightly on the door.

"The contact has arrived." Xu Zhen and Du Xiuyuan's expressions changed simultaneously, looking back at Lin Wanrong for guidance, wondering if they should act at once.

"Wait and see," Lin Wanrong said calmly, shaking his head. "This matter is not so simple, Brother Du. If you were to meet with these Dongyin people, would you come rushing in so recklessly?"

"No, I would at least probe first." Du Xiuyuan suddenly realized. "General Lin, are you saying this is merely a test? Is it possible that the person who has come is not the one we're waiting for?"

"Big fish are not so easily hooked," Lin Wanrong chuckled. "Let's wait a little longer. Save the best for last."

As they spoke, the old man knocked at the door for a long time, but there was no movement inside the house. He looked at the door with confusion, then turned to leave. Xu Zhen and Du Xiuyuan instantly became anxious. Speaking of a test was just speculation. If this man were the real deal and they let him go, would it not be a wasted effort?

Lin Wanrong slowly shook his head and softly said, "Keep watching." Before his words fell, the old man had reached the corner when suddenly, someone darted out from the alley to stop him, whispered a few words, and threw a silver piece to him. The old man departed happily.

Lin Wanrong heaved a sigh of relief. "Damn, the cunning rabbit has three burrows. Luckily, I'm no simpleton either." Du Xiuyuan and Xu Zhen were astonished. General Lin's tactics were truly extraordinary. If they had rushed out earlier, the real target might have escaped. They looked at General Lin admiringly. In a battle of wits, they had never seen anyone who could outmatch him.

A man in fine clothes emerged from the alley, a middle-aged man with a small mustache, looking like a steward of some wealthy household. He would stop every three steps, look back every five, constantly glancing around with high vigilance. Seeing no movement, he carefully stomped to the door, turned his back, and pulled the knocker, knocking three long times and two short ones. After a brief wait, the door creaked open, and the steward-like middle-aged man quickly looked around once more before darting into the yard.

"We've been waiting for this," Xu Zhen exclaimed excitedly, slapping his hand. "General Lin, when do we make our move?"

"There's no rush," Lin Wanrong hummed, shaking his head. "These are still not the big fish, merely small shrimps. Let's wait for them to meet first, and then we'll make our plans."

General Lin left no strategy unconsidered, as Du Xiuyuan and Xu Zhen witnessed firsthand. Naturally, they had no objections to his words. The three waited patiently for a while, and although the steward didn't reappear, they had already proven that someone was in the house, so they were no longer anxious.

Lin Wanrong took out a small white tube, slightly longer and thicker than a finger, from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and struck a match. After a flash of light and smoke, strands of green smoke rose, and Mr. Lin exhaled a pale blue cloud, sighing contentedly.

Xu Zhen and Du Xiuyuan watched in amazement, wondering what this cloud-swallowing, fog-exhaling device was, and why Lin Wanrong seemed to enjoy it so much. Xu Zhen swallowed hard and said, "General, could this be some new invention by Brother Li Sheng? There's both light and fire."

Lin Wanrong laughed heartily, exclaiming, "This is not a weapon; this is the tobacco my wife rolled for me. It's a fine thing indeed. As our great nation strides towards the world, this tobacco can act as the vanguard. It's just a pity—"

"A pity? What?" Du Xiuyuan asked hurriedly. Since Master Lin, a man of profound knowledge, said that tobacco was good, it must indeed be good.

"A pity that such a fine thing grows in the Turkic lands," Lin Wanrong sighed deeply, taking a puff with a face filled with regret.

"The Turkic lands?" Xu Zhen was young and easily fooled by Master Lin. He snorted and said, "Then let's attack the Turkic lands and take this tobacco back. Brother Du, General Lin, I have to tell you, I've always been perplexed. Our great nation is vast, our people intelligent, yet why do we always suffer foreign aggression? Why are the nomads always bullying us? Why can't we bully them instead? Honored sirs, don't laugh at me, but I have a dream of planting our flags across the nomads' lands, where our soldiers can loot and plunder without restraint!"

Lin Wanrong drew a sharp breath, thinking that the youth had indeed spoken the words he himself had wanted to but dared not say. Ah, such a wicked thought!

Du Xiuyuan was probably hearing such an idea for the first time. He was shocked at first, but on reflection, had to admit that Xu Zhen had a point. Why couldn't they be the aggressors? Had they become accustomed to being oppressed?

Lin Wanrong patted Xu Zhen's shoulder sentimentally, laughing, "Little Xu, I must say, your thinking is incredibly avant-garde, almost as much as mine. Peace and development are the eternal themes of this world, but local wars and conflicts are inevitable. When you are doing whatever you want in the nomads’ lands, all the people of our great nation will take comfort in you, heh heh—"

The three burst into laughter, feeling a surge of primal energy. They knew that repaying evil with evil might be wrong, but they would never return evil with kindness. Peace was not something to be merely spoken about; it was forged in blood and fire.

Master Lin passed the rolled tobacco to the others, and they choked and coughed as they tried it, tasting a mix of bitterness and a sense of extraordinary satisfaction, grabbing and puffing a couple more times. Master Lin watched them with a guilty expression, lamenting, ‘I have sinned. This must be the birth of a new generation of smokers.’

After some merry-making, Lin Wanrong waved his hand, and the others stopped their banter. They saw the 'master' cautiously peering out and swiftly stepping through the gate, heading into the crowd.

Lin Wanrong chuckled, "Brother Du, have some nimble fellows follow him. Remember, be cautious and don't startle him. Damn, this master can speak the language of the barbarians. How many families in the capital can raise such a servant, heh heh—"

He did not say it outright, but Du Xiuyuan sniffed something from his words, falling silent for a moment, "We must indeed be careful; this is not a game. Xu Zhen, you go personally."

Lin Wanrong nodded, recognizing Xu Zhen's cleverness and loyalty. Indeed, he was a fine fellow, although his ideas were slightly ahead of their time, which was just to General Lin's taste.

"General, what shall we do next? How shall we deal with the Dongyin people inside the house?" Du Xiuyuan quietly asked after Xu Zhen had left.

Lin chuckled and said, "Brother Du, how many men have you brought?"

Du Xiuyuan smiled and replied, "Around here, perhaps more than a hundred. Outside the west gate, there are also two squads of a thousand men each, plus three cannons, and a hundred archers from the Divine Machine Unit."

‘My goodness, this Du Xiuyuan really doesn't mess around. He had arranged nearly three thousand men, along with cannons for support. I love this kind of setup; bullying people is so delightful!’ Lin Wanrong chuckled sinisterly, "Excellent, excellent. Have your men surround this house, and they must act quietly. Let these ninjas stay inside without daring to move. Don't need too many men, just arrange two thousand, and the three cannons will suffice. Sigh, I can't really bully people, Brother Du. Do you think I'm quite generous?"

"Generous, indeed generous," Du Xiuyuan laughed heartily. Being around General Lin, his own shamelessness had unwittingly thickened as well.

Once Du Xiuyuan had left to make the arrangements, General Lin sat by the window and took a puff of his pipe. Suddenly, he slapped his palm and exclaimed, "Oh no, I forgot something. The ‘master’ can speak the foreign language and communicate with the foreigners, but I don't understand gibberish, so how will I converse with the Dongyin?"

"Fairy Ning, Fairy Ning, come here, come here—" Remembering that Fairy Sister was fluent in the Dongyin language and an ideal translator, General Lin cried out without concern for whether she was nearby.

The room was silent, his voice echoing emptily, but no one appeared for a long time. Fairy Ning seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"You haven't returned after completing the task? That's a dereliction of duty, you know?" General Lin shouted angrily, somewhat frustrated. Below the tavern, more and more bystanders were gathering. Du Xiuyuan had called in the troops, and they were about to act, but the translation issue was still unresolved. How could he communicate with the Dongyin and inquire about the whereabouts of the 350,000 taels of silver?

"How can you be so shameless?" A light, floating voice sounded beside him, and Fairy Ning appeared, standing quietly before him in plain clothing. Her skin was like ice and snow, her eyebrows slightly raised, her figure tall and graceful, beautiful and enchanting like Chang'e from the moon palace.

"Thank you for the compliment." Lin Wanrong grinned, "Without you saying it, I really wouldn't have known I had such a quality. Sister, it's only been a day, and you've become even more beautiful, like a flower."

"What do you want now?" Fairy Ning's brows furrowed, she shook her head and sighed. Her greatest regret now was encountering this man, whom she could neither beat nor kill, and he was a real eyesore.

"Actually, it's nothing major," General Lin said with a gentle smile, looking at her, "Where's Qingxuan?"

"Are you still deluding yourself?" Fairy Ning sneered coldly, "I told you long ago, Qingxuan will never have feelings for—"

"Save your breath." Lin Wanrong smirked dismissively, "My relationship with my wife is none of your business. If you won't tell me about Qingxuan, I won't force you. Now I'm going to catch some ghosts, will you come or not?"

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