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Finest Servant Chapter 536
🕑 Added 2023-10-07 10:46:57 +0000 UTCChapter 536 My Name is Yujia
The Turkic girl seemed as though she couldn't understand the language of the Great Hua Empire at all. Her eyes icy, she stared intently at Lin Wanrong, without uttering a word.
Seeing Yueya'er in Lin Wanrong's grasp, the other Turkic merchants immediately became furious. With a loud unsheathing sound, they drew their battle blades and roared angrily as they charged toward Lin Wanrong. Hu Bugui rushed forward and with a few quick swings of his blade, two men were down, their fresh red blood spattering on the green grass.
Witnessing her kinsmen's blood spill, Yueya'er became frantic. Regardless of her wrist still being held by Lin Wanrong, she struggled and cried out, "Bos qoy (Stop)! Bos qoy (Stop)!"
"You are not bandits!" The leading Turkic man, who had been in the heat of battle with Gao Qiu, suddenly broke out of the skirmish. With a ferocious glint in his eyes, he shouted, "You all are from Great Hua!"
This time he spoke in the language of Great Hua, albeit with a heavy accent. Gao Qiu managed to comprehend after some effort and laughed out loud, saying, "Clever! Your grandpa here is indeed a brave man from Great Hua. Boy, take another blade from Grandpa Gao!"
Without further ado, he gripped his blade with both hands and with a force like a thunderbolt, aimed straight for the Turkic man's head. Amidst the clattering sounds, sparks flew.
"Damn you Great Hua people! Taste the might of Heliye! Kill—” The Turkic warrior roared, gathering all his strength, and with a whooshing sound, his scimitar clashed hard with Gao Qiu’s. Amidst the loud clang, Heliye's feet sunk into the grassy ground, his face flushed red. Gao Qiu's wrist felt numb, and he too involuntarily took a step back, his breath uneven.
It was the second time the two had engaged in serious combat. Heliye, this Turkic man, was astonishingly strong, which made Gao Qiu even more surprised and put away his underestimating attitude.
Hearing that these supposed bandits were actually from Great Hua and that one of them could even stand his ground against Heliye, the Turkic merchants couldn't believe their eyes.
Weak Great Hua people had managed to venture deep into the vast plains to raid and plunder? Such an event hadn’t occurred for hundreds of years. Moreover, 300,000 Turkic troops were besieging Helan Mountain Gorge. How could these bandit-like Great Hua people possibly pass through such a blockade? Could they have descended from the heavens? It was unbelievable!
Reading the expressions on these nomadic merchants’ faces, Gao Qiu quickly caught his breath and roared triumphantly, "What? Don't believe it? To be honest, even I find it hard to believe. But here I am! What can you do about it, huh?!"
As Gao Qiu continued to fight with glee, the Turkic girl saw her own people falling one after another into the hands of these Great Hua rogues, and her eyes moistened. Trapped and held by Lin Wanrong, she suddenly bent her head down in desperation and bit down hard on Lin Wanrong's hand.
"Ah—" Sharp pain shot through him, and Lin Wanrong's hand now bore a row of neat, gleaming teeth marks, looking like a beautiful Yueya'er embedded in his flesh, from which blood oozed.
The Turkic girl had a certain venom in her bite. Cold sweat broke out on Lin Wanrong's forehead. Just as he was about to lose his temper, the girl violently shook her head and seized the opportunity to break free and run.
"Wind-Slicing Blade!" Lin Wanrong shouted, hastily picking up something from the ground, and without even looking, he flung it furiously.
As Yueya'er dashed forward, she sensed a gust of wind approaching from behind. She thought it was the bandit's "Wind-Slicing Blade" technique and feared she would lose her life to his blade. The young girl let out a soft whimper and quickly turned around, flinging off her golden felt hat. Her hair flowed down like a waterfall as she extended her arms to shield her tribespeople, lifting her beautiful face defiantly.
The wind struck her face, causing intense pain, but it wasn't the sensation of being cut by a blade. She slowly opened her eyes and found, to her relief, that she was not covered in blood. Apart from some dust and sand on her clean veil, she was unharmed.
The dark-skinned bandit across from her looked serious. He focused on his right hand, clenched it, and swung it as he solemnly said, "Impressive skills! In all the world, you are the only one who has survived my unique, earth-shattering technique, the 'Wind-Slicing Blade,' unscathed."
"Wind-Slicing Blade? You mean throwing a handful of sand?" The Turkic girl snorted, extending her arms to protect her tribespeople. She stared fearlessly at Lin Wanrong and angrily exclaimed in her native language, "Meni öltir, biraq meniñ xalqımdı saqta!"
Lin Wanrong was puzzled by her rapid speech in the Turkic language. He turned to Hu Bugui and said, "Brother Hu, I didn't catch what she said. My mind works too fast, and she speaks too slowly. Could you translate?"
Hu Bugui chuckled, "She said, 'Kill me, but spare my people.'"
Lin Wanrong nodded, showing his bloody wrist to Yueya'er and clenched his fist menacingly, "Miss Hua, you bit me! You and your people are all doomed. Do you understand my Turkic?"
Hu Bugui shook his head and chuckled at Lin Wanrong's awkward use of the Turkic language.
From his menacing demeanor, Yueya'er sensed the bandit's cruelty. Her face changed rapidly, and she swiftly picked up a saber from the ground. With a few elegant swings, she positioned the blade in front of her.
Lin Wanrong nodded approvingly, eyeing Yueya'er's graceful figure, "Not bad at all. Flexible, good at riding, and probably great at pole dancing. Brother Hu, did you bring that spiked club? I might need it to interrogate this Turkic woman."
Hu Bugui was shocked. A single blow from that club would turn this beautiful Turkic woman into mush. And as for pole dancing, although he didn't know what it was, he sensed it was something inappropriate from Lin Wanrong's lecherous expression.
Lin Wanrong squinted, scanning Yueya'er from head to toe, nodding and smiling. The Turkic girl felt a chill run down her spine and angrily screamed, and at the same time, blushes crept on her cheeks.
‘Misunderstandings can be deadly!’ Lin Wanrong found himself needing Old Hu's assistance once again. "Ah, she's blushing! Brother Hu, what did she say?"
Old Hu chuckled awkwardly, hesitating before saying, "Well, she praised you, General, as a fearsome beast of the grasslands, the nemesis of all women!"
Lin Wanrong burst into laughter and slapped Old Hu on the shoulder. "Brother Hu, why are you so keen on saving face for me? Just translate it as 'pervert'; that's alright! She misunderstands me because she's only seen my appearance. Once she gets to know me better, she'll understand my true nature. How could I be a mere pervert? That's an insult—I'm clearly a lecher!"
Taking advantage of the fact that the Turkic girl didn't understand Chinese, Lin Wanrong and Old Gao laughed raucously. Although Heliye understood their words, he was entangled in combat with Gao Qiu and could only howl in anger, powerless to do anything.
"General," a soldier from the scout team came running excitedly, "just as you predicted, we found silk, tea, and a large amount of medicinal herbs in the carts up ahead."
"Really?!" Lin Wanrong shouted in excitement and waved impatiently towards the scout. "Brother Gao, stop fighting! The clanging is driving me crazy! Come down and rest; let's go get the medicine!"
Old Gao chuckled deeply, stepped back from the fighting, and dropped his blade, which was full of notches. "So, your name is Heliye? Not bad, much better than that Labuli fellow. Old Hu, keep an eye on this Heliye guy. I'll be back to fight him once I've fetched the medicine and switched blades."
The medicine was discovered in several carts in the middle. Even before Lin Wanrong and Gao Qiu got close, they smelled a fragrant herbal aroma wafting toward them. Just by the scent, they could tell the herbs were of top quality.
Gao Qiu was the first to pull back the curtain and take a look. He was so stunned his mouth hung open. "Dong quai, balloon flower, mandrake, saffron, fritillary, houttuynia, wild ginseng from Changbai Mountain, antelope horns, red-crowned crane feathers, cordyceps, spider venom, seven-step viper—"
As Gao rambled on, Lin Wanrong grew impatient. "Brother Gao, we're here to get medicine, not to recite a list!"
Old Gao's mouth widened. "I'm not reciting; all this is actually in the cart! Enough to stock ten pharmacies!"
As Gao Qiu had said, the cart was neatly organized with various types of herbs, each wrapped in parchment paper. Many of these were rare and valuable even in the Great Hua Empire.
‘My goodness, are these Turkic people planning to open a pharmacy?’ Lin Wanrong also couldn't help but widen his eyes. After a moment of silence, he muttered, "Who cares! Right now, what matters most is Little Li. The more medicine, the better. Brother Gao, grab whatever herbs you need, and bundle up the rest!"
Among other items in the cart were some feminine products. Most noticeable was a small pillow with a tiny bottle beside it, from which emanated a subtle fragrance—it was the widely renowned Xiao Family perfume. Lin Wanrong chuckled softly. If he wasn't mistaken, this cart must be the temporary boudoir of "Yueya'er." The idea that this Turkic maiden would use a mobile pharmacy as her boudoir was quite amusing indeed.
Gao Qiu nodded, just as he was about to pick up a long white ginseng, he heard a piercing cry. Yueya'er, her eyes filled with tears and her expression one of sorrow and anger, floated toward him, her gauzy skirt dancing in the wind.
Hu Bugui translated, "She says, 'Don't steal my herbs.'"
Lin Wanrong's eyes twinkled, and he chuckled, "This Turkic girl is too stingy. We are civilized people; why would we steal? Brother Hu, tell her that I'll buy all these herbs with silver. My reputation is as good as gold—well, let's make an IOU for now. She's welcome to visit Great Hua anytime and settle the account with the Emperor."
The Turkic girl seemed to understand his intentions. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she spoke rapidly in her native tongue before lunging at Lin Wanrong with her knife.
Hu Bugui quickly translated, "She says she gathered these herbs to personally treat her father's illness. If we dare touch them, she will fight us—oh, she's attacking!"
Before he could finish translating, Yueya'er was already upon them. Hu Bugui deftly parried her attack, causing her to stagger back several steps, nearly falling.
The Turkic girl was fiercely stubborn. Seeing that she couldn't secure the herbs, she let out an angry cry, tears streaming down like melting snow from the Tianshan Mountains, and raised her scimitar to slit her own throat.
Her audacious act terrified Heliye and the remaining Turkic merchants, who screamed and rushed toward her.
Just in the nick of time, Lin Wanrong, his face stern, deflected Yueya'er's curved blade. A faint red line appeared on her neck, tinged with blood. Her scimitar flew out of her hand, embedding itself deep into the ground.
Lin Wanrong's eyes were icy as he advanced on Yueya'er, "Even if you die, I have a hundred ways to make your soul tremble. Do you believe me?"
Hu Bugui translated his words. The Turkic girl snorted, her small hands trembling slightly.
"Hu Bugui," Lin Wanrong roared, pointing at the remaining Turkic people, "Go, kill all these merchants. Leave none alive!"
"Understood!" Hu Bugui responded loudly, marching toward the Turkic merchants.
Yueya'er clearly understood their intent, her voice filled with anger and her eyes with rolling tears. She spat out a string of words in her native language.
Hu Bugui translated, "General, she says, 'If you dare kill my people, I will kill myself and call upon the god of the grasslands to punish you with thunder.'"
"God of the grasslands?" Lin Wanrong burst into laughter, "I am a Great Hua citizen, and I believe in Guanyin Bodhisattva and the Tathagata Buddha. No matter how powerful your god of the grasslands might be, they can't overcome regional protectionism or implement cross-departmental law enforcement."
Hu Bugui scratched his head for a while, unsure of how to translate "regional protectionism" and "cross-departmental law enforcement" into Turkic. He awkwardly conveyed a few sentences. Judging by Yueya’er's expression, it was evident she was thoroughly confused.
"If you want me to spare your people, it's not out of the question." Lin Wanrong shifted his tone, chuckling sinisterly as he fixed his gaze on the young woman's pretty face, whom he called "Yueya'er."
Seeing his predatory gaze, the Turkic girl clenched her teeth and let out an indignant hum, her eyes filled with contempt. Hu Bugui translated, "General, she says, 'Stop daydreaming. I would rather die with my people than let you dishonor the women of the steppes.'"
"Vulgar! Disgusting! Filthy thoughts!" Lin Wanrong fumed, spitting vehemently. "She wants to take advantage of me? No chance! The virtue of us men from the great Great Hua is like the pure, beautiful snow atop the Tianshan Mountain. It won't tolerate any form of insult or desecration. Even the slightest indecent thought from her is unacceptable—it's a crime that would anger both gods and men!"
Each time Hu Bugui translated the general's words, he felt a shiver down his spine. But given Lin Wanrong's higher rank, Hu Bugui had no choice but to translate courageously. The Turkic girl blinked rapidly, clearly astonished. She couldn't believe that such a morally bankrupt individual could come from Great Hua, a civilization boasting thousands of years of history.
"Brother Hu, tell her that if she wants to protect her people, she must listen to me and do as I say. Otherwise, at the drop of a hat, I could order their heads chopped off. If that happens, she'll have only herself to blame, and it won't have anything to do with me."
Glancing back at her people, who were surrounded by Great Hua's bandits, "Yueya'er" snorted, but her gaze softened.
‘Let's see if you can withstand my tactics, little girl!’ Lin Wanrong chuckled smugly. "So, Yueya'er, what is your name?"
The Turkic girl clenched her teeth before reluctantly uttering, "I am called Yujia."
Hu Bugui explained, "Yujia, in the Turkic language, means 'beautiful crescent moon.'" [TL: This is a made-up name and meaning by the Author]
Lin Wanrong laughed heartily, "Excellent, that name has a poetic touch. In our language, you're called Yueya'er (Crescent Moon); it all comes back full circle. You mentioned earlier that you wanted to take these herbs home to treat your father. Does that mean you know how to heal?"
At his sleazy expression, Yujia turned her head away and snorted. Annoyed, Lin Wanrong shouted, "Brother Hu, sharpen the blade. Kill!"
With a hateful glare, Yujia reluctantly nodded.
"Good," Lin Wanrong said without turning back, casually grabbing a piece of herb from the carriage. "Then let's test you. What is this called?"
"Platycodon!"
"And this?"
"Honeysuckle!"
"And this—"
"Mandrake!"
"…"
"Tangerine peel!"
"…"
"Cordyceps!"
"…"
After correctly naming dozens of herbs, Yujia's disdain for Lin Wanrong only increased.
"I refuse to believe I can't stump you!" Frustrated, Lin Wanrong rummaged around the carriage, finally grabbing a piece of aromatic, gauzy material. "This is my trump card!" he cackled, holding it aloft. "So what's this? What is it?!"
Yujia, her face reddening like a fiery blaze, shot him a glance full of fury so intense it could have incinerated him hundreds of times over.
Hu Bugui exclaimed in astonishment, "Ah, this one I know! It's called a Dudou!" [TL: A traditional Chinese garment that covers the midriff - from chest to stomach]
