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Finest Servant Chapter 371
🕑 Added 2023-08-13 11:34:10 +0000 UTCChapter 371 Fairy Sister, I Love You
Catching ghosts? Ning Yuxi blinked, then she understood, listening to his tone as he spoke with the other two, he was planning to capture some people from Dongyin.
"Do you want me to be your interpreter?" Ning Yuxi smiled slightly. This man had so many tricks up his sleeve. Clearly, he needed her help, but he acted as if it was no big deal.
"You said it yourself," Lin Wanrong laughed heartily, clapping his hands, "Fairy Sister is so clever. Looking at your compassionate and kind face, I see a wonderful future mother. I will be a good father."
Fairy Ning didn't understand what he was talking about. She shook her head coldly and said, "Our agreement does not include so much. You better find someone else."
There were two light sounds of "bang bang." Du Xiuyuan was knocking at the door from outside, "General Lin, everything is ready, we are waiting for your command."
"I'm coming right away." Lin Wanrong replied loudly. But as he spoke, he noticed Ning Yuxi's figure swaying and disappearing like a wisp of smoke, leaving behind an enchanting silhouette.
She ran away like that? Lin Wanrong was stunned for a while. After all, they were on the same side; how could she just leave? Women really couldn't be trusted to keep their word!
Time was of the essence, and capturing the Dongyin people was the priority. He hurriedly opened the door and went downstairs with Du Xiuyuan. He had been too engaged in conversation with Fairy Ning to notice that the once bustling western gate street had now become sparsely populated. Seeing Du Xiuyuan's mysterious smile, Lin Wanrong asked, "What happened? Where are the people? Did you chase them away?"
Du Xiuyuan laughed, "How could I do that? I just arranged for two brothers to find two gold ingots outside the city gate. When word spread, everyone rushed there. They're lining up outside the gate."
"How can you be so deceitful? Brother Du, you should learn from me. Learn my honesty and integrity." Master Lin shook his head, deeply displeased with Du Xiuyuan's actions.
Du Xiuyuan was indeed straightforward. In a moment, he had gathered thousands of soldiers to surround the small courtyard tightly, not even a fly could escape. Lin Wanrong walked over, stared at the main gate, and coldly snorted, "Brother Du, is there any movement inside?"
Du Xiuyuan shook his head, "Not a sound. These Dongyin people really know how to endure."
"That's because you don't know their name, Brother Du. In Dongyin, they are called 'ninjas,' which means 'enduring'." Lin Wanrong chuckled, waving his hand to the hundreds of archers in the Divine Machine Unit, their arrows dipped in oil and set ablaze, aiming at the small courtyard.
"Listen, those inside, you are surrounded! Resistance will be met with severity, surrender will be even more so. You have the time it takes to brew a cup of tea to surrender; otherwise, you'll all be dead!" Master Lin called out loudly, hands cupped around his mouth. With no translator, he was somewhat at a loss, but fortunately, he knew some common "Dongyin language" - Yosh, sura sura, flower girl - and he shouted it out! [TL: This is neither Chinese nor Japanese, but a transitional language that has been produced for the communication between two different languages, commonly used in the mainland produced Anti-Japanese War dramas.]
The house was eerily quiet, a silence as profound as death itself, the sparks from the fire crackling and dancing wildly. The noise seemed particularly grating.
"General Lin, what should we do?" Du Xiuyuan asked in a deep voice, "Should we rush in? Shall we leave any survivors?"
"First, we'll use fire to burn them. If they don't burn, then we'll rush in. We only need one alive, able to speak; the rest, legs, feet, anything else, doesn't matter," Lin Wanrong chuckled, speaking very lightly, yet Du Xiuyuan listened, breaking into a cold sweat. He waved to the archers behind him, and a team holding fire arrows advanced, aiming at the house beams, preparing to fire. Suddenly, from inside the house, a sharp whistle sounded, and a dozen of black-clothed figures burst out like a swarm of locusts, their curved swords emitting a mournful howl as they charged toward the crowd with ferocious momentum.
"Archers, fire!" Du Xiuyuan, a battle-hardened warrior, was unfazed by the sight. At his command, hundreds of arrows were launched like a shower of locusts. These black-clad men, skilled in individual combat and stronger than anyone else on the field, were nevertheless no match for this iron-blooded and battle-tested army. Before they could even cry out, they were enveloped in a rain of arrows and pierced through the heart, becoming like human pincushions. A few more tenacious ones, though riddled with arrows, managed to break through the barrier and charged straight toward Lin Wanrong.
"Infantry, guard!" Du Xiuyuan bellowed, and hundreds of foot soldiers formed a formation, their long spears whirling together to create an impenetrable wall in front of Lin Wanrong and Du Xiuyuan. Those who had broken through the rain of arrows were already spent and impaled themselves on the sharp spears, their bodies riddled with holes. With a forceful shove, the soldiers threw their corpses back into the courtyard.
This attack and shooting, under Du Xiuyuan's command, were completed in a matter of moments, cleanly and efficiently, demonstrating the superb quality of this troop. Lin Wanrong watched with great satisfaction. Such a team could easily take on even the fiercest barbarians.
A dozen of Dongyin warriors were annihilated without uttering a sound. Lin Wanrong inspected the scene but found all of them dead, not one able to speak.
"Brother Du, did you count them yesterday? How many people were hiding in this house?" Lin Wanrong asked, frowning.
"Fifteen in total, but now there are only twelve corpses," Du Xiuyuan answered confidently, nodding toward the house.
Lin Wanrong was greatly relieved. ‘I wondered why Brother Du was so calm. He had calculated that some were still alive. These Dongyin warriors are crafty. If Du Xiuyuan hadn't checked the numbers last night, some might have escaped today. In other words, these twelve were bait, and those left must be important.’
"Alive, I want them alive," Lin Wanrong signaled Du Xiuyuan, speaking softly.
Du Xiuyuan nodded and waved again to the archers behind him. Dozens of them slowly stepped forward, aiming at the house's windows. Their arrows were peculiar, with sharp points and conspicuous thin bags wrapped around them, filled with a powdery substance, a mysterious detail that caught the eye.
What on earth was this? Lin Wanrong had never seen it before and marveled at the contraption. Du Xiuyuan laughed, saying, "This idea came from Li Sheng. He said he learned it from you, General Lin."
"Learned from me? I don't even know how to shoot an arrow," Lin Wanrong replied with a smile.
Du Xiuyuan laughed heartily, glanced at the archers, and commanded, "Aim at the windows. Fire!"
With soft "thud" "thud" sounds, the arrows flew through the windows. Upon hitting the ground, they pierced small bags, and white smoke billowed, filling the room.
"Sleeping powder!" Lin Wanrong recognized this white mist all too well; it was one of the treasures he always carried with him. That Li Sheng could come up with such a trick was indeed brilliant. Lin Wanrong laughed heartily, ‘No wonder Du Xiuyuan said he learned from me; he didn't wrong me at all.’
After waiting for the smoke to dissipate, Du Xiuyuan drew his sword and yelled, "Brothers, charge with me!" Hundreds of soldiers swarmed in, filling the courtyard. Lin Wanrong followed Du Xiuyuan into the house and found two black-clothed men lying on the ground, coughing incessantly, clearly affected by the sleeping powder but not yet unconscious.
Some soldiers rushed over and tied them up. Including the previously dead ones, there were only fourteen in total. Du Xiuyuan led a thorough search but found no trace of the fifteenth person.
"Brother Du, you didn't miscount, did you?" Lin Wanrong asked with a smile, glancing at the captured Dongyin warriors.
"There's no mistake, fifteen people!" Du Xiuyuan asserted firmly, "There's one more, the leader. I recognized his slim figure last night, but I haven't seen him today."
That leader was exactly what they needed! Lin Wanrong's spirits lifted as he thought about it. Du Xiuyuan and his men had been guarding the outside, and no one had left, so the man must still be there!
No one had left? Wait, someone came in and then left again. Could it be—Lin Wanrong slapped his thigh: "Oh no, he switched places, that scoundrel escaped, disguised as the steward. Xu Zhen, call for Xu Zhen quickly."
"What do you mean switched places?" Du Xiuyuan, not as quick-witted as Lin Wanrong, didn't understand what he meant.
"General, a body has been found in the front yard," a soldier hurriedly reported. Du Xiuyuan was startled and looked at Lin Wanrong, who sighed, "No need to look, the dead one is the real steward, the one who left is the imposter. Damn these cunning dogs."
"General, what do we do now?" Du Xiuyuan said with frustration. After guarding for a day and night and letting the leader escape, his disappointment was palpable.
"He thinks he can run? Can he really escape?" Lin Wanrong chuckled, "Brother Du, Xu Zhen is following him. Damn, it's like making a brilliant move in a bad game of chess."
Du Xiuyuan also realized, that's right, with Xu Zhen following him, the imposter wouldn't be able to escape. General Lin truly had some extraordinary skills; he always had a contingency plan.
"Killing the real steward and posing as a fake one, these scoundrels are truly malicious," Lin Wanrong snorted, pacing a few steps in the courtyard, and mused, "Killing even one of their own means only one thing — he's in a hurry to meet someone very important, and he needed to use the steward's identity to cover himself!"
"At least you have a bit of intelligence," a woman's mocking laughter came from outside the window, followed by a thumping sound. A shadow fell into the courtyard; it was the imposter steward who had just escaped.
"Fairy Sister, I love you!" Lin Wanrong exclaimed, jumping up in excitement.
