Lin Qingge, whose tiger whiskers had been plucked, immediately unleashed her sarcasm. With a smile that didn't reach her eyes, she said,
"Young General Lian, that fragment of the treasure map was obtained by my son through his own abilities. By what right do you demand it with just a few words from your lips? Is your jowl perhaps made of shoe soles? It's truly thicker than average!"
Meanwhile, Lin Zimò, busy battling a chicken drumstick, cooperatively lifted his little head. "Daddy, can jowls be made of shoe soles? Does it look good once made?"
Before Lin Qingge could answer, he glanced at the young general beside him, pouting and shaking his head. "Forget it. A face that looks like a shoe sole is truly unsightly."
Lian Cheng Yi: ...
But the next moment, Lin Qingge suddenly changed her tone. "Young General Lian, it's not impossible for you to want that treasure map fragment, but I have a condition."
Caught off guard, and suspecting a trick, Lian Cheng Yi asked with suspicion and uncertainty, "Are you speaking the truth, Lord Lin?"
After speaking, Lian Cheng Yi added uneasily, "To be clear, I, this young general, have no extra silver to give to you, Lord Lin, nor will I do anything that harms the Northeastern Grand Camp or my adopted father!"
"Don't worry, my request is simple. As long as you, Young General Lian, serve as my bodyguard for a year, I will hand over the treasure map fragment with both hands, and for free at that. I guarantee I won't charge you a single copper coin more."
Upon hearing this, Lian Cheng Yi replied without thinking, "No!"
"How about nine months?"
"No!"
"I am kind-hearted, so I'll give you a fifty percent discount. How about six months?"
"No!"
"If it's 'no' to this and 'no' to that, don't be too demanding, young man. Let's compromise. Three months is my bottom line!"
Lian Cheng Yi pondered for a moment and finally relented, "Seven days!"
"Two months!"
"Half a month!"
"One and a half months!"
"One month!"
"Deal!"
...
Looking at Lord Lin, whose smile was as bright as a fox who had stolen the fish, Lian Cheng Yi suddenly felt as though he had been tricked.
Alas, what was said could not be unsaid.
By the time he wanted to change his mind, it was already too late...
As if afraid Lian Cheng Yi would go back on his word, Lin Qingge immediately ordered someone to fetch brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Hua Jinrong drafted a written agreement, and then Lin Qingge and Lian Cheng Yi both signed and thumb-printed it.
The agreement was in duplicate.
It was no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea until the agreement was forcibly placed into Lian Cheng Yi's hand.
Regardless of how unappetizing the meal was for Lian Cheng Yi, Lin Qingge and the others, who had eaten heartily, ate their fill and then left.
"My lord, this isn't the way back to the guesthouse!"
After walking a short distance, Yan Tinghao noticed something was amiss.
But Lin Qingge, leading the way, showed no intention of stopping. "After eating so much, how can we not digest it?"
Saying this, she took out a thick and ancient key from her embrace, tossed it into the air, and caught it steadily.
Yan Tinghao, a curious child, asked, "My lord, what are you doing with a key?"
Lu Mingxuan swallowed his saliva and tentatively said, "Is there a possibility that it's the key to the treasure vault of Wolong Villa?"
Murong Bai, trailing a step behind, sneered, "Be more confident and turn that question into a statement."
"If my lord were to abandon official duties and roam the martial world someday, the title of 'Number One Thief Under Heaven' would surely change hands~"
Lin Qingge shrugged indifferently. "How can this be called stealing by me? Clearly, it jumped from the master of Dragon Villa's embrace into my hands on its own. Moreover, as a person, sincerity is most important. Master Dragon pleaded so humbly that, even out of respect for the elders, I couldn't just ignore it, could I?"
Lin Qingge skillfully led everyone to the treasury. To their astonished gazes, she greeted the disciples guarding the treasury familiarly and headed straight for the treasury door.
"My lord, did you scout this place before?"
Ye Shengxiao asked, only to receive a cold glance from his beloved. He immediately flashed a broad smile, but as the latter raised her hand, he shrewdly dodged behind Ling Han.
On the other side, Lin Qingge pouted. "I'm not like you scoundrels of the martial world, scouting around? It's just that my wife and I passed by here while strolling, and seeing that the gatekeeper disciples were quite friendly, I chatted with them a bit more."
With that, Lin Qingge opened the treasury door with the key in her hand.
"My dear, take whatever you fancy later."
After Lin Qingge instructed, Lin Zimò also raised his small hands high. "Daddy, Mo'er also wants treasures. The type doesn't matter, the more valuable the better!"
"You little moneygrubber, our Lin family has been honest and incorruptible for generations. I don't know who this brat of yours takes after."
...
Everyone, feeling that their lord might have a misunderstanding of the words 'honest and incorruptible', twitched their lips in unison. Lin Qingge herself took the opportunity to stride into the warehouse, heading straight for the set of knives in the center.
The set of chillingly gleaming knives were about seven inches long, totaling eleven pieces, neatly arranged in a row. At first glance, they were quite pleasing to the eye.
"This should be the final work of the late renowned sword-casting master Hu Sansheng, the 'Destructive Consecutive Blades'. It's said to be forged from profound iron, indestructible and invincible. However, because they were made into small knives even shorter than daggers, and most men have larger hands, while few women are adept at using short blades, they became mere decorations with a grand name. I didn't expect them to be treasured here in Wolong Villa~"
After Hua Jinrong's explanation, Lin Qingge looked at Leng Ningyue beside her. "Although I can't pinpoint the exact reason, the first time I saw this set of knives, I felt they were particularly suitable for you, my dear. So, I wish to present them to you as a gift."
Leng Ningyue extended her slender fingers, grasped one of the knives, and then swept it directly towards Hua Jinrong.
!!!
Hua Jinrong, unable to dodge, could only use his fan to block. Who knew that the blade would slice through the fan ribs, which ordinary swords couldn't cut, as easily as slicing tofu, dividing them in two.
Startled, Hua Jinrong quickly used the fan to block this attack and sidestepped. Even so, his expensive robes were still cut with a long slit by the sharp blade.
"Hmm, not bad."
Leng Ningyue nodded slightly with satisfaction. However, the severely startled Hua Jinrong was utterly distraught.
"I say, Madam Lin, could you give a heads-up before you make a move next time? Fortunately, it was me. If it were someone else, they might have already been served for dinner!"
Leng Ningyue glanced faintly at Hua Jinrong, her eyes seeming to say, 'I only made a move because it was you.'
Understanding dawned on Hua Jinrong, and he curved his lips into a helpless arc. Then, he pretended to weep dramatically, covering his face. "Although I possess extraordinary handsomeness, I have always been a man of integrity. If I were to go out looking so disheveled, and other women saw me, wouldn't my reputation be ruined for a lifetime~"
Lin Qingge, whose skin was crawling, waved her hand. "It's fine. Later, I'll have Constable Yan and Ling Han beat your face into a pig's head. That will surely preserve your lifelong reputation, Master Hua."
"Er..."
Cornered, Hua Jinrong paused, his lips twisting into a smile that was hardly better than a cry. "Then, let's not trouble Constable Yan and the two of them."