The Hunter

Hunter

The next day, the moment Lin Wen got out of bed, he regretted it.

Ah, I said I'd only do it for an hour. Who knew I'd end up doing it all night?

It was all because it felt way too good.

Good karma came in point after point, making Lin Wen unable to stop, drowning in it until the moon stood high overhead before he finally returned to his room to sleep.

Only after waking up did he realize his money-making plan still hadn't even taken shape.

Just as he was about to find Phoenix Chick to discuss it, the door creaked open.

"Lin Idiot, are you awake yet?"

Phoenix Chick Qin Luoshuang's voice came from outside. Judging by her shadow, she was standing at the door but had not come in.

"I'm awake," Lin Wen replied.

"Are you dressed?"

"I am."

"Then I'm coming in. You'd better really be dressed. The gun is in my hand."

Lin Wen sneered. "Keep dreaming. You don't have that blessing."

The shadow outside instantly clenched its fists.

"Very good!"

She walked in, gripping the gun one-handed and aiming it at Lin Wen's head.

"No more pretending. I'll lay my cards on the table—I'm an assassin sent by Yu Zhongxian, and today I'm here to take your dog life."

Lin Wen put on his shoes and pointed at a stool some distance away.

"Sit."

Although [Spirit Cat's Swiftness] had vanished, [Wingless Phoenix] showed no reaction at all. That proved she had not the slightest killing intent.

"Sit."

Lin Wen looked up and saw that Qin Luoshuang had changed into a flowing white outfit of icy silk today. She stood in the doorway as sunlight slanted down over her, making her exquisite face seem like that of an immortal fairy descended into the mortal world.

The pity was that she held a gun in her hand. If it had been a sword instead, Lin Wen could instantly have imagined a century's worth of love, hatred, and bitter entanglements.

"What a pity."

He shook his head.

Qin Luoshuang was practically dying of anger. She especially wanted to shoot this fool dead, but when she recalled how he had evaded gunfire like a ghost yesterday, she feared that firing would only bring humiliation upon herself.

She could only sit down in a huff, no longer wanting to say a single word of what she had spent all night preparing.

Lin Wen was not truly an idiot. He realized that he seemed to have offended Phoenix Chick rather badly. What if she pulled a Xu Shu—her body in Cao's camp, but her heart in Han? Wouldn't that be disastrous?

After thinking it over, he activated the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart. It said:

"Three years ago, I came to the imperial capital of Divine Capital to pay court. As I crossed the Luo River, I gazed into the distance. The waters stretched vast and boundless, mist and clouds drifting over their surface. My mind grew dazed, my thoughts took flight, and when I suddenly looked up, I saw a three-decked pleasure boat passing before my eyes. Upon it stood a peerless beauty in white, sword in hand, her immortal aura drifting freely."

Qin Luoshuang found this faintly strange. What was he trying to say? This was far too much of a detour. And why did he sound so different from his usual self?

She looked up to see Lin Wen gazing at her with glimmering eyes, his face full of deep affection as he said:

"Her form was graceful as a startled swan, supple as a soaring dragon. Her radiance outshone autumn chrysanthemums; her splendor rivaled spring pines. Dimly, she seemed like light clouds veiling the moon; drifting, like a flowing wind whirling snow back upon itself. Seen from afar, she shone like the sun rising through morning clouds; viewed up close, she blazed like a lotus emerging from clear green waters..."

What followed was an entire string of passages from the Rhapsody on the Goddess of the Luo, modified specifically to suit the current situation and the grammar of this world.

For example, the Goddess of the Luo had become this fabricated maiden in white carrying a sword.

All the place names had been changed to locations in this world.

Indirect narration had been changed into direct narration.

And he added one final line.

"Only now, upon seeing you arrive, do I realize that the fairy maiden from my dream three years ago was you."

When the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart finished speaking, the girl before him was not moved in the slightest. Instead, her body tensed. Her right hand dropped to grip her gun as she asked warily, "What are you trying to do?"

Lin Wen scratched the back of his head, feeling that the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart had not done much after all. But that was hardly strange; some people truly were immune to it.

So Lin Wen turned off the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart and casually made up an excuse. "Do you think I'd succeed if I used this piece to pursue the Empire's princess or something?"

Qin Luoshuang gave a derisive laugh. "You won't get to see the Little Princess. The First Princess will chop you to death."

"Why? Is my writing not good enough?"

Qin Luoshuang sneered. "No reason. If I say she'll chop you up, then she'll chop you up."

Lin Wen did not take it to heart and casually said, "I was thinking that if I moved the First Princess, she could help me chop up Yu Zhongxian. Looks like that won't work."

Qin Luoshuang studied him carefully for a moment, as though judging whether there was truth in his words. Then she said coldly, "It certainly won't work. How could a mere First Princess possibly be worthy of the incomparably noble Lord Lin?"

Lin Wen nodded. "Exactly."

Qin Luoshuang practically rolled her eyes into outer space. Lin Wen paid it no mind. Seeing the atmosphere had eased somewhat, he said, "Help me figure out how to get hold of a huge sum of money as quickly as possible—enough to cover all current expenses and complete the rebuilding of our home. Preferably two—no, more than one billion."

Qin Luoshuang covered her eyes and sprawled across the stool, not looking ladylike in the slightest.

She said only four words.

"Ask someone else."

Something seemed off.

Wasn't this a question for [Immortal's Guide]?

Lin Wen slapped his forehead.

Ah, it had become a habit without him noticing.

He posed the question to [Immortal's Guide] again.

Cost: 39,133 points of Good Karma.

What a pity. If Phoenix Chick could answer it, wouldn't that mean earning 39,133 points of Good Karma outright?

But that was clearly wishful thinking.

Lin Wen could only turn back and ask, "Then do you have any way to rake in a lot of money quickly?"

Qin Luoshuang sneered. "Sure. Sell me."

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Her father really would pay a great deal for her. If this county governor changed his mind on the spot, she would not even have anywhere to run.

Just as she was on tenterhooks, unsure what to do, Lin Wen answered, "Wouldn't that be killing the chicken to get the eggs? And it would count as doing evil, too. No. Give me another method."

Qin Luoshuang relaxed slightly and did not dare spout nonsense again.

"County Governor Lin, the county is short of money mainly because its aid has been cut off. Otherwise, it would not be in such dire straits."

"I thought about it for a long time yesterday. At your current level, dreaming of countering Yu Zhongxian is simply wishful thinking."

"But Yu Zhongxian's main target should be Sheng Huaixuan. Striking at you is only incidental. Your best response is to hide behind Sheng Huaixuan while strengthening your ability to withstand blows."

"Mm." Lin Wen nodded. "So, be a turtle."

"That interpretation is not wrong. Yu Zhongxian is like a hunter right now. He is throwing stones at you, and you cannot strike back. But if he reaches out to grab you with his hand, then you can bite him."

"So you need to lure him into making a move. Once you bite him hard enough and wound him, he will retreat for a while."

Lin Wen asked, "Why wouldn't he go mad?"

Qin Luoshuang said, "Generally, he would not, because you are not his primary target—unless you provoke him so badly that his hatred for you surpasses his hatred for Sheng Huaixuan. Of course, that is impossible."

"The main reason he is targeting you now is to attack Governor Sheng. If you bite him hard enough, he will know you are not easy to provoke and stop starting with you."

"Besides, hunters fight and kill one another too. Sometimes hunters and prey switch places. He cannot afford to take too many wounds or grow too weak. Otherwise, starving wolves will surround him, and in the end they will tear him apart and devour him."

Lin Wen nodded. "All right, I understand. Then what exactly should I do?"

Qin Luoshuang sighed. "You need to gather intelligence. You need to provide me with information. Right now, I am completely in the dark. I know nothing and can only guess. I cannot even be certain it was Yu Zhongxian."

"Good!" Lin Wen slapped his thigh. "I'll leave this matter to you."

Qin Luoshuang sighed faintly. Ever since she had thrown in her lot with this fellow, she had lost count of how many times she had sighed.

"All right. Transfer command of your guards and your secret agents to me."

"I don't have any."

"Huh?" Qin Luoshuang was somewhat puzzled. "You only need to give me second or third command authority. Or, if you do not trust me, all orders can still be issued through you."

"I never formed a guard unit."

Qin Luoshuang looked at him in confusion, but Lin Wen burst into laughter. "A true man stands independent between heaven and earth, strides proudly through the cosmos—why would he need anyone else's protection?"

"As for secret agents, that sort of timid, furtive business of the underworld is utterly incompatible with my righteous spirit and my open, honorable path. Naturally, I have never used them."

Qin Luoshuang nearly choked on her breath and snapped, "Then how am I supposed to gather intelligence? Go myself? Do I have to sell my body too?"

"Uh, you said that yourself. If you want to sell yourself, go sell yourself. I never meant that. Do not pin it on me."

"You shameless bastard!" Qin Luoshuang was so furious her lungs felt ready to explode. She swung a slap at him.

With a crisp smack.

It landed squarely.

As her anger ebbed, Qin Luoshuang took two steps back and stared in disbelief at her slender hand, then at the clear handprint on Lin Wen's face.

Lin Wen, however, did not get angry. He realized that what he had said was inappropriate. At the time, he had only been intent on distancing himself from any involvement, afraid of acquiring Evil Karma, and had not noticed how excessively insulting those words were to a girl.

He coughed and said, "All right, I was wrong. What I meant was that your wilderness survival skills are excellent, your martial arts are formidable, and your marksmanship is good too—you are no less capable than Bear Grylls. You would be safe enough going out to gather intelligence. I did not mean that. You can recruit or organize some people yourself as well, but I do not have much money."

Qin Luoshuang felt both regret and gratitude. The pride of top martial artists was extremely strong. Being slapped in the face by another unfamiliar martial artist was a grave taboo; some even went to life-and-death duels over it. Yet he had been willing to take her slap and apologize. That was extraordinarily rare and precious.

What she regretted was that she truly had been too impulsive. If this county governor, a rare top-tier martial artist, had even the slightest bit more pride, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Qin Luoshuang herself did not understand it. She had always been exceptionally patient and restrained before. Why had she become so easily angered and prone to losing her reason here? Had the enormous upheaval and blow weakened her composure?

Just as the two were each lost in thought amid an awkward silence, Bai Xiuyu entered from outside.

"Governor Lin, breakfast is here."

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