Sister-in-law, I'm sorry

Gathering Abundance Tower.

Lin Lang, Thousand-household Liu, Hundred-household Li, and the others exchanged toasts, seemingly in perfect harmony. Yet Hundred-household Li kept stealing glances at Lin Lang, his eyes brimming with hatred.

There was no hiding a gaze that wanted to put a blade through someone.

After three rounds of drinks, Lin Lang set down his cup. "Lord Thousand-household, there's another place in this county with excellent wine, and the singing is wonderful too. I can tell at a glance that you understand music. Why not go offer them some guidance?"

He had important business to handle tonight. He couldn't let Thousand-household Liu interfere.

Thousand-household Liu immediately found Lin Lang much more pleasing. A practitioner of the Golden Body Child Skill actually knew to invite him to sample the local chicks. The young man certainly knew how to behave.

"Very well. I'll go offer them some guidance on their blowing, bowing, plucking, and singing." Thousand-household Liu readily agreed.

When they reached the Jade Green Pavilion, Lin Lang gave his orders with practiced ease. "Bring all the girls over. Let them loosen up our lords' bones."

Sister Li greeted them warmly. "Which one catches your eye, my lord? How about Little Liu? Her voice is truly unmatched."

Lin Lang swept his hand across the lineup. "How could one possibly be enough? All ten of these will attend to his lordship!"

Thousand-household Liu found Lin Lang even more pleasing. He hadn't known which one to choose a moment ago. Now he didn't need to choose.

After assigning the ten prettiest girls to Thousand-household Liu and two slightly less attractive ones to each of the others, Lin Lang finally turned to Hundred-household Li. "Hundred-household Li, which of the remaining girls would you like? Or would you like to take them all?"

"No need. I can't hold my liquor. I'll head home first."

Looking at the crooked melons and split dates left over, Hundred-household Li lost all interest. He felt Lin Lang had done it deliberately.

Besides, the one he wanted to stab to death right now was Lin Lang, not these women from the Jade Green Pavilion.

Lin Lang instructed Wang Wu and Jia Liu to keep their guests well entertained, then returned to the Hundred-household Office himself.

Everyone knew he practiced the Golden Body Child Skill. Even Thousand-household Liu found nothing strange about it. In fact, he felt that Lin Lang could endure what ordinary men could not, and was definitely someone destined for great things.

When Hundred-household Li returned home, his wife brought him a cup of tea. "Dear, when are we moving? Are we going to Pingyang Prefecture or the capital? We'll have to notify the Hundred-household Office to prepare ten carriages. There's rather a lot in our storerooms. Will they provide an official residence for a Deputy Thousand-household, or will we have to buy one ourselves?"

Smack!

Hundred-household Li swept the teacup straight to the floor, shattering it.

"What Deputy Thousand-household? I'm going to Pingyang Prefecture as a Hundred-household with no real duties."

His wife was shocked. "What happened? Dear, didn't we give Thousand-household Liu tens of thousands of taels of silver? He gave us his word. How could he go back on it?"

They had spent that money to secure a promotion to Deputy Thousand-household so they could rake in even more money in the future.

Now the money was spent, and not only had he failed to get promoted, he had even lost his original, richly lucrative post?

Hundred-household Li ground his teeth. "It's all because of Lin Lang. Sooner or later, I'll have him killed! Stop asking so many questions. Sell everything we can sell and convert it into banknotes to take with us. Dismiss the servants too."

Lin Lang would never arrange carriages to send him to Pingyang Prefecture. He could only travel light.

He had never imagined this outcome. He had thought suppressing Lin Lang would be easy, yet not only had he failed, Lin Lang had played the cuckoo and taken over his nest.

That evening, Hundred-household Li counted the banknotes in his hands. Everything in the house that could be sold had been sold. This money should be enough to persuade Thousand-household Liu to help him once more.

"Lin Lang, just wait until I become Deputy Thousand-household. I'll make sure you learn the consequences of offending me!"

"Hundred-household Li, what exactly are the consequences of offending you?"

Hundred-household Li shot to his feet, swiftly stuffing the banknotes and other items into the small chest beside him. "Lin Lang? How did you get in?"

Lin Lang scoffed. "We're Jinyiwei. Have you forgotten that infiltration and intelligence gathering are basic skills? Oh, Hundred-household Li, it's only been a few hours. How did your mouth get covered in blisters already?"

Hundred-household Li pressed his hand onto the saber hilt beside the table. "Lin Lang, what do you want here?"

Who wouldn't be burning with frustration after something like this happened to them?

Lin Lang looked at Hundred-household Li with a broad smile. "I heard you were leaving. Since we've been colleagues, I came to send you on your way."

"I even waited until you'd had dinner before coming. I didn't want you setting off as a starving ghost. Aren't you touched?"

Hundred-household Li: "???"

Coming to send him on his way in the middle of the night? Lin Lang wanted to kill him!

The arrogance!

Lin Lang had only just broken through to the first-class realm, while he had reached late first-class long ago.

Moreover, Lin Lang probably had no idea that just a few days earlier, he had broken through to peak first-class.

He had also brought his first-class saber art, the Eight Gates Golden Lock Saber, to perfection. Whether in internal energy or techniques, he was far stronger than Lin Lang.

So what if Lin Lang had the Golden Body Child Skill? A few more slashes would break through it all the same.

And by killing Lin Lang, he would not only get his revenge and remove a thorn from his heart, but also regain control of the Bailing County Hundred-household Office. He could earn another fortune to grease palms up and down the ranks. It was simply perfect!

Since Lin Lang had come to kill him, he must have avoided everyone's notice. That meant no one would know if he killed Lin Lang either.

Drawing his Xiuchun Blade with a swish, Hundred-household Li slashed straight at Lin Lang's neck. "Lin Lang, do you think reaching great attainment in the Golden Body Child Skill lets you act so recklessly before me? Today, I'll send you on your way first!"

When he saw Lin Lang draw a sword, Hundred-household Li became even more certain of victory. In all these years, he had never heard that Lin Lang knew how to use a sword. Even if Lin Lang had learned some formidable sword art over the past two months, how could two months compare to the saber art he had practiced for over twenty years?

This is bad!

Hundred-household Li instantly shifted from attack to defense. He had never expected that, despite striking first, he would be forced onto the back foot in a single exchange.

Lin Lang's sword was too fast, and its movements were utterly strange and unpredictable.

He had never even heard of such a sword art.

What he had expected even less was that he couldn't withstand so much as three moves from Lin Lang.

Hundred-household Li lowered his head and stared at the sword piercing his chest, his face filled with disbelief.

"How is this possible? You're a Martial Arts Master?!"

Lin Lang had been concealing his true abilities all along. He refused to believe Lin Lang had only broken through in the past two months.

If he had known Lin Lang was a Martial Arts Master, how could he have dared even think of suppressing him?

"With your meager abilities, I don't even need to use the Golden Body Child Skill. My word is worth a thousand pieces of gold. I said I'd send you on your way, and that's exactly what I'll do."

Lin Lang withdrew his sword. Hundred-household Li collapsed to the floor, regret and pleading in his eyes. Soon, his pupils dilated.

Opening the chest on the table, Lin Lang's eyes lit up. "Hundred-household Li was so considerate. He converted his entire fortune into cash and left it for me. You won't have any use for it down below anyway, so I'll take on the trouble of spending it for you."

"Whoa, being a Hundred-household pays this well?"

Lin Lang counted the banknotes in the chest. They totaled over twenty thousand taels. Hundred-household Li must have already given away plenty to secure his promotion, yet he still had this much left.

He now felt confident about his future income. If a Hundred-household made this much, how much could a Thousand-household make in a year? What about a Commander?

"Hmm? There's a first-class martial art here too, the Eight Gates Golden Lock Saber. I'll let Wang Wu and Jia Liu benefit from it. They'll be handling things for me in the future, so they can't be too weak."

Lin Lang had no interest in learning a saber art of this level. It would be a complete waste of time.

"Dear, are you still practicing this late? Dear? Dear, what's wrong?!"

Lin Lang turned his head and saw Hundred-household Li's wife standing in the doorway. He rushed over, clapped a hand over her mouth, and dragged her inside.

"Lin Lang, y-you, what do you want?"

Hundred-household Li's wife stared at Lin Lang, trembling with fear. That afternoon, her husband had still been saying he wanted Lin Lang dead. Only a few hours had passed, yet her husband had died first.

Hadn't her husband always proclaimed himself the strongest fighter in Bailing County? How could Lin Lang have killed him?

"Sister-in-law, what do you think I want? It's so late. Why haven't you gone to bed yet? Since you've arrived at such a convenient moment, all I can say is, I'm sorry."