You Can't Go Wrong Listening to Brother Lin

Dragon Guard Manor.

The Iron-Gallant Divine Marquis read a secret letter. When he finished, he rubbed it between his fingers, and the paper burned straight to ashes.

"Three promotions in less than half a year, from a Chief Banner Officer to a Deputy Thousand-household. Just what abilities does this Lin Lang possess?"

He had looked through Lin Lang's record. There was nothing remarkable about it.

He had no background or master. Relying on the Golden Body Child Skill and a third-rate saber technique, his strength was respectable among the Jinyiwei. He should have reached the first rank of the martial world.

But a first-rank martial artist hardly counted as an expert in his eyes. Dragon Guard Manor had far too many people stronger than Lin Lang.

The letter said Lin Lang had devised a way to bring Great Ming's martial world to heel. Cao Zhengchun must have adopted this plan, or Lin Lang would not have been promoted.

He did not yet know what the plan was, but he would never let Cao Zhengchun succeed.

"Hmph. At court, you may hold every advantage, but when it comes to the martial world, you cannot possibly match this marquis."

He would have Shangguan Haitang keep an eye on Lin Lang later. If he really was talented, he would make him a man of Dragon Guard Manor.

If he refused, there was no need for him to remain alive.

When he arrived, he had been only a lowly Hundred-household. By the time he left the Capital City, he was already a Deputy Thousand-household of the junior fifth rank.

Lin Lang rode along on horseback, humming a little tune.

"I wonder who Pingyang Prefecture's new Thousand-household is. But who cares? Whoever he is, he won't hold the post for long. That seat will soon be mine too."

"Have you been promoted, Brother Lin?" A familiar voice came from the woods beside the road.

"Yingying, what are you doing here?" Lin Lang was pleasantly surprised. "Are you ready?"

Lin Lang was ready now too. He had already reached the peak of Martial Arts Master, more than enough to deal with the Four Friends of Plum Manor.

Ren Woxing was very important to him. Not only could he help him find his way into Ren Yingying's heart and her bedchamber, he could also help him kill Dongfang Bubai and seize the Sunflower Manual.

He could reverse the Evil-Warding Sword Technique, so he could surely do the same with the Sunflower Manual. Once reversed, it would certainly be even stronger.

He also wanted Ren Woxing to take charge of the Sun Moon Holy Cult and pass it to Ren Yingying someday. Then, by controlling Ren Yingying, he would control the Sun Moon Holy Cult as well.

Ren Yingying nodded, then shook her head. "I've contacted Uncle Xiang and persuaded Elder Qu. Sister Lan's poisons are nearly ready too, but the remaining preparations aren't finished yet."

She still did not know where to hide her father after rescuing him, much less how many people they could win over to help reclaim the cult leader's throne, kill Dongfang Bubai, and let her father avenge his grievances.

Lin Lang smiled. "That's enough."

"With Left Emissary Xiang here, hiding Cult Leader Ren for a while so he can recover his strength certainly won't be a problem."

"Once Cult Leader Ren recovers, plenty of his old followers will naturally rally to him. There's no need to worry."

"Tell Qu Yang to flee toward Great Song. Don't tell him the exact location, lest he head straight there and alert Dongfang Bubai."

Ren Yingying nodded obediently. "So my father is imprisoned in Great Song. No wonder we could never find him. You really do think of everything, Brother Lin. I'll go notify them first, then come back to find you shortly."

Following Lin Lang's advice, she had sent people to ambush members of the Mount Song Sect, then publicly announced that she had killed six of the Mount Song Thirteen Guardians. Sure enough, Dongfang Bubai had been delighted and stopped asking why she had yet to kill Qu Yang.

Just as Lin Lang had said, the Mount Song Sect had begun striking back, destroying three branch headquarters of the Holy Cult. Dongfang Bubai no longer had time to bother with her.

You couldn't go wrong listening to Brother Lin.

After making the arrangements, Ren Yingying returned.

Lin Lang patted his horse's back. "Yingying, traveling on horseback will be easier for us."

Although he still had a hefty stack of banknotes tucked inside his robes, he decided he absolutely could not buy another horse.

"Thank you, Brother Lin, but I have a horse." Ren Yingying whistled, and a horse came running out of the woods. "Let's meet up with Sister Lan and Uncle Xiang first."

Lin Lang raised an eyebrow. "Sure, but to make traveling easier, we should buy a carriage in the town ahead. That way, we can keep going day and night and rescue Cult Leader Ren sooner."

If we couldn't ride the same horse, we could still share a carriage.

Spending several days and nights in a carriage with Ren Yingying-wouldn't our relationship advance by leaps and bounds?

Ren Yingying said, "Sure. Once we meet up with Uncle Xiang and Sister Lan, we'll buy a bigger carriage. They're waiting for us a hundred li ahead. Then everyone can take turns driving."

Lin Lang said, "..."

Several hours later, Lin Lang and Ren Yingying found Xiang Wentian and Lan Fenghuang waiting beside a stream.

"Brother Lin, we meet again." Lan Fenghuang greeted him with a smile. "This is Xiang Wentian, our Holy Cult's Left Emissary Xiang. Left Emissary Xiang, this is Lin Lang, the man who knows where the cult leader is."

Xiang Wentian cupped his hands toward Lin Lang. "Brother Lin, thank you for finding where the cult leader is imprisoned and agreeing to help us rescue him. If you ever have need of me, just say the word."

Ever since Ren Woxing disappeared and Dongfang Bubai became leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult, Xiang Wentian had never stopped searching for Ren Woxing.

Unfortunately, twelve years had passed without him finding a thing. In the process, he had offended quite a few people and narrowly escaped death several times.

Lin Lang smiled. "You're too kind, Left Emissary Xiang. I only found Cult Leader Ren's whereabouts by a stroke of luck. He's imprisoned at West Lake Plum Manor."

"West Lake Plum Manor?" Xiang Wentian's face filled with regret. "I should have thought of it long ago."

"The Four Friends of Plum Manor are exceptionally skilled, yet they suddenly went into seclusion. Someone must have assigned them an important task. So Dongfang Bubai sent them to guard the cult leader."

"With only the four of us, it seems we'll have to outwit them."

Xiang Wentian was stronger than any one of the Four Friends of Plum Manor, but he could not swiftly defeat all four.

What if they startled the snake by disturbing the grass, and the four simply killed Cult Leader Ren?

Lin Lang smiled. "Left Emissary Xiang, how do you intend to rescue Cult Leader Ren?"

Xiang Wentian thought for a moment. "The Four Friends of Plum Manor enjoy music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. We'll cater to their tastes, obtain some treasures of that kind, and visit the manor posing as disciples of a major sect."

"We'll goad them into a martial contest. If they win, the treasures will be theirs. If they lose but still want the treasures we brought, while fearing our status as disciples of a major sect too much to kill us, their only choice will be to ask the cult leader to defeat us and win the contest."

"As soon as we see the cult leader, we'll make our move and rescue him."

Lin Lang shook his head. "Left Emissary Xiang, that plan won't work."

"Let's set aside whether they would dare ask Cult Leader Ren to fight after we win."

"Even if they bring us to Cult Leader Ren as you say, can you guarantee he won't be hurt?"

"We can't take too many people if we're going to slip inside. You're planning for just the two of us to go in, right? What if two of them hold us off while the other two put their blades to the imprisoned Cult Leader Ren's neck?"

"Even if we successfully snatch him away, Dongfang Bubai will know Cult Leader Ren has escaped. Reclaiming the cult leader's throne will become much harder."

"And how long would it take to collect those treasures of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting you mentioned? The longer we delay, the more things can change. We can't wait."

"So if we want to rescue Cult Leader Ren, we have to use my plan."

Ren Yingying said, "Uncle Xiang, you can't go wrong listening to Brother Lin."