Aged Wine Was Fine, but Unopened New Wine Was Even More Tempting

There was no need to wait until the next day. That very night, Wang Wu and Jia Liu hurried off with their men.

Unfortunately, this mission was not suitable for Liu Zhengfeng to lead. He would stay here, helping Lin Lang guard the Thousand-household Office while visiting the Fragrant Pavilion to discuss music with its flock of songbirds.

Once, Liu Zhengfeng had considered Qu Yang his only kindred spirit in music. Now, so many girls at the Fragrant Pavilion had become intimate confidantes whom he knew inside and out.

In the past, he had always played his flute for others to hear. Now, he instructed others on how to blow, looking more and more like an outstanding Jinyiwei Hundred-household officer.

With Liu Zhengfeng unable to go, Lin Lang would have to personally lead some men to the Hengshan School tomorrow to uphold justice for the common people.

As for tonight, naturally, he would spend it enjoying himself with Xiao He. After all, they would be apart for quite some time again.

Since he was going to Hengshan, he would have Xiao He wear a nun's robe tonight.

Humming a little tune, Lin Lang headed home.

He had just turned into a narrow alley when a familiar, graceful figure appeared in the shadows ahead.

"Brother Lin."

Lin Lang excitedly went up to her. "Yingying, you're here. Where are the others?"

He looked around but saw no sign of Ren Woxing or the others.

"My father and the others didn't come, but don't worry. His health and martial arts have nearly recovered. A few days ago, he left Plum Manor with Uncle Xiang to gather his former followers and visit a few old friends along the way."

Although she and Xiang Wentian had secretly contacted many people, those people would not feel reassured without seeing Ren Woxing himself. After all, they were undertaking something as momentous as overthrowing the Holy Cult's leader.

By appearing in person, Ren Woxing not only hoped to reassure them but also to seize the opportunity to strengthen himself further, giving him greater confidence when facing Dongfang Bubai.

The little bunny... uh-Ren Yingying had come alone? Lin Lang grew even more excited.

"Brother Lin, my father said he would come find you in a month or so at most. He wanted me to ask exactly what your plan was first, so we could prepare."

Lin Lang looked at Ren Yingying. "Yingying, do you remember me telling you that Qu Yang was important? My plan was to use your capture of Qu Yang as our pretext. We would disguise ourselves as ordinary cult members and escort him back to Blackwood Cliff together, handing him over to Dongfang Bubai in person."

"That way, without expending a single soldier or harming any of the other brothers in the cult, Cult Leader Ren could ambush and kill Dongfang Bubai directly, reclaiming the cult leader's throne."

Ren Yingying was delighted. "Why didn't I think of that? Brother Lin, I'll go tell my father the plan right away."

But Lin Lang shook his head. "That was the previous plan. Now, it has to change."

You want to leave as soon as you've arrived? Then I'll have to change this plan.

Ren Yingying looked utterly bewildered. "Why?"

From what she knew of the Sun Moon Holy Cult, this approach would succeed easily.

At most, other members of the Sun Moon Holy Cult might intervene when they launched their surprise attack on Dongfang Bubai. But her father must have already recruited some former followers, enough to hold off those loyal to Dongfang Bubai.

"Because Cult Leader Ren left Plum Manor too early and met too many people." Lin Lang put on a troubled expression. "I told you to watch for anyone dissatisfied with Dongfang Bubai and recruit them in secret. But I never expected Cult Leader Ren to be so impatient that he would personally recruit his former followers."

"Among the former followers Cult Leader Ren recruited, could there be someone only pretending to join him while actually passing information to Dongfang Bubai?"

"If so, instead of catching Dongfang Bubai off guard with a surprise attack, we would be walking into his trap."

"Besides, what if our sneak attack on Dongfang Bubai fails? Dongfang Bubai is now revered as Great Ming's Number One Demon Path Expert. No one has seen him fight in ages. Do you know how powerful he is now?"

Lin Lang looked into Ren Yingying's eyes. "If anything goes wrong with this plan, you'll be in the most danger. So it's absolutely out of the question!"

Ren Yingying froze. So Brother Lin wanted to change the plan mainly because he was worried about her?

"Brother Lin, what should we do, then?"

Lin Lang reassured her. "Don't worry. Isn't Cult Leader Ren still more than a month away from coming here? I'll refine the plan during that time."

"And I've already used the Jinyiwei's influence to get the Five Mountains Sword Alliance discussing an attack on Blackwood Cliff. I'll make sure it happens."

"That way, we can have Zuo Lengchan test Dongfang Bubai's strength, and we'll have much more room to maneuver when we go to kill him."

"We can also use Dongfang Bubai's hand to strike at the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, so it won't be able to threaten Cult Leader Ren in the future."

"Cult Leader Ren could even wipe out the Five Mountains Sword Alliance completely after reclaiming the cult leader's throne, showing the world just how powerful the Sun Moon Holy Cult is under his leadership."

He would get Ren Woxing to help him rise in rank and grow rich, and Ren Woxing would still have to thank him afterward.

"Brother Lin, you've done so much for my father that I don't even know how to thank you." Ren Yingying felt that Lin Lang must have put in tremendous effort to provoke a fight to the death between the Five Mountains Sword Alliance and Dongfang Bubai.

He had also devised such a good plan for her father. If her father had not ignored the advice and insisted on personally recruiting people and visiting old friends, Brother Lin would not have needed to come up with a new plan.

You want to thank me? Lin Lang thought.

"Yingying, it's only what I should do."

"Oh, right, it's so late. You haven't eaten, have you? Come to my house, have something to eat, and rest a little. I'll also tell you more about the details of the plan."

Suspecting nothing, Ren Yingying followed Lin Lang home under cover of night.

"Yingying, wait here a moment. I'll have the kitchen prepare something to eat."

Lin Lang had just stepped outside when he saw Xiao He entering the back courtyard with a food box. "My lord, I prepared a late-night meal for you."

Today was an auspicious day. If she stayed in Lord Lin's room tonight, she might well fulfill her dream of rising in status through bearing his child.

To achieve that goal, she had specially prepared tonight's dishes.

Scrambled eggs with garlic chives, stir-fried kidneys, dry-fried swamp eel, lamb and Chinese yam stew, bull penis and goji berry soup, plus a pot of medicinal wine-what man could eat all that and still restrain himself?

Lin Lang took the food box from her. "Perfect, I'm hungry. Leave the food and go get some rest. Don't come to the back courtyard again without my permission."

Xiao He: "???"

Was her lord not in the mood today?

No matter. Once my lord has eaten and drunk his fill...

"My lord, Xiao He will return to her room, then."

She would go back, wash herself squeaky clean, and wait for her lord to come find her shortly.

Watching Xiao He sway her hips as she left, how could Lin Lang not know what she was thinking? She was clearly craving his body.

But today, he would not let Xiao He have her way.

Aged wine might taste good, but unopened new wine was even more tempting.

Turning back into the room, Lin Lang set down the food box. "The servants happened to have supper ready. Let's talk while we eat."

Lin Lang took the food and wine out of the box... Xiao He's choice of dishes was absolutely perfect!