Lin Lang of course understood Hundred-household Li's meaning, but why should he hand his money over to Hundred-household Li?
A mere hundred-household officer could not decide his promotions, and every coin he earned came through hard work.
Returning to the official quarters, he called Wang Wu and Jia Liu over.
"I'll be going out on a mission in a couple of days. The two of you help me keep an eye on the house."
Wang Wu and Jia Liu immediately stood at attention. "My lord, take us along on this mission!"
Only by going through life and death alongside their superior could one truly become his trusted confidant.
Lin Lang looked at the two of them. "I'm going to Great Song to gather intelligence. Are you two certain you want to follow?"
Wang Wu was greatly startled. "My lord, are you saying it's a mission to investigate the martial arts underworld in Great Song? Shouldn't Banner Commander Liu be the one to go? Could it be because you didn't send a gift to Lord Li?"
Lin Lang reprimanded, "What are you talking about? Lord Li is as pure as ice and jade-how could he possibly accept gifts? Banner Commander Liu is dead, and the martial arts of the others are too poor. If I don't go, who can complete the mission?"
Wang Wu and Jia Liu both looked at Lin Lang with admiration. Their lord truly was a model for their generation.
For others, going meant a nine-out-of-ten chance of death, or perhaps even ten deaths with zero survival, but when Lord Li went, they inexplicably felt that he would quickly complete the mission and return.
"Alright, perhaps once I go out this time, I'll be able to perform a great service and be promoted to a hundred-household officer."
Lin Lang genuinely had the confidence to complete the mission and even score a major achievement.
Originally, the department managing the martial arts underworld on the Great Ming side was the Dragon Guard Manor, and especially its subordinate Number One Manor, which was responsible for gathering information on the martial arts underworld throughout Great Ming.
However, Eastern Depot Superintendent Cao Zhengchun was at odds with Iron-Gallant Divine Marquis Zhu Wushi of the Dragon Guard Manor, as Cao Zhengchun wanted to weaken Zhu Wushi's influence in the imperial court.
Presently, the Commander of the Jinyiwei took orders entirely from Cao Zhengchun, and Cao Zhengchun's Eastern Depot had also carved up most of the previous authority held by the Jinyiwei. This time, he simply assigned a task to the Jinyiwei, having them investigate underworld intelligence.
Zhu Wushi's Dragon Guard Manor had laid its groundwork for twenty years, and knowing he could not win when it came to gathering intelligence on the Great Ming underworld, Cao Zhengchun simply leaped past Great Ming to directly collect intelligence on the underworlds of other countries.
Some people were assigned to missions and sent to Great Liao or Mongol Yuan, while others were sent to Western Xia or Tubo. The mission received by the Thousand-household Office under Lin Lang's command was to dispatch men to investigate Great Song Jianghu intelligence, with every Hundred-household Office under them required to send people.
The task wasn't particularly difficult: unearth the movements of various prominent sects and factions in Great Song Jianghu, and ideally dredge up some exploitable conflicts.
If they could develop a few Jinyiwei deep-cover agents who could regularly transmit intelligence back, that would be an even greater merit.
To others, these matters were exceedingly difficult, but to Lin Lang, they were far too simple.
He happened to know quite a few unspoken secrets belonging to various Great Song Jianghu sects; casually pulling out just one would allow him to complete his mission, score a major achievement, and win a promotion with a raise.
By the afternoon, carrying the official dispatch given by Hundred-household Li, Lin Lang mounted a horse and galloped toward the border.
Only when Lin Lang came to demand the official dispatch did Hundred-household Li realize that Lin Lang truly preferred to risk danger in Great Song rather than give him a single copper coin!
Hmph, then he could just go to Great Song to throw his life away-that way, it would also be easier for him to give an account to the thousand-household commander.
"Hyah!"
Lin Lang whipped his horse into a gallop, worrying that if he arrived too late, the treasures might already be taken by someone else.
He rode furiously by day, and by night hired a carriage to pull him at breakneck speed while he rested inside the vehicle.
When asked why, the answer was simply having money!
"Sigh, if I'd known, I should have brought Xiao He along so we could keep joyfully cultivating the Child Skill on the road."
Soon after passing out of the pass, he headed straight for the southeast direction of Great Song.
The martial arts manual he wanted to find was none other than the Evil-Warding Sword Manual of the Fuwei Escort Agency.
This was a sword technique derived from the Sunflower Manual, which Lin Lang analyzed to be at least at the level of a Wulin Secret Art, capable of rivaling even some lesser divine arts and ultimate techniques; training it to perfection allowed one to become a martial arts grandmaster.
Yet this sword technique had an obvious flaw, which was why the Lin family ancestor Lin Yuantu had hidden it away and never passed it down to his descendants. This resulted in the Lin family holding a considerable reputation in the southeast underworld yet lacking the strength to match that renown.
"To practice the divine art, first castrate yourself with a blade."
"Lin Yuantu was unwilling to let his descendants practice it because he didn't want others to know that a once-illustrious sword grandmaster had actually been a eunuch!"
"If I reverse the flaw, can it invigorate male vitality?"
Lin Lang's face was full of excitement and anticipation-which man didn't love a cultivation technique that boosted male vigor?
Along the way, Lin Lang traveled exclusively by the official highway. Although he encountered quite a few martial artists carrying weapons, thanks to his careful evasions, he smoothly entered the southeast territory and arrived at Fu City.
"I've finally arrived. What a pity I'm here to handle big business this time, otherwise I really should taste the local local chicken."
Lin Lang felt a slight trace of regret, but thinking about it, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. Besides, those raised in a courtyard-how could they compare to those wandering all over the place in fragrance?
"I need to find the Lin family's old residence as fast as possible. The sooner I get my hands on the Evil-Warding Sword Manual, the sooner I can grow stronger, and the sooner I can plot to acquire other flawed, powerful martial arts, letting myself step onto the peak of martial arts all the faster!"
"Moreover, this sword technique can be mastered rapidly. In a year or two, I can become a martial arts grandmaster. By then, I can at least become a pacification commissioner of the Jinyiwei, or even ascend to an even higher position."
"With the Lin family's current strength, they can't hold onto this Evil-Warding Sword Manual anyway-it will only bring them danger. Better that I take care of keeping it safe."
"Considering that their family is about to suffer misfortune, I won't charge them any safekeeping fees."
Making a few brief inquiries in the city, he learned where the Fuwei Escort Agency was located. This was the largest escort agency in the province, with a business spanning the entire Great Song-an absolute, unadulterated wealthy tycoon.
Lin Lang stared at the entrance of the Fuwei Escort Agency, preparing to tail an escort guard who departed around dusk, kidnap him in secret, and interrogate him about the location of the Lin family's old residence.
By the way, he would check how much money that escort guard was carrying. Since he had come specifically for the Fuwei Escort Agency, it was only reasonable for people from the agency to reimburse his travel expenses, right?
Even as he thought this, he saw an extraordinarily handsome, jade-like young man emerge from the agency. The youth wore a suit of silk brocade and carried a long sword with gems inlaid in its scabbard.
"Young Escort Head, I can just go to the ancestral residence myself. You should just rest at home."
Lin Pingzhi turned his head. "How can I let someone else substitute for me when paying respects to the ancestors? Say no more, let's make a quick round trip. On the next transport of goods, I'm going to follow along personally to experience what the pugilist world is really like."
"The fifteenth ancestral worship? That actually saves me the risk of capturing an escort guard-I can just follow Lin Pingzhi."
Lin Lang mounted his horse and slowly trailed behind Lin Pingzhi, arriving before a residence in Sunward Alley that bore a plaque reading the Lin Residence.
Yet he did not linger, continuing onward instead.
After he passed by, the escort guard accompanying Lin Pingzhi shut the door. "Young Escort Head, that person was merely passing by and didn't stop."
Half an hour later, Lin Pingzhi departed with the escort guard, and the main gates were locked once more.
In the dead of night, Lin Lang skillfully put on a face mask and vaulted down from the second-floor room of the inn.
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