"Dragon Skin?"
Zuo Changlu's eyes bulged. This time, he was genuinely surprised. "Dragon Skin? You think your old man would have... something like that?"
"No, anything similar will do... something close enough. Even a fake is fine."
Zuo Xiaoduo pulled Zuo Changlu aside and explained the whole thing.
Zuo Changlu finally understood. "This really does brook no delay, but I truly don't have what you're asking for!"
"Oh, why don't you understand? We just need a pretext. Say we've found a true dragon's vein, or a true dragon's treasure, something along those lines... anything that looks remotely plausible will do... as long as it gets their entire family out, keeps them busy all tomorrow night, and away from their ancestral home."
Zuo Xiaoduo simply laid out the whole truth.
Zuo Changlu sank into thought.
"No, no. Your method treats the symptoms, not the root. More importantly, it might not even work. If they see through it, the Long Family's anger is a secondary concern. Failing to save the whole family's lives would be the real disaster."
Zuo Changlu truly lived up to being Zuo Xiaoduo's father, a seasoned schemer and a cunning old fox. His eyes shifted, and he offered his son an idea. "Why don't you find a way to get a few experts together and destroy the Long Family's house tonight? With nowhere to live, they couldn't possibly spend the night among the ruins, could they? Wouldn't that solve everything?"
"Oh!"
Zuo Xiaoduo slapped his forehead.
Those words truly woke a man from his dreams.
"Right, right! That really would be much easier to pull off!"
Zuo Xiaoduo was filled with regret. "Why didn't I think of doing it that way?"
"Dad, you're brilliant. The old saying really is true: old ginger is the spiciest."
Zuo Changlu grunted