Chapter 43: Got You

"Protector-General, your strategy is truly brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

After a momentary daze, Deputy Commander Zhang was quick to shower Yang Wanxiong with flattery.

The guard who had delivered the letter was run through with a single blade. As Yang Wanxiong withdrew his sword and the man collapsed to the ground, he died without ever understanding why, when Falling Moon Pass was in dire peril and Elder General Shen had sent multiple urgent calls for help, the Protector-General steadfastly refused to dispatch troops in reinforcement.

Nearby, the strategist opened his mouth, wearing an expression that suggested he had much more to say.

"Men, clean this place up," Yang Wanxiong walked toward the main seat and casually placed his saber back onto its rack, speaking with a smile as though nothing at all had just happened. "What are you all staring for? Call the little beauties back in! Let the music play and the dancing resume!"

An attendant quickly acknowledged the order and hurried out to summon the dancers back.

Deputy Commander Zhang hastily shouted for men to drag the guard's corpse outside. Servants rushed in with wooden buckets to scour the floor, wash away the bloodstains, and replace the carpet, swiftly erasing every trace of what had transpired.

Crouched atop the eaves, Shen Ruojin surveyed her surroundings. Seeing the heavy security, she knew that if she were to charge straight in, she would likely be intercepted and worn down by wave after wave of guards before she could even get close to Yang Wanxiong.

Brute force was the worst possible approach.

Wisdom and cunning were far preferable.

If she could steal Yang Wanxiong's military tally and have the garrison generals open the city gates to let the Shen family army enter, then whatever followed—

"The Protector-General has issued an order for you all to step forward and present a dance. If you can win the Protector-General's favor, it will be the greatest fortune of your lives!"

Having received the instruction, an attendant strode quickly out to the side chamber, waking the dancers who had just sat down to rest.

These beauties were all clad in scant dance attire, their waists bound with golden chains and their faces veiled, revealing slender waists as they prepared to perform the Sogdian dance. Having been chased out to wait in the drafty side chamber amid the bitter snow, they were already shivering with cold and could not recover at once upon receiving the summons.

One by one, they answered "coming" with their lips while hurriedly stretching their limbs in secret, some scrambling to change their clothes, others swallowing warming pills.

Shen Ruojin leaped down from the eaves, eluding everyone's eyes and ears. Slipping through a side window, she delivered a chop to the neck of a lingering dancer, rendering her unconscious, and stripped off the dancing costume the woman had just taken out to wear.

The most soulful essence of the Sogdian dance lay in heavy makeup and veiled faces. All the dancers wore identical revealing garments that bared their waists and shoulders, making them practically indistinguishable from one another.

The head of the dance troupe bustled into the room, urging them incessantly: "Hurry up! Faster, be quick about it! How can you dare keep the Protector-General and the generals waiting?"

Shen Ruojin spun around before a mirror, feeling as though something was missing from her outfit. She retrieved the armlets and anklets from the unconscious dancer and put them on one by one.

Furthermore, the dancers always performed barefoot in the main hall.

She had to take off her shoes as well.

As the troupe leader called out names one by one to urge them along, Shen Ruojin hid the unconscious dancer beneath the bed and blended into the troupe, entering the hall to perform.

***

The smell of blood in the air was thoroughly masked by the rich aromas of fine wine and sumptuous delicacies, and everyone's expressions returned to normal.

The young Master Lin had also returned and was now seated among the honored guests, listening attentively to Yang Wanxiong. A faint, three-tenths smile curved the corners of his lips; he appeared harmless to men and beasts alike, but actually harbored a murderous intent beneath.

Blending seamlessly among the dancers, Shen Ruojin moved with fluid, winding steps into the hall. As she quietly cast a glance toward the young Master Lin, the man suddenly lifted his gaze to meet hers.

Their eyes collided with a silent clash, while the howling night wind fluttered the dazzling array of lanterns throughout the hall.

Shen Ruojin quickly lowered her gaze, continuing to dance alongside the beauties. Her fair wrists fluttered with cloud-like sleeves in a floral dance, and her jade feet spun swiftly to the crisp, clear chimes of golden bells.

A Sogdian dancer's waist seemed boneless, twisting with the seductive grace of a water snake. Fortunately, the routine consisted of only a handful of core movements, and having watched from the eaves for a while, she was able to keep up without difficulty.

Master Lin watched for a long while before finally looking away, while Yang Wanxiong and his subordinates enthusiastically urged him to drink cup after cup.

It was as if the news of Falling Moon Pass's peril had never arrived; they remained as boisterous and carefree as ever, roaring with laughter.

"This grape wine was brought by Master Lin himself. Such exquisite vintage, yet you only let us drink while you hold back—that simply won't do, right?"

"And as for these little beauties, you should pick a couple for yourself. I, Yang Wanxiong, am not a man who hoards all the good things for himself!"

"Young Master comes from Jiangnan, and I've heard Jiangnan is famous for its beauties. Could it be you're hiding someone even better at home, which is why you gifted these newly acquired Sogdian girls to our Protector-General?"

Without a second word, Master Lin downed three large cups in succession.

The grape wine tasted slightly sweet upon entry, but its afterkick was formidable.

After a few cups, Yang Wanxiong and the others quickly flushed, their faces turning bright red, while Master Lin remained completely unchanged after finishing his drink. He retained his air of noble elegance, showing not the slightest trace of unseemliness.

"Bold and straightforward!" Yang Wanxiong loved fine wine, and loved beautiful women and wealth even more. With this man's arrival today, three of his favorite things had been satisfied all at once, making him grow increasingly fond of the guest. Before long, his form of address shifted from "Young Master Lin" to "Brother Lin."

Deputy Commander Zhang and the others quickly followed suit, addressing him as a brother.

Only Strategist Li retained a shred of wariness, asking the man, "Master Lin has come a long way from Jiangnan to suddenly visit the Protectorate-General. Is there some matter you require our Protector-General to assist with?"

Master Lin smiled without answering. "Can I not visit the Protectorate-General just to make the acquaintance of you gentlemen without a reason?"

"You can, of course you can."

Yang Wanxiong had pocketed the money and beauties just moments ago, and had subsequently heard that Shen Yi was locked in a confrontation with the Western Chang army. Once those two sides battered each other to exhaustion, the supreme military authority of the western frontier would fall entirely into his hands.

Having received unexpected wealth, a promotion was also within arm's reach.

Overjoyed in his heart, Yang Wanxiong was exceptionally patient with this distinguished guest. "Since Brother Lin is now an honored guest of my Protectorate-General, if there is anything you need, just say the word. There is no need to keep secrets or hold back."

***

Master Lin pondered for a moment. "Then I will be straightforward."

"Speak your mind without hesitation!"

Yang Wanxiong tried to mimic the tone of a man of letters, though his voice grew increasingly hearty.

Master Lin wore a conflicted expression, looking thoroughly troubled as he said, "My wife has run away."

"What?"

For a moment, Yang Wanxiong thought he had misheard.

Deputy Commander Zhang was equally astonished. "Whose... whose wife has run away, Master Lin?"

"My wife. My wife has run away."

Saying this, Master Lin drank another cup of wine.

He continued, "She received some inexplicable letter and fled overnight. I pursued her across a thousand miles without stopping to rest, knowing only that she had come to the western frontier before she vanished without a trace. With nowhere else to look, I had no choice but to come to the Protectorate-General first."

Hearing this, the deputy commanders and strategists under the Protectorate-General burst into laughter. One after another, they chimed in: "Master Lin is young and wealthy, how could your wife run away with someone else?"

"No wonder Master Lin was so hesitant and kept refusing to say why he came."

"So it turns out your wife was abducted and run off with!"

"What are you laughing at? You are not allowed to laugh!" Yang Wanxiong scolded them, saying, "Brother Lin is clearly a man of steadfast affections, passing up so many beauties just to chase his wife across the entire world."

The others reined in their laughter, though the amusement in their eyes only grew deeper.

Yang Wanxiong laughed as he persuaded him, "Brother Lin, fragrant flowers bloom all over the world; the little beauties you gifted are quite marvelous, too. Come, pick two for yourself first!"

The Sogdian dancers spun like flying light. The dance was drawing to a close, and they were circling outwards to pour wine for the guests seated around the hall.

Shen Ruojin drew steadily closer to Yang Wanxiong, but just as her fingers were about to brush against his waist, she was yanked forcefully by the young Master Lin beside him and pulled straight into his embrace.

He lowered his head and murmured beside her ear: "Caught you."