Chapter 44: Mandarin Ducks with Intertwined Necks

"Got you."

A slightly raspy voice whispered in her ear.

An entirely different appearance.
A completely dissimilar voice.
Yet this person gave Shen Ruojin an undeniably familiar feeling...

Master Lin raised a hand, making a move to remove her veil. Shen Ruojin had met Yang Wanxiong before and, fearing exposure, quickly pressed herself against Master Lin's chest.

The latter's hand slid all the way down to cup her waist, lifting her up to sit on his lap.

The crimson dancing gown made Shen Ruojin's skin look as white as snow. With a light veil concealing her features, her phoenix-like eyes alone were a peerless, one-in-a-million sight. The other men under Yang Wanxiong's command looked on with burning envy, resenting Master Lin for making the first move. Unable to snatch her away, they simply grabbed the nearest dancing girls, their eyes fixed intently on the pair.

"That's more like it, Brother Lin! As fine men whose power and fame are ours for the taking, we should have beauties in our arms and enjoy life to the fullest. Why hang yourself from a single tree?"

Yang Wanxiong burst into laughter, pulling a foreign dancing girl who had thrown herself at him into his embrace, and began groping her right in front of his subordinates.

Shen Ruojin's sole focus was on stealing the military tally from Yang Wanxiong. Seeing that she was about to get close to him, she had been pulled away by this Master Lin, leaving her to watch helplessly as another dancer pressed herself against the target.

Yang Wanxiong loved beauty and was a seasoned veteran at flirtation. As the dancing girl pressed against him, twisting her waist, he returned her advances in kind.

Shen Ruojin watched as the dancer, while seducing him, felt all over Yang Wanxiong's body and stealthily slipped out the military tally hidden at his waist...

Shen Ruojin was utterly shocked.
So stealing a military tally from close range required going to such lengths?
Just who was this dancing girl?

Her thoughts raced. In this day and age, who else would be eyeing the military tally of the Western Frontier Protectorate?

Master Lin stroked her waist, a half-smile playing on his lips. "Why look at him? Look at me."

Shen Ruojin's thoughts were instantly reined back by him.

Being held and sat upon someone, the sensation of skin-to-skin contact was truly far from pleasant. Coupled with the fact that the dancer's garments were as thin as nothing at all, the man's searing palm rested directly against her waist.

The brazier in the main hall burned brightly, and despite the snowy weather, it managed to sweat her up.

"My lord..."

Shen Ruojin softened her voice, putting on a delicate front as she braced herself and leaned against him.

"Your dance is lovely, and your seductive skills are no less impressive."

Master Lin offered his critiques one by one.
For some reason, his tone carried a subtle nuance—
Much like a husband secretly visiting a brothel, only to run into the pampered wife he kept hidden at home.

Shen Ruojin was about to reply when—

"Strip! Strip them all!"

A drunken general shouted, eager to stage a live spring performance in public, and began tearing at the dancer's already meager clothing.

Master Lin frowned almost imperceptibly and swept Shen Ruojin up horizontally in his arms. "Since I have a beauty by my side, it is better to cherish her tender jade. I shall return to my room first; please continue, everyone."

Before his voice faded, he carried Shen Ruojin and strode outward.

Yang Wanxiong laughed. "My men are all rough around the edges and have gone without a woman for over half a year, so don't take offense, Brother Lin. Take your beauty back to your room to make merry, and tomorrow, send me a portrait of your sister-in-law. As long as she is within the Western Frontier, I will surely find her and return her to you safe and sound!"

"Then I thank the Protector General."

The large doors swung open, and the howling wind and snow rushed in. Master Lin's voice carried on the wind, sounding somewhat different from before.

Amidst the banquet, everyone was busy flirting and laughing with the dancers. No one noticed that the dancing girl in Yang Wanxiong's arms had quietly slipped something to a serving maid delivering dishes.

The maid bowed and backed away, quickly vanishing outside the doors.

The Protectorate's East Wing.

This was where Yang Wanxiong lodged distinguished guests, and Master Lin's party was staying here tonight.

The room was empty save for a single lit lamp.

Master Lin carried Shen Ruojin inside and kicked the door shut with one foot. The Protectorate servants outside who wished to enter and serve were now shut out, exchanging baffled glances.

Shen Ruojin broke free from his embrace and threw a kick to seize the initiative, but forgetting she wasn't wearing shoes, her foot slipped. She nearly crashed into the wooden door, and would have fallen had he not grabbed her ankle, allowing her to steady herself on one foot.

Shen Ruojin lowered her voice. "Let go."

"I was holding you quite well, yet you suddenly resort to violence. How unreasonable."

Master Lin released her, but his tongue remained sharp.

No sooner had Shen Ruojin regained her footing than the tall, slender man pressed her back against the door panel.

He lowered his head and kissed her.

Shen Ruojin turned her head to dodge, and the man's warm lips brushed against her shoulder.

Unable to endure such treatment, she revealed her sleeve arrow and pressed it against Master Lin's chest.

He stepped a fraction closer, as if completely certain she would not take his life. "If I perish here, you will not escape death either. Beauty, do not forget why you came tonight..."

Shen Ruojin had come for the military tally and had no personal grudge against this so-called Master Lin; there was truly no need to entangle herself with him here.

Most importantly, Yang Wanxiong's military tally had now been pilfered by that dancing girl.

Sensing that this Master Lin was no simple character, she couldn't help but guess, "That dancing girl is your person?"

"Care to guess?"

Master Lin did not answer directly, instead playfully beginning to push against the door panel.

Shen Ruojin found this man's words and actions utterly inexplicable. "What are you pushing the door for?"
And pushing it repeatedly, at that.

"Don't you understand?" Master Lin looked at her righteous yet somewhat bewildered gaze, the corners of his lips curving upward of their own accord. "The people outside will understand once they see it."

Their shadows were cast upon the door. Viewed from the outside, they appeared like mandarin ducks with intertwined necks, passionately entwined.

Not only that, but the door panel kept vibrating, thudding loudly and teetering on the verge of collapse.

The servants who had served Yang Wanxiong for a long time averted their eyes at this spectacle.

The Protectorate echoed with nightly revelry, and Yang Wanxiong's subordinates were hardly short of lustful men. But they had truly never witnessed anyone who couldn't even make it to the bed and started right against the door the moment they entered the room.

"Let's go, let's go..."
"Don't disturb the distinguished guest's refined pleasures."

With their faces burning from hearing the commotion, they hurriedly turned back to report to the Protector General.

This Master Lin talked a big game about pursuing his wife a thousand miles, and looked decent enough on the outside, but in reality, he couldn't walk away upon seeing a beauty.
Finding his wife on the surface while sleeping with a dancer in bed—he managed both without missing a beat.

Outside, the crowd dispersed.

Inside... Shen Ruojin, who had been leaning against the vibrating door panel until she felt dizzy, heard the servants whispering outside and instantly understood what such violent shaking implied.

"You!" Shen Ruojin shoved Master Lin away.

The latter, who had been strong and immovable just a moment before, now toppled at a single push. Staggering back several steps, he sat down on the edge of the bed.

He clutched his chest. "Beauty, what a cruel heart. Moments ago at the banquet you threw yourself into my arms, and now you suddenly turn around and attack me."

Shen Ruojin walked toward him step by step. "When have I ever thrown myself into your arms?"

She had originally aimed for Yang Wanxiong.
It was this man who had suddenly reached out and dragged her over.
And now he was trying to turn the tables on her.

This inexplicable familiarity...

Shen Ruojin darted to the bedside, grabbed Master Lin by the chin, forced him to look up, and demanded in a low voice, "Who on earth are you?"