Finest Servant Chapter 615 (Patreon)

Chapter 615 Make Your Own Decision

"Saying it outright might not be appropriate for children," Lin San said, wiping sweat from his forehead and chuckling. "Salmu, you're too young for this kind of question."

Salmu snorted, disdain coloring his childish face. "Like is like, what's there to be afraid of admitting? In our plains, if you like a woman, you even have the right to take her by force back to your tent. What's with your skulking and reticence? How could my sister ever like a coward like you?"

This kid sure doesn't mince words. Lin Wanrong forced a smile and discreetly wiped away his cold sweat when no one was watching, then turned and beat a hasty retreat.

Hu Bugui and others followed him, barely containing their laughter. "General, don't take the kid's nonsense to heart. These Turks will never understand the subtle beauty of our Great Hua men. Especially you, General. Your modesty and subtlety are legendary in Great Hua."

‘Modesty and subtlety? Is he talking about me? This Old Hu is clearly mocking me!’ Lin Wanrong rolled his eyes, and Hu Bugui, along with Gao Qiu, turned their heads away and burst into laughter.

"Yes, yes, subtlety is a form of beauty too!" Du Xiuyuan interjected, trying to defuse the tension. "General, would you like to check on Zhao Kangning again? Little Li has been itching to deal with him."

Lin Wanrong shook his head, waving his hand dismissively. "I can't be bothered. Gao Qiu, you handle him later. Make sure you find the treasures his father left behind."

"Alright!" Gao Qiu shouted, grinning maliciously. "Fortunately, I've recently found a new drug said to stimulate milk production in cows. The young prince is in for a treat!"

What good could come of falling into Gao Qiu's hands? Hu Bugui and Du Xiuyuan shuddered in unison.

"It's been a few days, and Gao Qiu, you're still so keen on research!" Lin Wanrong laughed heartily. "But don't be too harsh on him; let the young prince live but make sure he spends the rest of his life bedridden. Ah, I've become so merciful lately; I really need to reflect on this."

He wandered around the camp, his mind incessantly returning to Xu Zhiqing, who had stormed off. Despite searching high and low, he found no trace of her.

Du Xiuyuan and others, tired of the silence, engaged him in casual conversations. While the camaraderie was lively and pleasant, every mention of the frontline stalemate and failed negotiations led to expectant glances thrown his way, their hopes clearly written on their faces.

As the sky was filled with the colors of the evening, Lin Wanrong finally left the camp, exhaling deeply. A young general, who looked about fourteen or fifteen, rapidly approached on horseback—it was Li Wuling.

"Little Li, Little Li—" Lin Wanrong hurriedly waved with a smile, but Li Wuling passed him with an icy glare, riding on without stopping, as if he was nothing but air.

"What's going on? Weren't you quite happy when you saw me earlier?" Lin Wanrong was taken aback. With quick reflexes, he grabbed the reins, causing the warhorse to rear up with a whinny, its head shaking and tail swishing, neighing loudly. Li Wuling was hunched over the horse's back; he snorted and turned his head away.

"Hey, Little Li, what's the matter?" Lin Wanrong chuckled as he calmed the horse, gently stroking its flowing mane. "Why the long face? I haven't offended you, have I?"

"You haven't offended me," Li Wuling shot him a glare, visibly irritated. "But you've bullied my Aunt Xu!"

"Miss Xu?!" Lin Wanrong was genuinely startled. "What happened to her? I had no intention of bullying her!"

Frustrated, Li Wuling wiped away a tear and snapped, "Aunt Xu is missing, and you still claim you didn't bully her?"

"Miss Xu is missing?!" Lin Wanrong leaped up in shock. "When did this happen?! No wonder I haven't been able to find her!"

"After she saw you, she disappeared. I've been searching all afternoon and haven't seen a trace of her!"

Xu Zhiqing was a calm and composed person; she wouldn't just go missing so easily. Lin Wanrong pondered for a moment and suddenly grinned. He swiftly mounted his horse. "Little Li, I'm borrowing your warhorse for a moment!"

"Hey, what are you doing?! Hey, Brother Lin—" Li Wuling shouted, but Lin Wanrong spurred the horse forward, disappearing into the distance in a cloud of dust.

Hu Bugui and a few others sneaked out of the camp, craning their necks to look at the rapidly receding trail of dust. They couldn't help but exclaim, "Little Li, you really do have a lot of tricks up your sleeve!"

"Of course," Li Wuling bobbed his head, chuckling continuously. "Aunt Xu treats Brother Lin so well, and yet he's always thinking about other women. If we don't make him feel anxious, he won't appreciate Aunt Xu's worth!"

Gao Qiu shook his head and sighed sympathetically, "Poor Brother Lin. One Yujia has already tormented him to no end; he doesn't even dare to see her. Now add Military Advisor Miss Xu to the mix—how is he going to survive the days ahead? Ah, how miserable a man can be!"

Miserable? Hu Bugui, Du Xiuyuan, and Li Wuling glared at him. How come such a "miserable" life never falls upon them?

"Forget I said anything, forget it!" Gao Qiu quickly retracted his head under the withering glares, chuckling awkwardly. "Actually, I'm quite looking forward to such a miserable life, really—the more miserable, the better!"

As the sun gradually disappeared below the horizon, a beautiful twilight hue seemed like the earth's final makeup. The desert winds howled incessantly, the scorching heat battering their faces, making their breathing instantly fiery.

Lin Wanrong galloped out of the city, alone on his horse. He stood on a slope, looking out in all directions. The blood-red sunset, swirling storms, and silvery sand filling the sky made it impossible to keep his eyes open, let alone catch sight of Xu Zhiqing.

This young lady was truly stubborn, she had been like this since the first time they met! Lin Wanrong heaved a long sigh. The image of Miss Xu's face, a mix of joy and sorrow from their meeting this morning, floated before his eyes. He shook his head slightly, oriented himself, and spurred his horse northward, covering one or two miles in a single breath.

The wind howled, and grains of silver sand relentlessly struck his face, each one stinging sharply. Far in the distance, a small, unmoving dark figure sat silently on the ground. Her black hair danced in the wind, and her beautiful long skirt fluttered like a flying banner. The endless wind and sand seemed to divert around her full figure, creating a unique vortex. She sat there quietly, her eyes filled with tenderness.

"Miss Xu!" Lin Wanrong leaped off his horse, slapping its hindquarters, sending the steed galloping away in the swirling sands.

The fierce wind roared but couldn't drown out his voice. Xu Zhiqing's body stiffened slightly. She didn't turn around and coldly said, "What are you doing here?"

"I came looking for you!" He chuckled and walked up to her, sitting down beside her. In front of Xu Zhiqing was a tall mound of sand, seemingly hand-piled, which looked as though it had been there for some time. She held a wooden tablet in her hand, concealed beneath her skirt, its purpose unclear.

Xu Zhiqing turned her head slightly, her beautiful eyes somewhat red and swollen. "What do you want with me? Living the high life with another beauty and not having to fight wars, aren't you carefree enough? What does my life or death have to do with you?"

Lin Wanrong looked up and grinned, "Your life or death doesn't matter to me? What about my life, do you care about mine? If you don’t, I might as well be dead—"

"Stop it!" Xu Zhiqing angrily rebuked, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Lin Wanrong gently shook his head and sighed softly, "For someone like me, who has already died once, life and death are merely symbols. There's no need to be so obsessed."

Xu Zhiqing abruptly lifted her head, tears already swirling in her eyes, "You're talking nonsense! Life and death may be symbols to you, but to some people, it's everything. Do you, a despicable person, even understand that?"

She stared at him silently, tears falling down her soft cheeks, a few grains of silver sand clinging to her face with the tears, ineffably tender and beautiful.

"Miss Xu—" Lin Wanrong sighed silently, slowly reaching for her hand. Xu Zhiqing's palm trembled, but she stubbornly turned her head away, hiding her hand behind her back.

Lin Wanrong chuckled, and with a slight exertion of force, he gripped her delicate hand tightly; it was trembling, yet warm. "I understand it all," he said softly.

Xu Zhiqing's body shook violently. Suddenly unable to contain herself any longer, she turned around, hugged him tightly, and burst into tears. "You heartless man, why do you treat me like this? I should hate you to death, I should hate you!"

He had been gone for three months, his fate unknown, not a word from him. Nearly a hundred days and nights of endless longing, worry, and grievance finally exploded. Tears poured down like rain, her ample chest heaving rapidly. She sobbed uncontrollably, curling tightly into his arms, crying as if she were suffocating, instantly soaking his shirt with her tears.

In this wretched war, filled with the stench of blood and the sorrow of parting, what was the point of all this fighting? Lin Wanrong's eyes moistened as he held Xu Zhiqing tightly in his arms, gently patting her fragile shoulders, unable to find the words to speak.

The howling wind and swirling sand showed no sign of stopping. The two clung to each other, finding a silent but comforting warmth in the midst of the desolate landscape. Lin Wanrong carefully picked up a wooden plaque that had been covered by Xu Zhiqing's skirt, brushing off the sand that coated it. The plaque bore no words, only faint brushstrokes depicting two figures, a man and a woman, standing close together, hands interlocked. A storm of wind and sand danced around them, slowly burying their forms.

Lin Wanrong stared blankly for a moment, then looked at the towering sand dune before him. Blinking, he suddenly asked, "Is this our tombstone?"

Xu Zhiqing hurriedly stopped her tears, wiping them away with her sleeve, and reached out to snatch the plaque. "Don't look at it! Give it back to me!"

The tombstone was still lying flat. If it were to stand upright, what would be buried beneath it would be his mortal coil and her eternal spirit.

"My tomb?!" Lin Wanrong stared at the sand dune, then suddenly lay back on it, bursting into laughter.

"What are you laughing at? Stop laughing!" Xu Zhiqing angrily lunged at him, reaching to cover his mouth.

"I've never seen my own tomb before!" He grasped Xu Zhiqing's hand, his nose tingling, and spoke softly yet firmly, "I promise you, when we grow old, I will build a tomb like this. Everyone we know will be buried in it. We will be together forever, inseparable in life or death."

Tears rolled down Xu Zhiqing's cheeks as she pounded his chest, saying, "Why deceive me into tears—you could bury countless people in this tomb of yours! You infuriate me, truly!"

Lin Wanrong laughed heartily, "That doesn't matter. As long as you hold my hand, I will know who you are. No matter what you become, no one can separate us. Do you believe me?"

"I don't believe you—" Xu Zhiqing, her face wet with tears, slowly leaned into his embrace, "—then who can I believe?"

Strangely, as the desert sand swirled around them, they lay hand in hand on what should have been their tomb, feeling an incredible sense of peace and warmth.

Lin Wanrong stared at the fallen tombstone, oddly calm, "Miss Xu, when did you make this tombstone for me?"

Xu Zhiqing hummed softly, "When Hu Bugui and the others returned from the prairie, I had it ready."

She didn't say the rest, but Lin Wanrong understood. If he never returned, the old ritual of burial in the sand would be reenacted. He knew this stubborn girl better than anyone. Silently, he sighed and pulled her closer into his embrace.

Suddenly, Xu Zhiqing looked up, her eyes a mix of shyness and discontent, "Why do you still call me Miss Xu? Can't I be called by something else?"

Lin Wanrong chuckled and whispered in her ear, "Because when I call you Miss Xu, the feeling is irreplaceable. Even if we marry and share a bed in the future, I'll still call you Miss Xu, okay?"

This man's words always carried an implicit lewdness. Was it innate to him? Xu Zhiqing felt her ears heat up and her heart pounding uncontrollably, unsure of what to say.

"Ah, lying on my own grave. How comfortable!" Lin Wanrong let out a contented sigh, hands behind his head. The night was desolate, but at some unknown point, the sky had become mottled. Faint stars appeared intermittently, their dim light reflecting off the vast desert sand, unparalleled in beauty.

"Does it still hurt?" Xu Zhiqing gently caressed his chest, her touch incredibly soft.

"It's fine now," Lin Wanrong replied with a small smile. "I'm the quick-to-heal type; injuries don't bother me much."

Xu Zhiqing sighed and tenderly leaned her cheek against his chest. "I've seen her," she murmured.

"Who? Seen who?"

"Who else could it be? Stop pretending to be clueless!" Xu Zhiqing gave him a hard pinch on his waist.

"Oh, her. Who exactly is 'her'?" For once, Lin Wanrong seemed genuinely confused, an innocent expression on his face.

Xu Zhiqing was too smart not to see through his ruse. She shot him an annoyed glance but couldn't help sighing. "No wonder she has your soul ensnared! The Great Khan of the Turks is indeed incredibly beautiful, skilled in martial arts, intelligent, and extraordinarily noble. She has every reason to be proud!"

Hearing such praise from even his adversary, Lin Wanrong chuckled. "Ah, you mean Yujia. She's indeed remarkable. But among the Turks, there must be one or two worthy individuals, right? What's so surprising about that?"

Xu Zhiqing huffed. "Not just 'remarkable.' She's bewitching and beguiling. Even I, a woman, find myself captivated. Don't you want to see her again?"

"You're not acting as a mediator for the General, are you?" Lin Wanrong shook his head with a bitter face.

Xu Zhiqing turned her head away, irritated. "What woman would willingly act as a go-between for you and your old flame?"

Feeling the bitterness in Xu Zhiqing's heart, Lin Wanrong patted her shoulder, opened his mouth to say something but found himself at a loss for words.

"Our first negotiation was a disaster. Yujia was extremely obstinate. She made only minor concessions and even said that if we continued to use the Young Khan of the Turks as leverage, she wouldn't hesitate to go to war with us," Xu Zhiqing spoke softly. "If it really comes to that, we're not afraid. We've fought for many years. But this time it's different. The Turks are out in full force for revenge, and regardless of how many cities they take, a bloodbath is inevitable."

Lin Wanrong sighed, his brow furrowed, but he said nothing.

"Three days from now, the second round of negotiations will resume. Given Yujia's personality, this might be our last chance," Xu Zhiqing pressed her cheek to his chest, listening to his heartbeat and shedding gentle tears. "Whether to go or not is up to you."