Desolate

Cradling a nude beauty in my arms, I can only admire but not indulge—such profound torment for a man. Embracing the delicate and boneless figure of Qin Xian'er, Lin Wanrong felt helpless, contemplating the love gu within her. Besides taking a little advantage, he could only settle down and lead an honest life.

For the sake of future happiness, Lin Wanrong accepted it with resentment. As he thought about it, he lightly pinched Xian'er's cheek, and she softly moaned in her dream, incredibly enticing.

When he woke up, fine drizzle covered the window, more atmospheric than yesterday. However, there was no sign of Qin Xian'er by his side. The room still carried her fragrance, and on the bedside lay a note with fresh ink, bearing a few lines of elegant writing: "The sect urgently summoned, departing ahead. This dwelling belongs to you, also my home. Day and night thinking of you, our hearts intertwined."

Lin Wanrong sighed, Qing Xuan had left, and Xian'er too. Similar haste, similar traceless departure. Standing in the courtyard, he gazed at the note silently. On the plain paper, a few drops of newly dried tears lingered. Thinking of Xian'er's exquisite beauty, her tearful appearance, the murmurs and whispers of yesterday, it all seemed like a dream in this misty drizzle.

Gone, gone, all gone. Lin Wanrong, even with his cheerful disposition, could only smile bitterly in the face of such a situation. Fortunately, he still had Qiao Qiao and Yu Shuang by his side, providing some small comfort.

In just over a month, it would be the Chinese New Year. After celebrating, he would head north to find Qing Xuan, then figure out a way to remove the love gu from Xian'er's body, marry the four girls, and build a house by West Lake to enjoy his later years. That was his life goal.

Although his experiences were unique, he never had thoughts of saving the country and the people. He was just an ordinary commoner. Those abstract and elusive things had nothing to do with him. Ideals? Ideals were just worthless stuff. If you could peacefully live out your life, you should consider yourself lucky.

Leaving Long Hong Village, his enthusiasm remained low. Following yesterday's path, he returned to West Lake. Despite the misty rain, there was still bustling activity on the lake with numerous official boats. Occasionally, someone would dive into the water, seemingly searching for something.

These must be people sent by Xu Wei, a day and a night. They hadn't stopped the search. Lin Wanrong smiled at this old Xu. He had treated me well; I'm a bit touched.

"Is that Young Master Lin up ahead?" a voice came. A group of soldiers searching by the lake saw him, and the leader was the guard who had been looking for boats for Xu Wei yesterday. Lin Wanrong, although changed his clothes, was still recognized by him.

"It is indeed Young Master Lin," Lin Wanrong saluted, "Brother, are you looking for me? Apologies for the trouble."

"Is it really Young Master Lin?" The guard was delighted, "Come, go report to the Lord, we found Young Master Lin."

Approaching happily, he said, "Young Master Lin, you're back. We've been searching all around West Lake. We thought you..."

Lin Wanrong nodded slightly, "Really troubled you, Brother. Don't know the name of this brother?"

The guard smiled, "Young Master is too polite. I'm a simple man, named Gao Qiu."

Gao Qiu? Lin Wanrong was stunned, "Under the governor of Jiangsu, there's a brother named Gao Shou. The two names are quite similar. Are you related?"

Gao Qiu laughed, "He's my older brother." Gao Qiu, Gao Shou. These old men's dad is really clever, taking advantage of the names of the world.

"Has the brother also served in the palace?" Lin Wanrong asked.

Gao Qiu nodded, "Once served in the palace. Later, following the imperial decree, he protected Mr. Xu, and it's been a few years now." It seemed that Xu Wei and Luo Min, like loyal ministers of the emperor, had many palace guards accompanying them.

Seeing so many people looking for him, Lin Wanrong sighed and said, "For my sake, Brother, it's really hard. Please forgive me."

"Don't say such words, Young Master," Gao Qiu said, "Young Master bravely captured the White Lotus and fought against the bandits. It's truly a model of bravery. In both public and private matters, Young Master has helped me fulfill a long-cherished wish. Both in public and private, Mr. Xu thanks you."

Lin Wanrong, a little surprised, said, "How did I help?"

"There are two ways you helped. In public, you assisted in capturing the White Lotus and bravely fought against the bandits, setting a model of courage. In private, you fulfilled my wish for many years. Me and Qing Lian can reunite, all thanks to Young Master's merit. Publicly or privately, Mr. Xu is grateful. Young Master, both are acceptable to Mr. Xu."

"Ha ha, forget it, forget it. I just can't stand the arrogance of the White Lotus, so I wanted to help. I didn't expect that those bandits were so unbearable. They fell into the water, and what's even more annoying is that, taking advantage of my inattention, they pulled me down too," Lin Wanrong shamelessly boasted.

"That's right, that's right," Xu Wei stroked his beard and laughed. Lin Xiao's knowledge and thick skin are rare to see; I'm not even his match. "But I don't know, did the escaped bandit, is it a man or a woman?"

"This—haven't touched it," Lin Wanrong replied without blinking.

Xu Wei laughed heartily, "It's okay to lose one. Their leader has fallen into our hands. Those shrimp soldiers and crab generals naturally can't make trouble."

While they were talking, a person hurriedly came to report, "Report to Mr. Xu, Miss Xiao has returned to Jinling."

"When did she leave?" Xu Wei was surprised.

"Just now, I followed Mr. Xu's orders and reported to Miss Xiao about Young Master Lin's safe return. Upon hearing the news, Miss Xiao said she would return to Jinling."

"Miss Xiao left?" Xu Wei was puzzled, "Last night. Miss Xiao was so anxious. She and Miss Qinglian spent the night on the boat together and didn't sleep. She instructed me to inform her as soon as she heard news of Young Master Lin. Now that Young Master Lin has returned, why didn't she come to greet him and just left?"

Damn, this Miss is really heartless. Yesterday, she was laughing and joking. Now that I'm back, she didn't even come to say hello and just left for Jinling. After returning to Jinling, she'll settle the score with you. I haven't even divided the money earned in these days.

"Did Miss say anything about me?" Lin Wanrong asked.

"Miss Xiao said, after Young Master Lin finishes handling the affairs here, return to

 Jinling on your own."

Finish handling affairs here? I'm just a small servant in the Xiao family. What affairs can I handle? Clearly, she doesn't want to see my face and finds such a lame excuse.

Xu Wei looked at him with deep meaning and said, "Young Master Lin, forgive me for being straightforward. With your talents and knowledge, it's really unfair for you to work as a small servant in the Xiao family. If Young Master doesn't mind, I can recommend you. With your talents, you can surely achieve great success, and your future will be bright."

"Future will be bright?" Lin Wanrong smiled slightly, "But I don't know what kind of future that is."

Xu Wei said, "Joining the government, serving the country, and benefiting the people."

Lin Wanrong sighed, "Mr. Xu, is this your ideal when you were young?"

Xu Wei was stunned for a moment. Lin San's words carried deep meaning, hinting that this was only his ideal in his younger years. This statement was indeed true. As Xu Wei reached this age, he had seen many dark sides and played many tricks. The passion of his youth had long faded, and he couldn't find traces of those ideals.

Ideals? Ideals are just a fart. Ask those old farmers who toil in the fields what ideals they have. Eating and dressing are their biggest ideals. What serving the country and benefiting the people, those slogans sound loud, but it's you scholars who embezzle and oppress the common people. If one day the world has no officials like you, that would be true peace.

Lin Wanrong took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Xu, I'm just an ordinary person. I haven't read the books of sages, nor have I thought about saving the country and the people. As long as others don't bully me, I just want to be an ordinary person and live my life peacefully. This can be considered my ideal. Just like working in this Xiao family, the madam and Miss treated me well. Being with them is fulfilling, without pressure, much more comfortable than being an official. People, it's better not to have too many ideals. Just live each day peacefully; that's heaven's blessing."

Hearing his words, Xu Wei couldn't help but sigh. This Lin Xiao's actions were unpredictable, and he displayed a unique style. Living each day peacefully? That's probably just a luxury, Lin Wanrong sighed with a desolate expression.