LWDC Chapter 48

Chapter 48 – Fifteen Thousand

Chapter 48 – Fifteen Thousand

Chapter 48 – Fifteen Thousand

Chonglin and Dong Lingyan had a quarrel in front of Ning Fei.

They really didn’t pay attention to controlling their volume, making such a commotion that the guards of the General’s mansion quietly lifted the curtain to peek inside. However, they were facing away from the door, so only Ning Fei met the guard’s eyes. The guard saw Ning Fei’s calm—even somewhat delighted—appearance, as if he didn’t intend to leave, so he silently lowered the curtain again.

Ning Fei was indeed using their quarrel as a side dish for his wine. There was nothing else to do for entertainment these days, so this was the only way to have fun.

However, these two were really bad at arguing, simply repeating vague phrases about “you said you were giving up on the mission but you’re still backstabbing me,” completely missing the point. Ning Fei couldn’t even muster any desire to comment. But Ning Fei still gleaned some information from their conversation, such as Dong Lingyan having been unlucky enough to almost die once, and then being saved inexplicably. Dong Lingyan’s explanation was “I had a little luck left,” which Ning Fei suspected was Duan Yunhong.

There was nothing else worth remembering, Ning Fei let it go in one ear and out the other. When the two of them were almost done arguing, Ning Fei had tasted enough of his little wine and snacks, so he pretended to be careless and knocked over his wine glass.

Clang!

The crisp sound of ceramic breaking interrupted Chonglin and Dong Lingyan, and the guard outside lifted the curtain again to check: “Young Master Ning?”

“It’s nothing,” Ning Fei said, but he blinked at him twice in what he hoped was a natural way.

The guard understood: “The time is approaching, Young Master Ning should prepare to return to the General’s mansion.” He paused, then recalled a line, “The item that the young master admired earlier has been purchased by servants and sent here. Does the young master wish to inspect it immediately?”

His tone was very stiff, and Ning Fei didn’t want to give Dong Lingyan and Chonglin time to overthink, so he immediately replied in a displeased tone: “That’s something for women, why would you buy it for me? Are you leaving it here for your Great General to humiliate me?”

The guard remained silent with a cold face.

“…Never mind, what’s the point of talking to you?” Ning Fei scoffed. “Bring the thing over.”

The guard brought in a brocade box and placed it on the table, attracting Dong Lingyan and Chonglin’s attention. Ning Fei then said, “You can go out first, I have a few more words to say to them,” and the guard withdrew from the room.

Then, Ning Fei opened the brocade box in front of the two of them.

Inside the box lay a jade bracelet, emerald green and translucent, with excellent water content, clearly a top-quality item. The only problem was that the craftsmanship was obviously feminine, definitely not suitable for Ning Fei.

“Tsk.” Ning Fei looked more and more annoyed, closed the brocade box, and pushed it towards Dong Lingyan. “Here, it’s yours.”

Dong Lingyan hadn’t caught up with the situation and looked blank: “…Huh?”

“This bracelet obviously has nothing to do with me. Am I supposed to take it back and wait for Duan Yunhong to laugh at me?” Ning Fei scoffed. “It’s suitable for a refined lady, take it back and coax your fiancée, his sister, or something.”

“…Are you sure?” Dong Lingyan had seen a lot, but that bracelet was really too beautiful, and it would really suit the Prime Minister’s daughter, so Dong Lingyan was tempted. “This bracelet must be very expensive. You’re just giving it to me like this, Duan Yunhong won’t mind?”

“I’ll just say I smashed it, threw it away. I just want to waste his money, he doesn’t care about this money anyway.” Ning Fei said, getting up. “This meal is also paid for by him, you guys keep eating and don’t waste it, I have to go.”

Chonglin, who had been neglected for a while, saw that he was leaving and immediately asked, “Are you still doing this mission or not?”

Ning Fei waved his hand, it wasn’t clear whether this was “I’m not doing it” or a farewell, anyway he walked out of the room. Chonglin still wanted to ask, but the guard, who was helping Ning Fei hold up the bamboo curtain, glared at him, and the words stuck in his throat.

Ning Fei left the room just like that, leaving Chonglin and Dong Lingyan facing each other in the same spot. They had just had a fight, so being alone together was quite awkward. Especially Dong Lingyan, whose dislike for Chonglin was at an all-time high, he really couldn’t sit still, so he quickly got up as well: “Then I’m leaving too. The Second Prince just warned me, it’s better if we don’t meet for a long time for now.”

Chonglin saw him take the brocade box with him and asked, “Are you really going to take this bracelet?”

“Otherwise?” Dong Lingyan looked back at him. “Leave it for you? Or leave it here for someone else to pick up for free?”

“I don’t want it, I just feel like this thing appeared a bit strange.” Chonglin said. “How did this thing end up on the table for no reason? How did he give it to you for no reason?”

“He said it very clearly, you’re the one he has a problem with.” Dong Lingyan no longer trusted Chonglin at this point, scoffing. “His way of talking is much smarter than yours. If he had come in the beginning, I might not have been able to complete the mission.”

Chonglin frowned. “You have no idea how crazy he is…!”

Dong Lingyan stopped listening to him, turned back, and walked straight out of the room.

*

As soon as Duan Yunhong returned to the General’s mansion, the housekeeper gave him a huge bill.

Then he entered the room, lifted the book covering the face of the person on the couch, and asked, “Going out for a meal cost me fifteen thousand taels, you really didn’t hold back. What did you buy?”

“A bracelet.” Ning Fei didn’t even open his eyes, lazily saying, “Not quite tribute level, but it’s considered top-notch in the private sector.”

Duan Yunhong asked, “Where is it?”

Ning Fei: “Given away.”

Duan Yunhong: “To whom?”

Ning Fei: “Dong Lingyan’s wife.”

After he said this, he waited a long time for a response, and Ning Fei couldn’t help but open his eyes. This time, he met Duan Yunhong’s condescending gaze head-on.

“…You scared me!” Ning Fei sat up. “If you have something to say, just say it, why are you staring at me?”

“The expression of the housekeeper when he reported the bill to me, you didn’t see it, it was like I was playing around like an emperor who neglects state affairs for the sake of a beautiful woman,” Duan Yunhong sat down next to him. “Now you’ve spent money on someone else’s wife, aren’t you going to give me an explanation?”

“What’s there to explain.” Ning Fei yawned, saying leisurely, “Can’t I spend money to make myself happy?”

“Is it spending money that makes you happy, or using flowers to present to Buddha that makes you happy?”

“Dong Lingyan is a fart of a Buddha?” Ning Fei scoffed. “I’m messing with him.”

“Messing with him? The bracelet is fake?”

“It’s not. But because it’s real, there’s a story.” Ning Fei replied. “Dong Lingyan is very self-centered and chauvinistic. Even if he accepts my gift, he won’t tell the Prime Minister’s daughter where it came from. He will definitely say that it was a gift he personally prepared for her.”

Although his posture was lazy, his eyes sparkled when he talked about how to scheme against people. Duan Yunhong looked at him and casually continued, “What if he says it was prepared by himself?”

“He has two wives, and he only gave it to one of them, what will the other one think?” Ning Fei smiled softly. “I heard that the Hamingk tribe’s Lanli is irritable and jealous, I hope Dong Lingyan can handle it.”

Duan Yunhong said, “…Do you still want to continue the mission?”

“I don’t want to, I’m not doing it. I’m leaving in three days.” Ning Fei emphasized again, “I’m just giving him some trouble along the way.”

After a pause, Ning Fei added, “Speaking of which, when Dong Lingyan had bad luck and almost died before, you were the one who saved him, right? If he died, the mission would completely fail, why bother saving him?”

Duan Yunhong was silent for two seconds, then asked, “Why do you think I would protect him?”

“…Alright, you put in a lot of effort to pull me over here. You were forced to go from lying flat to working hard, hahaha.” Ning Fei laughed, then leaned back on the couch again with a smile. “Hey, then this time you have to take away all of Dong Lingyan’s luck, otherwise it’s a big loss.”

Duan Yunhong silently looked at him.

Ning Fei finished laughing and glanced at him: “Why are you mute again? I’m not stopping you from talking now.”

“Even if you leave, it will still take a long time to determine that this wish has failed.” Duan Yunhong stared at him. “I might not have the patience.”

Ning Fei said, “Don’t you like to relax in these worlds? Why are you suddenly impatient?”

Duan Yunhong: “There are some things to do.”

Ning Fei: “…”

Duan Yunhong: “Why don’t you ask what things?”

“Ha, I’m not going to fall for your trick.” Ning Fei raised an eyebrow. “What you want to do is your freedom. Don’t expect me to report to the Bureau and force the closure of Chonglin’s mission. You want to end it quickly and get the luck? You’re dreaming!”

“I don’t want you to help me quickly write off the bad debt.” Duan Yunhong leaned over, supporting himself on his side with one hand. “Give me your location marker.”

“What the hell? My location marker?!” Ning Fei widened his eyes, looking incredulous. “Do you think that’s possible? None of my colleagues at the Bureau have my marker!”

“I’m not your colleague.” Duan Yunhong said. “Give it to me, and I’ll let you pass directly next time we meet.”

“Do I need you to let me?” Ning Fei sneered. “Don’t say I can take it down myself, I wouldn’t sell my location for a world’s mission.”

“Then why don’t you give it to me?” Duan Yunhong said. “Next time, we’ll have a fair and square showdown.”

“Are you trying to fool a three-year-old? You want my location just to have a fair duel with me?” Ning Fei replied. “And then? If you lose, you’ll keep chasing me for a rematch until you win one? Wouldn’t that be creating a big obstacle for myself? Do I look like I have that much free time?”

“Lose? I won’t underestimate you again.” Duan Yunhong said. “If you don’t give it to me, I’ll keep finding your colleagues and have them ask you by name for support. There’s a limit to how many times you can refuse, right? You’ll have to come eventually, and the rhythm of your work will be completely disrupted.”

“What the hell are you doing?” Ning Fei pushed him away and sat up. “Duan Yunhong, are you trying to chase me? Or are you just reluctant to part with me as your fuck buddy and want to enjoy a few more worlds?”

“You tricked me first, why are you asking me what’s wrong?” Before Ning Fei, Duan Yunhong hadn’t taken such a big tumble in a long time, giving the Bureau experience for nothing, and being played. But he wouldn’t say these words, he would only say: “I’m giving you a chance now, we’ll have a thorough competition, otherwise don’t blame me for always creating ‘small troubles’ for you. Anyway, you know that luck thieves are still thieves, and thieves don’t always like to reason.”

Ning Fei frowned and stared at him: “You’re like a little kid who’s not convinced after losing.”

“Then are you admitting defeat this time because I’ve already taken control of the situation, does that count as being a little kid?” Duan Yunhong said. “If you don’t agree, it means you’re afraid of losing to me. That Su Cenxi thing, without me letting things slide, you would never have been able to do it so smoothly.”

“Bullshit!” Ning Fei felt like he was being led into his trap, agreeing would be embarrassing, not agreeing would be ridiculed by him. Ning Fei never lingered in this kind of strange circle, and immediately changed the subject: “Don’t pretend to be so upright and righteous. You wanted to fix a relationship in that world, and now you want to locate me, isn’t it just because you haven’t slept enough?”

“You’re only talking about me? Don’t you want to go back to find me too? Aren’t you trying to fix a relationship? Fixing it in one world still counts as fixing it!” Duan Yunhong saw that he always steered the topic this way, so he simply talked to him about it. “You were already tricking me and sleeping with me at the same time, what’s wrong with continuing to do that in the future?”

Ning Fei rarely couldn’t argue with him in sophistry: “Duan Yunhong, you’re really shameless.”

“Do you think a thief can have face? How did your Bureau train you?” Duan Yunhong grabbed his wrist and pressed him down. “You spent fifteen thousand taels of my money, are you going to have face now? You used to know how to exchange things for it, now are you planning to just take it for free?”

Ning Fei scoffed: “You’re already planning to ‘take it yourself’, why are you questioning me?”

“That’s right, I’m going to take it myself. I’ll also let you know that I’m not like your previous bed partners, you can’t just shake me off and leave whenever you want.” Duan Yunhong also spoke with sarcasm. “You’re not going to run away at the last minute, are you? If you run away in advance, that would be extremely ridiculous…”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Ning Fei interrupted him, hugged his neck, and pulled him down directly.

——————–

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