Borrowing a sword

Chapter 24 Triggering the Task
"Stop messing around." Chu Huaixu refused outright.

A smile returned to his face, but his intriguing gaze seemed to be looking at a little fool once again.

This annoyed Han Shuangjiang somewhat.

Chu Huaixu looked at her, not taking the raised wine jar, but simply gazing into her beautiful eyes, and said:

"Do you know what might happen if you go home and I go to deliver the wine? You could very well run into danger."

Han Shuangjiang frowned, staring directly into his eyes without flinching. This iceberg replied:

"Of course I know!"

We've already started chatting so openly, I'm not really stupid, so don't look at me like that!

She knew there was danger, which is why she chose to go home and let the other person seek help.

Seeing her stubborn expression, Chu Huaixu's smile deepened.

"Do you think the dangers men face are the same as the dangers women face?"

After saying that, he looked her up and down.

Meeting his gaze, Han Shuangjiang's delicate body tensed slightly for a moment, and she immediately understood what he meant.

She hadn't expected that Chu Huaixu would consider things so thoroughly, even taking this into account.

"But..." she wanted to say something more.

Regardless of the circumstances, the whole thing started because of her.

"Don't make any 'buts', just do as I say!" His attitude was extremely firm, even a bit fierce.

The cold-faced girl pursed her lips, but in the end she could only give in and turned away with a hint of annoyance.

"Ha! You little housekeeper, do you think you can be in charge?" Chu Huaixu thought to himself as he watched her walk away to the east.

He showed no signs of pressure or tension, carrying a pile of groceries home and even whistling.

In his view, having some indirect contact with Niu Yuanshan was harmless.

However, at this stage, it's best to minimize direct contact.

Moreover, as a fellow member of the organization, it would seem beneath me to proactively seek favors from them.

"And if I remember correctly, players have previously discovered that this [organization] has a lot of messy rules."

"They've all been brainwashed, as if they're all ready to sacrifice themselves for a cause."

Logically speaking, even if undercover agents can't cover for each other, they should at least avoid causing trouble for each other.

Chu Huaixu guessed that his decision not to visit in person might be more in line with the organization's operating logic.

A jar of wine from the Moon Kingdom is enough for Niu Yuanshan.

Given the current state of trade between the two countries, this shouldn't be considered a weakness.

Just like on Earth, you can't say I'm a walking 500,000 just because I use an iPhone, right?

Not really, not really.

Of course, there is something even more important.

What is Chu Huaixu waiting for?

After returning home, he placed all the ingredients at the entrance of Han Shuangjiang's bamboo house.

"She said she'd cook, so of course we'll leave it here. Anyway, I'm only paying for one meal and I don't cook!"

"Hmm! I won't even wash the dishes!" he made up his mind.

Just after he finished doing all that, a system notification sounded in his ear.

"They're here!" Chu Huaixu was overjoyed, as he had run out of experience points to use.

"[Ding! You have triggered a passive quest—Retribution from Liu Chengqi!]"

"[Mission Difficulty Level: Grade A!]"

Meanwhile, Han Shuangjiang had also arrived outside Niu Yuanshan's courtyard.

As one of the nine deacons of the outer sect, his courtyard looked much more upscale and classy than the bamboo house.

Well, it's quite elegant. Chinese aesthetics are very luxurious; this courtyard must have cost a fortune to build.

As Han Shuangjiang approached the courtyard, a thought suddenly occurred to her: "What if Steward Niu isn't home?"

As a member of the outer sect's management team, Niu Yuanshan also had affairs to manage.

If he's not home, he's probably in the deacon's office.

The handbook for registered disciples contains a map, so Han Shuangjiang knows where the Hall of Affairs is, and it's not particularly far from here.

But no matter what, it still takes time.

She was starting to regret it, feeling she'd spent too much time buying groceries, and wondered, "Why was he so unhurried the whole way?"

Little did they know that Chu Huaixu was waiting for the quest to be triggered.

The girl, carrying a wine jar, raised her hand and knocked on the courtyard gate.

Before they parted, Chu Huaixu gave her a few instructions, which she had been rehearsing in her mind along the way.

The courtyard gate opened quickly, revealing the servants inside.

"And who are you?" the servant asked.

“My name is Han Shuangjiang, and I’ve come to visit Steward Niu,” she said.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a gentle voice came from inside the courtyard: "It's Frost's Descent. Come in."

Han Shuangjiang immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Although she only met Niu Yuanshan once, she had a good impression of this middle-aged man. He seemed to be an upright and kind elder, which matched her imagination of the management of a prestigious sect like the Taoist sect.

The undercover agent, Lao Niu, was tending to his flowers and plants in his small courtyard.

That was a dragon's blood grass, the main ingredient for making hemostatic pills.

The hemostatic pill is not considered precious; it is merely a low-grade elixir.

He kept it here not to refine elixirs, but simply because he thought the Dragon Blood Grass was beautiful, had a unique shape, and a particularly vibrant red color, as red as blood!

As Niu Yuanshan watched Han Shuangjiang approach, his gaze fell upon the jar of Erlang wine she was carrying.

He smiled slightly at her and nodded in acknowledgment, then turned his back to her and began fiddling with the dragon blood grass, his eyes narrowing slightly in the shadows!
"Erlang wine?" Niu Yuanshan narrowed his eyes slightly.

He was always cautious in his actions within the Taoist community, possessing exceptional awareness and skills in espionage, making him a very typical highly sensitive individual.

He couldn't possibly miss a jar of wine from the Moon Kingdom.

After regaining his composure, Niu Yuanshan put down the scissors, turned to Han Shuangjiang, and said, "You're here, why did you bring a jar of wine?"

“Erlang wine? Isn’t that wine produced in the Moon Kingdom?” he said.

Han Shuangjiang placed the wine jar on the stone table beside him and said, "Reporting to the steward, it was Chu Huaixu who asked me to bring it. He said it would be too impolite to come empty-handed on my first visit."

Upon hearing this name, all of Niu Yuanshan's doubts vanished.

He even felt a sense of relief.

Is this a jar of wine?
This is an unspoken understanding between the two of us from the same country!

"Good boy, that's thoughtful of you," he said with a smile, praising the person who was not present.

He had previously suspected that this newcomer might know his identity.

Now it's like playing your cards open.

Niu Yuanshan sat down on the stone bench first, and then gestured for Han Shuangjiang to sit opposite him.

"By the way, why did you come alone?" Deacon Niu naturally followed the other party's words and began to steer the conversation toward the newcomer of the [Organization].

Han Shuangjiang kept Chu Huaixu's instructions in mind. No matter how anxious she was, she could not reveal the purpose of her visit.

But she wasn't stupid; it was just that Chu Huaixu liked to look at her like she was an idiot.

At that moment, a thought flashed through her mind: when Chu Huaixu fought with Liu Chengqi, he had taken half a slap from the other party.

Therefore, Han Shuangjiang immediately found the best entry point:
"Steward Niu, because he was slightly injured."

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(End of this chapter)