Chapter 013: Everything Is Ready

A small flame burned in Du Fan’s palm, shining brightly like a star on a moonlit night. Du Fan stared at the flame, a faint smile playing on his lips. But moments later, with a slight squeeze of his hand, he extinguished the flame. A wisp of smoke rose from his palm, giving him an air of calm satisfaction.

“I didn’t expect you to know magic, Du Fan. It seems Lord Anthony has underestimated you after all,” a deep and authoritative voice came from behind him.

Du Fan quickly turned around with a smile and said loudly, “Lord Joshua, what brings you here today? Magic? You must be joking, Lord Joshua. This is just a communication magic scroll I use to stay in touch with my subordinates. I doubt you can’t see that.”

Yet today, Joshua was dressed in casual clothes, looking relaxed. He walked to one side of the balcony, leaned on the railing, and glanced outside before sighing softly. “This is truly a nice place. No wonder you like to come here in your free time, Du Fan. I doubt such scenery exists much in the North.”

This was the balcony in front of the cathedral. From here, one could see the bustling streets… though what was visible now was mostly chaos.

Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “Lord Joshua, it’s rare that you don’t realize we can see all kinds of human behavior from here.”

“Oh?” Joshua replied, “But all I see is fear and murderous intent.”

“Is that so?” Du Fan smiled. “Every soldier passing by here has fear and murderous intent on their faces, but what are they really thinking? Only the God of Light might know that. As ordinary people, we can never truly understand what others are thinking. All we can do is guess… But even though it’s just a guess, it still represents the diversity of life. How strange that Lord Joshua might not understand this better than I do?”

Joshua remained silent.

Du Fan chuckled softly and continued, “Lord Joshua, you didn’t come to see me for no reason today. If there’s something on your mind, just speak up. I, Du Fan, am ready to listen.”

Joshua nodded and said, “Alright, Du Fan… I just want to ask you what you really intend to do. You told me before that you wanted revenge, but now I don’t see any signs of it. Instead, I see you… bored…”

Du Fan frowned and said, “Lord Joshua, what do you mean by this?”
Joshua snorted, pulled out an invitation from his bosom, and threw it in front of Du Fan. “What’s this, Du Fan? I can’t believe you still have the mood to invite people out of the city for a hunt at a time like this. Is this what they call revenge?”
Du Fan replied calmly, “So that’s what Lord Joshua means. Hunting is just an interesting social activity. Besides, tomorrow’s hunt will definitely be unforgettable. I think Lord Joshua won’t refuse such an invitation. How about this, Lord Joshua? If you don’t think tomorrow’s hunt is interesting, I’ll accompany you back to the capital right after it’s over. But on the contrary, if you think it’s somewhat interesting, then let me stay in this northern land for a few more days. I think such conditions should satisfy you, right?”
Seeing Du Fan’s half-smiling expression, Joshua sighed and said, “Alright, then I’ll go and see what’s so interesting about this hunt… Well, Du Fan, I’m leaving now!”
“Have a good trip. I won’t see you off…”
Joshua turned and walked down the stairs. Du Fan watched his retreating figure with an increasingly strange smile.
A moment later, a cat’s head poked out from Du Fan’s collar. The cute cat paws scratched his face and said, “Phew! Phew! I almost got caught by that guy.”
Du Fan said calmly, “Chenchen, are you joking? If Joshua could detect you, then he wouldn’t be a knight but a magician…”
“That’s true,” Chenchen’s cat face showed a smile. “But Du Fan, will your plan actually work? If Aldas doesn’t show up tomorrow, won’t everything go awry?”
Du Fan sneered and said, “Chenchen, you don’t need to worry about that. Aldas isn’t me. He’s a hero of the capital, the pride of Gavin, and the heir to the Belinger family. Such a person will always face challenges rather than avoid them. So unless Xuelan betrays me, Aldas will definitely come!”
“Aren’t you afraid that Xuelan might betray you?” Chenchen asked in confusion.

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Du Fan sighed softly. “Whether she betrays me or not, the outcome will be the same. Given Ordas’s pride, he won’t ignore such a provocation from me, Du Fan… But if he finds out that all of this was my clever arrangement, he probably won’t fall for the trap so easily. Fortunately, I’ve already prepared a backup plan. Even if she betrays me, I’m not afraid… Does the success or failure of my plans have to depend on a little girl?”
Chenchen remained silent. At this moment, she was just a well-behaved kitten, lying quietly on Du Fan’s chest.
Du Fan reached out to stroke her soft fur, looking at the various scenes in Moduo City. Perhaps everything would change starting tomorrow?
“Someone!” After hesitating for a moment, Du Fan ordered loudly.
A short while later, several cavalrymen from the northern legions rushed over quickly. These were guards assigned to Du Fan by George, clever and highly skilled.
Du Fan looked at them and pointed at one of them, saying, “You… go help me send out invitations. Say it’s Master Du Fan inviting everyone to go hunting at the noble hunting ground outside Moduo City tomorrow. I hope all the nobles of Moduo will be there… Of course, if someone doesn’t want to come, there’s no need to force them…”
Though he said it that way, with the third young master of the Green family extending the invitation, which shameless person would dare not come? Even an old man who was already half in his grave would probably rush over eagerly.
The cavalryman pointed at by Du Fan responded and then left.
Du Fan turned to the second one and said, “As for you, go find me a horse. Remember, it doesn’t need to be beautiful, but it must be strong and have experienced battle… Do you understand what I mean? An old horse that’s been to battle would be ideal, but you must keep this a secret. No one except my two brothers may know about it, understand?”
The man showed an expression of sudden comprehension and said, “I understand, sir. I’ll go handle it right away!”
“And you,” Du Fan continued, “go prepare a crossbow for me. There must be such things in the northern legions… Since we’re going hunting, I, Du Fan, can’t possibly fail to catch anything, right? Even if I can’t use a bow, I can still use a crossbow, can’t I?”

“By the way, please tell my elder brother to assign a thousand of his finest cavalry to me tomorrow; I might need them. Of course… if there are more, that would be even better. I think my elder brother will understand what I mean.”
The last cavalryman responded and quickly retreated.
Du Fan clapped his hands, turned toward the north, and smiled faintly as he murmured, “Alright, Ordas, everything is ready now. So, in what form will you make your appearance? What an exciting event!”
…
“She no longer has anyone by her side. What do you think she’ll do next?” Ferre’s emotionless voice rang out coldly. “This is truly something worth looking forward to!”
As he spoke, Ferre’s gaze fell on the positioning crystal ball. From here, one could clearly see Xuelan’s panicked figure, and in the distance, a dilapidated castle seemed to be visible as well.
Ferre’s eyes narrowed. He suddenly took a breath and said, “Good. Everyone, I think our mission is over here. We should leave right away. I don’t want to die under suspicious circumstances!”
Selina frowned and asked, “Lord Ferre, do you mean…”
“Did you see that castle?” Ferre said softly. “According to Young Master Du Fan’s orders, we just need to see her enter that place before we can withdraw. We don’t need to worry about what happens next… Alright, let’s all leave!”
With that, Ferre put away the crystal ball.
The dozen or so people nodded simultaneously. They tossed their used weapons and leather armor onto the ground, revealing their knightly robes beneath. The solemn appearance of the Temple Knights reappeared. Ferre handed a robe to Selina, smiled faintly, and said, “Alright, Miss Selina, hurry up and put it on. Remember, from this moment onward, you are a devout nun in penance, and we are your guardian knights… Do you understand?”
Selina nodded slightly and said, “I understand…”
“Good. Since you understand, let’s leave.” Ferre sighed softly. “Although I’m eager to see what happens next, it’s true that compared to curiosity, one’s own life is what truly matters!”