22: Chapter 0022 Three Moves

"Scholar Lin, you returned in triumph today and even became a Commander. Shouldn't we start drinking first!?"

Yao Gang was happy for his childhood friend and had long been impatient.

"What Scholar Lin? Call me Commander Lin!" Lin Xiao said with a straight face.

Yao Gang was stunned, a hint of slight depression appearing on his face.

"Oh... Commander Lin."

Lin Xiao laughed heartily and hooked his arm around the neck of the burly man.

"I'm joking! We're brothers in private, no need to be so formal! Let's drink until we drop tonight!!"

Yao Gang finally realized he had been teased and slapped Lin Xiao's back hard.

"You Scholar Lin, you used to be so honest, how did you learn to deceive people!?"

Yao Gang grinned foolishly, revealing two rows of large teeth.

As night fell, Lin Xiao's small courtyard gradually became lively.

The surviving officers of the Border Army all came to the courtyard to drink and eat meat.

In recent days, all the soldiers of the Border Army had been under too much pressure.

Although they knew the crisis wasn't over and the Barbarian Army would likely make a comeback, they really needed to relax.

Let's get drunk while we have wine today!

Lin Xiao sat in the host's seat, accepting toasts from everyone in turns.

He discovered that he couldn't get drunk at all; it seemed his century of internal energy brought not just combat power, but also a high tolerance for alcohol!

Xiao Qingxuan had originally wanted to stay inside the room, but Lin Xiao insisted she come out.

A single sentence, "You are the mistress of this house," made it hard for Xiao Qingxuan to refuse.

When everyone first saw Xiao Qingxuan's heterochromatic eyes, they were somewhat afraid to look.

But later, when they were tipsy, they loosened up and felt that the heterochromatic eyes weren't scary at all.

Crucially, Xiao Qingxuan had an elegant temperament, and her conversation and manners made the soldiers feel very comfortable, so everyone naturally let down their guard.

There were even a few lieutenants who plucked up the courage to come and toast the couple directly.

Calling her "Sister-in-law" and "Lady Lin" in every breath made Xiao Qingxuan blush in shyness.

Having just become a wife, she was still a bit unaccustomed to it!

As they drank in high spirits, everyone naturally talked more about today's miraculous victory!

"Commander Lin, tell us, how exactly did you kill Batte!?"

"Yeah, you're simply a reincarnated God of War; we all admire you to no end!"

Xiao Qingxuan's beautiful eyes also shone with curiosity; she was also very confused about how Lin Xiao had managed it.

Lin Xiao naturally couldn't say that he had a system companion and a "three-second true man" ability.

However, if he didn't say something, he definitely wouldn't be able to bluff his way through today.

"Actually... I didn't think too much."

Lin Xiao chuckled, "We had no way to retreat; all we could do was fight the barbarians to the death!"

"To win against superior numbers, normal tactics definitely wouldn't work. So, I thought about capturing the ringleader first!"

"Earlier, I harassed the barbarians' cavalry, making them anxious and fearful."

"Then I had General Zhao lead the Dead Soldier Battalion out to force Batte to mobilize his entire army."

"All of this was to find an opportunity to sneak in from the rear and kill Batte."

"I can only say... I was lucky. The Barbarian Army wasn't united, and those thousand-man commanders all wanted to seize power, so they quickly fled."

"If they had really fought me to the death, I might not have been able to return alive..."

Lin Xiao spoke quite lightly, but everyone listened with great fascination.

General Zhao Kuan looked on with appreciation; he couldn't imagine how heroic and fearless Lin Xiao was while charging alone into the enemy camp!!

Xiao Qingxuan's heart fluttered as she listened; she felt as if the late Emperor and Empress were blessing her, actually letting her marry a great hero who was skilled in both letters and martial arts!

"Heh... in the end, Commander Lin was just lucky. I thought he was truly peerless in martial arts!"

A discordant voice disrupted the atmosphere of the scene.

Everyone frowned and looked over; it was a burly man dressed in black with a cold expression, his face revealing a trace of arrogance.

Lin Xiao naturally recognized him; this person was called Qin He, a Deputy Commander of the Border Army.

Qin He was known as the number one swordsman of the Shibao Border Army; he had been a wandering martial artist in the past and joined the army halfway through his life.

But because his personality was too arrogant, he often got into fights with others; his merits and demerits balanced out, and for many years, he had been stuck at the rank of Deputy Commander.

"Old Qin! You must be drunk!?"

Beside him, the somewhat refined-looking and square-faced Commander Xu Zhen kicked Qin He.

Qin He was his deputy, and the two could be considered brothers of many years.

"Did I say something wrong? Commander Lin said it himself, he was 'lucky'!"

Qin He grinned, "If it wasn't for luck, how could a scholar like him kill Batte? That was a Batulu of the Northern Barbarians!!"

"Deputy Commander Qin, I don't like hearing you say that. Even if there was an element of luck, it's a fact that Commander Lin drove back the enemy army!!"

"That's right! We brothers all admire this courage! There are plenty of people with high martial arts skills, but this kind of courage is rare!!"

A group of officers spoke up in support of Lin Xiao.

Qin He laughed, "I didn't say I wasn't convinced; I only said he was lucky. Is that wrong?"

"Enough!!"

General Zhao Kuan slapped the table, "Qin He! Stop with the sarcasm!!"

"You're just unconvinced that I promoted Lin Xiao to Commander, surpassing you, the deputy!"

"But let me tell you! If you could learn from Lin Xiao's strategy, you wouldn't have been a soldier for seven years and still be a Deputy Commander!"

"Xu Zhen, take Qin He away and punish him with ten lashes of the military cane to sober him up!!"

Xu Zhen sighed, stood up, and said, "This subordinate obeys the order!"

"No need! I'll go receive the punishment myself! This drink... it's meaningless!"

Qin He said, turning to leave.

"Wait!"

Lin Xiao stood up unhurriedly and said, "Qin He, do you want to make a bet with me?"

"A bet?"

Qin He raised an eyebrow, "Bet on what?"

"Let's compare sword techniques. If I win within three moves, you must kneel down and call me 'Grandpa'!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place was in an uproar!!

"Three moves!? Has this Scholar Lin gone completely crazy after becoming a Commander!?"