Chapitre 30: Gambling for Savior

Stubborn old man. Lan tried to convince him to break his oath for half an hour, to no avail.

"Aya, you never win arguing with a man with a lot of experience," Shu said, warming herself next to the bonfire flame. "Just give up, take Rest. Tomorrow morning, you should dig a grave for your brother."

Lan retained a severe expression and let her comments penetrate his right ear, fleeing from his left ear like an autumn breeze that never dwelled.

"Damn Kun people, why is everyone on Kun so stubborn?" Shu kept her eyes on him, though, and smiled. At last, she had something to kill boredom.

Lan rubbed his chin, earnestly trying to find a way to drag Huo Tuo and help his Big Brother.

Debate. That sentence crossed Lan's mind. Debating intelligent people, how to do it? Lan definitely lost.

Yes, Lan was aware of that. But, he did not aim to win but persuade, inserting his noble intentions into Huo Tuo's mind. But it had a slight chance to succeed...

"Master Huo Tuo. Please give me a chance to explain everything," asked Lan.

Huo Tuo closed his eyes lazily, stroking his neat beard. "Go on. You have the Rest of your life for that, Son. But I warn you. You will not be able to change my decision. Stop wasting your time on this old man."

"I didn't mean that."

Huo Tuo opened his eyes. "Oh? So what do you want?"

"To explain my aspiration." Lan had Huo Tuo's undivided attention. Good start. Lan continued, "Master's decision to swear not to help murder is indeed a good thing to do and admirable. But, Bian helped people by killing others. Without him, I, my brother, and the refugees would probably perish. Yes, my brother is a bad person for killing a bad person. Killing is killing, right?"

Huo Tuo glanced at Lan pacing before him like a cat following prey, stroking his beard like a cat following prey. No comment. Only a few words came from Huo Tuo. Lan didn't know what was on His mind.

Hopefully, all of this goes well as planned. Lan continued, saying, "Helping Bian means helping the Kun Dukedom. By giving Bian a chance to rule, Kun will be protected, thousands of people will be safe, and tragedy like in Shi Chuan will most likely not be repeated. Saving one murder for saving thousands of innocent people."

"I told you I can't break an oath!"

Lan bowed. "Of course, no need for you, Master, to help him and break your oath. Don't break your promise for the sake of thousands of innocent people's lives."

"Hmmp! You tried to push me by making me feel guilty, right?"

"Of course not, but I have a solution." Said Lan. "There is one way to help thousands of people without breaking your promise to god. Master Huo Tuo."

What Master thinks by closing and stroking his beard? His restlessness must have been a struggle within himself. Gave him a little push, and Lan would succeed. Give it too soon. It would ruin everything. Lan chose to remain calm.

It was up to him now to provide a solution to help Bian without breaking Huo Tuo's oath, and Lan already found a suitable, dangerous solution.

"Tell me, kid." Huo Tuo opened his eyes. "How can I help your brother without breaking my vows?"

"By someone else's hand." Lan explained confidently and tried to convince him. "You can tell me to do what I have to do to help Bian. That way, I'll help him, not you. Master Huo Tuo only taught me. How it is, do you agree?"

Huo Tuo gasped, was silent for a long time, then laughed as he stroked his beard. "Aiya, who would have thought that there was a way like this. Son, I'll tell you. All of this isn't easy. If you make the slightest mistake, your brother's life could be lost."

"Even without trying he will die. What's wrong with trying and gambling?"

Huo Tuo's laughter boomed. "Good! Good! I like your courage."

Shu smiled admiringly, watching Huo Tuo and Lan discuss next to Bian. No one knows the meaning of eyes that can't look away from Lan. "Interesting young man."

A pebble hit Shu's head from the side. Someone dressed all in black was waiting for her behind a building that about to collapse.

Shu slowly backed away, disappearing behind the building.

Lan was aware of Shu's behavior but chooses not to bother. He focused on listening to Huo Tuo's advice and started operating on Bian to remove the poison.

"Every wound needs to be skinned and the tendons opened, to allow the poison to drain. One little mistake, you could cause premature bleeding and he could bleed out. Are you ready?"

Lan burned the dagger and nodded slightly. "May the gods bless us."

****

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