Chapter Twenty-Six: The Plan
This was tough!
If he went into the royal palace, Lin Lei would have to find an opportunity to poison him. And inside the palace, he'd need to interrogate Clyde and then kill him.
"Even if I don't care about exposing my identity, killing Clyde and then escaping the palace would be incredibly difficult." Possibility after possibility flashed through Lin Lei's mind.
In the end, Lin Lei concluded—
"Poisoning him inside the palace and then getting out alive is almost impossible." Lin Lei ruled out that approach. After all, there were quite a few powerful fighters in the palace, and unless he entered his dragon transformation state, he wouldn't be able to fight his way out.
But the dragon transformation was a secret Lin Lei didn't want to reveal.
"It has to be outside the palace." Lin Lei felt a headache coming on.
Outside the palace, how could he get Clyde to be alone with him in some isolated spot? No matter what, Clyde was still the king. Even if Lin Lei had business to discuss with him, he would have to go to the palace for an audience.
He couldn't exactly send someone to tell Clyde to come see him!
Lin Lei had never heard of a subject summoning the king. That went against all reason and propriety. Even if Clyde gave him face and actually showed up, he would surely be suspicious and on guard.
Once Clyde was on guard, the chances of successfully poisoning him would plummet.
"I need a chance to be alone with Clyde, and it has to be somewhere outside the palace." After spending so much time in Fenn City, Lin Lei had yet to find a single occasion where he and Clyde were alone together.
It was always at banquets or the like that Clyde agreed to meet him.
But Lin Lei couldn't exactly make his move at a banquet, in front of everyone.
"What am I going to do?"
Lin Lei was getting frustrated.
December arrived, and the temperature in Fenn City plummeted. The first snow of winter fell, blanketing the entire city in silver-white. The bitter cold drove many nobles to hole up in their homes, reluctant to venture outside.
Still wearing a loose robe, Lin Lei strolled along the snow-covered streets under the protection of two guards.
"Crunch, crunch~~" The sound of boots pressing into the packed snow echoed through the quiet air.
Fenn City after the snow was breathtakingly beautiful. Along Greenleaf Road, icicles hung from the gates of noble estates, and the morning sunlight refracted through them, making them sparkle brilliantly. The pine trees lining the front of the estates had white-capped branches, a gorgeous sight.
The scenery was lovely.
But Lin Lei's mood was anything but.
"Clyde is already a ninth-level powerhouse. The gap from ninth level to the Saint Realm is enormous, but who knows—he might break through someday. When that happens, my chances will be even slimmer." Lin Lei simply couldn't afford to wait.
The sooner he dealt with Clyde, the better his odds.
But he needed an opportunity.
"Boss, look—the estates around here have all been renovated, and there are tons of decorations up," Bei Bei's voice echoed in Lin Lei's mind.
Lin Lei had been walking absentmindedly and hadn't noticed. At Bei Bei's prompting, he looked around and realized the estates lining both sides of Greenleaf Road did look different from before.
"What's going on…?" Lin Lei was puzzled.
"Hang it up, good—now move it a little to the left." Servants at an adjacent estate were hanging decorative items over the gate, while others directed them.
"That's… a magnolia flower!" Lin Lei noticed that the decorations featured the image of a magnolia blossom.
It finally clicked.
"Right—it's already December. The Yulan Festival is just around the corner. And it's the ten-thousand-year Yulan Festival!" Lin Lei knew how important this holiday was.
The first day of the year 10,000 on the Yulan Calendar was probably the most boisterous day on the entire Yulan Continent. No wonder every noble estate was undergoing renovations and decorations.
*Snap!*
One of the rungs on a servant's ladder broke under his foot. The man stumbled and fell, hitting the ladder on the way down before his head struck the rocky ground. Blood immediately stained the earth.
The surrounding servants panicked.
"Are you alright?" Several of them rushed to help the injured man up.
"Dizzy… I'm a little dizzy," the injured servant groaned faintly. Luckily, the ladder wasn't that tall, and the impact wasn't severe enough to kill him.
"Alright, go rest for the day. Cole, take care of him. Honestly—a fall from this little height and he ends up like this." The foreman shook his head helplessly.
The servant named Cole helped the injured man up and led him toward the living quarters.
Lin Lei watched the whole scene and froze.
"Lord… Lord Lin Lei?" The foreman finally noticed Lin Lei and hurried over to bow. This estate belonged to Duke Bonar, a place Lin Lei had visited before, and the foreman naturally recognized him.
"Good morning, Lord Lin Lei," the foreman said with a bow.
Lin Lei finally snapped out of his daze, a grin of excitement spreading across his face. He looked at the man and laughed: "Ha, good morning to you too! Ha ha—come on, let's head back."
Lin Lei turned and hurried off with his guards, practically giddy.
"Huh? Why's the young lord suddenly so happy?" the two guards whispered to each other.
Just a moment ago, he'd been the picture of frustration. What could possibly have changed his mood so fast?
"What a simple solution—how did I not think of this before! Ha ha…" Lin Lei slapped his own forehead and cursed himself silently. His mind had truly been muddled.
Now Lin Lei was confident he could get Clyde to come see him.
The method was simple—injury!
"All I have to do is pretend I hurt myself while training with Battle Qi. If I'm injured, given Clyde's attitude toward me, he'll most likely come to check on me in person."