Chapter 212: Strange Tree Juice

“Move aside!”
Seeing Lin Dong blocking the way, one of the guards snapped at him angrily.
Not wanting to waste time, Lin Dong took out a bench and stepped forward boldly.
Only then did the two realize he was doing this on purpose.
“Kid, are you looking for trouble?”
They charged at him, their long swords transforming into two silver-white beams that struck at Lin Dong’s arms from both sides.
Lin Dong bent his legs slightly, tapped his toes, and leaped into the air, flying over their heads.
The two guards looked up in shock as a smooth bench surface swept toward their heads.
Bang! Bang!
With two muffled sounds, they flew backward and crashed to the ground beside Liu Nanhuai. After struggling for a while, they finally collapsed, dizzy and unconscious.
Liu Nanhuai frowned slightly. Two guards at the fourth level of the Lingdong phase had been taken care of in just one move.
“Kid, where did you come from? Do you even know who my young master is?” The remaining two men, fearing they might be sent to fight by Liu Nanhuai, stared at Lin Dong, trying to intimidate him with their presence and status.
“The young master of the Liu family, from one of the Seven Great Families,” Lin Dong replied indifferently as he stepped forward.
“You know who he is and still dare to attack?” They grew nervous. They might have been bold because of their strength, but they didn’t want to get others beaten first!
“That’s right! Do you know that my young master is the best among the younger generation of the Liu family? He’ll break through to the Lingdong phase in a few days. With your strength, how can you even compare?”
Lin Dong was speechless. If this Liu young master broke through a few days earlier, his own strength would indeed be insufficient.
“Dare you come any closer?”
Confused, they both looked at Liu Nanhuai’s arms.
When Lin Dong was less than five meters away, although Liu Nanhuai could tell from the bench that Lin Dong hadn’t broken through to the Lingdong phase, he still decided to test Lin Dong’s strength further.
Under the anxious gaze of the two guards, Liu Nanhuai raised his arms slightly before stopping. His elbows rose a bit, and his thumb and middle finger touched gently.
Snap!
A single snap shattered the last glimmer of hope in the two guards’ hearts.
With no choice, they glanced at their fallen companions, weighed their options, and drew their swords to confront Lin Dong. One from each side attacked his arms.
Lin Dong wondered if these Liu family guards only knew this coordinated attack. As he hesitated, wondering if there was some scheme, he looked up and realized they had their eyes tightly closed, their faces resolute.
They were seeking trouble!

Lin Dong shook his head secretly. The Liu family trained guards who would deliberately hold back even when they knew they weren’t in mortal danger, just to avoid more injuries. If a real crisis arose, they would likely turn and run immediately. Of course, that was the Liu family’s business. There was no reason to refuse a gift offered willingly. Worried that the two might be up to something, Lin Dong didn’t leap forward but instead moved swiftly as they approached, turning to appear behind them. Then, with a sweeping motion of his right arm, there were two thuds, and the two, along with their companion, all fainted.

Liu Nanhuai was filled with rage. Those two fools didn’t even know how to use traps. Coming to stand in front of Liu Nanhuai, Lin Dong smiled and said, “Young Master Liu, shall we continue fighting?” Liu Nanhuai’s expression remained calm, but he was struggling inwardly. At the ninth level of the Lingdong stage, he should be fine. But better to be overcautious—after all, the opponent was clearly also at a high level of the Lingdong stage.

“The whole incident today started just because of a brothel madam twisting the truth,” Lin Dong said, hoping to resolve things peacefully. Fighting someone at the ninth level of Lingdong might be satisfying, but it would probably scare away all the customers at the restaurant.

“Twisting the truth? You say I’m twisting the truth…?” Yingchunhua’s sharp voice was extremely grating, but when she saw Lin Dong’s murderous gaze and the bloodstained bench in his hand about to be raised, her voice dropped.

Smack…

Liu Nanhuai suddenly turned and slapped Yingchunhua across the face. With a scream, she flew backward, fell to the ground, convulsed for a moment, and then fainted. Her left cheek swelled visibly fast—the force of that slap showed how hard Liu Nanhuai had hit her.

“Boss Wang, I was provoked by that madam. Please forgive me for disturbing the opening of your restaurant,” Liu Nanhuai said, bowing to Wang Shuangxi.

Lin Dong was surprised. It was only now that he realized this Young Master Liu wasn’t mute.

“Not at all, not at all,” Wang Shuangxi waved his hands repeatedly and quickly tried to send them away. “Young Master Liu, since the restaurant has just opened, would you be interested in coming in for a drink?”

Just as Liu Nanhuai was about to refuse, a commotion arose among the onlookers.

“Make way, make way… I’ve brought gold medicine!”

Li Guandi pushed his way through the crowd with a small porcelain bottle. After taking in the situation, he looked at Lin Dong in shock and asked, “Are… are you okay?”

Lin Dong frowned and was about to speak when Li Guandi turned to look at Liu Nanhuai, then at the four guards on the ground. Suddenly, he seemed to realize something and slowly stepped back in fear, saying, “Young Master Liu, I didn’t know you hadn’t struck yet. Look at me… I…”

Liu Nanhuai’s lips twitched slightly, while Lin Dong’s gaze turned cold as he slowly walked toward Li Guandi. He remembered that Li Guandi had just left not long ago. Pretending to fetch a wound medicine was undoubtedly a way to use him to teach Liu Nanhuai a lesson. If his own strength wasn’t sufficient, at least it would disgust Liu Nanhuai a bit.

“Ah, this… this…” Li Guandi suddenly stared at Lin Dong’s hands in shock, then glanced at Liu Nanhuai behind him and frantically waved his hands at Lin Dong, as if trying to stop him from using any hidden weapons.

Liu Nanhuai was startled and immediately rushed forward, his sword shooting out with a sharp whistling sound.

Since a fight had begun, there was no point in explaining further. Liu Nanhuai would surely refuse to pause the battle out of pride. Lin Dong looked up at Li Guandi. It was rare for him to be outmaneuvered himself.

Alarms from Wang Shuangxi and the others sounded, and Lin Dong stomped on the ground, leaping into the air and throwing the bench in his hand toward the direction of the figures.

Liu Nanhuai shook his wrist rapidly, his sword slicing through the approaching benches into pieces with a series of sword flashes.

Taking advantage of this moment, Lin Dong landed and produced another bench in his hand. With swift steps, he transformed into a streak of light and rushed forward, the pointed end of the bench aiming at Liu Nanhuai’s chest.

Liu Nanhuai was terrified. Without hesitation, he kept pressing his thumb against the protrusion at the top of the sword hilt.

Clusters of milky-white water screens shot out, turning into membranes at least three meters long and wide just as they left the sword tip, covering Lin Dong.

Though as thin as paper, these membranes were completely opaque. Lin Dong’s vision was instantly blocked by them, leaving him unable to see even a hint of Liu Nanhuai’s silhouette.

The longer the fight lasted, the greater the chaos. Lin Dong gritted his teeth and advanced instead of retreating, extending the bench to confront the membranes.

Swinging his arm repeatedly, the bench spun like a windmill, rolling up the membranes one by one.

“Be careful…”

A shout came from his ear. Lin Dong suddenly pushed forward with his hand gripping the bench leg, sending the bench flying to crash into the layers of membranes.

A cold silver light flashed on the right. Lin Dong breathed a sigh of relief. If not for the warning, he would have suffered injuries in the sudden attack.

Without hesitation, Lin Dong stepped forward at an angle. His sword moved like a serpent along his clothes, slicing through the layers of membranes, which suddenly took on a human shape.

He opened his palm, and another bench appeared in his hand, which he then struck at the chest of the human-shaped figure.

Bang!

Liu Nanhuai was flung backward, sliding across the ground before sitting down with a thud.

Before he could get up, the tip of a bench was already pressed against his throat.
Liu Nanhuai’s expression darkened as he opened his mouth to speak, but Lin Dong suddenly turned to look at Li Guandi: “Butler Li, your provocation tactic really works—this idiot still hasn’t run away. I’ve already controlled him. What should we do next?”
“Huh?” Li Guandi was momentarily stunned before his face turned red as he stared at Liu Nanhuai.
“Li Guandi!”
Liu Nanhuai gritted his teeth, his anger fierce enough to devour everything.
Li Guandi opened his mouth to explain, but Lin Dong suddenly swung his arm and knocked Liu Nanhuai unconscious with the bench.
“You… you…” Li Guandi’s face turned ashen as he pointed at Lin Dong, his lips trembling.
He had planned to wait until this man was defeated by Liu Nanhuai, then have the servants deliberately announce that the two had reconciled to infuriate Liu Nanhuai. But he never expected that Liu Nanhuai, with his strength at the ninth level of the Lingdong Phase, would still be defeated. Moreover, he himself had been outmaneuvered.
Wang Shuangxi and the others hurried over to Lin Dong to ask if he was injured.
Lin Dong shook his head smilingly and gestured toward Liu Nanhuai on the ground: “Boss Wang, send a few of your men to take him and his four guards to the Peng family. Tell them it’s my order—have them deliver him to the Liu family, saying that a guest came to the restaurant to offer congratulations and encountered Young Master Liu being beaten unconscious, so they stepped in to save him.”
“Does Manager Lin know anyone from the Peng family?”
“I have some acquaintance with the Peng family’s head,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “Boss Wang, don’t worry about today’s incident. Even without the Wang family, there’s still the Peng family.”
Wang Shuangxi was overjoyed. Li Guandi had been uneasy all along because he hadn’t intervened, but now, to his surprise, not only was Manager Lin acquainted with Lord Li, but he also had close ties with the Peng family.
Over by the side, Li Guandi, who had heard everything clearly, was completely confused. If the Peng family really did this, it seemed impossible to clear up today’s incident anymore. The seven major families were evenly matched, and it was unlikely they would fight at such a cost over such a matter. Even if the Wang family refused to use a butler to settle things out of face, they would likely face severe punishment afterward.
Without even glancing at Li Guandi, Wang Shuangxi said gravely, “Manager Lin, we can’t express our gratitude enough. Please come inside.”
Lin Dong nodded and walked away, peeling off the film wrapped around his body. As he pulled it off, his hand stopped.
The film felt soft as if it were nothing, yet it was very dense when pulled.
If it was truly non-toxic, covering vitality beef balls with it could serve as a preservative.
If its shelf life was long enough, vitality beef balls could even be used as medicinal pills to carry around.

Lin Dong’s mind gradually envisioned the energetic beef balls soaked in tree branches, with a layer of milky white film forming around them when taken out. This image slowly merged with his memory of table tennis balls.
“It’s a bit heavy. Otherwise, it could really be used as a table tennis ball. But… with the same elasticity, being a bit heavier doesn’t seem to prevent it from being used.”
Lin Dong pulled at the film and took a look, suddenly realizing that this thing was definitely a treasure.
With this tree sap, the energetic beef balls would become pills that boosted energy after consumption. Compared to ordinary pills, they were larger and had a shorter shelf life, but that shouldn’t be too much of a drawback. Moreover, they weren’t without advantages either—at least they could be used as bouncy balls in times of boredom…
If they could truly be used as table tennis balls, promoting them could attract many children and teenagers. They provided energy when consumed, and when not used, they could serve as toys or sports equipment.
“Shopkeeper Lin? Shopkeeper Lin?”
As Lin Dong was deep in thought, he was startled by Wang Shuangxi’s call. Looking up, he realized he had already gone upstairs.