Chapter 233: Significant Price Cut

For over ten days straight, Lin Dong and Yun Lan spent most of their time in their room.
Inside their dantian, spiritual energy was now abundant. As the spiritual energy circulated through their meridians time and again, aided by the warmth, it surged rapidly, expanding the dantian through the channels created by Yun Lan’s spiritual power.
Pop!
Finally, with a soft sound, countless cracks appeared across the dantian, which then slowly burst open, turning into a ball of glowing light.
The spiritual energy withdrew from Lin Dong’s body. Yun Lan slowly exhaled and said, “Come back to me after re-forming your dantian. With the effects of the Qinglan Fruit, taking another one should allow you to reach the third level of the Mind Spirit Stage.”
Lin Dong twisted his slightly sore neck, leaned back on the bed, and yawned, saying, “Practicing for eleven and a half hours a day—almost killed me.”
Yun Lan smiled and got off the wooden bed.
Knocking sounds followed immediately. Outside the door, Ma Chun’s voice came through, “Boss, Master Xiao has brought Tian Hao over.”
“Just the two of them?” Lin Dong was surprised and quickly got up to open the door.
It was pitch black outside. Ma Chun couldn’t see inside, but Xiao Tianchi and Tian Hao, with their sharp eyesight, could see everything clearly.
Xiao Tianchi raised his hands in greeting, momentarily forgetting the polite words he had intended to say.
In the dead of night, Miss Yun was in Boss Lin’s room. What this meant was almost self-evident. Xiao Tianchi wasn’t the kind to overreact; cohabitation before marriage was shocking, but in his eyes, it wasn’t that serious.
What really surprised him was how powerful Boss Lin was. Miss Yun, at such a young age, already possessed the strength of a master—she was destined to become the greatest figure in the Great Han Nation. Yet, she had been ruined by Boss Lin…
“Dad!” Tian Hao called out. Seeing Lin Dong and Yun Lan come out together, he was equally astonished. He had already been somewhat prepared when they were at Gu Huan Mountain, and since he didn’t think Lin Dong was unworthy of Yun Lan like Xiao Tianchi did, he quickly regained his composure.
But when he turned his gaze to Yun Lan, Tian Hao froze, not knowing what to say.
Sister Yun? Aunt Yun? Mother?
Choosing among the three was quite difficult for Tian Hao.
Unaware of their thoughts, Lin Dong bowed to Xiao Tianchi and asked, “Master Xiao, are you and Tian Hao the only ones who came?”
Xiao Tianchi snapped out of his daze and quickly returned the bow, saying, “I left two elders to handle the affairs of the sect. I was afraid too many people entering the city at midnight would attract attention, so I ordered Elder Huo and his disciples to stay outside the city.”

“How many people in total?” Lin Dong pressed further.
“545, all of them were disciples who performed excellently during that catastrophe and unhesitatingly chose to share fate with Gu Huanzong,” Xiao Tianchi replied without hesitation, then bowed to Yun Lan. “Miss Yun.”
Yun Lan nodded gently. “Master Xiao.”
Lin Dong stepped aside slightly and said, “Come in and talk. Ma Chun, you go back first and get ready to assist Elder Huo and the others tomorrow.”
Ma Chun nodded and left.
After closing the door and asking Xiao Tianchi to sit down, Lin Dong busied himself lighting lamps and pouring tea. Meanwhile, Tian Hao, who had been hesitant, finally bowed to Yun Lan. “Hello, Mother!”
Pfft…
Xiao Tianchi spat out his tea. Lin Dong stared in shock, while a blush instantly appeared beneath Yun Lan’s veil.
Glancing at Yun Lan and then at Xiao Tianchi, who quickly regained his composure and pretended to continue sipping tea, Lin Dong somewhat understood. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said leisurely, “After getting used to Hongyun Tea from Xilan City, other famous teas from Qiufeng City simply don’t taste right no matter how you drink them.”
Xiao Tianchi didn’t believe Lin Dong understood anything about tea, but he didn’t point that out either. He nodded slowly. “Indeed, Hongyun Tea has a rich and mellow flavor. Throughout the entire Qiufeng Mansion, only this tea can be considered top-quality.”
Watching the two act indifferently, Yun Lan shook her head slightly, went over to Tian Hao, patted his head, and said with a smile, “Call me Aunt Yun from now on.”
Tian Hao glanced at Lin Dong.
Lin Dong ignored him and turned to Xiao Tianchi, saying seriously, “Master Xiao, the main reason we invited you here this time is because two guests arrived at the inn some time ago…”
Regardless of Tian Hao’s hesitation, Lin Dong changed the timeline of the incident with Youyin Xiang and then explained it in detail.
Xiao Tianchi stroked his long beard thoughtfully and said, “What Manager Lin means is to let the Ningji Sect and the Xingli Sect fight first, and then we step in to join forces with the former sect leader of Xingli Sect to clean up the mess?”
Lin Dong nodded.
“That’s indeed a good opportunity,” Xiao Tianchi said. “What does Manager Lin plan to do?”
Lin Dong shrugged. “I know nothing about the Ningji Sect or the Xingli Sect. All I know is that it’s best to assassinate an important figure from the Ningji Sect under the guise of the Xingli Sect. Only then can we force them to fight desperately.”

Xiao Tianchi slowly shook his head. “For a sect, survival is the most important thing. Otherwise, those two factions wouldn’t be at war for two years—actually, wars that last decades are not uncommon. A sect’s leader, unless he has extremely high prestige within the sect, will be suppressed by the elders no matter how angry the people are, with promises to avenge the shame within a certain number of years. The same goes for the successor—unless he has great talent and is deeply loved by the people, he will also be suppressed.”

“What should we do then?” Lin Dong was stunned. If the war lasted for years, this mission would be ruined.

“The only way… Every sect has a few heirlooms, like our Gu Huan Sect’s Cloud-Piercing Sword and Treasure Scaled Armor. These are the symbols of the sect. If they’re taken away, it’s an unforgivable insult. For a sect leader, not only can’t he erase this shame in his lifetime, but future generations will also bear this disgrace.”

Xiao Tianchi smiled coldly and said viciously, “If one sect leader dies, the successor, even if it’s not a good thing, must think about the sect’s future. Without the heirlooms, or even if they’re destroyed, it’s better for the sect to have no future—at least they won’t bear the shame for generations.”

Lin Dong tutted. “Sect Leader Xiao, you’re really ruthless.”

Xiao Tianchi shook his head slowly, his eyes filled with coldness. “Killing over a hundred of my Gu Huan Sect disciples is also an immense disgrace to any sect.”

Lin Dong nodded and said, “I can’t leave the inn for now. After meeting You Yin Xiang tomorrow morning, I’ll leave this task to you, Sect Leader Xiao.”

Xiao Tianchi refused without hesitation. “Rest assured, Manager Lin. Wait for good news from me. But…”

Lin Dong said casually, “Although Miss Yun can’t use the sect’s spiritual techniques, she’ll still go to help when the time comes.”

Xiao Tianchi felt relieved. A strong person, even without the strongest spiritual techniques, is invincible within the territory of Qiufeng Mansion.

After the two left, Yun Lan stared at Lin Dong for a while. Seeing him deep in thought, as if he had completely forgotten what had happened earlier, she stamped her foot lightly and left the room.

Lin Dong smiled broadly. After closing the door, he happily climbed onto the wooden bed and used his spiritual energy to heal the screen formed by his damaged dantian.

The next day, Lin Dong took Xiao Tianchi to meet You Yin Xiang and Xia Fan. After learning their purpose, You Yin Xiang and Xia Fan were overjoyed and couldn’t express their gratitude for Lin Dong’s loyalty in words.

Not only did they take in Xia Fan despite the danger, but they also went to great lengths to help find an alchemist. Now, they’re even trying every means possible to assist in establishing connections with various forces… Xia Fan is still in a better situation. As for Lin Dong, Youyin Xiang is completely obedient to him; without hesitation, she agreed to take the risk of sneaking into Qingmei Mountain with Xiao Tianchi to investigate where Ning Jizong’s ancestral treasures are hidden.

For several days in a row, aside from focusing on nurturing his dantian, Lin Dong waited for Xiao Tianchi and the others to bring back good news from Qingmei Mountain. Unexpectedly, instead of good news, he received news that caused him immense headaches.

At Fenglin Restaurant, a notice was posted early in the morning: 40% off for copper cards and 50% off for silver cards, and this discount applied to all dishes and drinks.

For nearly half a month, apart from Linji Inn offering three free days, introducing new signature dishes, and vitality balls, as well as launching VIP cards as a countermeasure, Fenglin Restaurant had remained indifferent to the price wars among other restaurants. Having consistently offered 10% off for copper cards and 20% off for silver cards, it suddenly came up with such a generous offer.

Lin Dong already guessed the reason.

There would likely be significant progress in the matter related to the guild in just a few days, but behind this progress, there were still huge obstacles. However, aside from giants like Fenglin Restaurant, merchants within the county and prefecture could not see these obstacles yet.

Knowing the reason, Lin Dong’s headache stemmed from his inability to stop it. The affairs of the guild were beyond his influence, and Fenglin Restaurant’s use of guild-related information to suppress other restaurants couldn’t change that fact either. The only thing he could do was to lower prices to protect himself.

But how long could this self-protection last?

Even if he couldn’t maintain eighty tables on the second floor, he should at least keep around fifty. Otherwise, if the guild-related developments dragged on for three to five months, once people got used to Fenglin Restaurant’s atmosphere and cuisine, it would be impossible to bring them back—no, not even in a year or two.

Not to mention a year or two—after just three to five months, the inn would meet the requirements for upgrading. By then, the inns in Xilan City would no longer be able to accommodate the number of guests required for a level-6 inn, meaning the inn wouldn’t be able to earn full experience points every day—this was the thing Lin Dong found most unacceptable.

Even if he lowered prices significantly, if the guild-related developments continued for more than three to five months and the inn reached level six, unless he changed the second floor into a regular restaurant serving ordinary dishes, it would still be impossible to attract that many customers in a short time.

The worst outcome had already occurred. After much deliberation, Lin Dong still came up with nothing and had no choice but to order Ma Chun to lower prices—whether it was signature dishes or rare beast materials, everything had to be reduced to the same level as Fenglin Restaurant’s.

Ma Chun sighed in relief; his guess was the exact opposite of Lin Dong’s. Fenglin Restaurant going to such extreme measures must mean the chamber of commerce had already made a decision. Fenglin Restaurant had to keep it secret for now, hoping to scare other restaurants into avoiding a direct competition by offering steep discounts. If they chose to close down, then it would be as Fenglin Restaurant wished.