Chapter 424: Give the Tianfeng Peppers First

It wasn’t until evening, after all the limited amounts of Black Fiery Grass had been delivered, that Lin Dong and Yun Lan returned to the inn ahead. After that, aside from eating three meals a day, Lin Dong never left his room again, while the Black Fiery Grass continued to be delivered in an orderly manner—1,500 plants per day, sustaining until evening.

Half a month later, Lin Dong successfully broke through to the third stage of the Heart Reversal Phase. After nurturing his dantian, which had burst into a mist of light, he used the effects of the Wenle Dan to push himself day and night toward the fourth stage of the Heart Reversal Phase.

Another half month passed in the blink of an eye. By then, Lin Dong was completely immersed in the continuous improvement of his spiritual power when good news arrived. This good news wasn’t Huā Wú Yuè returning with a large amount of Black Fiery Grass—it was… Feng Yuē, whom Lin Dong had been waiting for for three or four months, finally sending word.

Although it was merely Feng Yuē asking to meet him, in Lin Dong’s eyes, it was still excellent news. After all, Feng Yuē taking such action undoubtedly meant he was growing impatient.

Eagerly, Lin Dong opened the door and headed straight to the room next to the storage area. This room had originally been empty, but since the people from the three western provinces were settled in the inn, Lin Dong had moved the inn’s top chefs to live in the backyard.

“Owner, if he agrees to stay at our inn, you really won’t help him restore his spiritual power, will you?” Following behind Lin Dong, Qiao Tiān Hào was uneasy. Over the past few months, he had often angered Feng Yuē to the point of fury, even once making him bang his head against the wall. If the owner really helped Feng Yuē restore his power, Qiao Tiān Hào wouldn’t believe a word if told there wouldn’t be revenge.

The moment he heard that Feng Yuē wanted to meet Lin Dong, Qiao Tiān Hào’s first reaction was that the world had ended and he would die soon. But he didn’t dare hide it.

Qiao Tiān Hào had no doubt that if he concealed the news, he wouldn’t live to see the end of his days, but he would surely suffer greatly. Surrendering without knowing Feng Yuē’s intentions, after much deliberation, he still felt it wasn’t worth it. After all, he could still take a gamble on Feng Yuē’s attitude. Moreover, since the owner dared to restore Feng Yuē’s power, he must be prepared—anyway, it was better than living in constant suffering for life.

“Why not help him restore his power?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.

“Well, um…” Qiao Tiān Hào stammered, “He’s suffered a lot these past few months. Once he regains his strength, he’ll definitely seek revenge on you first.”

“Is that so?” Lin Dong replied indifferently.

“Boss…” Qiao Tianhao could no longer bear Lin Dong’s attitude—so indecisive and giving no clear answer. If he had known, he wouldn’t have agreed to help Feng Yue just for momentary pleasure.
“Enough, go call Cheng Bao over,” Lin Dong waved his hand.
“Sure!” Qiao Tianhao nodded eagerly. This idea seemed good to him—after all, one more person meant more backup.
“Boss, should we also invite Miss Yun to watch?” As soon as Qiao Tianhao turned around, he came up with another good idea.
“No need,” Lin Dong shook his head. If Feng Yue agreed, it would be easier, but if not, they’d have to use harsher tactics again. Locking someone up without reason, not only denying them food but also mocking them from time to time—it wouldn’t be good if Yun Lan found out; seeing it with her own eyes would be even worse.
After Qiao Tianhao left, Lin Dong stopped outside his room. Taking a deep breath, he stretched out his hands and pushed the door open abruptly.
Creak…
The door opened with a harsh sound. Lin Dong glanced inside and saw Feng Yue sitting at the table—tattered clothes, disheveled hair, shiny chains… After several months, aside from looking visibly battered, Feng Yue was still the same as before.
“Elder Feng, good morning!” Lin Dong spoke cautiously, trying to be polite. “It’s been months—Elder Feng still looks so energetic. I really admire you.”
“Sit down,” Feng Yue gestured to the chair across from him, his gaze calm and deep, making Lin Dong feel uneasy.
Sitting down, Lin Dong licked his lips and asked, “Elder Feng, according to Qiao Tianhao, you’re looking for me?”
Feng Yue nodded, staring at Lin Dong silently.
Lin Dong forced a laugh, unsure of Feng Yue’s true attitude, and grew nervous.
“Do you have any elixir to control me?” Feng Yue asked.
“No, how could there be?” Lin Dong was overjoyed. The fact that they could negotiate was a good start. He quickly shook his head vigorously. “Elder Feng is so honorable—your word is binding. Why would you need an elixir to control me? Besides, Lin Dong wants to invite Elder Feng to manage the inn as a guardian. It’s about building trust. If I really tried to control you with an elixir and angered you, I’d just leak information about Lin’s Inn behind your back. With what we’re currently working on—perfecting the integration of spiritual artifacts and arrays—that alone would be enough to bring Lin’s Inn to ruin.”
Feng Yue remained silent, staring at Lin Dong once more.
Lin Dong forced a smile. His words earlier hadn’t been sincere enough!
But no matter how sincere, he doubted they would be convincing.

Lin Dong hesitated for a moment before speaking the truth: “I won’t hide anything from Senior Feng. I have a true peak-level expert here to protect us. That’s why I dared to promise to help Senior Feng break free from the chain once I learned the conditions to do so. Moreover, the entire Lin’s Inn is equipped with a special spiritual array, which allows me to get Senior Feng out of it immediately. The reason I was able to avoid Senior Feng’s full-power attack back then was by getting myself out of the array. With the array in place, even if Senior Feng were to attack me suddenly, I can easily avoid it with my strength. If he were to target someone else in the inn, the peak-level expert here would be enough to kill him before too much damage is done.”

Feng Yue fell silent for a while before slowly nodding. Although these reasons seemed a bit far-fetched, especially the so-called spiritual array—if it truly existed, he would surely have sensed its spiritual energy. But nothing in the world is absolute; even the perfect integration of spiritual artifacts and arrays could result in an array whose spiritual energy couldn’t be sensed. Feng Yue considered himself well-informed, but not to the point of thinking he knew everything.

More importantly, apart from this, there was no other possibility unless spiritual pills were used.

“A mundane inn with a peak-level expert guarding it—across the Great Han Kingdom, whether it’s the imperial court or the major sects, there’s no need, and they probably wouldn’t dare to provoke you,” Feng Yue said gravely. “Then why take the risk of becoming my enemy and keep me here?”

“There’s no other way. Relying on just a peak-level expert to force marriage from the Tianjian Sect isn’t easy,” Lin Dong replied helplessly.

Feng Yue was stunned for a moment before suddenly understanding. After months of pondering, he finally figured it out. After all, it was still related to Yun Cangqiong and the Tianjian Sect.

“I never thought that even I, Feng Yue, could have natural enemies.”

Feng Yue grew disheartened. He had been imprisoned by the Tianjian Sect for over a decade, with Yun Cangqiong as the main culprit. After finally escaping, he was once again targeted and forced to stay to serve them—all because of Yun Cangqiong’s daughter. It seemed his second half of life had been ruined by Yun Cangqiong.

“Senior Feng…” Lin Dong hesitated.

“First, bring me 180 pounds of Tianfeng Peppers,” Feng Yue said calmly.

Lin Dong was shocked and conflicted.

Before anything was settled, the Tianfeng peppers were given to him first. If Feng Yue ate all of them and then started fighting, it would be a real mess. You see, the biggest temptation to keep Feng Yue around is the Tianfeng peppers. Once he’s had his fill and his unthreatened temper flares up, he might retaliate desperately. Even if Old Ding steps in to stop him, the appeal of the Tianfeng peppers would likely drop significantly, bringing things down to the worst outcome—second only to Feng Yue committing suicide himself.

Feng Yue remained silent, neither provoking, urging, rushing, nor getting annoyed…

“Shopkeeper!”

At the door, Qiao Tianhao and Cheng Bao walked in.

“Elder Feng, are you hungry?” Qiao Tianhao bowed low to Feng Yue, quickly went to the table to pour tea and water, constantly asking if he needed anything, but all he got in return was a side profile.

“Okay!”

This awkward situation lasted for a long time until Lin Dong suddenly stood up.

Feng Yue stayed silent, watching Lin Dong quietly, waiting for his next move.

Gritting his teeth, Lin Dong took out a large wooden box from the mobile cabinet.

When he lifted the lid, an extremely strong spicy smell instantly filled the room. The bright red Tianfeng peppers terrified Qiao Tianhao.

“S-Shopkeeper, are you really going to restore his spiritual energy?”

“Elder Feng, please!” Lin Dong carried the box to the table. The box contained well over a hundred pounds of Tianfeng peppers.

Feng Yue couldn’t help but swallow. His calm gaze suddenly sparkled with intensity.

He raised his hands and plunged the chains into the Tianfeng peppers.

Instantly, Feng Yue let out a satisfied groan. That gesture and expression sent shivers down Lin Dong’s spine.

After enjoying it for a while, Feng Yue eagerly pulled back his arms, each hand firmly gripping a handful of Tianfeng peppers.

Without hesitation, he stuffed the peppers into his mouth frantically, looking like an animal ravenous and desperate after going without food for hundreds of years.

Lin Dong tensed up, anxiously watching Feng Yue keep stuffing peppers into his mouth, fearing he might turn violent once his spiritual energy was restored. Qiao Tianhao was even more terrified, shaking like a leaf, wanting to escape this dangerous place but unable to move his legs.

Only Cheng Bao remained with his fierce and violent expression, completely ignoring Feng Yue who was devouring the peppers.

As time passed, Feng Yue’s stomach remained flat, like an invincible pit—no matter how many peppers he stuffed in, it showed no sign of bulging.

As time passed, sweat could already be faintly seen on Lin Dong’s forehead. He hadn’t experienced such agonizing waiting, such things beyond his control, in a long time, yet he had to endure it. Finally, after more than a hundred pounds of Tianfeng peppers from the entire wooden box had been consumed, Feng Yue’s hands stopped moving. His gaze rose, filled with a fierce and scorching intensity that made Lin Dong unable to stay standing, while Qiao Tianhao collapsed to the ground, muttering, “It’s over, it’s over.”