Chapter 481: Provoking Trouble

Lin Dong had no objection to the Prince of Qingliu staying, but Emperor Qianwei kept shaking his head.
“If Your Highness stays, won’t that draw our enemies to Lin’s Inn? After all, it’s not a royal palace. Even with extra guards, with so many people coming and going, it’s impossible to ensure complete safety.”
If the Prince of Qingliu were assassinated, it would be a monumental disaster. Although Emperor Qianwei wanted to stir up chaos in the capital, he didn’t want it to get out of control.
“This…” The Prince of Qingliu hesitated.
“The Emperor is absolutely right. Your Highness can come and check on things at night, but it’s better to stay at the royal palace for the rest of the time,” said the queen.
“Alright, then I’ll go back and make arrangements before coming back tonight,” the Prince decided.
The queen nodded. “Be careful on your way, Your Highness.”
Lou Wanshen bowed one by one, clearly intending to accompany the Prince of Qingliu.
“Your Highness, let me see you off,” Lin Dong said with a smile, giving Ma Chun a subtle signal.
Ma Chun understood immediately and replied, “I’ll go arrange accommodation for the queen.”
With Emperor Qianwei present and neither the owner nor the manager of Lin’s Inn there, it was clearly impolite. Yang Shun wanted to scold them, but after glancing at the Prince of Qingliu, he chose to remain silent.
Leaving behind guards, the Prince of Qingliu and Lou Wanshen followed Lin Dong into the passage.
“Owner Lin, you have something to say to me, right?” The Prince’s mind had cleared somewhat, and he spoke up on his own.
“Your Highness is very perceptive. Indeed, I do have something to say,” Lin Dong replied casually, waiting for the Prince to bring up the matter of Li Xun. He didn’t know what terms to propose—too low and he’d suffer losses; too high, and the Prince would be upset. It was better to wait for the Prince to speak first so that everyone could save face.
“Let’s drop the talk about Xian’er! I suppose that’s Owner Lin’s main goal, right?” the Prince asked.
Lin Dong nodded.
“Then, Lin’s Inn surely isn’t short of gold, silver, or jewels… Can you tell me what the Emperor values most about your inn?” the Prince asked.
“A seven-colored bed that can prolong life,” Lin Dong replied honestly.
The Prince hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, “If the Emperor takes action against Lin’s Inn in the future, I will stop him at all costs.”
Lin Dong nodded slowly, already overjoyed. This was exactly what he wanted. He had thought the price was too high, but unexpectedly, the Prince offered it on his own.

As King Qingliu said, Lin’s Inn is not short of gold, silver, or jewels. The only threat now is Emperor Qianwei. With this promise, although it still can’t prevent Emperor Qianwei from launching an attack on his deathbed, his health isn’t yet at a point where he can’t cope, so there’s no need to worry about sudden situations like today forcing him to act prematurely. Over the next few years, Lin’s Inn can focus on vigorous development. The authorities needn’t fear any troubles, and even if Fu Tongshan turns against them, Emperor Qianwei might still weigh the pros and cons, while King Qingliu won’t have any hesitation in taking action. Without official troubles, when it comes to strength, Lin’s Inn fears no other restaurant. Branches across the country can also be opened one after another. King Qingliu and Lou Wanshen boarded the carriage. Lou Wanshen lifted a corner of the curtain and said, “Manager Lin, wait a moment.” “Your Highness, Sister Xian, go ahead. I’m sorry I can’t see you off further,” Lin Dong said with a smile, waving his hand. After watching the carriage leave, Lin Dong turned around. His right foot, as it stepped forward, paused mid-air before touching the ground. “Manager, how did it go?” After sending staff to take care of the princess’s accommodation, Ma Chun rushed out anxiously to ask about the situation. “Everything we discussed earlier is canceled. King Qingliu also guarantees that if Emperor Qianwei attacks Lin’s Inn, he’ll step in to stop it,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “King Qingliu actually guessed that Emperor Qianwei might attack us?” Ma Chun was astonished. “Who is King Qingliu? You just saw that for yourself,” Lin Dong said nonchalantly. “True!” Ma Chun relented, and soon a smile appeared on his face. He couldn’t help but give Lin Dong a thumbs up. “The manager is amazing—even King Qingliu is under his control. With Li Xun in our inn, the relationship between us and King Qingliu is beyond what Emperor Qianwei can compare to. Our inn will surely dominate the capital.” “It was just luck. Meeting Li Xun, who happens to be King Qingliu’s son,” Lin Dong felt somewhat relieved. If it weren’t for Li Xun, Lin’s Inn would have suffered a huge loss. Spirit Stone fans, scented drinks, various trinkets… if these were provided to Wanshen Tower, their appeal would be greatly reduced. “That’s true ability. If it were someone else, even if they met Li Xun, who could make them loyal? Only the manager has such ability and courage,” Ma Chun praised him eagerly. Lin Dong was also amused. To be honest, aside from someone like King Qingliu, even if they met Li Xun, it wasn’t certain they could make him loyal.

“By the way!” Lin Dong suddenly turned his head to the right side of the inn and asked, “What kind of business is that? Why is there such a lot of noise?”
Ma Chun didn’t understand what Lin Dong meant, so he turned to look and was immediately surprised.
Next to Lin Ji Inn, the two original shops were actually being demolished. Normally, this wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary—although it wasn’t common to tear down shops and rebuild them all at once, it wasn’t unheard of either. Places like Lin Ji Inn and Lin Ji Gymnasium bought the shops and residential houses, demolished them completely, and rebuilt them.
But the way these shops were being demolished was truly unique.
A dozen or so people, each using a palm strike, shattered everything into dust with loud bangs—tables, chairs, benches, vases, paintings, counters, walls—all reduced to powder with each strike.
“What kind of shop is this? It seems pretty large, yet they’re rushing it so much.” Ma Chun couldn’t help but marvel.
Whenever shops were demolished, carpenters and laborers would be hired to do the work, as much of the wood and bricks could still be reused. Even when Lin Ji Inn was demolished and rebuilt in a hurry, they still hired many carpenters and worked day and night. But here, they hired martial artists at the Mental State stage to tear down the buildings, and they didn’t even bother to collect the furniture inside. Since there were martial artists, there must have been storage rings, but instead of using them to pack things away, they simply destroyed everything with a single palm strike.
Hiring martial artists to demolish a building without keeping any furniture—how urgent could things be?
“Could there be some major disaster about to strike nearby?” Ma Chun frowned.
“That’s unlikely! This is the capital city, not some county or prefecture town.” Lin Dong shook his head. When disasters like floods, droughts, plagues, or epidemics were about to break out, shrewd merchants would stockpile large amounts of goods such as grain, salt, and herbs. Among these, herbs that required specific conditions for storage indeed needed special stores to handle. If the disaster was approaching quickly, such haste could be understandable.
But this was the capital city. Even without merchant associations, anyone who dared to hoard goods and profiteer from disasters right under the emperor’s nose would only be inviting destruction upon themselves.
“Should I go ask?” Ma Chun asked.
Lin Dong nodded. He always felt something was off. Those dozen or so demolition workers each had strength at least at the second level of the Mental State stage, with one even reaching the fifth level. Such a group couldn’t be hired just by having money.

Ma Chun immediately walked over. As soon as he stepped into the area of the other party’s shop, a bare-chested martial artist at the Second Level of the Mental State Phase suddenly turned to look at him and shouted, “Get out!”
Ma Chun frowned, suppressing his anger, and said, “Brother, don’t misunderstand. I just came to ask what kind of shop you run.”
“Did you hear me? Get lost!” The martial artist even stepped menacingly toward Ma Chun.
Ma Chun’s frown deepened. No matter what kind of business it was, having such a neighbor would surely damage its reputation. Behind him, Lin Dong also frowned tightly. With this man’s violent temper, and seeing that the others remained indifferent, it was clear they were similar types. A group of martial artists ready to fight at the slightest provocation—was this a sect? A family? Or… bandits?
The first two were manageable, but if it were bandits, things would get serious.
However, bandits wouldn’t make sense opening a shop in the capital. Even if a large bandit camp wanted to establish a foothold in the capital, they wouldn’t show off their strength so openly. If they really wanted to set up a base, they would likely keep a lower profile to avoid suspicion.
“Kid, if you don’t listen to your grandfather, I’ll cripple you.” The martial artist came up behind Ma Chun and punched him in the chest.
With a howling wind, it was clearly a powerful strike.
Bang!
With a loud noise, Ma Chun remained motionless, taking the punch on his chest. The martial artist, however, stumbled back several steps, shaking his fist, clearly injured.
“Good kid. So you’re actually trained.”
The martial artist grinned viciously, snapped his wrist, and suddenly pulled out a gleaming great sword.
Whoa…
Seeing this, the passersby all stepped back.
Ma Chun was shocked. A mere punch wasn’t enough for them to resort to killing with a sword.
“Kid, die!”
The martial artist swung his great sword, slicing through the air with a howling wind pressure, aiming straight at Ma Chun’s head. This sword strike was far more powerful than the previous punch. Undoubtedly, the martial artist had unleashed his true strength.
Although Ma Chun had the strength of the Fourth Level of the Mental State Phase, he didn’t dare confront this sword strike head-on. He kicked with his right foot and barely managed to dodge.
“Stop! I just wanted to ask what kind of shop you run. If you don’t want to talk, I’ll just leave.”
Seeing that the martial artist was about to attack again, Ma Chun quickly called for a stop. If a fight broke out, Lin’s Inn would be right behind. Customers coming in and out would surely stay far away if they saw someone using a sword. As one of the fighters, not only would his reputation suffer, but Lin’s Inn would also be affected.

When it’s unavoidable, there’s nothing to do. If it can be avoided, Ma Chun definitely doesn’t want to get his hands dirty.
“Why I run a shop? You have no right to ask. If you do, you’ll die.”
The warrior paid no attention to that. With a swing of his great sword raised high above his head, he suddenly pushed off the ground with his toes and rushed at Ma Chun.
Ma Chun was left crying without tears—just asking a question, and this is how he’d end up in trouble?