Chapter 494: Time is Running Out

Struggling to stay awake for a while, Lin Dong gave up. Just moments ago, he had managed to suppress the leaders and elders of twenty-one sects, but it was extremely difficult to pull himself out of his excitement now. There was no choice—these were the leaders and elders of twenty-one sects, including two major ones.
“Ma Chun, do you have any solution?” Lin Dong had to place his hopes on Ma Chun.
Ma Chun smiled bitterly. “All we can do is make it collapse again, or have the government send people to seal it shut. Otherwise, it’s a dead end.”
“Is there any restaurant or family that has connections with them? Or is there any family related to that group?” Lin Dong shook his head. The two methods Ma Chun suggested were only temporary fixes and could even ruin Lin Ji Inn’s reputation. If those methods were used, Lin Ji Inn would truly be in a dead end.
“Family members are also human beings, and many of them enjoy good food. Those top-tier restaurants are more or less connected to some families. But after checking thoroughly, none of them have close ties.” Ma Chun said helplessly, “Their identities are also very strange. I even spent a lot of money to hire a well-connected family member to take a look, but none of them recognized them. Not only that, but they claimed those people weren’t even from the capital. I suspect…”
“Bandits?” Lin Dong was shocked.
Ma Chun nodded slowly.
Lin Dong was overwhelmed. If they really were bandits, things would get extremely serious.
To be honest, bandits, like sects, were forces outside imperial control. However, these forces were too small, and like weeds, they would grow back even if destroyed. That’s why the Great Han Kingdom turned a blind eye to them, just like it did with sects.
In terms of strength, even the biggest bandit leaders in the areas near the capital could only reach the first or second level of the Heart Rebellion stage. With Lin Ji Inn’s strength, destroying a bandit camp wouldn’t be difficult—provided he knew the name of the camp.
Otherwise, killing a few bandits would only attract more. Lin Ji Inn was a place with a mix of people—ranging from high-ranking officials and sect disciples to commoners. It was normal for them to dine there. He couldn’t just arrest anyone who entered as a warrior.
If ignored and bandits slipped in, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Undoubtedly, knowing the identities of the bandits is key to resolving future problems—indeed… Lin Dong began to realize that identifying those ruthless warriors as bandits or something else was crucial. Their identities were the most important factor.

Lin Dong’s head grew dizzy again. The bandits were all desperate men who must have received orders not to reveal any secrets before coming here. Even if they were captured, it might not be possible to extract the answers they needed. After much hesitation, Lin Dong finally said, “Ask Emperor Qian Wei early tomorrow to see if he can help.”

“Ask him to have Tianwei Pavilion investigate the masterminds?” Ma Chun asked.

“It’s not urgent to find the masterminds, but if those people are bandits, their identities must be identified as quickly as possible,” Lin Dong said seriously.

“Should I go ask him now?” Ma Chun asked.

Lin Dong shook his head. “Going over in the middle of the night would be awkward for Yang Shun. If he agrees, given his personality, doing such a strange thing would easily lead to suspicions that we’re involved. If he refuses… it’s pointless to go.”

Ma Chun nodded, hesitantly asking, “So we just sit back and watch them open?”

“Anyway, there’s no time left in one night. We’ll wait until tomorrow to see their tactics and then figure out how to respond,” Lin Dong said helplessly. Even if they knew in advance, he felt at a loss as to what to do. In business, one could only react to whatever the opponent did—see what they used and then find a way to counter. Only by uncovering the true identities of those people could they fight back; otherwise, they could only keep reacting passively.

With a decision made, Ma Chun wanted to leave but remembered why Lin Dong had left and asked, “Boss, how’s the matter with establishing the sect?”

“I almost forgot to mention it—establishing the sect is done,” Lin Dong recalled and ordered, “Assign some people to build the sect while others gather various spiritual materials, elixirs, and spiritual beasts that can be sold… I believe it will take about three to five days for news of the sect’s establishment to spread, meaning we can open soon.”

“What will the store’s name be?” Ma Chun asked.

“Let’s call it Wanbaozhai!” Lin Dong casually gave the name he had already thought of.

“Okay. I’ll find time to arrange a good sign. If you have no other instructions, shall I go now?” Ma Chun asked.

“Go ahead!” Lin Dong waved him off.

After Ma Chun left, Lin Dong talked with Yun Lan for a while before parting at the door.

When Yun Lan returned to her room, Lin Dong did not go back to practice. Instead, he sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, constantly recalling the events of the founding ceremony at Da Kong Peak. The elders from the twenty-one sects had only gone through the motions, but the battles against Zhang Quanyue and Hao Qingfeng had been real and intense. Though the time was short, it was extremely precious for Lin Dong, who lacked combat experience.

Over and over again, he replayed those moments in his mind, pondering how to counter the spiritual techniques of the Fengyun Sect and Lingjue Sect with his level of Heart Reversal Phase Seven, making gradual improvements.

After a long while, Lin Dong finally stood up. There was indeed an insurmountable gap between Heart Reversal Phase Seven and Heart Reversal Phase Nine. But if he faced Hao Qingfeng and Zhang Quanyue again, with his current strength, he was confident he wouldn’t be defeated in just a few moves. At the very least, he could hold his own for half an hour.

Back in his room, Lin Dong sat cross-legged on the wooden bed but did not attempt to enter meditation. Instead, he let his spiritual energy flow freely through his meridians, while his mind raged over the troubles he had encountered at the inn.

These troubles weren’t extremely serious, but they weren’t trivial either. With Lin Ji Inn’s current strength, Lin Dong was confident he could face any enemy, but preventing business disruption was extremely difficult.

For example, the neighboring inn also carried the name Lin Ji. Whether through official channels, force, or by introducing something unique that the neighboring inn couldn’t replicate, none of these measures addressed the root cause and couldn’t stop their next move. No matter what, the enemy behind this, whether seeking money or Lin Ji Inn’s distinctive features, would eventually reveal clues that could uncover their true identity. Once their identity was known, even if they were nobles, Lin Dong was confident he could turn the situation around. Yet, during the time it took to identify them, Lin Ji Inn’s business would inevitably suffer severe damage.

What he really wanted to save was the time it took to uncover their identity. The sooner it was done, the less damage Lin Ji Inn would suffer. Reputational damage, in particular, was irreparable no matter what compensation was offered. At Lin Ji Inn’s current scale, reputation was second only to its physical strength.

However, no matter how hard Lin Dong racked his brains, he came up with many countermeasures but couldn’t think of any way to turn the situation around. After much deliberation, he realized he still needed to find out the identities of those ruthless people.

Early the next morning, there was a knock at the door.

Standing outside was Ma Chun.

The news brought by Ma Chun made Lin Dong’s already troubled mind even more anxious, as if bad luck kept coming one after another. Emperor Qian Wei had agreed to let Tianwei Pavilion investigate the identities of those ruthless men and their masterminds. But the time he estimated was at least three months, and in worst cases, even a year or two.

Lin Dong realized he had overlooked one thing: how highly exaggerated the investigation capabilities of Tianwei Pavilion’s scouts were. Indeed, their success rate was over 99%, but they weren’t gods either. They deduced and tracked things step by step, rather than getting results instantly. To uncover the identities of those men, the scouts had to send people to follow them secretly, observe their every move and habits, and then determine their approximate identities and backgrounds. Based on this, they would narrow down the search area, set up more spies to gather information related to those identities, and send it back to the headquarters for analysis, gradually narrowing the scope.

At least three months, and up to a year or two—In a world without any high technology and without any information about the suspects, this was already considered extremely fast. But for Lin’s Inn, three months, or even a year or two, would be far too long. With that time, it would be better to close down for a while and try to lure out the masterminds directly. But if even Tianwei Pavilion needed so much time, what could Lin’s Inn do to investigate those bandits and their masterminds?

“Has the other place opened yet?” Lin Dong asked with a dark expression.

“Not yet. It’s probably around the same time we open,” Ma Chun replied helplessly.

“Go check!”

Lin Dong stepped out of the room. It wasn’t long before Lin’s Inn would open for business. Taking a detour through the back door, he saw that although none of the shops along the street had opened yet, many vendors were already setting up their stalls. In the middle of the street, there were a few early risers wandering about. Lin Dong glanced at the inn beside him, his gaze already tinged with anger. The same doors, the same thresholds, the same signboard… Even the width and shape of the door panels were identical, and even the scars on one of the panels were exactly the same. It was hard to tell whether they were new or old.

If it weren’t for remembering that there was a fake Lin Ji Inn to the right of the real one, Lin Dong would have had no doubt that he himself couldn’t tell which one was the genuine Lin Ji Inn. The pedestrians on the street seemed to have noticed the oddity of the two Lin Ji Inns as well. They stopped in their tracks, examined them carefully, and it took a long time before one of them remembered that there was a silk shop next to the Lin Ji Inn, allowing them to finally determine which one was the newly opened one based on the signs on either side.