Chapter 552: Home Advantage

After the two from Liangshan left, Lin Dong immediately stood up. He headed straight to Yun Lan’s room, where the vase was already placed on the desk. At its mouth, a brilliant six-colored flower emitted a dazzling glow.
“How is it?” Yun Lan asked.
“Not bad!” Lin Dong nodded repeatedly. This six-colored flower was a fifth-tier spirit material used for auxiliary cultivation. As a decoration, it would be considered extravagant anywhere else, but at Lin’s Inn, it was just a drop in the bucket.
Yun Lan was clearly very satisfied with her arrangement as well. She smiled, examined it for a while, then asked, “How did the talks go?”
“Pretty well. We rejected them. We already have what they need, and now it’s just a matter of making them give up,” Lin Dong said with a smile.
Yun Lan nodded.
“I’ll go prepare lunch. You sort out what we bought today,” Lin Dong said cheerfully. “This afternoon, let’s go stroll around Tianfeng Street. I think having a few pots of flowers in the backyard would look great.”
“Okay!”
Yun Lan busied herself organizing the antiques she had bought that morning and arranging them, while Lin Dong rushed to the kitchen to prepare lunch.
After lunch, the two went out again, not by flying swiftly with their spiritual power, but by walking straight to the lobby. Fortunately, Ma Chun was sitting at the counter. They called Ma Chun over and instructed him to send someone to investigate Jiang Huan and keep an eye on Liangshan and the others. If they left Lin’s Inn, he was to find a way to keep them there. Only then did Lin Dong and Yun Lan return to the backyard and speed off, using their formidable strength and speed to fly across the rooftops.
By evening, when Lin Dong and Yun Lan returned with their findings, Ma Chun had already been waiting in the backyard for quite some time.
“Any news?” Lin Dong asked.
Ma Chun nodded firmly. “The leader hasn’t returned all day. It seems they’re waiting for him, and no one has suggested leaving the inn.”
“Have we found any trace of the leader?” Lin Dong pressed.
“Yes. He’s been in Wanxian Tower the whole day. It seems he arrived last night and hasn’t left once,” Ma Chun said with a smile. “It was quite lucky—this guy got into a fight in Wanxian Tower, beat up a young master, and wasn’t even a match for the tower’s guards, forcing Wanxian to settle things down. The guards sent by Sixth Brother went over after hearing the news and confirmed his appearance matched the description.”

“Competing for jealousy?” Lin Dong laughed; it was a good idea. Originally, he had planned to go to a casino, lose heavily, refuse to admit it, and end up getting beaten up. Now that someone had offered this scenario on their own, and it was at Wanxian Tower, there was no need to go to the trouble of finding gambling experts. Nor did he have to worry about consequences—Wanxian Tower was practically his home ground.
“The shopkeeper seems to have an idea?” Ma Chun looked at Lin Dong with a smile. He believed Lin Dong’s idea must be the same as his own.
Lin Dong nodded and glanced at Yun Lan, asking with a smile, “Are you interested in visiting a brothel tonight?”
“I would have gone even if you hadn’t suggested it,” Yun Lan replied indifferently. Though she had come here on a mission, without Lin Dong personally overseeing things, she couldn’t feel at ease.
Ma Chun was disappointed. He had thought Lin Dong would take him there as before. He had predicted the first part but not the second.
“Then it’s settled. After dinner, we’ll go to Wanxian Tower.”
Lin Dong glanced at Ma Chun’s disappointed face and joked, “Look at your lack of ambition. If you want to get married, just find some matchmakers. Even if it’s not a princess or a noblewoman, with your status as Ma the Manager, you’ll surely find a suitable bride. If you don’t want to marry, and there’s nothing to do at night, as long as you don’t neglect your cultivation, it’s fine to visit Wanxian Tower from time to time—no one will criticize you.”
Ma Chun laughed heartily.
After Ma Chun left, their roles remained the same as at noon—Lin Dong was in charge of cooking, while Yun Lan arranged flower pots and decorated the room.
After dinner, the two went to see Old Ding. One of them had become a middle-aged man with a big belly, while the other was a plain-looking attendant. After putting on clothes suitable for their identities and wearing gold rings and jade rings, Lin Dong transformed into a wealthy but tasteless tycoon.
Wanxian Tower wasn’t far from Lin’s Inn. As soon as they stepped out of the inn, they saw it at the end of the street.
As usual, the girls welcoming guests at Wanxian Tower waved their handkerchiefs flamboyantly, calling out to customers at the entrance. Each one was beautiful and charming—some pure, some seductive, some delicate—each with their own unique style, creating a distinctive scene at the end of the street. This scene was a pleasure for men but a place despised by women.
“Sir, please come in!”
As soon as Lin Dong and Yun Lan reached the entrance and showed signs of entering, a seductive girl stepped forward, instinctively wrapping her snow-white arms around Lin Dong’s arms, even in the cold winter.

Yun Lan released her spiritual energy, and within a moment, a barrier of air enveloped Lin Dong about one centimeter away from his body. The girl serving the guests was unaware of this; her chest gently rubbed against the air barrier on Lin Dong’s arm as she held onto it.
Lin Dong clicked his tongue. Yun Lan’s action didn’t cause him any dissatisfaction; instead, he was even more amazed by her control over spiritual energy. The ability to create such barriers based on one’s physique—he believed it would have been impossible for Yun Lan before she achieved her breakthrough.
Entering the Wanxian Tower, Lin Dong glanced around. Unlike other industries, as night fell, it was the peak time for brothels. The Wanxian Tower was several times busier than the last time he had been there. There were beautiful girls sitting on men’s laps, flirting and drinking. Dozens of tables were filled with guests. The men wore lewd smiles, while the women wore flirty, flattering expressions. If not for Yun Lan’s preparedness, even she might have turned away at first sight.
On the circular corridor in the center, girls identical to those in the murals played the zither, sang songs, or strummed the pipa… Combined with the soft, elastic flooring and soothing pink hues, the Wanxian Tower made one think they had entered a celestial paradise.
When a few girls approached, Lin Dong took out a stack of silver bills from his clothes, pulled out a few, and handed them to the girls.
“Call Sister Xian over. She knows what kind of girl I like,” Lin Dong said, waving his hand.
Not everyone could be personally attended to by Lou Wanxian. The girls glanced at the denomination of the silver bills in their hands and said nothing—each bill was worth ten thousand taels.
Giving away ten thousand taels casually was typical of the wealthy men from the capital who frequented the Wanxian Tower. Aside from Ling Chenyue, the famous spendthrift of the capital, no one could match him in extravagance.
With a glance, one of the girls immediately curtsied and headed upstairs. The other girls coaxed Lin Dong upstairs with sweet words.
Throughout the time, Yun Lan, who stayed slightly behind Lin Dong, went unnoticed. Dressed as a servant, she failed to arouse any interest in the girls of the Wanxian Tower. Of course, she had no interest in them either.
After reaching a private room on the second floor and sitting down, tea was brought shortly after. Before long, Lou Wanxian also entered, swaying her hips.
“It’s been over a decade—Sister Xian is still as young and beautiful as ever, truly heart-stirring,” Lin Dong said with a laugh.
As soon as Lou Wanxian entered, she searched her memory for any wealthy man who might resemble Lin Dong. Hearing this, she stopped in her tracks.

Although she had a good memory, it was impossible for her to remember customers from over a decade ago unless the experience had been particularly profound.
“I can’t believe you still remember me,” Lou Wanshan waved her handkerchief lightly and pretended to tap her head, acting as if she still remembered who Lin Dong was, smiling as if facing an old acquaintance. She said, “Still the old rules—young enough and charming enough?”
Yun Lan couldn’t help but smile. One was acting very convincingly, while the other acted as if meeting an old friend.
“It seems Sister Xian is about to forget me—she even forgot what kind of girl I like,” Lin Dong said disappointedly.
“Is that so? I thought it was just young enough and charming enough?” Lou Wanshan wasn’t flustered at all and still acted as if meeting an old friend.
Lin Dong gave Lou Wanshan a thumbs up and said with a smile, “I’ll have Ma Chun come and learn from Sister Xian later. This ability to act casually when meeting old acquaintances but then forgetting them will definitely be useful at our Lin’s Inn.”
“Ma Chun, Lin’s Inn?” Lou Wanshan looked at Lin Dong suspiciously.
“I’m Lin Dong!” Lin Dong’s voice returned to its normal state.
“Manager Lin?” Lou Wanshan exclaimed, but still seemed skeptical.
“Li Xun is the son of King Qingliu—should that be enough?” Lin Dong smiled. “The makeup on my face can’t be easily removed; it’ll be useful later.”
Lou Wanshan had no more doubts. Lin Dong could imitate voices, but Li Xun’s identity was a top-secret matter that no one else could know.
“Manager Lin, why do you have time to come to our Wanshan Tower today? And dressed like this…” Lou Wanshan asked puzzledly. “Is there something going on?”
Lin Dong nodded and asked, “There’s a martial artist at the fifth level of the Mental State phase, around twenty-three or twenty-four years old. I heard he even got into a fight out of jealousy. Is he still here at Wanshan Tower?”
“Is his name Jiang Huan?” Lou Wanshan asked without hesitation.
Lin Dong nodded. “Yes, that’s him!”
“He is!” Lou Wanshan said, confused. “Does Manager Lin need him for something?”
“I plan to disable him, but I need a good reason,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “That’s why I asked Sister Xian to come and help come up with an idea.”

“This is easy! That man is arrogant and conceited, thinking he’s something special just because he has a bit of strength.” Upon hearing that Jiang Huan was to be dealt with, Lou Wanshan immediately had an idea. He explained, “Later, it’s our Wanshan Tower’s time to choose the top performer and most generous patron. It seems he has an interest in Lan Xiang. As long as you offer more silver than him later, and I stir things up a bit, it will surely anger him. By then, with Manager Lin’s skills, it’ll be a piece of cake to take him down. I’ll handle the rest.”
“He got his silver by stealing it, but my silver is earned through hard work,” Lin Dong said, raising an eyebrow.
Lou Wanshan couldn’t help but laugh.
“Manager Lin, how much silver did you give? How about I double it and return it to you?”
“Sure!”
Lin Dong nodded happily, having no objections.