Chapter 63: Another Incident

Bang!
Pots and dishes tumbled, leftovers flying everywhere. With a loud crash, the table shattered, trapping Zhao Fengjie inside.
Zhao Fengjie raised his arm and pointed at Lin Dong, his lips moving slightly before he collapsed to the ground.
As the staff kept apologizing, the hall, which had finally calmed down, erupted again.
“Someone got beaten! Someone got beaten!”
In an instant, all the patrons stood up in panic and rushed out the door. A few staff members tried to stop them but were scattered by the crowd.
Staring at Zhao Fengjie, who lay motionless on the ground, and then looking up at Lin Dong, who exuded a murderous aura, Zhou Haicheng and Wang Qiuye suddenly screamed and staggered toward the door.
“You guys…!”
The staff glared at Lin Dong and his group, furious but also intimidated by Lin Dong’s deadly presence, none daring to take a step forward.
Lin Dong took out a banknote worth a hundred taels from the counter and slapped it on a table, glancing at one of the staff members. “Is a hundred taels enough as compensation?”
“Yes, it’s enough!”
Relief flashed in the staff members’ eyes. A hundred taels would be enough to compensate for scaring away all the customers on the second floor. For the first floor, even including the resulting consequences, it would be more than sufficient.
“Dad, you’re so amazing!”
Tian Hao stared at Lin Dong with wide eyes, filled with admiration and joy. After months apart, his dad could even beat someone, and do so so powerfully.
Lin Dong smiled and said, “Let’s go!”
Everyone nodded. As they passed by Zhao Fengjie, Jiang Kui lifted his foot, intending to kick him, but remembered Wen Ying behind him and quickly pulled his foot back.
Snap!
With a soft sound, Jiang Kui turned to see a red embroidered shoe retracting from Zhao Fengjie’s waist.
Seeing Jiang Kui looking, Wen Ying’s face turned red instantly. She lowered her head and snapped, “What are you looking at? He deserved it—he should have been beaten.”
Lin Dong was stunned. He turned to look at Wen Ying. Could she have seen it too? If so, Jiang Kui and she now had something in common.
Meanwhile, Jiang Kui nodded vigorously, turned around, and kicked Zhao Fengjie in the waist, sending him flying as if he were just a small stick.
With a sound like a bullet leaving a barrel, it zipped past Lin Dong’s ear. Lin Dong grinned—natural supernatural strength!
“Let’s go! The officials are coming.”
Lin Dong called out. Although he had a martial aptitude certificate, as long as no one was killed and the victim wasn’t important, the officials wouldn’t pursue them. But Wen Wangzhong and the others didn’t have such a certificate, so once the officials arrived, things might get complicated.

The group immediately stepped around the tables and chairs and hurried toward the door.
“What’s going on? Who was making those weird noises just now? They ruined a whole plate of Firebird Dishes, forcing me to cook them again.”
A sarcastic voice came from behind. It sounded familiar to Lin Dong. He turned around and saw an old acquaintance from the Military Testing Institute—Qiao Tianhao!
“Great, I was just looking for you! You showed up on your own.”
Upon seeing Lin Dong, Qiao Tianhao was momentarily stunned before bursting into laughter.
He had been waiting at the Spring Inn full of expectations, hoping the head of the Military Testing Institute and the manager would come running over to insult them for being so foolish, so he could then extract all their spirit stones and pills. But after waiting five days, not a single ghost appeared.
With no other choice, maybe those two old guys were so confused they had forgotten their own address. He decided to go after them himself!
Instead of insulting them, he was the one who got insulted back. Unable to fight them and also getting beaten if he cursed them, Qiao Tianhao realized one thing—those two old guys were not to be trifled with.
Fueled by anger, he decided to find the guy who had knocked him away with a stool while he wasn’t armed and take his anger out on him.
After more than half a month of hard work, Maple Forest Restaurant finally stabilized. Qiao Tianhao planned to send a few guards to look for those people, but since they had come to him on their own, he couldn’t help but feel happy.
“Lord Qiao!” The employees rushed forward to stop him. “Lord Qiao, they’ve already paid in silver.”
“What silver? Stop them and close the door!” Qiao Tianhao snapped.
“C-close the door?” The employees were stunned. Close the door in broad daylight? There were plenty of wealthy people upstairs!
“Did you hear me? Close the door!” Qiao Tianhao yelled.
“If you want a fight, let’s go outside,” Lin Dong said indifferently.
“Outside? What if you run away?” Qiao Tianhao kicked the nearest employee and ordered, “Hurry up and close the door!”
The employees hesitated. The murderous aura from Lin Dong flashed through their minds, and Qiao Tianhao’s usual dominance came back. After exchanging glances for a moment, one clever employee rushed upstairs, while the others dragged their feet slowly toward the door.
“You guys go back to the inn first. I’ll catch up with you later,” Lin Dong said softly to them.
“Dad, I’ll stay,” Tianhao said, not surprised but delighted. He stared at Qiao Tianhao, his fists itching to fight.
“Alright. Jiang Kui, protect Boss Wen and Wen Ying and go back first. We’ll be there soon,” Lin Dong nodded.
“Manager Lin…” Wen Wangzhong and the others shook their heads.

“Don’t worry, staying here won’t help much. Have you forgotten how I chased the silver rabbit in the backyard?” Lin Dong said with a smile.
Wen Wang and his daughter hesitated for a moment before nodding. The three of them quickly left through the main gate.
“Tianhao, if there are no guards attacking, just stand by and watch. If guards come, don’t go all out—just break as many things as you can.”
Lin Dong gently reminded Tianhao. He hadn’t intended to cause trouble at Maple Forest Inn after all; business should be conducted peacefully, not through force. Moreover, Maple Forest Inn was present throughout the Great Han Kingdom. It would be better to defeat them through legitimate means—forming deep enmity would only harm the inn’s future development.
But since they had been so kind and refused his request to go fight outside, if violence was the only way to resolve things, Lin Dong had never backed down.
Seeing that Lin Dong and his companion had no intention of launching a sneak attack, the staff members moved to the gate, quickly closed it, and then breathed in relief before scattering.
“Well done! Later, each of you can ask Manager Liu for one tael of silver—say it’s my reward.”
Qiao Tianhao gave the staff a thumbs up. Reaching back with his right hand, he pulled out a bright green kitchen knife, looking at Lin Dong with deep pity.
“You had a chance to run earlier. Now, just wait to regret it!”
“Dad, that knife’s color—my master once told me it’s made of dark iron, said it can cut through iron like mud.” Tianhao said softly, “Should I take care of him?”
Lin Dong’s expression tightened slightly, but he shook his head without hesitation. There were plenty of stools in the counter area—there was no need to worry about being cut. Although Tianhao was strong, he was unarmed, and even a slight mistake could be dangerous.
Besides, how could he let his son take on danger? As for Qiao Tianhao, though he wasn’t completely sure, he was over 50% confident. From their fight at the Military Assessment Institute, no matter what weapons Qiao Tianhao had today, his speed remained unchanged.
Thud, thud, thud…
Rapid footsteps echoed on the wooden stairs as a middle-aged man in his early forties ran downstairs.
“Master Qiao, what are you doing?”
“What am I doing? Facing an enemy—closing the door and fighting!” Qiao Tianhao replied nonchalantly.
“This is a restaurant. If you keep doing this, how can we run a business?” The middle-aged man grew anxious. Earlier, some loud roar had caused chaos on the second floor. Thankfully, he reacted quickly and managed to calm everyone down.
Just as he caught his breath, Qiao Tianhao started making a fuss again. Could anyone live like this?

“What kind of business is this? With a master chef like me here, do you really think the locals from Xilan City won’t rush over with silver in hand?” Qiao Tianhao glared at the middle-aged man and waved the black iron kitchen knife in his hand impatiently. “Go away! Stop bothering me. You have nothing to do here.”
“Qiao Tianhao, I’m the owner of Fenglin Restaurant in Xilan City!” The middle-aged man was so angry he felt dizzy; he had to hold onto the escalator to steady himself.
“And so what? I’m still a disciple of Chef Jiang! Just an owner of a small town restaurant—if you annoy me, one word from me and you’ll be gone.”
Qiao Tianhao snorted, looking down on the middle-aged man with contempt. Before coming here, he had planned to get along well with this owner, Liu. But with his constant fake smiles and pretense of concern, why bother being polite?
This guy too—having endured him for so long, why come and stir up trouble when he’s having fun?
The middle-aged man was trembling violently, pointing at Qiao Tianhao.
“Are you trying to annoy me? Do you think I won’t beat you first?” Qiao Tianhao snapped.
With a bang, the middle-aged man could no longer hold back his anger; his head spun, and he fainted from shock.
Lin Dong was speechless—this owner was almost as bad as the previous one.
“Enough! If you want an arm or a leg, choose one!”
Qiao Tianhao twisted his right wrist, and the black iron kitchen knife drew a swirling pattern in the air toward Lin Dong.