Chapter 160: That Person

Seeing the clerk’s expression, Ma Chun said irritably, “What’s the rush? What’s broken this time?”
“Pork, beef, mutton!” the clerk panted, filled with indignation. “The Peng family is getting more and more outrageous. This afternoon, I saw Old Liu, who usually delivers beef to the inn, wasn’t here. When I went to the market to ask, the third young master of the Peng family sent people to warn all the butchers there—no one is allowed to supply us with pork, beef, or mutton.”
Ma Chun sighed bitterly. “When will this third young master of the Peng family stop? Go, send someone to Xilan City to find Zhang Ye.”
The clerk nodded firmly.
“What’s going on?” Lin Dong asked, frowning.
“That third young master of the Peng family—I don’t know if there’s something wrong with his head,” Ma Chun said helplessly. “Yiyi isn’t even at Yingfeng Tower anymore. After cutting off our access to spiritual beasts and materials, he then cut off our rice supply a few days later, followed by salt. Today it’s pork, beef, and mutton. He doesn’t even think that since we can transport these things from other places, it just means needing a few more carriages.”
An unexplained anger surged in Lin Dong’s heart. This Peng Tianan—stupid as he was, being played around by Yingchunhua was one thing, but why did he keep bothering Lin’s Inn?
“I’m going to Wanbin Tower!”
Lin Dong took a deep breath, abandoning the idea of returning to his room to practice.
“Owner, maybe… wait? Master Xiao is on Qingmei Mountain, and Elder Huo and the others have gone to various counties with Sixth Brother.” Ma Chun quickly shook his head. With the owner already in a bad mood, if he really went to Wanbin Tower, that third young master’s arrogance would surely anger him.
The Peng family was one of the seven major families in Qiufeng Mansion, with many skilled fighters at their disposal. The owner might suffer losses at Wanbin Tower.
“It’s fine. I’ll just talk to Peng Tianan. If we can reach an agreement, that’s best—there are no conflicts of interest among us. If not, I’ll go to Qingmei Mountain!” Lin Dong said coldly.
“Owner, should I go instead?” Ma Chun said honestly. “Peng Tianan’s attitude might easily anger you.”
“Bring a horse over. Don’t worry, I won’t cause trouble at Wanbin Tower.” Lin Dong shook his head. The Peng family was extremely powerful in Qiufeng City. Whether through negotiation or conflict, Ma Chun’s status as a manager wasn’t enough.
Ma Chun nodded helplessly and ran to the back yard.
Before long, Ma Chun led a group of large brown horses from the back yard to the entrance of the inn.
“Keep a close eye on the inn. These next one or two months are crucial. Tell the clerks to work harder. If they perform well, we’ll start giving them extra pay next month. As for the VIP card issue, I’ll think of ways to improve it.”
After giving Ma Chun a few instructions, Lin Dong mounted the horse, kicked it, and rode off toward Wanbin Tower.

It was similar to his last visit to Wanbin Building: a magnificent lobby with quite a few customers, but the staff were all lazy and unenthusiastic. When Lin Dong entered, it took a good while before a reluctant staff member came over.
“Sir, would you like to go to the second floor or the first floor?”
“Please tell Young Master Peng that the owner of Lin’s Inn has come to visit,” Lin Dong said calmly.
“The owner of Lin’s Inn?” The staff member was shocked and stepped back involuntarily. Only when he saw no sign of Lin Dong attacking did he feel a little more at ease.
“Owner Lin, please wait a moment. I’ll go inform the young master.”
The staff member replied cautiously before turning and leaving quickly.
Lin Dong waited patiently for half an hour. As dusk fell and the city gates were about to close, he thought the talks had failed. The staff member who went to inform them came down from the second floor slowly. Compared to his cautious attitude when first meeting Lin Dong, he seemed much more relaxed and arrogant now.
“Hey, my young master can spare some time to see you. Come with me!”
“Hey?” Lin Dong smiled coldly. The attitude had changed completely. Clearly, this staff member was acting under Peng Tianan’s orders.
Young Master Peng, using serious matters as a tool while being rather clever in petty matters, even resorting to intimidation tactics.
Without saying a word, Lin Dong followed the staff member to the second floor and to a private room. The staff member knocked on the door.
“Young Master, that ‘hey’ has arrived.”
“Bring him in,” came a deep voice from inside the room.
The staff member pushed open the door and said indifferently, “Go in!”
Lin Dong entered silently. The room was filled with antiques, paintings, and jade artifacts. It wasn’t very large, but it was exquisitely decorated. In the center, on a round sandalwood table, there were numerous dishes, with various exotic beasts emitting thick clouds of steam—obviously just served.
“Are you that ‘hey’?” Peng Tianan raised his eyelids slightly and glanced at Lin Dong nonchalantly.
“I am that ‘hey,’” Lin Dong nodded and sat down directly across from Peng Tianan.
Seeing Lin Dong’s rude behavior, Peng Tianan frowned and said unhappily, “No manners at all. Get up!”
Lin Dong stared coldly at Peng Tianan, unblinking, as if admiring some finely crafted jade artifact. His resolute lips curled slightly, showing disdain and mockery.
Peng Tianan felt terrified under that gaze and suddenly slammed the table, shouting, “What do you mean?”
“Nothing much. Lin’s Inn has no grudges or business ties with the Peng family,” Lin Dong said indifferently. “Young Master Peng was just influenced by a few words from Yingchun Flower. There’s no need to make a big deal out of such a trivial matter.”

“No need to make a big deal out of it?” Peng Tianan shouted. “You can’t afford to provoke the Peng family. You want me to spare you, right?”
“The Peng family is just one of the seven major families in Autumn Wind City. I don’t want to make a fuss; I simply think it’s unnecessary. Young Master Peng, in Autumn Wind Mansion, the real power lies with the various sects,” Lin Dong said calmly.
“The various sects? Do you even know any sect disciples?” Peng Tianan laughed uproariously, leaning back and forth as if he’d heard some astonishing news.
Could a merchant possibly know people from the various sects? Even if he had some connection to a sect disciple, according to sect rules, the sect must not get involved in worldly conflicts. Even if a sect disciple’s own father were killed, unless he was the sect leader, at most he and a few close fellow disciples might secretly descend the mountain to seek revenge—nothing to do with the entire sect. If it was merely suppression, it couldn’t even be called causing trouble, and the disciple wouldn’t risk being punished by the sect by stepping in.
Although Peng Tianan was arrogant, he wasn’t completely foolish. He had already thought this through.
Regardless of whether Lin’s Inn knew any sect disciples, even if they did, the Peng family also had intricate ties with the sects. If they couldn’t even suppress a merchant, what made the Peng family one of the seven major families?
“I may not know others, but I’ve had some interactions with Liu Lixiong, the Grand Elder of Tongquan Sect, and we can be considered friends,” Lin Dong said indifferently.
“Tongquan Sect?” Peng Tianan grinned wider. “You should go and find out about the relationship between our Peng family and Tongquan Sect. Just knowing Elder Liu is enough to compare to our Peng family’s hundred-year relationship with them?”
Lin Dong raised an eyebrow. “It doesn’t matter whose relationship is deeper. Since we both know them, can’t Young Master Peng resolve this matter quietly?”
“Resolve it quietly? Sure! Since we’re both friends of Tongquan Sect, I’ll at least give you face.” Peng Tianan swept his right arm across the round table. “You’ll pay for this meal as an apology. From now on, let’s act like nothing happened.”
Lin Dong glanced at the table full of spiritual beasts and materials and realized that this meal was probably prepared especially for him.
At the prices in Wanbin Tower, this meal would cost at least three to five thousand silver taels—unthinkable.
“What? Only eighteen thousand silver taels? You’re not going to be stingy, are you?” Peng Tianan sneered. “I’ve given you a chance. If you don’t want to reconcile, don’t blame me.”
Lin Dong smiled, stood up, took out a gold ingot from the mobile cabinet, tossed it on the table, and then left the private room.
Behind him, Peng Tianan stared at the golden ingot, unable to understand what it meant. What was this all about?