Chapter 183: Endless Troubles

There was also a kitchen in the backyard, stocked with plenty of ingredients for when one felt hungry in the middle of the night. Leading Yun Lan there, Lin Dong explained the layout of the backyard while keeping an eye on the four red dots in the Sky Room. The two entered the kitchen.
“What do you want to eat?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.
Yun Lan glanced at the ingredients on the table and suddenly said, “Buns!”
Lin Dong was surprised. The ingredients in the backyard kitchen were all easy to prepare. Buns required kneading dough and steaming, which was time-consuming and laborious. Yun Lan clearly knew such things weren’t available here, so she must have been joking.
“You act like you’re above worldly concerns. Deliberately making things difficult for others damages your image.”
Lin Dong was amazed. In Xilan City, he had known Yun Lan for quite some time, but he had never seen her joke before.
“Then why ask what I want to eat?” Yun Lan retorted with a smile.
Lin Dong was speechless for a moment, unable to think of a reply.
“Fine, buns it is. Wait, I’ll go get flour.”
With no other choice, Lin Dong rushed out of the kitchen. Meanwhile, Yun Lan picked out a few dishes she wanted to eat, put them in a basket, and started washing them. By the time Lin Dong returned with a whole bag of flour, Yun Lan had already washed several vegetables and half a basket of mushrooms. Beside her, the Silver Rabbit had appeared somehow and was hopping around noisily, as if saying something. When it saw Lin Dong return, it stopped immediately, making Lin Dong suspect that the rabbit had been complaining earlier.
“The Silver Rabbit says…” Yun Lan confirmed Lin Dong’s guess, “you often bully it.”
Lin Dong grinned, set down the flour, which made a loud thud on the ground, and said, “That silly rabbit must be lying.”
The Silver Rabbit tried to argue, but then saw Lin Dong walk over to the table, pick up a carrot, and snap it in half with a sharp motion. He then tossed it into the wooden barrel holding waste water.
The Silver Rabbit’s expression darkened. Though its intelligence wasn’t at human levels, it was still a seventh-tier spiritual beast, and it could clearly sense the great threat in that action.
Yun Lan picked up the Silver Rabbit and gently stroked its smooth fur with her hands still damp from washing. She believed the rabbit must have suffered a lot over the past half year—and that it was her own fault.
She had left the Silver Rabbit at the inn instead of taking it with her because Lin Dong didn’t have anyone to practice with. The Silver Rabbit was fast enough to serve as a makeshift training partner.

He grabbed another carrot and brought it to the silver rabbit. After the rabbit hesitated for a moment before extending its paws to take it, Lin Dong stroked its head and said affectionately, “Go stay outside. I’ll make you a special dish of braised rabbit meat later.”

Yun Lan chuckled. Just as she was about to speak, there was a stir in her hand, and the silver rabbit instantly turned into a streak of silver light and shot out of the kitchen.

“Can it understand ‘braised rabbit meat’?” Yun Lan asked in surprise.

“That rabbit showed me its disdainful attitude once; I’ll show it what braised rabbit meat really is,” Lin Dong said nonchalantly. “Gradually, it’ll know what it is.”

Yun Lan couldn’t help but laugh and cry. “A little rabbit—why are you so concerned?”

Lin Dong smiled. “I’m not always concerned. I just tease it when I’m bored. Otherwise, I’d have taught it what roasted rabbit or steamed whole rabbit is by now.”

“That’s cruel!” Yun Lan shook her head slightly.

“It’s just afraid of being braised itself. It’s not afraid of seeing the corpses of its kind.”

Lin Dong didn’t seem to care. He actually had some feelings for the silver rabbit. After all, Lin Shuang only came to the inn once a month, and Tian Hao even less often. This rabbit had been with him for most of that time. If the silver rabbit were afraid of seeing corpses of its kind, he would never use such things to scare it.

Yun Lan shook her head helplessly, picked up the cabbage and mushrooms, and asked, “What should I do next?”

“Start a fire!” Lin Dong growled.

Yun Lan understood immediately. She set down the cabbage and mushrooms, looking like pure clouds, and went behind the stove.

In the blink of an eye, flames were blazing in the stove.

“So fast?” Lin Dong stretched his neck to look at Yun Lan. Her every move remained exquisitely pure; her white clothes showed not a trace of dirt. Under the light of the flames, she even appeared even more holy.

“My main cultivation technique is the Heavenly Sword Art. It places great emphasis on mental discipline, so I spend nearly half the year traveling to train,” Yun Lan said leisurely. “Starting a fire isn’t a problem for me. Even in terms of cooking skills, you’re not necessarily better than me. As for dust… once you reach the Lingdong stage, you can use spiritual energy to create a barrier around you. If you can maintain this ability even during cultivation, it will not only prevent dust from entering but also alert you to ambushes, which is beneficial for your training.”

Lin Dong was speechless. If that were the case, it would indeed be quite helpful for cultivation. At least he could save time on bathing…

As they chatted, he rolled out the dough. After a long while, the buns were finally placed in the steamer. Lin Dong poured vegetable oil into the large pot; as faint white smoke rose, he poured the vegetables from the basket into the pot, where they tumbled around. With a sizzling sound, the scalding oil mixed with the vegetables, instantly giving the snow-white vegetable roots a faint oily yellow glow. Outside, Yang Shun stepped in and knocked hard on the door several times. Lin Dong didn’t turn around. From the map of the inn that had been open the whole time, he already knew it was Yang Shun. He tapped the spatula against the pot and said slowly, “Tell Lord Wang that I’m cooking for a friend right now. We’ll talk later.” “What? What did you say?” Yang Shun’s voice became sharp instantly, as if he’d heard someone say the sun rose in the west. He shouted, “My master is summoning you, and you say you’re cooking for a friend? You… you have such audacity!” With a hiss… As soon as his words faded, a blue light flashed out from behind the stove, circled above Yang Shun’s head, then disappeared back behind the stove. Yang Shun felt a slight chill on his head. He reached up to touch it and jumped in shock. Lin Dong turned to look. Yang Shun’s head was completely bald, with not a single hair left. Combined with his hanging severed arm and his noisy behavior, he looked extremely ridiculous. Amused, Lin Dong couldn’t help but admire the magic of the Heavenly Sword Technique of the Heavenly Sword Sect, as well as Yun Lan’s extraordinary hearing. Otherwise, no matter how good one’s sword skills were, it would be impossible to control a sword to fly around and shave someone’s head clean without even seeing them. “You… you…” With his bald head, Yang Shun pointed at Lin Dong, wanting to say something harsh, but worried that the strange blue light might strike his head again. “If there’s nothing else, go back to your Lord Wang!” Lin Dong said calmly. “He sent you, a good-for-nothing, to invite someone clearly because he’s afraid I’ll misunderstand. So why cause trouble for no reason?” Yang Shun’s face turned red. It was the first time in his life he’d been mocked like this. Yet he had no choice but to endure it. Otherwise, having his head shaved off by that blue light was one thing, but ruining his master’s plans would surely result not only in his own destruction but also the destruction of his ancestors’ graves. “I… I’ll go report to my master right away.” Gritting his teeth, Yang Shun turned his bald head and walked away. “Lin Dong, his master is probably a big problem,” Yun Lan said softly from behind the stove.

“It’s fine. Old Master Ding has already been brought to Autumn Wind City by me. Right now, he should be drinking in his room. If they dare to be tough, I guarantee they’ll regret it.” Lin Dong smiled and said, “Besides, that Lord Wang also needs my help.”
Yun Lan still shook her head. “If I’m not mistaken, he’s at least one of the powerful figures in the Tianwei Pavilion, or else a member of the imperial family of the Great Han Nation. In either case, if things go wrong, we’ll face endless troubles unless we keep them all around.”
“Powerful figures in the Tianwei Pavilion, members of the imperial family, and at least one of them?” Lin Dong was stunned. If it were a major sect with peak-level experts, he wouldn’t worry too much. But if it were really as Yun Lan said, it would indeed bring endless problems.
With the Tianwei Pavilion’s surveillance capabilities, whether they were powerful figures or imperial relatives, even if their mouths were silenced, Lin’s Inn couldn’t escape blame. Moreover, with just one announcement, they wouldn’t be able to keep running the inn anymore.
If they were imperial relatives, things would be even worse.
The people of the Tianwei Pavilion wouldn’t bother much with worldly matters. If they needed the inn’s help, it might even turn bad situations around. But imperial relatives were different. If they wanted more spirit stones, Lin’s Inn would have to expand desperately. Lin Dong’s goal was to open branches in every county, prefecture, and district of the Great Han Nation, with a monopoly share of 30% to 50% or more.
The Great Han Nation would never allow any industry to grow to such an extent. Although Lin Dong didn’t understand how Maple Forest Restaurant had managed to stay intact until now, it was obvious that most of its shares must be in the hands of some high-ranking official in the court.
Lin’s Inn’s goals were far beyond what Maple Forest Restaurant could match, and Lin Dong definitely had no intention of giving up control of it.
According to Lin Dong’s plan, only after monopolizing half of the counties in the Great Han Nation would the court start to take notice and try to suppress them. But if that Lord Wang was an imperial relative and needed the inn’s help, he would definitely pay attention to Lin’s Inn. By then, the court might become wary once Lin’s Inn monopolized Lingnan District. No matter how much they needed the inn’s help, they wouldn’t hesitate if it threatened imperial power.
“Mm!” Yun Lan nodded. “The jade token that person showed me earlier—if I’m not mistaken, it should be the Dragon Might Token of the Tianwei Pavilion. If a subordinate has such a token, along with the strength of those guards, their master must be either a powerful figure in the Tianwei Pavilion or an imperial relative. By the way, what does he need from you?”

“A colorful bed that can free him from the suffering of insomnia,” Lin Dong explained.
“That would be a royal family member.” Yun Lan’s frown disappeared as she spoke. The Tianwei Pavilion held a special status; even royal family members couldn’t mobilize many powerful fighters, so it wasn’t a concern.
“Why?” Lin Dong was puzzled.
Yun Lan replied casually, “If someone is trained in martial arts, do they need to sleep?”
Lin Dong was stunned. His mind must have been flooded with water today—otherwise, how could he have missed this?
However, unlike Yun Lan, that Lord Wang being a royal family member posed an even bigger problem for Lin Dong, as he couldn’t abandon the Lin Family Inn.
To spread the Lin Family Inn across the entire Great Han Kingdom, the only option besides giving up most of his shares was to become a peak-level warrior just before the inn faced suppression.
If he could become a registered peak-level warrior in the Great Han Kingdom, all problems could be solved. For the Great Han Kingdom, a wealthy man with vast assets across the country indeed posed a threat to imperial power. But rejecting or even turning against a peak-level warrior who willingly accepted the Great Han Kingdom’s rule would pose an even greater threat.
The problem was that with their cultivation speeds, even with the enhancements from Tian Hao and Yun Lan’s talents, it was likely still impossible to achieve this.
Giving up shares was even more out of the question for Lin Dong.