Chapter 21: Interest

As evening fell, Lin Dong finally came up with a plan. He opened the door, and a burst of rosy light streamed in, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort.

In the sky, the setting sun resembled a small fireball, gently coloring the clouds around it. Glancing around, he saw several empty carriages parked in a corner of the courtyard. At the kitchen entrance, a dark charcoal stove burned with deep red flames, above which aancient yellow medicine pot emitted continuous wisps of white vapor.

Making medicine?

Lin Dong’s gaze paused as he instinctively looked toward the left side of the courtyard. On the stone table, the Silver Rabbit lay sprawled, its tiny red eyes half-asleep. Next to it, a figure that made it impossible to look away sat quietly.

At this moment, Yun Lan seemed to blend with the rosy light. Dressed in a white gauze robe, she appeared to be enveloped in a faint holy glow, giving off an aura of purity and clarity. A gentle breeze blew, causing the robe to flutter. Ribbons swayed softly against her body, highlighting her delicate and exquisite figure.

For a moment, Lin Dong felt as if he were in a dream—entranced and as if in a painting.

Biting her red lips, Yun Lan snapped, “Are you done staring?”

“Uh!” Lin Dong snapped out of his daze, feeling annoyed. He thought to himself that it must be the influence of his past thoughts; otherwise, with his four or five hundred gigabytes of experience, how could he be so stunned by Yun Lan, who was dressed and still wearing a veil?

Slapping his face, Lin Dong strode over to the stone table and laughed, “It’s a shame there’s no wine!”

“Wine?” Yun Lan was slightly puzzled.

“Fine wine and beautiful women—what a delightful combination after sunset,” he said with a smile.

Yun Lan smiled faintly. “If my father saw you, he’d surely consider you a confidant. We’re both extremely bold.”

Lin Dong grinned, pinching the Silver Rabbit’s long ears and asking, “Will this little guy bite?”

“Although the Silver Rabbit is a seventh-tier spiritual beast, it has a gentle temperament. It won’t attack unless its life is threatened,” Yun Lan replied calmly.

“Oh!” Lin Dong nodded. “It doesn’t seem very energetic.”

“Only a few days left,” Yun Lan said, her voice tinged with slight melancholy.

It seems Fu Zizhou’s prescription is no longer effective. Acting now can be considered a hidden task. Lin Dong felt a hint of joy, but didn’t show it on his face. “When I ran an inn in Qiufeng City, I took in an elderly man in his eighties. Before he passed away, he taught me several spirit arrays, one of which is the Self-Healing Array. Once activated, as long as the spirit beasts inside the array stay within it, they can survive even severe injuries and gradually recover over time. If you trust me, I can try setting up this array on the stone table.”

“With the effectiveness of the Self-Healing Array, it can rank among the top-tier spirit arrays of the ninth level. Setting up a spirit array requires a very high level of skill from the array master. Moreover, only a ninth-level array master can create a ninth-level spirit array,” Yun Lan said, her red lips parting slightly. “You could say that the elderly man set up several spirit arrays before dying and taught you how to move them perfectly.”

Lin Dong was stunned. He then remembered that with Yun Lan’s abilities, even if she didn’t understand spirit arrays, she should at least have some knowledge of them—she certainly wasn’t as easy to deceive as Bai Jingtai.

“What materials are needed?” Yun Lan asked softly.

“Huh?” Lin Dong was surprised. “Don’t you already know I’m lying to you?”

Yun Lan smiled and shook her head. “It’s just that the reason you’re treating the silver rabbit isn’t convenient for you to tell me.”

“You really know me well.” Lin Dong touched his nose. Unbothered by his lie being exposed, he said seriously, “All I need is a first-level spirit stone. I don’t know how long it will take to cure the silver rabbit, so I can’t say exactly how much is needed. Just give me a hundred or so—use the extra as payment for the service.”

“A spirit stone?” Yun Lan frowned slightly.

“It can be exchanged for silver too!” Lin Dong laughed.

Yun Lan remained silent.

“It’s okay. If it’s inconvenient, you can owe it and pay me next time I pass by. Just don’t spread word about this. You know, good things in the hands of the weak aren’t always a good thing.”

Lin Dong couldn’t help but laugh. A single coin could trouble a tough guy, and a hundred taels of silver could trouble a fairy-like girl too!

Actually, it didn’t really matter to Lin Dong. Yun Lan was quite his type—cold but not arrogant. Asking for a hundred taels was almost the same as giving it for free. Besides, the reward for the hidden task—a seventh-level spirit beast—was what really mattered to him.

“Thank you!”

Yun Lan nodded. A small dark red porcelain bottle appeared in her delicate hands. She gently placed it in front of Lin Dong and said, “I’ve almost used up all the silver along the way, and the spirit stones were also exhausted while nurturing the Silver Rabbit’s inner core. These are two Reverse Meridian Pills. You can take one before starting your cultivation to give it a try—each pill’s effect lasts for a year. Consider it interest on those 100 spirit stones!”
“Then I won’t be polite,” Lin Dong replied without hesitation. He snatched the porcelain bottle and tossed it into the mobile counter.
Yun Lan smiled silently.
Although Lin Dong didn’t know the properties of the Reverse Meridian Pills, he knew that given Yun Lan’s character, she would never give him some low-grade pills to deceive him. Having gained an advantage, he naturally had to work harder.
The system had originally randomly chosen the location of the stable to the right corner of the courtyard, where miscellaneous items were piled up, making it inconvenient to keep the Silver Rabbit there. Lin Dong opened the inn system, checked the stable’s attributes, and then chose to change its location.
Ding: Please select a new location.
A floor plan of Lin’s Inn appeared before Lin Dong. The stable covered 10 square meters—there was no need to measure it. Lin Dong roughly estimated the location of the stone table in the back yard and then overlaid it on the stable’s new location.
Ding: Congratulations! The stable’s location has been successfully changed.
For a level 2 inn, the stable could only enable self-healing for five spirit beasts at the same time, with the self-healing effect maxing out at twice. Lin Dong immediately checked the stable’s attributes.
Stable: 1/5
Self-healing effect: 2x
Comfort bonus: 2x
Although the stable hadn’t been built yet, its functions could be used once activated. Lin Dong selected the Silver Rabbit and set its self-healing effect to 2x.
Perhaps sensing something, the Silver Rabbit rubbed against the table, its red eyes opening slightly.
Rubbing the Silver Rabbit’s head, Lin Dong said with a smile, “I still think you’d be more suitable in the kitchen.”
“Squeak…”
The Silver Rabbit suddenly stood up, its silver-white fur bristling, startling Lin Dong into standing up abruptly.
With a chuckle, Yun Lan’s voice made Lin Dong’s face turn red: “A level 7 spirit beast already understands human emotions. But the Silver Rabbit is naturally gentle; it’s just protesting to you.”
“Protest ignored!”
Lin Dong lightly slapped the Silver Rabbit’s head, but it felt like hitting an iron wall—his palm tingled slightly.
Just as he was relieved he hadn’t used too much force, a polite voice came through: “Yun Lan, I’ve thought of another prescription that might work for the Silver Rabbit.”
At the entrance of the courtyard, Fu Zizhou strode in, followed closely by Liu Shun.

Upon seeing Lin Dong, Fu Zizhou’s steps paused slightly before continuing as before. Liu Shun behind him cast a disdainful glance, his disgust evident on his face. How dare a mere innkeeper treat Yun Lan (the young lady) on equal terms? At that moment, the thoughts of the master and servant coincided strangely. Yun Lan had an indescribable trust in Lin Dong; although he wasn’t a high-level alchemist, she believed he could heal the silver rabbit’s injuries. She had no desire even to try Fu Zizhou’s prescription. Of course, she didn’t show it on her face—after all, it was out of kindness, and refusing outright would be inappropriate. She stood up and nodded, “It’s fine to give it a try.”

When they reached the stone table, Fu Zizhou didn’t sit down but instead picked up a piece of paper filled with medicine names and handed it to Lin Dong, wearing a smile as warm as spring breeze: “Innkeeper Lin, could you please help fetch the herbs?” “Sure!” Lin Dong took the paper and placed it casually on the table. Fu Zizhou frowned but still didn’t sit down, merely watching Lin Dong quietly. Lin Dong knew exactly what Fu Zizhou meant—disdainful enough to not sit at the same table as him? He wouldn’t even deign to look at him! After fiddling with the paper for a while, Lin Dong stretched out his hands in front of the silver rabbit, “Little guy, what do you want for dinner? Braised rabbit meat in the left hand, steamed rabbit meat in the right—whichever?” The silver rabbit’s little eyes rolled a few times, revealing red sclera for Lin Dong. “Interesting, it really understands humans,” Lin Dong laughed. It was fun to tease this silver rabbit when he was bored. “I’d better go myself to avoid any mistakes. Yun Lan, I’ll be leaving if you don’t mind.” Fu Zizhou grabbed the paper from the table and smiled at Yun Lan, confident that she would surely agree to accompany him. Liu Shun rolled his eyes at Lin Dong, clearly disdainful—wanting to sit at the same table as my young master? You might have a chance in your next life! “Mm!” Yun Lan replied softly. Fu Zizhou was surprised but remained composed, smiling slightly before turning away with effortless grace—his elegant demeanor enough to conquer most women. “I’m going back to my room to take the Reverse Meridian Pill. Hope it tastes good.”

After the two left the courtyard, Lin Dong stood up and chuckled as he headed back to his room. To be honest, he usually didn’t care about people like Fu Zizhou, especially since he had a high status, and Lin Dong didn’t want to provoke him in front of others. But this kid was really annoying. If he didn’t fight back, Lin Dong would feel displeased. When Lin Dong returned to his room, that annoying Fu Zizhou had already left the inn with Liu Shun, a hint of coldness flashing across his handsome face.

“Liu Shun, first find out who the famous bandits around Xilan City are. Then find a beggar to stay at Lin’s Inn, and send someone to the county office to report that bandits are staying at Lin’s Inn. Remember, make sure the beggar insists that the innkeeper is a bandit’s accomplice in Xilan City.”
“A beggar? Are there anyone dirtier in this world?” Liu Shun was displeased. An idea struck him: “Young master, it’s just a small inn. Just hand over your name card to the office, won’t that solve it easily?”
“The county magistrate isn’t part of the literati faction; using my name could cause unnecessary complications,” Fu Zizhou shook his head.
“Then I’ll go handle it right away.”
With no choice, Liu Shun rushed off.