Chapter 22: Capturing Mountain Bandits

Back in his room, Lin Dong took out the small porcelain bottle given to him by Yun Lan. He pulled out the stopper and tilted the bottle slightly in his palm; a pink pill rolled out, releasing a gentle fragrance. Since Yun Lan hadn’t mentioned any precautions, there was no need for special preparations. With a flick of his hand, Lin Dong put the pill in his mouth. As soon as it entered his mouth, a warm current began to spread, flowing down his throat into his meridians. Looking inward, he saw the warm current rushing through the meridians, melting away impurities like snow under the scorching sun. Staring at the clear meridians, Lin Dong was stunned, not knowing how to react. Talent depended on two factors: the amount of impurities in the meridians and the speed at which one could comprehend spiritual techniques. If meridians were compared to passages, and the impurities within them to wooden boxes blocking the flow of spiritual energy, Lin Dong’s original meridians were filled with such boxes, forcing spiritual energy to twist and turn through gaps to pass through. But now, although there might still be some boxes in the meridians affected by the warm current, they were extremely rare, allowing spiritual energy to flow unimpeded. This meant that the time required for cultivation would be greatly reduced. Watching the warm current sweep through his meridians with unstoppable force, Lin Dong could hardly believe it. Just by taking a small pill, his cultivation talent had improved so dramatically? “Is this the power of a spiritual pill?” After a long while, ecstasy surged within Lin Dong. A single spiritual pill could bring about such a drastic change in cultivation talent, and its effects would last for a year… Lin Dong suddenly stood up, took a few steps toward the door, but stopped the moment his right hand touched the doorknob. Though he didn’t know what level the pill was, he wasn’t stupid. With such powerful effects, it must be at least an eighth-level spiritual pill. It was the Reverse Meridian Pill! Lin Dong believed he would be willing to pay any price beyond his limits just for one of them. In the eyes of a major family, the value of this pill would likely be even greater. Yun Lan had given him two pills at once, far exceeding the reward needed to cure the silver rabbit. It was okay not to repay her for now, but asking for more would be utterly shameless. Besides, she probably only had those two pills left.

He could only wait until he had an equivalent reward before making plans. Fortunately, even without the Reverse Meridian Pill, Yun Lan surely knew its origin. Once the inn’s system was upgraded and various auxiliary buildings were built, he wouldn’t lack the capital to obtain it.
Slapping his face, Lin Dong took a deep breath, returned to his bed, and sat down, eagerly entering a meditative state.
A week passed in an instant. A quick calculation showed it had been shortened by at least four times. With the support of spirit stones and double cultivation bonuses, Lin Dong roughly estimated that he could reach the second level of the Lingdong Phase within half a month.
Cultivate, cultivate, and more cultivate! The astonishing speed of his cultivation left only one thought in Lin Dong’s mind: cultivation!
In the courtyard, Yun Lan, sitting quietly, couldn’t help but glance at the tightly closed gray-black wooden door, a hint of helplessness on her lips.
“Such patience.”
After a while, glancing again at the door that still showed no sign of opening, Yun Lan pressed her lips together and placed her palms on the Silver Rabbit, using spiritual energy to nurture its inner core.
Two weeks, three weeks, four weeks…
As he was pushing toward the nineteenth set of thirty-six days, the door trembled.
“Owner, we’re in trouble,” Wang Liuzhi’s voice annoyed Lin Dong. It was already the thirtieth day—couldn’t the trouble wait?
Opening the door, he saw Wang Liuzhi’s anxious expression.
“What trouble?” Lin Dong asked.
“Zhao Bantou from the county yamen led a group of yamen officials into our inn, claiming to arrest bandits, causing chaos in all the guest rooms,” Wang Liuzhi said urgently.
“Arrest bandits?” Lin Dong frowned. Bandits operated outside the city and rarely appeared inside, let alone in his small inn. How could trouble arise again in just one day?
“Go take a look!”
Lin Dong strode out of the room and into the lobby, which was crowded and chaotic. Over twenty yamen officials armed with weapons surrounded all the guests. On one side were Yun Lan, Fu Zizhou, and Liu Shun; on another, Bai Jingtai and his daughter along with their guards—clearly, they must have paid well to receive such preferential treatment.
Wang Liuzhi asked a man in his forties who was comparing portraits with the guests one by one, “Zhao Bantou, have you caught any bandits? We still need to keep operating our inn!”
“Soon!”
Wang Liuzhi must have also given him some silver, as the man merely glanced at Lin Dong before continuing his comparison.

“Hurrying to open for business?” A sarcastic voice caught everyone’s attention. Lin Dong glanced coldly over; Liu Shun was standing behind Fu Zizhou, sneering, “Who knows if these bandits are connected to your inn? Otherwise, why would they choose to stay at your place instead of somewhere else?”
As soon as these words were spoken, bursts of laughter erupted among the crowd gathered outside the hall, eager to watch the spectacle.
“Hey, young man, is this your first time staying at Lin’s Inn?”
“Manager Lin colluding with bandits? Forget everything else—if he really could collude with bandits, then almost everyone in Xilan City would be bandits.”
“That’s right. Who doesn’t know Manager Lin’s character? If he could collude with bandits, even a sow could climb a tree.”
Lin Dong was speechless—this metaphor wasn’t very flattering.
The crowd chatted and joked back and forth, instantly making Liu Shun’s face turn red. “If he’s not colluding with bandits, I’ll write my name backwards. But if he is, so what?”
“If Manager Lin really is colluding with bandits, then I’ll go to the yamen and confess—I’m also colluding with them.”
“Add me! Add me too! I’ll go and confess too.”
In an instant, the laughter outside the hall grew even louder.
Just as Liu Shun was about to speak again, Fu Zizhou glanced at Yun Lan and snapped, “What does it have to do with you?”
Liu Shun froze for a moment, then shuddered. He stole a glance at Yun Lan and sighed in relief when he saw nothing amiss. Thankfully, Miss Yun Lan didn’t seem suspicious of his words.
Meanwhile, Lin Dong inwardly cursed his mistake. This matter was definitely related to Fu Zizhou. He hadn’t expected to be outmaneuvered first.
Things might get bad—he might end up in the county yamen’s jail today.
Just as he was about to tell Wang Liuzhi a few words, a loud shout erupted in the hall.
“That’s him! Capture him!”
Head Zhao suddenly pointed at a thin old man dressed in a blue silk robe among the guests.
The constables rushed forward. Liu Shun grinned. A mere innkeeper dared to provoke my young master? Let’s see how bad things get for you!
Fu Zizhou’s lips curled slightly as well. He glanced at Lin Dong’s face and saw that he still hadn’t realized the disaster looming over him. The slight sense of satisfaction he had felt vanished, and he began to reflect.
In the past, a mere innkeeper would never have caught his attention. Yet now he was resorting to tactics against someone he had never even considered important. Had his temperament become more impetuous and irritable? Or was it because the two factions were working together to suppress the prominent figures, leaving him so desperate that even an innkeeper seemed like a threat to him?