Chapter 427: Can’t Figure It Out

In the backyard of Lin’s Inn, Lin Dong stood in the corridor, staring fixedly at the door. Beside him, Cheng Bao remained calm, though his face covered in fleshy protrusions still looked fierce and terrifying, exuding a brutal aura. Behind them, Qiao Tianhao peeked cautiously at the door, hiding behind Lin Dong, not daring to breathe loudly. Although he knew Lin Dong had a way to save his life, he wasn’t stupid—having the innkeeper ask him to wait outside undoubtedly meant he was about to be sacrificed to vent Feng Yue’s anger.

Minor injuries were negligible, but serious ones… could leave one bedridden.

Creak…

Just as the three of them were lost in their thoughts, the door made a soft sound as it was slowly pulled open from inside.

Lin Dong tensed up immediately. Qiao Tianhao shuddered, his hands gripping tightly at the hem of Lin Dong’s clothes behind him.

Feng Yue was still the same—tattered and disheveled—but the unstoppable aura emanating from him was clearly far more formidable than before. At this moment, not only Qiao Tianhao but even Lin Dong and Cheng Bao couldn’t help but take a small step back.

“Elder Feng, congratulations! The Great Han Nation now has another peak-level expert,” Lin Dong said quickly, bowing in greeting.

“Come in!” Feng Yue replied indifferently before turning and going back into the room.

Lin Dong took a deep breath and stepped into the dimly lit room. Cheng Bao followed without hesitation. Poor Qiao Tianhao hesitated at the door, unable to bring his right foot inside.

“Elder Feng…” Lin Dong hesitated.

“Do you want me to cut the chains?” Feng Yue asked.

Lin Dong nodded eagerly. “Cheng Bao has a high-grade ninth-tier spiritual weapon. If Elder Feng agrees, we can immediately ask Old Master Ding to cut the chains for you.”

“I’ll only stay at Lin’s Inn. Whether I go elsewhere to help you kill someone is up to me,” Feng Yue said calmly.

Lin Dong was overjoyed. This meant he would surely agree if the conditions were right.

If negotiations were possible, half the battle was won. As long as Feng Yue didn’t demand something outrageous, Lin Dong could basically agree to anything.

“If Elder Feng stays at Lin’s Inn, he’ll be one of the inn’s strongest trump cards. It’s not a big deal—I won’t disturb Elder Feng for trivial matters,” Lin Dong promised. “Besides, who would a peak-level expert really act as a bodyguard for? It’s just nominal. As long as Elder Feng can ensure he can intervene in case of crisis at Lin’s Inn, he can decide everything else on his own.”

Feng Yue nodded and continued, “How many Tianfeng Peppers are there each month?”

A bright smile appeared on Lin Dong’s face—this was his greatest asset in keeping Feng Yue around. Pointing at Cheng Bao beside him, he introduced, “The seven spicy dishes at Lin’s Inn were made by him. What does Senior Feng think?”
“Not bad!” Feng Yue replied casually.
“Not bad?” Murderous intent flashed in Cheng Bao’s eyes.
“Very good. It’s the best food I’ve ever eaten in my life.” Feng Yue originally didn’t want Lin Dong to realize just how much he cared about those seven spicy dishes. Seeing Cheng Bao’s murderous gaze, he quickly changed his tune without hesitation.
In his eyes, Cheng Bao’s strength was negligible. But to ensure Cheng Bao prepared those seven spicy dishes wholeheartedly, it was better not to offend him. Feng Yue could tell that this Cheng Bao was brimming with hostility and brutality—definitely one of the most ruthless among outlaws. Such a person could be killed with force, but it would be hard to make him submit. If offended, who knew if he might add too much salt or too few Tianfeng peppers when cooking.
“Whenever Senior Feng wants to eat them, he can just tell the staff to summon Cheng Bao. They’ll deliver them within half an hour,” Lin Dong said with a smile.
The main ingredient for those seven spicy dishes was Tianfeng pepper. If they could be delivered at any time, it meant an endless supply of Tianfeng peppers. This reminded Feng Yue of his experience at Lin’s Inn when he escaped—back then, he had been deceived for three or four months over just a few dozen pounds of Tianfeng peppers.
Noticing Feng Yue’s displeased expression, Lin Dong realized he was recalling how Lin Dong had deceived him by claiming a low yield. He quickly changed the subject, “I wonder if Senior Feng has any other instructions?”
Feng Yue didn’t press further and said, “As for perfectly integrating spirit artifacts and spirit arrays, only I can handle the artifact refinement part.”
For the first time, Lin Dong nodded eagerly. Feng Yue’s willingness to participate in integrating spirit artifacts and spirit arrays was an incredible opportunity for him—there was no reason to refuse. As for having only himself handle artifact refinement, that wasn’t a problem at all. There was only Yun Lan as a spirit array master, so not many artifact refiners were needed. With Feng Yue, an eighth-tier artifact refiner, that was sufficient—more would just be a waste.
“Finally…” Feng Yue’s words lifted Lin Dong’s spirits—finally, the last hurdle.
Feng Yue’s gaze slowly drifted toward Qiao Tianhao, who was standing at the door.
“Um…” Lin Dong asked cautiously, “Is superficial injury acceptable?”
“No!” Feng Yue replied without hesitation.

Qiao Tianhao’s legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud. Tearsless, he pleaded, “Owner, please don’t sell me. I’ve done everything as you told me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have admired Senior Feng so much, and I wouldn’t have…” Before he could finish, Lin Dong flipped his hand, sending the Ruyi Stool flying at him, hitting him right in the forehead. With a muffled thud, Qiao Tianhao’s head tilted to the side, a large bluish-black lump rapidly swelling on his forehead.

That bastard—instead of saying he’d abandon him, he started shifting the blame onto him. Lin Dong cursed under his breath, his smile widening as he said, “Senior Feng, he’s an outstanding chef at our Lin’s Inn. He’s been with me for many years. If it’s just a superficial injury, what other conditions do you have? As long as they’re not too difficult, I can agree to all of them.” After a pause, Lin Dong gritted his teeth and continued, “If you can’t think of any other conditions right now, I have some high-grade spiritual materials and pills that aid in cultivation. I’ll bring them to you later.”

“High-grade spiritual materials and pills for cultivation are useless to peak-level experts,” Feng Yue said nonchalantly.

Lin Dong was stunned. He then remembered that Yun Lan had explained before that peak-level experts who reached the Heart Sailing stage had terrifyingly powerful spiritual energy. No matter what purpose such pills and materials served, they were insignificant in the face of such overwhelming spiritual energy—eating more of them was pointless.

Having offered what he thought was a tempting benefit, Lin Dong quickly asked, “So, does Senior Feng have any other conditions?”

“No!” Feng Yue replied bluntly.

“Well… Senior Feng is being rather unreasonable,” Lin Dong said helplessly. “I can’t take Qiao Tianhao’s life.”

“Did I say I wanted his life?” Feng Yue asked calmly.

“Losing limbs isn’t an option either!” Lin Dong sighed bitterly. Between a peak-level expert and an outstanding chef, if he had to choose, he would definitely pick the expert. But the problem was, Qiao Tianhao wasn’t some newly emerged outstanding chef.

Logically and morally, no matter how difficult it was, Lin Dong could never use Qiao Tianhao’s limbs as a condition. The only thing he could do was try to persuade Feng Yue. With a firm resolve, Lin Dong said, “Senior Feng, I have a spiritual array that can speed up cultivation. How about…?”

“A spiritual array for cultivation?” Feng Yue hesitated for a moment before slowly shaking his head. “It’s just about accelerating the gathering of spiritual energy. It’s not as good as spiritual materials and pills for cultivation.”

“I guarantee it won’t stop there. If you don’t believe me, Senior Feng can try now,” Lin Dong said hurriedly.
“Alright, add that condition. The other one remains unchanged.”
Feng Yue’s casual words nearly made Lin Dong spit blood. Before he was sure Feng Yue’s loyalty was 100%, revealing the cultivation boost—Lin Ji Inn’s greatest secret—was a reckless move. He already felt like he was throwing down the gauntlet.
Yet, the condition was accepted, and the other one stayed the same. Not spitting blood showed Lin Dong’s remarkable patience.
Suppressing his urge to go crazy, Lin Dong tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. “Senior Feng, I really can’t agree to maim Qiao Tianhao.”
“Did I say he should be maimed?” Feng Yue asked nonchalantly.
“So it’s just internal injuries?” Lin Dong felt relieved, sensing a glimmer of hope. Lin Ji Inn had a dish called Braised Wind Spirit Grass. Eating it could cure any internal injury—old Ding had been healed with it. As long as Qiao Tianhao wasn’t maimed and still had a pulse, Lin Dong was confident he could get him back to full health within ten days.
“Did I say he should suffer internal injuries?” Feng Yue countered with another rhetorical question.
Lin Dong was stunned. “What exactly do you want to do to him?”
“Make him my disciple?” A smile suddenly appeared on Feng Yue’s face. After being tricked for over three months, he finally got some revenge. He had planned to threaten Lin Dong into choosing between Qiao Tianhao and a peak-level warrior, which would also ease his anger at being threatened.
Unfortunately, Lin Dong’s response was too firm. If pressed, there would be no time to think. Plus, angering Cheng Bao and making him prepare seven spicy dishes carelessly could backfire, so Feng Yue told the truth.
“Senior Feng, are you saying you want to take Qiao Tianhao as your disciple?” Lin Dong couldn’t help but scratch his ear, thinking his ears were faulty. Cheng Bao also looked puzzled, not understanding Feng Yue’s intentions.
“That’s right!” Feng Yue replied calmly.
“Why?”
Lin Dong was baffled. Was he addicted to tormenting Qiao Tianhao? Or had he grown fond of Qiao Tianhao’s personality over time?
Or maybe Feng Yue was actually furious but not very obvious, which explained why he spoke coherently most of the time, except when talking about Qiao Tianhao?

The more Lin Dong thought about it, the more confused he became. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t figure out why Feng Yue would suddenly think of taking Qiao Tianhao as his disciple. If he really wanted to torment him, there would be no need for such trouble at all.