Chapter 443: An Unexpected Discovery

Qiao Tianhao walked slowly toward Ma Ye. Dog’s Eye, Dog’s Leg—these four must pay the corresponding price.
Zhang Kun stepped forward, raising his right hand to slap Qiao Tianhao on the chest, but stopped halfway.
A pitch-black kitchen knife appeared against Zhang Kun’s throat. Aside from Lin Dong, no one could see how the knife ended up there—Zhang Kun himself couldn’t either. He only felt a chill in his throat, which made him stop.
As for Lou Wanshen and Ma Ye, they didn’t understand what was going on at all. The two of them acted as if in a play: one deliberately slaps the other slowly, while the other threatens them with a knife—thus determining the winner.
“Brother Zhang, do you… do you know them?” Ma Ye looked hesitant. Their actions made him suspect they knew each other. Zhang Kun must have intentionally let Qiao Tianhao take him as a hostage.
Zhang Kun remained silent, sweat dripping from his forehead like rain. He had no intention of paying attention to Ma Ye right now. He remembered that when he felt the chill in his throat, he had taken another step or two before stopping. This meant the knife in the other person’s hand could move at exactly the same speed as him. What level of control over the knife was required to do that?
“Can you let go now?” Qiao Tianhao suddenly asked.
Zhang Kun nodded.
Qiao Tianhao put aside his suspicions, patted Zhang Kun’s face, then turned his gaze to Ma Ye.
“Brother Zhang, what are you two doing?” Ma Ye stepped back in shock. Even Lou Wanshen thought they were deliberately acting this way. Otherwise, why would the enemy let go so easily? Could it really be that trivial?
Zhang Kun stayed silent. His top priority was ensuring Fu Zizhou’s safety. Ma Ye had nothing to do with him. Besides, the other person was so powerful that helping would only mean adding to the risk of death.
Lin Dong stood up and walked slowly toward the door. When he was beside Zhang Kun, he said, “Take me to Fu Zizhou!”
Zhang Kun hesitated slightly. Taking money meant bearing responsibility—being a bodyguard meant risking one’s life.
“I’m here to ask Fu Zizhou for help,” Lin Dong said calmly.
Zhang Kun nodded and turned to lead the way.
“Qiao Tianhao, don’t go too far, and don’t make this a public affair, or Sister Xian will have trouble.”
Lin Dong gave a reminder before following closely, ignoring Ma Ye, who was still confronting Qiao Tianhao behind them.

Since Qiao Tianhao took Feng Yue as his master, Lin Dong had been worried that he might go mad from enduring the constant pain caused by the Tianfeng Peppers. This was also why Lin Dong let him teach the scarred youth in the gorge. Now that another way to relieve stress had appeared, Lin Dong naturally wouldn’t interfere too much.

Qiao Tianhao excitedly rubbed his palms together, looking at Ma Ye as if he were a chick about to be slaughtered.

Watching Lin Dong’s back, Lou Wanshan hesitated before ultimately deciding to give up. This self-proclaimed innkeeper clearly didn’t even regard Fu Zizhou as a threat. His identity must be either that of a prince or a disciple from a major sect. Either way, Lou Wanshan’s establishment preferred to avoid conflicts with them. It was just a matter of teaching one of their underlings—although it wasn’t entirely in line with the rules, they had already shown enough courtesy, so it was better to accommodate them.

“Sister Xian, save me! This is Lou Wanshan’s establishment, where fighting is not allowed. He’s challenging your authority!” Ma Ye panicked as he saw Lou Wanshan heading for the door.

“Why didn’t Master Ma think of this rule just now?” Disgust flashed in Lou Wanshan’s eyes as she stepped out of the private room and closed the door behind her.

Since the customers at Lou Wanshan’s establishment were mostly prostitutes, it was common for noisy activities to take place inside, so the soundproofing was quite good.

After the door was closed, aside from faint sounds of pleas and screams, no one knew what Qiao Tianhao was doing inside.

Leading Lin Dong to the third floor, Zhang Kun knocked on the door of the private room.

“Come in!” came a voice from inside.

Zhang Kun pushed the door open, and the scene inside was no longer what it had been before. All the red-carded girls from Lou Wanshan’s establishment had left, and the center of attention was no longer Fu Zizhou but a stunning beauty in a purple dress standing beside him.

She appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen years old, with beautiful long hair, pale red lips, and a peach-like face that exuded an air of elegance and refinement. Her calm expression, combined with her crystal-clear eyes, gave her an otherworldly appearance, as if she weren’t real.

Even Lin Dong, known for his composure, couldn’t help but take another look.

“Zhang Kun, why did you bring him here?” Fu Zizhou also had considerable composure. Though his attention was mostly drawn to the woman, he was the only one who could still spare a glance at the door. Seeing what was happening outside, his brows furrowed unnaturally.

“I couldn’t beat the people he brought!” Zhang Kun replied honestly.

Fu Zizhou was shocked and looked at Lin Dong with some disbelief. Zhang Kun possessed the strength of the sixth level of the Mental State phase. At his age, if he were willing to pledge loyalty to the Great Han Nation, he would definitely be a key figure to cultivate. Aside from money, which wasn’t very useful, there was no position, spiritual artifacts, or elixirs he could afford—even Fu Tongshan, who held the highest rank, couldn’t afford them.

Zhang Kun could serve as Fu Zizhou’s bodyguard only because Fu Zizhou, disregarding his own status, repeatedly went to persuade him, and it was through his sincere efforts that he was hired. The purpose was to prevent a situation similar to that in Southwest County, where someone might be knocked out and forced to write a confession admitting to prostitution without paying.

What Fu Zizhou didn’t expect was that Lin Dong actually had the ability to make connections with someone even more powerful than Zhang Kun.

“Brother Fu, is this the person you mentioned—who thinks he’s close to you and comes asking for money?” asked a young man whose rank was second only to Ling Chenyue.

Fu Zizhou remained silent; he didn’t know how to explain either. Lin Dong’s appearance completely exceeded his expectations. If not for his strong composure, an ordinary person would have been terrified. After all, that man had evidence enough to ruin Fu Zizhou’s reputation, and not long ago, Fu Zizhou had even sent people to beat him—only to be outmatched in strength. It was possible that, in anger, the man might reveal that evidence.

Even if the evidence wasn’t revealed, anger would inevitably affect his tone. Everyone present came from wealthy official families and, through their upbringing, would surely notice something amiss.

“Young Master Fu, it’s good to see you again,” Lin Dong said, ignoring the previous remarks. He bowed to Fu Zizhou with a calm expression, showing no signs of emotion.

Lin Dong’s attitude stunned Fu Zizhou for a moment before filling him with joy. He quickly bowed back, “Young Master Lin, it’s been three years, right?”

“Yes! Last time, Young Master Fu said you’d take me to visit the brothels in the capital when you had time. Who would have thought…” Lin Dong replied indifferently, “I came here with a request, but you just sent a lackey to send me away. If it weren’t for meeting a capable friend along the way, I would likely have returned injured today.”

Everyone at the table suddenly understood—so he was Fu Zizhou’s prostitute! No wonder he wanted to get rid of him. Fu Zizhou himself had come to the Ten Thousand Immortals Tower only after being persuaded by others. If people found out he had a prostitute who traveled all the way here, it would be like slapping himself in the face.

“Not at all… It was just Fu’s impulsive decision. Please forgive me, Young Master Lin.” Lin Dong’s attitude delighted Fu Zizhou immensely. He hadn’t expected that after just a few years apart, this shopkeeper Lin still had such discernment and wisdom.

Fu Zizhou believed that even he might not be able to come up with such an ingenious solution in such a short time. By calling it an affair with a prostitute, everything could be covered up. After all, it was common for scholars to frequent brothels, but in name, it was framed as indulging in poetry and sharing experiences of finding companions—something that would never be openly discussed, so covering it up made perfect sense. Moreover, since he was now an official appointed by the court, spreading such rumors would also be problematic.

“Given that, Young Master Fu, could we step aside to talk?” Lin Dong asked.

“Brother Fu, there’s no need to hide anything. We’re all young people—who hasn’t had their moments of infidelity? Come on, let’s sit together,” Ling Chenyue suddenly called out. “Brother Lin, if you have any trouble, just speak up. Considering your relationship with Brother Fu, I’ll cover the 1.8 to 2 million taels of silver.”

“This…” Lin Dong hesitated slightly and glanced at Fu Zizhou.

“Young Master Lin, come sit! Miss Zihan isn’t someone everyone can meet. You’re quite lucky, Young Master Lin,” Fu Zizhou said with a smile. In his view, Lin Dong just wanted money; hiding things would only arouse suspicion.

“Alright!”

Without further hesitation, Lin Dong walked over to the round table and sat down at an empty seat, glancing at Ling Chenyue and Zihan.

An unbelievable scene unfolded—the top entertainer of the Wanxian Tower, someone worth ten thousand taels of silver, someone who didn’t even have the right to be seen, slowly stood up. Under everyone’s gaze, she took a set of spare cups and chopsticks from a wooden cabinet beside her and placed them in front of Lin Dong. Then, she picked up the wine pot on the table, elegantly raised her wrist, and poured him a cup of wine.

Lin Dong smiled at Zihan with interest but said nothing more.

Zihan bowed slightly before returning to her seat. All the young masters present were stunned, unable to understand how much luck Lin Dong had to get Zihan to pour him wine personally. Such an honor had only been enjoyed by Fu Zizhou once before.

Only Ling Chenyue, with his plump face, frowned slightly.

“The wine is good!” Lin Dong picked up his cup and took a sip. The smile on his face carried deep meaning. Under his mental focus, he could see Ling Chenyue’s expression clearly.

After Ling Chenyue spoke, he sensed that someone was trying to probe his strength. When he projected his mind outward, he got a result that surprised him greatly—the one probing him was none other than Zihan, standing beside Fu Zizhou.

Her strength had reached the first level of the Mental Reversal stage, entering the realm of the strong.

A strong person would actually go to a brothel to perform. Moreover, Lin Dong felt that this strong man named Zi Han seemed to have some unknown connection with Ling Chenyue. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be such a coincidence. From the moment he entered, Lin Dong didn’t take his eyes off anyone, but this Zi Han didn’t even glance at him once. After Ling Chenyue spoke to keep them, he immediately used his mental powers to assess their strength. Lin Dong refused to believe that the two had no connection. Otherwise, if it were just out of curiosity, they could have simply used their eyes—why bother using mental powers to assess strength? This was a gathering of clients, not some martial arts competition.