Chapter 443: The Benefactor

Lin Dong spoke to his family, and for Yang Shun, this was undoubtedly the most exciting moment of his years. Having been by Emperor Qianwei’s side for so long, even if Yang Shun were foolish, he could guess that Lin Dong had first shown off his own strength before delivering these words. Without a doubt, Lin Dong intended to take care of his family. Of course, there was also a possibility that he might use his family as hostages.

In Yang Shun’s eyes, his mother and brothers were the most important people in his life. In this hellish palace, as a eunuch, one’s entire life consisted of striving to reach the top, enjoying life at the expense of others, or simply waiting to die. Sent to the palace before he was even ten because his widowed mother and older brother could no longer support him, he endured hardships bravely, striving harder than anyone else to climb higher—all so that his family could live better. Though he later developed various strange habits, this goal never changed.

It was precisely because of this that Lin Dong’s analysis at the Lin’s Inn in Qiufeng City made him see Lin Dong as a benefactor. By now, Yang Shun had hardened his heart. If someone else had saved his life under certain circumstances, he would undoubtedly sacrifice that person for personal gain. But Lin Dong was different. His analysis had indirectly saved Yang Shun’s family, a kindness he could never betray.

Yang Shun was not afraid of death. He had enjoyed everything he could—luxury and comfort. He had gotten whatever he wanted—commanding court officials at will, tripping them up to make them fall, and even beating up high-ranking officials like dogs in front of the entire court. In the palace, even unpopular concubines had to cater to his moods, and he would mock and insult them as well. It could be said that Yang Shun had nothing left to regret. Living another day meant enjoying another day; he even looked forward to experiencing the pain of execution methods like beheading or dismemberment.

The only thing that troubled Yang Shun was the fear that his family might suffer. Ever since he realized that Emperor Qianwei was indulging him only to use his head to eliminate rivals for the new emperor before dying, he had been thinking about how to protect his family. Unfortunately, he couldn’t come up with any good solution. This had become his greatest worry, and as a result, at least twenty or thirty eunuchs and maids had died at his hands.

Before Lin Dong spoke, he had never considered entrusting his family to Lin Dong’s care. Yang Shun wasn’t foolish—he regarded Lin Dong as a benefactor who could not be betrayed, but that didn’t mean Lin Dong would see him as a friend who couldn’t be betrayed either. Even a tavern owner, let alone a high-ranking official with great influence, couldn’t withstand an order to execute the entire family. Moreover, even if Lin Dong sent them away under an alias instead of handing them over heroically to claim credit or avoid trouble, it would still be impossible to evade the pursuit of Tianwei Pavilion.

After Lin Dong introduced his strength, Yang Shun felt as if the clouds had cleared and the moon shone again. There was a warrior at the sixth level of Xin Ni, a master at the peak of Xin Cheng, and he had trained four or five hundred warriors at the Xin Shen level. Yang Shun wouldn’t wonder why Lin Dong, with such a vast power base, still ran a tavern, nor would he care about Lin Dong’s intentions behind hiding such a large force. All he knew was that just having a master at the peak of strength meant he would never have to worry about being targeted by the imperial court. Protecting one family from being exterminated by the new emperor shouldn’t be too difficult.

As for whether Lin Dong intended to take hostages, Yang Shun didn’t care. Having spent so many years in the palace, he could tell Lin Dong wasn’t a villainous person. As long as he didn’t betray Lin Dong, it wouldn’t be too hard to do a small favor, and Lin Dong would surely help him in return for the benefits he brought.

“They’re in the capital, at the Yang family’s residence on Tianwen Street in the south of the city.” Yang Shun stood up, bowed deeply to Lin Dong, and tears silently streamed down his face.

Lin Dong couldn’t help but sigh. He could understand Yang Shun’s feelings, and to be honest, he was somewhat moved. He wasn’t some great saint, nor someone who would do anything for personal gain. He had no intention of using Yang Shun’s family as hostages; he just didn’t like to accept such immense gratitude and benefits for free. Similarly, before speaking, he had already decided that if Yang Shun’s family committed serious crimes by abusing their influence in the palace, he wouldn’t intervene. As long as they weren’t implicated because of Yang Shun, he wouldn’t get involved.

Now, Lin Dong had decided to take action. If he could bring under control a bandit like Cheng Bao, who had taken countless lives, let alone train him well, then a family of villains wasn’t a big deal.

“By the way, Manager Lin, wait a moment.”

Yang Shun turned back, ran to the wooden bed, opened a secret compartment, and took out all the silver bills, offering them to Lin Dong.

“Manager Lin, these are the silver bills I’ve collected over the years—about thirty million taels. I only hope my family won’t go hungry or freeze.”

Looking at the thick stack of silver bills tied with thin ropes, standing over half a meter tall, Lin Dong hesitated for a moment before taking them in his hands and placing them on the mobile counter. He said, “Including the two million taels of silver bills just now, I’ll help you get rid of most of it. The rest, I’ll give to your family later.”

“This…” Yang Shun hesitated before finally nodding silently. He understood that Lin Dong disdained the idea of him resorting to deceit or framing others to obtain such silver bills.

“Alright, I’ll leave if there’s nothing else.” Lin Dong decided to take his leave. The matters that needed to be handled were done. Although it took a lot of time, Yang Shun’s performance far exceeded his expectations. Initially, he had prepared one million taels of silver bills, intending to give them to Yang Shun as a reward.

Now, not only had he obtained the blueprints in advance, avoiding another trip, but he was also 90% confident that Yang Shun, as his informant in the palace, would never betray him or pass false information.

With Yang Shun as his informant near Emperor Qianwei, Lin Dong’s attitude toward Lin’s Inn became clear.

Leaving the room, once again facing those chilling gazes, Lin Dong left the corridor. After exiting Yunxiao Palace, he found a deserted place and sped up. Once he reached the outskirts of the palace, he waited until nightfall. Just like when he arrived, it took another hour or two for him to carefully climb over the defensive barriers and exit the palace walls.

Back at the inn, darkness still covered the world, but Lin Dong’s mood was bright.

There were no more obstacles to opening the inn. He had the decoration blueprints, and the pressure from the imperial authorities had eased. Spending nearly two days and nights was, in Lin Dong’s view, well worth it. After handing over the blueprints and the matter regarding Yang Shun’s family to Ma Chun, he could focus on cultivation without any worries.

However, this peace didn’t last long. The next day, there was no news from the merchant guild. The third day, still no news. The fourth day, still nothing… Lin Dong didn’t believe that Fu Tongshan, given his status, would break such a small promise. Yet it seemed the merchant guild didn’t even care about Fu Tongshan’s face, which was somewhat unreasonable.

As the decoration of the inn was nearly complete, Ma Chun had no choice but to make another trip to the merchant guild. The result was the same—the cost of food and drinks at Lin’s Inn was difficult to determine, and its business model was too innovative, requiring a year or two to discuss.

Helplessly, Lin Dong patiently went to the inner city to see Fu Tongshan. The outcome wasn’t much better. Fu Tongshan only promised to send someone else to the merchant guild to convey the message.

If they ignore you once, the chances of them ignoring you a second time are extremely high. Lin Dong originally wanted Fu Tongshan to personally intervene at the chamber of commerce, but Fu Tongshan made it clear he didn’t want to engage head-on with the backers of Fenglin Restaurant so easily, constantly avoiding the topic. If it weren’t for the inn not yet being open, Lin Dong would have thrown Fu Zizhou’s confession letter on the table several times in anger.

The outcome developed exactly as Lin Dong had anticipated. Day after day, two days, three days… for over half a month, Lin’s Inn was once again forgotten by the chamber of commerce. The replies from Ma Chun when he went to inquire were, as usual, enough to make him want to smash the table.

Everything was ready except for joining the chamber of commerce. Lin Dong thought it over in his room, gritted his teeth, and decided to take a risky approach and confront them head-on. Otherwise, if this dragged on, the inn would surely miss the best time to open.

On the first day of the fifth month, Lin’s Inn summoned all the guard team members assigned to manage its branches back to the capital city. Over a hundred martial artists at the Mental Energy stage donned staff uniforms, boarded carriages or mounted eagle beasts and birds, and set off from Lin’s Inn early in the morning to launch a massive promotional campaign.

Due to the size of the capital city, it was impossible to distribute flyers casually in the inner city or the imperial palace, so the campaign was limited to the northern part of the city. Lin Dong decided on half a month for the campaign, determined to push everyone in the northern part of the city to the brink of curiosity and desire.

The methods and content of this campaign weren’t particularly innovative—just parades and flyer distribution from the air. The main selling points also differed from those used when opening in Lingnan City. Aside from Lin’s Gym, VIP cards, and two signature dishes, items like Spirit Stone Fans, Pipeline Floral Scents, Perfume Additives, and even Cheng Bao’s seven spicy dishes were not mentioned in the flyers. Nor did Lin Dong plan to introduce them right at opening. With Lin’s Gym, VIP cards, and the two signature dishes as its strengths, although it couldn’t yet compete with top-tier restaurants, it would be easy to keep Lin’s Inn popular for a while. Other features could be introduced later to maintain that popularity and establish a solid foothold in the northern part of the city before pursuing further goals.

If all features were unveiled at once, the effect would certainly be good. Lin Dong was confident that even nobles and wealthy people in the capital would be attracted. But since Lin’s Inn was too far from the inner city, the geographical disadvantage wouldn’t improve, and the impact would fade within a few months. It was far more worthwhile to use these strengths to first establish a solid foothold in the northern part of the city.

Of course, provided they can overcome the crisis of not being able to join the guild. What Lin Dong is most worried about now is not poor promotional results, but whether they can turn things around on the day of opening.