Chapter 483: Trading Ten Thousand Red Fruits for a Shop

Although the hype around the Spirit Stone Fan and Perfume Additive had cooled down, the subsequent customers were still significant. Despite being called an inn, Lin’s Inn had already risen to the level of a top-tier restaurant.
The owners of the top-tier restaurants in the inner city now had one more entity to keep an eye on. Soon, there were many people around Lin’s Inn and in the government offices seeking information about it.
This surprised the owners of those top-tier restaurants. Lin’s Inn truly was a rising force—its backing was none other than the current Grand Tutor, Fu Tongshan. Moreover, it seemed Lin’s Inn might also have some connections with the newly prominent 56th Prince, Liu Xiu. Though it was just a guess, Liu Xiu’s rise to prominence had taken place in one of Lin’s Inn’s locations. One was the governor of Qiufeng Prefecture, and the other was the largest restaurant there; there couldn’t be no connection between them. Just as Fu Tongshan had once been the governor of Qiufeng Prefecture and a demoted Grand Tutor, Liu Xiu was a prince who wasn’t highly regarded. If Lin’s Inn could establish ties with Fu Tongshan, it surely could do the same with the 56th Prince.
Neither Fu Tongshan nor Liu Xiu were figures that ordinary wealthy people could afford to provoke. Most of the restaurant owners who learned this information gave up on trying to suppress Lin’s Inn.
“Owner!”
Knocking sounds and Ma Chun’s voice reached the room.
Lin Dong waved his right arm, and the door quietly opened. He rushed out instantly, arriving at the door in an instant.
“A young man in his early thirties came, saying he had matters to discuss with the owner.”
“Did he say what it was?” Lin Dong asked.
“I asked, but he refused to say. He’s a martial artist. I tried to sense him with my mental powers, but I’m not sure—probably at the fourth or fifth level of the Mental Power stage,” Ma Chun explained.
Lin Dong was intrigued. It was rare for a martial artist to come to Lin’s Inn in secret.
“Where is he?”
“In the front yard,” Ma Chun replied.
Lin Dong nodded and hurried out to the front yard.
In the front yard, a young man in his early thirties was sipping tea on a stone bench. Upon seeing Lin Dong, he quickly stood up.
“Young Master Lin!”
“Any news?” Upon seeing this person, Lin Dong’s expression lit up. It was indeed one of the accomplices from the Ten Thousand Pills Return to the Root group he had expected.

“Yes!” The young man glanced at Ma Chun. Seeing that Lin Dong had no intention of making him step aside, he spoke up, “Right next to our Wan Dan Gui Zong is a shop called Ding Qi. It’s said that a large sect behind them tried to overthrow the sect leader with the help of over a dozen elders. After several days of fighting, they were suppressed, but that sect was severely weakened as a result. I believe once word gets out, Ding Qi will announce that they’re selling the shop. Otherwise, with their backing weakened, if they don’t sell, there’s a high chance the goods in the shop will be looted by everyone.”

“Thank you, Ma Chun. Take good care of our guest,” Lin Dong said, overjoyed. He quickly instructed Ma Chun to treat this man from Wan Dan Gui Zong well. This information was invaluable. Initially, he had only asked Wan Dan Gui Zong to keep an eye on shops that might be for sale so he could compete for them.

Who would have thought that Wan Dan Gui Zong would identify a shop about to be sold? This was much easier than competing in an open auction with many people.

Ma Chun also understood the benefit this would bring to Lin Ji Inn. He immediately smiled, took out a porcelain bottle from his storage spirit ring filled with mid-tier cultivation aids, and handed it to the young man with a smile.

With Ma Chun to handle things, there was no risk of any rudeness. Lin Dong didn’t waste any time further. He bent his legs slightly and suddenly leaped toward the backyard.

First, he went to Old Man Ding to have his appearance changed. Then, Lin Dong sped up again, moving swiftly across rooftops. In just a short while, he arrived at Tian Feng Street in the north of the city.

Finding a quiet, deserted place to reappear, Lin Dong made his way to the end of the street. Right next to Wan Dan Gui Zong was the shop the young man had mentioned—Ding Qi.

Since it contained the character for “instrument,” it was undoubtedly a shop selling spiritual instruments. When Lin Dong went in, he confirmed this. Inside the long counter, on rows of shelves, there were spiritual instruments of all kinds, ranging from lower to higher tiers, with the highest being sixth tier.

At the counter, a few clerks paid no attention to the customers outside. But unlike clerks in other shops, they seemed less arrogant and more depressed. Clearly, they were also aware of what had happened in their sect and knew the shop was about to be sold.

Once the shop was sold, these clerks would undoubtedly have to return to the sect. Back in the sect, they would just be the weakest disciples, but here in the shop, they could ignore anyone. Even the powerful ones from the capital wouldn’t dare provoke them. The difference between the two situations was quite significant.

“Excuse me, is your boss here?” Lin Dong asked one of the clerks.

The clerk listlessly raised his head, glanced at Lin Dong, and replied indifferently, “Yes!”

“I have a business deal to discuss with him. I was wondering if I could pass on a message?” Lin Dong pressed further.
“Wait!” The clerk seemed to notice Lin Dong’s extraordinary presence, not like an ordinary merchant, so he got up and headed to the back door.
Before long, an elderly man in his sixties came in, looking at Lin Dong with some confusion.
“Is this young master looking for me?”
“What’s your surname, sir?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.
“Huang!” The old man sized Lin Dong up several times, showing no signs of impatience.
“Elder Huang, I’m Jiang Shan. My sect wants to open a shop on Tianfeng Street,” Lin Dong said with a bow.
The old man’s body trembled slightly as he examined Lin Dong again, his mind wandering before his face showed shock.
Unable to detect his strength!
Although he didn’t qualify to be among the elders in his sect, he was very close to that status; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been assigned to manage a shop in the capital. Since he couldn’t even detect someone who was one level above the Heart Reversal stage, it was clear that this person’s strength was at least at the fourth level of the Heart Reversal stage or higher.
Even someone in their thirties at the fourth level of the Heart Reversal stage would have sufficient qualifications to become an heir in a major sect.
There was no doubt that Lin Dong came with sincerity. Otherwise, how would a major sect let its heir travel all the way to the capital to waste time?
“Young Master Jiang, please come in!” One was an heir of a major sect, and the other was a long-time disciple of the same sect. Although the latter had a higher seniority, the former’s status was worlds apart. The old man’s attitude immediately became much more polite.
Lin Dong stepped behind the counter and, guided by the old man, went to the back yard.
The yard was shaded by green trees, and flower pots were filled with exotic flowers competing in beauty. Upon closer inspection, it had its own unique charm.
“Please sit down, Young Master Jiang.”
After Lin Dong sat down on a wooden stool, the old man sat across from him and got straight to the point: “I wonder which sect Young Master Jiang belongs to?”
“Yutian Sect!” Lin Dong replied nonchalantly.
“Yutian Sect?” The old man frowned slightly. The name sounded quite famous, but he couldn’t recall any such sect among the major ones.
“Yes,” Lin Dong nodded without explaining and asked, “Is Elder Huang interested in selling the Dingci Sect?”
“That depends on what price Young Master Jiang is willing to offer.” The old man didn’t press further. Whether Yutian Sect was major or minor, having someone in their thirties at the fourth level or higher of the Heart Reversal stage meant they could rise to become a major sect in thirty or forty years.
“Ten Wanhong Fruits—what do you think, Elder Huang?” Lin Dong knew the rules of business in the shop on Tianfeng Street and had already thought of a price, so he answered without hesitation.

“Wanhong Fruit is merely a seventh-tier auxiliary cultivation spirit material, and it’s one of the easier ones to grow among its kind. Ten of them…?” The old man shook his head slowly. “I’d rather make it public—I’m sure many are willing to pay more. I remember when we bought this shop sixty years ago, it cost us two eighth-tier spirit artifacts. The bid was too low; it was better to leave it empty and try again in a few years. You must be aware of our sect’s situation—we don’t necessarily have to sell it.”

“What’s important is to see what’s needed. Your sect is most in need of auxiliary cultivation spirit materials, right?” Lin Dong replied with a smile. He knew that, given the current value of the shop on Tianfeng Street, the price for ten Wanhong Fruits was indeed a bit low. His own target price was much higher. But there was no need to offer it all at once; negotiations needed to be slow. The auxiliary cultivation spirit materials at Lin’s Inn weren’t free either—they were acquired through the use of spirit stones. One Wanhong Fruit required forty to fifty thousand first-grade spirit stones. Converted to silver, ten of them would be worth over four hundred thousand taels—this was still just the cost price for Lin’s Inn. If they were to compete for these in Tianfeng Street with just ten Wanhong Fruits, even thinking of getting ten thousand taels would be impossible.

The old man remained silent. Those words hit the mark—more precisely, they targeted the weakness of his sect. After a severe internal conflict, nearly twenty powerful cultivators at the third stage or above of the Heart Rebellion Phase had died, not to mention countless disciples in the Mind Phase. The losses were enormous. To maintain the sect’s status, the most crucial thing was to strengthen its power. Giving ten Wanhong Fruits to other elders would allow many of them to advance further. Though it wouldn’t fully make up for the losses, it would certainly give them a breather and stabilize the morale of their disciples.

The transfer of the shop on Tianfeng Street could be priced in two ways: either the sect had been destroyed or it was only severely weakened. There was a huge difference in price between these two scenarios. In the former case, even if there were no competition, one could buy a dozen or so seventh-tier auxiliary cultivation fruits. Even if there was competition, the price wouldn’t be too high. If it were too high, it would be better to take them by force. After all, since the sect had been destroyed, whoever was stronger and could force the other party to hand over the deed would get the shop without paying a single coin.

In the latter case, if the sect didn’t have upper-middle-grade eighth-tier spirit artifacts or materials, it could simply refuse to sell. A severely weakened sect, when pushed to the limit, was still not easy to deal with—forceful methods wouldn’t work at all.

Lin Dong watched the old man quietly. He believed that the old man would eventually agree. However, after seeing his hesitation, his intentions changed.