Chapter 507: Coming on One’s Own Terms

Xin Taqi felt frustrated because the carefully planned strategy had been ruined by Princess Xiangyu, leading to the destruction of the Skull Camp as well. Bandits were not entirely devoid of humanity—this was just what the Great Han Nation portrayed. Otherwise, they would be nothing but beasts that attacked anyone they saw, and there would be no bandits able to enter cities, as they would be killed by the guards outside for killing and eating people.

Liang Feihu, the leader of the Skull Camp, was an orphan as a child. At that time, Xin Taqi had just taken over the Junda Tavern, which was merely a lowly establishment. With his unique vision and determination, Xin Taqi noticed Liang Feihu’s fierce personality from a young age and brought him to the Junda Tavern, investing heavily to cultivate his loyalty and strength. His original plan was to turn him into a killer who could handle trouble in the future. However, Liang Feihu was stubborn and rebellious, growing increasingly intolerant of Xin Taqi’s control and the various laws of the Great Han Nation. Disdaining those who only knew how to intimidate and use violence, he ran away at eighteen to join the bandits in Chongping Mountain, something he had long desired.

Realizing he couldn’t keep him, Xin Taqi simply gave him a thousand taels of silver, betting that Liang Feihu would still remember their past relationship. If things went wrong in the future, it might give him another option, assuming Liang Feihu was still alive.

Unexpectedly, just ten years later, Liang Feihu returned with a thousand taels of silver for him, and this continued every year, with the amount increasing. After Liang Feihu became the leader of the Skull Camp, it was a senior bandit who brought the silver, but the amount soared from a few thousand taels to tens of thousands, rising significantly each year.

The destruction of the Skull Camp not only ruined his plan to force the Lin’s Inn into submission but also cut off his annual income of two to three hundred thousand taels of silver.

Fortunately, he learned from Liang Feihu about the bandits’ lifestyle and tactics, which many others did not know. He understood that Liang Feihu sent a senior bandit at midnight to deliver the silver to avoid implicating him. Matters related to the Junda Tavern would never be revealed to ordinary bandits, and even senior leaders likely knew only a little. Those who could become senior bandits in the Skull Camp were extremely fierce—no ordinary bandit could compare to them. They were ruthless toward others and just as cruel to themselves; torture could not make them yield.

It could be said that unless the scouts of Tianwei Pavilion took action, Xin Taqi was 90% sure that King Qingliu wouldn’t be able to track him down. And Tianwei Pavilion usually only intervened in cases such as warriors killing people, officials, or entire families. Injuring a princess rather than killing her fell outside their scope of intervention. Xin Taqi had studied the laws before—Tianwei Pavilion was an independent force separate from imperial power. Unless there was a large-scale rebellion or various sects joined forces to cause chaos, even the emperor had no right to interfere in Tianwei Pavilion’s affairs, let alone order them to investigate a case.

What Xin Taqi didn’t know was that while the laws were meant for the common people and the emperor couldn’t interfere in any matters of Tianwei Pavilion, there was still a rule within their numerous regulations that allowed the emperor to investigate anything he wished. In other words, no matter who or what the emperor wanted to investigate, Tianwei Pavilion would comply. Lin Dong hadn’t asked Emperor Qianwei to have Tianwei Pavilion investigate the mastermind behind the plot simply because it would take too much time.

What Xin Taqi was even less aware of was that the entire incident involving Princess Xiangyu was part of a scheme, half of which was aimed at him. He thought that by hiding in his study, no one would know his feelings, but he didn’t realize that ever since the news of Princess Xiangyu’s assassination spread, three rotating warriors were stationed around every owner of a top-tier restaurant, monitoring their every move. At that very moment, a warrior at the sixth level of the Mental Energy stage was perched on the roof of the study, using his mental energy to spy on Xin Taqi’s actions.

Early the next morning, Xin Taqi’s movements and expressions reached Lin’s Inn. Soon after, Lin’s Inn posted a notice stating that the prices of three popular spirit beasts and materials from Junda Restaurants had dropped significantly. This move left many puzzled—why would Lin’s Inn stir up trouble when King Qingliu was still angry? Weren’t they afraid of being classified among the top restaurants by King Qingliu as well? Even if they had a feud with Junda Restaurants, they should have waited before taking action.

For Xin Taqi, Lin’s Inn’s actions sent his heart into turmoil. Undoubtedly, this was aimed at Junda Restaurants, but what was the reason? Did they know that the other Lin’s Inn was a trick orchestrated by Junda Restaurants? If so, he could simply go to King Qingliu’s palace to report it. If not, there was no reason to deliberately create trouble at this critical moment, unnecessarily making people think that Lin’s Inn was on par with the top restaurants.

Xin Taqi didn’t realize that Linji Inn was planting seeds in the minds of the owners of the top restaurants. Once Junda Restaurant collapsed and the relationship between King Qingliu and Linji Inn came to light, the whole situation would form a clear thread that the owners of those top restaurants could easily understand once they paid attention to it.

That evening, Lin Dong was practicing in his room when there was a knock at the door. Ma Chun brought good news—Xin Taqi had come to see him.

“Boss, he can’t stay still,” Ma Chun said excitedly. “Should we meet him or not?”

“Why not?” Lin Dong smiled, closed the door, and strode toward the front yard.

In the yard, Xin Taqi was absentmindedly drinking tea, completely unaware of Lin Dong and Ma Chun’s arrival.

“Boss Xin, I’m sorry for not greeting you properly upon your arrival. Please forgive me,” Lin Dong said, bowing slightly after approaching within three meters, as Xin Taqi still showed no reaction.

Xin Taqi suddenly stood up, startled, and after seeing Lin Dong and Ma Chun, he reproached himself for being distracted.

“Manager Lin, I’ve long heard of your reputation. Meeting you today confirms that you’re indeed talented and capable,” Xin Taqi quickly bowed in return. Although he had never met Lin Dong before, it wasn’t hard to guess given Ma Chun standing behind him.

“Please, sit down, Boss Xin!” Lin Dong gestured for him to sit.

“Please, please!” Xin Taqi politely declined before sitting down.

“Boss Xin, what brings you to our Linji Inn this time?” Lin Dong asked with a smile after Ma Chun brought tea and water.

Xin Taqi took a deep breath, calming himself down before speaking in a casual yet slightly accusatory tone, “Linji Inn’s actions this morning really worried me. I’m not sure what went wrong at Junda Restaurant that offended Linji Inn. That’s why I came here presumptuously. I hope Manager Lin can understand.”

Lin Dong didn’t bother beating around the bush and got straight to the point, “Boss Xin, Junda Restaurant has nothing to do with our Linji Inn, yet they gave us a restaurant that’s exactly the same as ours…”

“What?” Xin Taqi stood up abruptly, terrified, as if there was something frightening on Lin Dong’s face.

“Actually, I should thank Boss Xin. After all, two Linji Inns should do better business than just one,” Lin Dong said with a smile.

“Manager Lin, that’s quite frightening,” Xin Taqi said, regaining his composure, though unbeknownst to him, he had already started using respectful language with Lin Dong.

“By the way, Boss Xin, you came here to give over the land deed, right?” Lin Dong continued talking as if he hadn’t heard Xin Taqi’s words.

“Manager Lin!” Xin Taqi’s tone grew heavier, and his expression turned serious. “I’ve come this time with a desire for peace. Any misunderstandings that may have arisen can be resolved without making them into big issues. If Manager Lin refuses to resolve these differences with our Junda Restaurant, I’m not someone who avoids challenges.”

With that, Xin Taqi suddenly stood up, looking as if he were about to leave. As one of the owners of the top restaurants in the capital, he was by no means an ordinary person. After a brief moment of panic, he regained his composure. He didn’t believe Lin Dong could discover a connection between the newly opened Lin’s Inn next door and Junda Restaurant. Otherwise, it would mean he was connected to bandits.

That was a grave crime, and since the bandits had also angered King Qingliu, exposing such a connection would earn the informant not only the accused’s entire wealth but also a reward based on the size of the bandit faction involved. Just that alone was enough, not to mention the advantage of eliminating rivals. With King Qingliu’s reward on the line, he had no way of believing Lin Dong would let him off so easily. Moreover, he was confident enough that the minor leader of Skull Camp wouldn’t expose him, and since the underlings were unaware, even King Qingliu couldn’t figure it out—so why should Lin’s Inn be able to?

Upon further thought, Xin Taqi felt another possibility was more likely. That possibility was that Lin Dong had guessed that Lin’s Inn next door was orchestrated by some major restaurant and had started targeting them one by one, with Junda Restaurant being the first. Although there were too many coincidences, and it was hard to explain why Lin’s Inn chose this timing to cause trouble, it was far more plausible than other possibilities.

“To be honest, Boss Xin’s behavior after returning home from the Minister of Revenue’s residence, storming into his study in a fury, really surprised me. I didn’t expect Boss Xin to be so calm.” Lin Dong paid no attention to Xin Taqi’s anger. No matter Xin Taqi’s attitude, the initiative always remained in his hands.

“You… you…” Xin Taqi’s body began to tremble slightly. The memory of returning home from the Minister of Revenue’s residence, furious, and then his behavior in the study… all of it made him feel as if the world had collapsed around him.

After all his calculations, Xin Taqi realized he had miscalculated. Lin’s Inn wasn’t just wealthy—it likely also had connections to warriors and had even sent people to keep an eye on him or all the owners of the top restaurants.

There’s no evidence; accusing someone of colluding with bandits would only cause panic, and the punishment would be extremely severe. Even so, Xin Taiqi wasn’t afraid of Lin Dong reporting him, as there was no evidence, and Tianwei Pavilion wouldn’t investigate. But this matter involved the King of Clear Streams, who might not even need evidence. Upon receiving Lin Dong’s report, he would surely arrest him and subject him to severe torture.

Xin Taiqi was aware of his own limitations—he lacked the ruthlessness of bandits. Even knowing that confessing would lead to the execution of his entire family, he would still confess under torture. In fact, even if he were truly innocent, torture would force him to make false confessions.

The question was, why would the other party tell him first instead of going straight to the King of Clear Streams? Not only would gaining the King’s favor be invaluable, but his rewards might also be no less than what he could extort from Xin Taiqi.

Considering that Lin Ji Inn had also allowed him to make connections with warriors and enabled him to monitor the owners of many top-tier restaurants, the reasons…

Xin Taiqi seemed to have spotted a glimmer of hope, his gaze toward Lin Dong even carrying a hint of confidence.