Chapter 535: The Mediator

“What’s the purpose of going to the capital?”
Seeing the Tianpeng Bird turn around, Feng Yue couldn’t help but ask.
“To find someone to mediate for them!” Lin Dong replied hurriedly.
“Find someone to mediate?” Feng Yue was stunned, his gaze toward Lin Dong becoming peculiar.
Was he too anxious to think clearly?
Feng Yue wasn’t familiar with the Divine Calculator’s temper, but he knew Old Ding’s well. It was utterly impossible to get Old Ding to spare the Divine Calculator. Unless a close friend threatened death—him, Feng Yue, or Yun Lan—nothing would make Old Ding stop. But even if Old Ding backed down, it didn’t mean the Divine Calculator would do the same. Once healed, he might come seeking revenge, leading to even worse consequences. Mediation was simply out of the question.
Yun Lan, however, had an idea. She somewhat understood whom Lin Dong wanted to seek mediation from. Feng Yue arrived at the inn late, but she had already been there since they were still in the small county, only leaving for a while in between. She knew many things Feng Yue was unaware of.
In the blink of an eye, the Tianpeng Bird appeared above the outskirts of the capital.
After scanning below and seeing warriors everywhere, Lin Dong waved, and an Eagle Beast Bird flew over.
“Wait a moment, I’ll be right back.”
After greeting Yun Lan and Feng Yue, Lin Dong mounted the Eagle Beast Bird and patted the guard’s shoulder. “Go to Prince Qing’s palace.”
The guard nodded, and the Eagle Beast Bird headed straight for the capital under his control.
Flying all the way to the inner city, it circled for a while before finding its target. At the guard’s command, the Eagle Beast Bird dived downward.
Below, a group of guards looked up nervously.
At about fifty meters, Lin Dong leaped down.
“Who are you?” The guards stepped forward, surrounding Lin Dong.
“I have matters to discuss with Prince Qing,” Lin Dong said calmly.
The guard captain sized Lin Dong up several times, trying to penetrate his energy barrier, but found it impossible. With such strength, he could easily knock out all the guards present.
“Wait!” The guard captain waved, and one guard rushed toward the inner palace.
Soon, Liu Xiu strode over. Seeing Lin Dong and the Eagle Beast Bird above, he paused briefly before stepping forward with a smile.
“Brother Lin!”
“I have something to discuss with you,” Lin Dong said with a nod.
Liu Xiu waved his hand, and the guards dispersed instantly.
“Is your master the Divine Calculator?” Lin Dong asked.
“How did Brother Lin know?” Liu Xiu was surprised.
Lin Dong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His guess was correct—the Divine Calculator was indeed Liu Xiu’s master.

“Come on first, we’ll talk slowly.” Lin Dong quickly stepped in front of Liu Xiu, grabbed his shoulders, and suddenly leaped up, easily mounting the Eagle Beast Bird. From afar, the guards immediately became agitated. With the prince captured, they, as his guards, bore the greatest responsibility. “It’s fine, step back!” Liu Xiu waved his hand. “I’ll be back soon.” The guards were at a loss, but the members of Lin Dong’s guard team had already begun steering the Eagle Beast Bird away. “Why didn’t the Divine Calculator teach you any spiritual skills?” Lin Dong was curious. He had determined that the Divine Calculator was Liu Xiu’s identity because Liu Xiu had gone to Southwest City under his master’s guidance to seek out his destined benefactor in the west. Initially, Lin Dong had dismissed Liu Xiu’s master as a charlatan, but after meeting the Divine Calculator, he realized that some people’s sixth sense could indeed be this strong. Moreover, since the Divine Calculator had always been in the capital, it was unlikely that Liu Xiu had another master—two unknown charlatans appearing at the same time seemed improbable. The only thing that puzzled Lin Dong was why the Divine Calculator hadn’t tested Liu Xiu’s spiritual skills. After all, no master would fail to teach his disciple such skills. “I can’t learn my master’s spiritual skills…” Liu Xiu’s reply left Lin Dong speechless. So that’s why. “Here’s what happened: This afternoon, the Divine Calculator came to Lin’s Inn…” Lin Dong explained the whole situation and said, “He asked me to come here mainly so that you could try to calm down their anger. As the Divine Calculator’s disciple and someone whom Old Master Ding also greatly favored—going so far as to ask Senior Yun for the Reverse Meridian Pill—you have a close relationship with both of them. I think only you can turn their hostility into friendship. Even if you can’t achieve that, it would be good if you could at least get them to drop their grudges.” “Okay, I’ll give it a try!” Liu Xiu agreed firmly. Lin Dong patted his shoulder and smiled. “I know this might make the emperor realize your connection to Lin’s Inn, which could harm your chances of seizing the throne. But the situation is urgent, and I can think of no other solution.” “Don’t worry, Brother Lin. Both Old Master and my master have been extremely kind to me. It’s no small matter—even if it meant giving up the throne, Liu Xiu wouldn’t flinch,” Liu Xiu declared confidently. Of course, Lin Dong didn’t believe this, but the fact that Liu Xiu agreed to try to persuade them was already remarkable. “By the way, if you manage to persuade them, find a way to keep the Divine Calculator at Lin’s Inn for a few days,” Lin Dong said. “Stay at Lin’s Inn?” Liu Xiu was puzzled.

“Don’t ask why. Anyway, it causes no loss to the Divine Calculator. If you can do it, I’ll introduce you to someone,” Lin Dong said with a smile.
Liu Xiu was startled and exclaimed, “The King of Clear Streams?”
“Smart!” Lin Dong couldn’t help but praise him.
Liu Xiu asked, “Brother Lin, to what extent is your relationship with the King of Clear Streams so close?”
“His only son was a slave for over twenty years and now only obeys me,” Lin Dong said casually.
Although Liu Xiu tried hard to restrain himself, he still couldn’t hide his ecstasy.
Though it was well known that the King of Clear Streams had no descendants, he didn’t doubt Lin Dong’s words at all, as there was no need to lie. The fact that the king’s only son obeyed Lin Dong meant that if Lin Dong told him to go east, the king would never go west. This relationship was far more unbreakable than he had imagined—a bond beyond mere friendship across ages.
Originally, upon learning that the King of Clear Streams frequented Lin’s Inn, Liu Xiu had thought about asking Lin Dong to help make an introduction, but he gave up on the idea. He knew Lin Dong didn’t like to get involved in throne struggles, and trying to approach him might only strain their relationship, making it worse than before.
To Liu Xiu’s surprise, Lin Dong took the initiative to introduce him to the King of Clear Streams, and their relationship was so strong that it was unbreakable. This meant the King of Clear Streams would surely be on his side, which was a huge advantage in his competition for the throne.
Liu Xiu believed that Lin Dong must have had a very important reason for letting the Divine Calculator stay at Lin’s Inn for a few days; otherwise, he wouldn’t have given him such a great favor. But he wisely changed the subject, bringing it back to Old Ding and the Divine Calculator.
While the two were talking, the eagle-beast-bird carrying three people staggered into the air. The Tianpeng Bird spread its wings, and Lin Dong grabbed Liu Xiu and leaped onto it.
“Is he the person you’re looking for?” Feng Yue was somewhat surprised upon seeing Liu Xiu. Liu Xiu would visit Old Ding at Lin’s Inn every half month, so Feng Yue had seen him many times. He knew Liu Xiu had a good relationship with Old Ding, but as mentioned before, Old Ding was in a state where he wouldn’t listen to advice. Even if he did, the Divine Calculator wouldn’t stop, so it would be useless anyway.
“He’s the disciple of the Divine Calculator,” Lin Dong said with a smile.
Feng Yue understood. So that’s how it is.
“Did we lose them?” Lin Dong asked Yun Lan.
“No!” Yun Lan shook her head and lightly stepped on the acceleration mark.
The Tianpeng Bird flew forward against the hurricane, and Lin Dong released his spiritual energy to form a barrier that surrounded Liu Xiu.

“Both the old man and the Divine Calculator are angry. In a moment, you’re likely to get hurt. Is that okay?” Lin Dong asked.
Liu Xiu quickly shook his head.
Following the fireworks, everyone soon located the two of them. At an order, the Tianpeng Bird spread its wings and dived downward.
“Here they are again!”
In the midst of the battle, the Divine Calculator frowned and stopped fighting.
Elder Ding also halted and sneered, “Not satisfied? Then bring a few juniors to take care of you. In my opinion, even if you die, there won’t be anyone to collect your body.”
“Do you think I’d leave you a whole body to collect?” the Divine Calculator snarled.
Above, the Tianpeng Bird descended to about fifty meters. Lin Dong grabbed Liu Xiu’s shoulder and leaped down, with Yun Lan and Feng Yue following closely behind.
“Liu Xiu pays his respects to the master and the old man!”
Liu Xiu had once been the best employee at Lin’s Inn. Naturally clever, he knelt down as soon as he landed, bowed to the Divine Calculator, then stood up and knelt before Elder Ding.
“Do you know him?”
“Is he your master?”
Elder Ding and the Divine Calculator asked almost simultaneously.
“The master has been extremely kind to Liu Xiu, and the old man has nurtured and cared for him. I beg the two of you to put aside your conflict. Liu Xiu is willing to serve under you both for ten years in fasting.” Liu Xiu knelt again.
“It has nothing to do with you!”
“It’s not your concern.”
Elder Ding and the Divine Calculator glared at each other, neither willing to back down.
“The two of you are Liu Xiu’s closest relatives. He can’t just stand by while you fight to the death.” Liu Xiu stood up and stepped between them.
The Divine Calculator frowned and scolded, “This has nothing to do with you. You should know what the consequences are for defying your master.”
Elder Ding wasn’t to be outdone and shouted, “Liu Xi, this has nothing to do with you. If you still value me as an elder, step aside quickly. It’s just one master. After I kill him, I’ll take you as my disciple.”
“You? Are you qualified?” the Divine Calculator dismissed him with disdain.
“I’m not qualified, but are you?” Elder Ding sneered. “It’s strange Liu Xi still calls you his master. I don’t see any of your spiritual skills in him.”
“That’s the relationship between master and disciple. You, a warrior, obviously don’t understand what propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame are. That’s why you think only by teaching spiritual skills can one be a master,” the Divine Calculator said disdainfully.
Liu Xi was stunned. One was like an immortal, with every word and action filled with wisdom and an aura of divinity. The other had no desires, and though unimposing in appearance, a single frown could generate immense pressure.
Such people could actually argue and bicker.