Chapter 81: The Guard Team

Upon returning to the inn, a crescent moon hung in the sky. After exchanging a few polite words with Huo Yuan, Lin Dong suddenly remembered the Maple Tong Leaf and asked, “Elder Huo, have you heard of the Maple Tong Leaf?”
“The Maple Tong Leaf?” Huo Yuang’s eyebrows, thick as brushes, furrowed slightly before relaxing. “Is it that first-tier spiritual material with fiery red leaves that have a faint fishy smell?”
“Are there many types of Maple Tong Leaf?” Lin Dong asked in confusion.
Huo Yuan shook his head. “There’s only one type. But I’ve only seen it described in medical books, so I’m not entirely sure.”
If it’s mentioned in medical books, it must be correct. Lin Dong then asked, “Does Elder Huo know where this Maple Tong Leaf can be bought?”
“Although there are dozens of spiritual pills made from Maple Tong Leaf, their effects are rather peculiar. If you want to buy it…” Huo Yuan hesitated for a moment before saying, “Larger pharmacies in Autumn Wind City should have it.”
“Can Maple Tong Leaf be stored for a long time?” Lin Dong pressed further.
“As long as it’s kept dry, it can last for decades without issue.”
“Thank you, Elder Huo, for your guidance.”
Lin Dong was overjoyed. Since it could be stored for a long time and was available in Autumn Wind City, it would take just over half a month to make the round trip. Adding time for the chef to develop a stewing method, the signature dish of Maple Tong Leaf stewed with turtle could definitely be launched in a month.
After seeing Huo Yuan and the others return to their rooms, Lin Dong gave Wang Liuze a subtle signal.
“Owner, did you call for me?” Wang Liuze followed him into the room, lit the oil lamp first, then closed the door behind him.
Sitting down at the desk and signaling Wang Liuze to sit in front of him, Lin Dong asked, “How did you feel tonight?”
“Amazing!” Wang Liuze’s enthusiasm, which had gradually cooled, boiled up again. “Killing one person with just one punch, and that too in the Liu family, making them too afraid to stop us—I’ve never seen anything so amazing in my life.”
Lin Dong couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that all there is to it—just amazing?”
“Is there anything else?” Wang Liuze scratched his head, looking puzzled.
“Never mind, just amazing then!” Lin Dong smiled. “Tonight, no matter how amazing it was, it was Jiang Zhen who was amazing. Do you want to be as amazing as him?”
“Yes, of course,” Wang Liuze blurted out, but then added reluctantly, “Jiang Zhen was able to enter the sect—he was carefully selected by the Gu Huan Sect. With my talent, even if I had the Spirit Speed Array every day, I probably wouldn’t be as advanced as him after a year of training.”
“Besides adjusting the number of people, the Spirit Speed Array…” Lin Dong said with a smile, “can also adjust the speed of training.”
“Huh?”

Wang Liuzhi widened his eyes. Didn’t this mean that by speeding up the training by hundreds of times, one could become an expert in a month, a strong fighter in two months, and a peak warrior in three months?

Lin Dong could easily see Wang Liuzhi’s thoughts and immediately explained, “It’s not as exaggerated as you think. For now, it’s only three times faster than normal training, but that can increase in the future. However… doubling the training speed requires one spirit stone per day, tripling it doubles that amount to two spirit stones per day. Quadrupling it doubles again, meaning four spirit stones per day. For fivefold, sixfold, and so on, every time the speed increases by one fold, the amount of spirit stones needed per day also doubles.”

Wang Liuzhi deflated like a punctured balloon, instantly becoming subdued. One spirit stone was worth one or two taels of silver. If the speed increased tenfold, it wouldn’t be slower than training as a sect disciple. But spending five or six hundred taels of silver per day would be enough to build a new inn in just four or five days.

“Don’t worry. In terms of talent, we can find ways to compensate with pills in the future. As for the costs…” Lin Dong smiled. “It depends on how far the inn develops in the future.”

Wang Liuzhi clearly still worried about the high cost. Muttering, “With that much silver, it’s better to become a wealthy man. Besides, I heard that thirty thousand taels of silver can buy a county magistrate position, and it can be saved in less than half a year.”

“Is a county magistrate as impressive as Jiang Zhen?” Lin Dong dismissed it with disdain. “If it were you, would you choose to be a county magistrate or a warrior?”

“Of course a warrior!” Wang Liuzhi replied without hesitation. Warriors had numerous privileges. If they were willing to serve the court, they could get both positions and wealth. What was a county magistrate compared to that?

“Then the matter is settled!” Lin Dong said with a smile.

Wang Liuzhi was stunned, then forced a wry smile. Warriors were indeed better than county magistrates, but the problem was, spending two or three hundred taels of silver per day, it would take years to see any returns. Even as a ruffian and inn manager, one could never earn that much in a lifetime.

“Owner…” Seeing Lin Dong’s smiling expression, Wang Liuzhi shuddered and swallowed back what he was about to say.

Suddenly standing up, Wang Liuzhi declared, “From now on, no matter what challenges come—be it facing knives or falling into oil pots—I will obey your orders. If I hesitate in the slightest, I’ll…”

“Stop thinking about such drastic things. If you’re unloyal, I have plenty of ways to deal with you.”

After Lin Dong gestured for Wang Liuze to sit down, he spoke, “Not only you, but Shou Zhugan and the others can also start practicing. But it’s not urgent yet. First, the inn doesn’t earn enough silver every day to cover such expenses, and second, there aren’t enough people. According to my plan, starting from tomorrow, you five don’t need to worry about the inn’s affairs for now—leave everything to Ma Chun. What you need to do is become the leaders of all the thugs in Xilan City, and then gradually select those who can be loyal to me from among them. Also, Old Master Zhang still has quite a few little beggars, right? You can have them try practicing and pick out those with talent to train.”

Wang Liuze hesitated and said, “It’s easy with Old Master Zhang, but becoming the leader of all the thugs in Xilan City is not so straightforward with the county authorities. The rule in Xilan City has always been that no matter who the thug leader is, they can’t dominate more than three streets. Otherwise, once a thug leader grows too powerful, the county authorities won’t be able to control them.”

“The county authorities aren’t a big problem. As long as there’s silver, there’s no reason Cheng Wencai won’t agree. Even if Cheng Wencai is leaving soon, the new county magistrate will either be Fu Chunjian or someone he picks. As long as you keep your thugs from bullying neighbors and harassing villagers, that’s a good thing. As long as the new magistrate isn’t too rigid, I believe they’ll turn a blind eye. If that doesn’t work, bribing the yamen officials will do just as well.” After a pause, Lin Dong continued, “In the future, when we open branches of the inn, we can do the same in other places.”

“Well… among the thug leaders in Xilan City, there are a few skilled fighters. With just us, we might not be enough!”

“I’ll talk to Elder Huo tomorrow. If we encounter tough opponents, we can ask for help from the disciples of the Gu Huan Sect. Once you start practicing, those skilled fighters will be easy to handle.”

Although the agreement with Xiao Tianchi only stated that the disciples of the Gu Huan Sect were obligated to help when the inn faced trouble, Lin Dong believed that the Gu Huan Sect didn’t have an abundance of spirit stones either. As long as they could use reducing the amount of spirit stones as a condition—and since it wasn’t about killing everywhere—this would definitely be a situation where the benefits outweighed the drawbacks, and they wouldn’t refuse.

“Hmm, I’ll talk to Shou Zhugan and the others later.”

Wang Liuze’s hands trembled with excitement. He had never thought he could become a warrior before. Now, although there was hope, it was still a long time away. With the help of the disciples of the Gu Huan Sect, it would be easy to dominate the entire Xilan City and become the leader of all its thugs—this was what he had always dreamed of.

Although there was another leader behind him as the “boss,” it was just a bunch of minor thugs. The inn owner wouldn’t even look at them. It was still up to him to make decisions.

Lin Dong said seriously, “Remember, be sure to tell those four—Slender Bamboo and the others—that this matter must not be leaked under any circumstances.”
“I understand!” Wang Liuzhi nodded quickly. Since even Gu Huanzong was so selective in choosing disciples, he could easily grasp the importance of the Spirit Speed Formation and the severity of its consequences if it were revealed.
“That’s good. Also… you heard what Elder Huo said just now. Even if the guys sent to Autumn Wind City manage to buy them, they probably won’t bring back many Maple Tong leaves. Tomorrow, have Liu Hao take more silver and go again to buy as many as possible.”
“Hmm! If there’s nothing else, shall I go arrange it now?”
Lin Dong nodded. After Wang Liuzhi left and he ensured nothing was overlooked, he began to cultivate.