Gu Liang inhaled sharply upon seeing the figure kneeling on the ground.
Lin Xun hadn’t uttered anything threatening yet, but he had already compelled the thugs to drop to their knees and apologize. What remarkable power!
However, Lin Xun didn’t even glance at the thugs kneeling on the ground. Instead, his gaze moved to Elder Qian, who looked very uneasy.
“You…”
The second that Lin Xun opened his mouth, the old man dropped to his knees and cried out, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me just this one time.”
The corners of Lin Xun’s lips curled upwards. This old guy is so wicked. He is acting so humble to make me feel bad for giving him a hard time.
On the other hand, Gu Liang was utterly shocked. Not only are the thugs on their knees, but the goatee bearded man is from Jadelight Pavilion yet even he is kneeling! This is too unbelievable.
Gu Liang wasn’t aware that Lin Xun had become the most feared opponent of the dozen major forces in the city after that night’s bloody massacre. Even Qi Yunxiao, the young master of Jadelight Pavilion, had suffered against Lin Xun. How would Elder Qian be an exception?
Elder Qian wasn’t considered an important character and was just one of the attendants in the Jadelight Pavilion. There were a handful of people like him in the Jadelight Pavilion and only the thugs would treat him as an important person.
Leaning back on a chair, Lin Xun stated casually, “Tell me what happened.”Elder Qian trembled, his face deathly pale. He thought that Lin Xun still didn’t intend to let him go. He clenched his teeth and repeatedly slapped himself across the face. Loud, crisp sounds echoed in the air. His wrinkly face immediately swelled up and reddened.
“I know I was wrong to do this. Young master, please have mercy!”
Old Qian continued to slap himself as he begged for mercy. He knew that the Jadelight Pavilion would swallow him alive if Lin Xin didn’t forgive him!
He had to do this for both his future and his life.
He had witnessed Lin Xun’s ability in the past. That guy looks young, handsome and harmless but anyone who had tried to deal with him would know that he is a demon!
Lin Xun was like a taboo to the dozen of major forces in Haze City. Who would dare to make things hard for him? Did they have a death wish?
Gu Liang stared at the two of them, dumbfounded. The thugs kneeling on the ground were all aghast. Was that the Elder Qian that they knew?
“Okay, I just want to know why you are targeting Golden Jade Hall. Clearly state the reason and you all can leave.” Lin Xun glared at Elder Qian.
Elder Qian inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as I can keep my life, who cares if it is embarrassing?
“Young Master, it’s all just a misunderstanding.”
Elder Qian took a deep breath before he explained, “If I knew that Golden Jade Hall is related to you, I would have never sent people here to cause trouble, no matter what.”
It turned out that before Gu Liang rented the store, Elder Qian had already had his eyes on it. He had already given up on the store but when he came to learn that the person who rented it was an outsider and a youth, he decided to take action.
He took advantage of his powers to send a group of thugs to create a scene, drive Gu Liang away, and forcibly take possession of the store.
However, he had never thought that Gu Liang, who seemed like a pushover and was an outsider, would be acquainted with Lin Xun.
Lin Xun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he heard his explanation. He originally thought that Jadelight Pavilion was aware of Gu Yanping’s ability and so dispatched forces to stop the Golden Jade Hall from gaining a foothold in Haze City.
Who would have thought that the reason would be so strange?
Gu Liang breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad that Jadelight Pavilion wasn’t targeting him.
“Get lost.” Lin Xun motioned with his hand.
Elder Qian froze for a moment, in disbelief that Lin Xun would let him go so easily. “Young Master, you forgive me for my mistake?”
Lin Xun snapped, “Go, go now, if you don’t leave now, don’t blame me for taking action.”
Elder Qian was finally able to completely relax. He sprang up and sped away with the gang of thugs.
“The matter is resolved now. I should leave too. If you encounter any trouble in the future, you must let me know. Of course, that’s only if I am still in Haze City.”
Lin Xun rose to his feet, told Gu Liang his current address, and prepared to leave.
“Wait!” Gu Liang shouted.
“Is there something else?”
Gu Liang seemed hesitant but he finally gritted his teeth and said, “Lin Xun, since we’re friends, I’m going to be blunt with you. I want to invite you to join Golden Jade Hall. In the future, you will receive a share of Golden Jade Hall’s earnings!”
“Why would you do that?”
Gu Liang said irritably, “There’s no reason. Just tell me if you accept the offer or not. Of course, I know you’re very busy and won’t want to manage a business with me. I also won’t force you to do so. You just need to put your name down. Also, I can keep it a secret if you don’t want others to know about it.”
He rambled on, but it made Lin Xun realize that Gu Liang wanted to thank him with some sort of benefit!
“You don’t need to do this.” Lin Xun said helplessly, “Since we are friends, it’s only natural that we help and support each other.”
Gu Liang said seriously, “Lin Xun, do you look down on Golden Jade Hall? Do you think there’s no benefit to joining us?”
Lin Xun was impressed with Gu Liang’s tactic. The youth was using reverse psychology to persuade him to join Golden Jade Hall. He had to admit that his tactic was useful, because he, at least, didn’t know what to say.
“How about this? I have a batch of rune materials here, take it as my investment into Golden Jade Hall.” Lin Xun brought out a storage bag and handed it to Gu Liang. “Take it. If you don’t accept then I won’t join.”
Gu Liang glared at Lin Xun. He didn’t expect Lin Xun to make such a move but he had no choice except to accept it.
“Good, then I leave the important responsibility of helping Golden Jade Hall rise to the top in the empire to you. I’ll only be responsible for putting down my name,” Lin Xun teased Gu Liang as he strode out of Golden Jade Hall.
However, as he stepped foot onto the street, he couldn’t help but turn his head and look up at Golden Jade Hall’s signboard. He wondered whether Golden Jade Hall could indeed rise like a star and become one of the top businesses in the empire.
With a toss of his head, Lin Xun disappeared into the sea of people.
“That guy is still the same as before."
In the shop, Gu Liang felt a warm current rushing up in his heart as he thought about everything that had happened. He didn’t regret his decision and he knew his father, Gu Yanping, would also do the same.
Gu Liang knew that Lin Xun was a pure cultivator and had a completely different path from him. It was impossible to expect Lin Xun to help Golden Jade Hall in any way but was that important?
No!
At least, Gu Liang was very happy to share the profits of Golden Jade Hall with Lin Xun. After all, he’s my friend. As the saying goes, if the monarch treats me as a state scholar, I must treat him the same way!
After a moment, Gu Liang fumbled around with the storage bag that Lin Xun left. He was about to put it away, but after a thought, he decided to peek inside.
Gu Liang froze. Silver Feather Snow Whale Bone, Underworld Fire Lamp Grass, Nine-Cycle Earth Core Iron…
Gu Liang had never thought that the storage bag contain dozens of the rarest rune materials in the world!
Each one can fetch a tremendous price by itself if it makes its way onto the market. How much would it fetch together?
As a business cultivator, Gu Liang quickly added up the amount and reached an astronomical figure in his mind. At least one hundred thousand gold coins! If done well, they could be sold for an even greater price!
That amount was enough to buy out all the properties of Golden Jade Hall!
“That guy...that guy...just casually left such an amazing amount of wealth! He…he…” Gu Liang sat there blankly, his emotions fluctuating. He didn’t know what to say to Lin Xun.
Only after a long moment did Gu Liang draw a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his emotions. His eyes grew increasingly bright and determined.
“Since you dared to throw that much money at me, how can I be worthy of your trust if I don’t develop Golden Jade Hall to become the best business in the world? Lin Xun, I will pay you back with an amount you can never imagine in the future!”
……
Granny Feng gave Lin Xun those rune materials to repair the Ancient Law Ocarina. However, out of spite, Lin Xun had requested many rune materials that he didn’t need so he gave them all to Gu Liang.
Lin Xun knew that the rune materials were worth a terrifying amount but he didn’t know the specific figure. However, he didn’t need money at the moment and he felt it was worth putting it all into Golden Jade Hall as an investment.
Of course, given Gu Liang’s character, he would no doubt give Lin Xun more benefits if Golden Jade Hall did develop into a top business.
However, Lin Xun didn’t mind even if Golden Jade Hall failed to develop and completely closed down. He didn’t give the rune materials to Golden Jade Hall to make a profit.
Ultimately, Lin Xun did this largely because of Gu Yanping.
When Lin Xun was living in Donglin City, if Gu Yanping hadn’t helped him guard the door and stop the enemy from entering, he and Xia Zhi likely would have been killed already!
How would Lin Xun forget that Gan Yanping had saved his life?
Of course, Gu Liang regarded Lin Xun as a friend, and Lin Xun also genuinely felt the friendship. Since Gu Liang had asked him to join Golden Jade Hall and promised to share benefits with him, he wouldn’t let Gu Liang suffer.
When Lin Xun returned home, he cast this matter to the back of his mind because from that day on, he had to fully concentrate on his cultivation and make preparations to enter the third level of the Great Azure Cloud Path in one month.
Every entry into the Omega Secret Realm was an incredibly rare opportunity for him and he had to make good use of it. He wouldn’t allow himself to make any mistakes!