Lu Changkong's Revenge

Hundred Herbs Hall, a private room on the first floor.

Lin Baichuan had waited for a full half hour. Seeing that the woman still had not returned, he frowned slightly, growing impatient.

Damn it, nothing could have gone wrong, could it? Lin Baichuan cursed inwardly. A thousand taels of gold is no small sum. Don't tell me that woman took the money and ran. Things like employees running off with customers' payments were hardly rare in my previous life...

As wild thoughts churned through Lin Baichuan's mind, he also regretted showing off like that earlier. At the very least, he should have waited until he saw the Mysterious Sun Fruit before paying!

Creak... Bang...

Just as Lin Baichuan's thoughts ran wild, the door was suddenly pushed open. The woman entered in a hurry, anxiety in her eyes. There was even a clear slap mark on her face; she had obviously been struck.

Judging by it, the person who had hit her had not held back.

"Young Master... I am truly sorry, but the Mysterious Sun Fruit can no longer be sold to you." The woman, Yun Xi, bowed to Lin Baichuan the moment she entered, her face full of apology. "It was my oversight. The Mysterious Sun Fruit has already been sold, but the shop's records had not yet been updated, so I did not know..."

"Sold already?"

Lin Baichuan raised his brows, letting out a cold laugh. "Was it truly sold, or are you simply unwilling to sell it to me?"

"This..."

Yun Xi's expression stiffened, and she looked somewhat awkward.

"We're simply not selling it to you. What are you going to do about it... Are you unhappy?"

At that moment, a chilling voice rang out. A young man entered from outside the room with several guards in tow. It was none other than Lu Changkong.

Half an hour earlier, Lu Changkong had gone to the third floor to ask the White-haired Elder, Elder Yuan, for the Mysterious Sun Fruit. After Elder Yuan and Yun Xi objected, he flew into a rage. Not only had he harshly berated Elder Yuan, Yuan Ningdong, but he had also slapped Yun Xi.

Later, he learned from Yun Xi that someone wanted to purchase the Mysterious Sun Fruit. After having someone secretly investigate, he discovered that the buyer was actually Lin Baichuan. He immediately brought people down from the third floor.

"It's you, Lu Changkong!"

The moment Lin Baichuan saw Lu Changkong enter, his pupils contracted, his gaze turning blade-cold. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? I am the young master of Hundred Herbs Hall. I can come and go as I please. Is that any of your business?" Lu Changkong sneered. "No matter how overbearing your Demon Suppression Division may be, you have no right to stop someone from returning to his own home, do you?"

"You are the young master of Hundred Herbs Hall?"

Lin Baichuan frowned slightly, inwardly cursing Yang Zhan bloody murder. That bastard had only gone on and on about how impressive Hundred Herbs Hall was, yet he had never mentioned that it was a Lu Family business. Otherwise, he would never have come to Hundred Herbs Hall even if it killed him!

Looking at things now, even a pig could guess that Lu Changkong had intercepted the Mysterious Sun Fruit.

Lin Baichuan did not think he could get the Mysterious Sun Fruit from Lu Changkong. He coldly said, "In that case, Lin does not want the Mysterious Sun Fruit anymore. Return my thousand taels of gold."

Since he had failed to buy the item, he naturally wanted his money back.

Yet to Lin Baichuan's disbelief, the moment he said this, Lu Changkong sneered. "Gold? What gold? Did you ever give us any gold? Kid... when speaking and doing things, you must have evidence. Do you have a receipt issued by Hundred Herbs Hall?"

What...

The instant Lu Changkong said that, Lin Baichuan's expression darkened. He had never imagined that Lu Changkong could be so shameless. Not only was he refusing to sell him the Mysterious Sun Fruit, he now wanted to swallow his thousand taels of gold as well.

He was truly treating him like a soft persimmon to be squeezed.

In fact, Yun Xi was even more anxious than Lin Baichuan. She had already felt guilty for breaking her word and making Lin Baichuan wait so long. Now, seeing that her young master even intended to swallow Lin Baichuan's thousand taels of gold, her expression changed drastically. She immediately stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Young Master, this gentleman truly did pay a thousand taels of gold for the goods..."

As she spoke, she looked toward the White-haired Elder, Yuan Ningdong, who had come with Lu Changkong.

Yuan Ningdong also frowned and immediately said in a deep voice, "Young Master, Yun Xi did indeed give me the—"

"Indeed what?"

Lu Changkong swept Yuan Ningdong a glance and said coldly, "If I say there was no such thing, then there was no such thing. You do not know him, but I know him perfectly well. This man is called Lin Baichuan. He is merely a newly promoted Junior Demon Slayer of the Demon Suppression Division. His monthly salary is only thirty taels of silver.

Do you think he can produce a thousand taels of gold?"

Yuan Ningdong and Yun Xi's expressions changed dramatically. They knew that Lu Changkong was determined to embezzle Lin Baichuan's thousand taels of gold! But if Lu Changkong were allowed to act so recklessly, Hundred Herbs Hall's reputation would be utterly ruined.

Swallowing a customer's payment—how was that any different from a black shop?

Yuan Ningdong and Yun Xi's expressions shifted uncertainly. Yet no matter how displeased they were inwardly, they did not dare say anything more. Lu Changkong was the young master of Hundred Herbs Hall, and the entire hall belonged to the Lu Family. In the end, they were merely servants of the Lu Family.

Even a fool could see that Lu Changkong held a grudge against Lin Baichuan and was clearly seeking revenge against him.

If they continued speaking up for Lin Baichuan now, they would be opposing Lu Changkong, the young master. They knew all too well what would happen if they offended Lu Changkong.

After exchanging a glance, Yuan Ningdong and Yun Xi opened their mouths, but ultimately said nothing.

Better a fellow cultivator die than oneself. They were neither related to Lin Baichuan nor acquainted with him, so naturally they did not wish to offend Lu Changkong for his sake.

Lin Baichuan was quick-witted. One look at Yun Xi and Yuan Ningdong's reactions was enough for him to grasp the crux of the matter, and his expression immediately darkened like still water. He said coldly, "What, is Hundred Herbs Hall a black shop? You actually want to embezzle a customer's payment. Do you really think Lin is some soft persimmon you can squeeze at will?"

"Bold of you! You dare slander Hundred Herbs Hall and tarnish its prestige! Do you think that merely putting on a Demon Slayer's uniform means you can do whatever you please?"

Lu Changkong's eyes turned icy. Pointing at Lin Baichuan, he roared, "Lin, there is more than one Demon Slayer in the Demon Suppression Division. My Lu Family has people in the Demon Suppression Division as well. Today, you dared to malign Hundred Herbs Hall and damage its reputation.

I will suppress you right now, then go to the Demon Suppression Division and demand an explanation.

Let us see whether the Demon Suppression Division's Demon Slayers are truly allowed to slander others' reputations without restraint..."

Boom!

The moment his words fell, Lu Changkong moved. With a flick of his finger, a streak of sword light flashed out like a meteor, slashing straight toward Lin Baichuan.

It was his spirit artifact-grade longsword.