Let Me Teach You a Lesson

Inside the shop.

Watching Lin Bai's back, Song Ling said timidly, "Dad, I think Brother Lin is such a bastard!"

"Yes, a bastard through and through—his mouth, his martial arts, everything," Wu Xiuxiu agreed wholeheartedly.

"Every villain has another villain to grind him down. There really is truth in that saying. I didn't have much faith in the shopkeeper before, but now I don't think there's anything he can't handle," Song Jinnan said. "With skills this good, he still tricked Long Xi into coming to his death yesterday. He's capable, cautious, thick-skinned, and he has backing. With him protecting us, that Daoist who wants to harm us won't stand a chance."

"But if he's so capable, why would he protect us?" Song Ling looked up at her father and asked, "Are we useful to him?"

A sense of crisis crept into their hearts, and Song Jinnan and Wu Xiuxiu both fell silent.

He looked at Lin Bai, who was still facing off against the Daoist, then lowered his gaze to the wrecked shop. "Xiuxiu, Xiao Ling, don't just stand around. Help the shopkeeper clean up. That Daoist is no match for him..."

The "Nine Suns Scripture · Fragment" circulated slowly, restoring his depleted internal energy bit by bit. Lin Bai estimated that it would take at least an hour to replenish it completely.

Meanwhile, after taking medicine for his injuries, the Daoist hiding inside the protective barrier looked noticeably less pained. Who knew how effective that medicine was?

Lin Bai had no idea which of them would recover faster. He had to find a way to settle this.

The Daoist had produced a Shield Armor Talisman. Who knew whether he had offensive talismans as well?

Lin Bai had gained the advantage by striking first just now. He didn't know which of them was stronger in a fair contest.

What troubled him most was the possibility that the incomplete Nine Suns Scripture might fail him again at a critical moment.

That would be utterly humiliating.

Beyond that, the Daoist had True Person Qingxu of the Returning Dragon Temple behind him, while Lin Bai didn't have so much as a hair backing him up.

Beat the little one, and the big one came knocking. That would be trouble too...

Under pressure, Lin Bai's mind raced. He turned and saw Deng Libuduo still standing where he was. "Xiao Deng, didn't I tell you to fetch firewood? What are you spacing out for? Can't you see the Daoist is shivering from the cold?"

Isn't he shaking because you pissed him off?

[Deng Libuduo] asked blankly, "You really want me to get it?"

"No shit. We've already put our skills to the test. Either he dies or I live. Did you think I was joking?" Lin Bai snapped.

He dies and you live—that's the same outcome! [Deng Libuduo] grumbled inwardly.

Lin Bai glanced at the Daoist. "Xiao Deng, let me teach you a lesson. If you want to thrive in the Rivers and Lakes, you have to be good at calculations. There are two possibilities here. One is that I beat him to death and his master comes looking for revenge. That branches into several more possibilities:

"First, he dies, and his master never finds out.

"Second, his master learns he's dead but has no desire to avenge him.

"Third, his master learns he's dead, but by then it's too late, and he can't be bothered to avenge him.

"Fourth, his master learns he's dead but never finds the killer.

"Fifth, his master learns he's dead and finds the killer, but for one reason or another, he can't kill the killer.

"Sixth, the best outcome for him: his master learns he's dead, is willing to avenge him, finds the killer, and kills the killer.

"But what good does that do?

"He's still dead. At most, he gets to smile in the underworld.

"The worst outcome for us is that we go soft and let him leave, only for him to come back with his whole family...

"Which do you think works out better for us?"

Qingfeng Daoist was drenched in sweat. He followed Lin Bai's line of reasoning, growing more unnerved the further he thought...

[Deng Libuduo] opened his mouth. "The first, obviously."

"Exactly. Statistically speaking, if we kill him, there's an eighty percent chance we come out completely unscathed!" Lin Bai smiled. "So why aren't you fetching the firewood?"

"Understood." Wearing the look of someone who had learned a valuable lesson, [Deng Libuduo] turned and entered the shop.

The moment he stepped inside, however, he saw three ghosts cleaning up. He froze, and his opinion of the Daoist instantly hit rock bottom.

Such a hardworking family, and he called them vengeful ghosts who would hurt people?

Free workers! I wouldn't want to hand them over either!

"Big brother, we've already prepared the firewood for you." Song Ling gave [Deng Libuduo] a sweet, obedient smile and pointed at the large armful of firewood piled by the door.

"..." The corner of [Deng Libuduo]'s mouth twitched. She really was sweet and thoughtful!

Seeing [Deng Libuduo] actually carry over a great heap of firewood and stack it outside the Shield Armor Talisman's barrier, the Daoist behind it nearly lost his mind.

What the fuck kind of person is this?!

Don't Jianghu Practitioners usually try to smash through a Shield Armor Talisman with brute force?

Who the hell roasts it with fire?!

"Shopkeeper Lin, I think we can talk this over." Watching the pile of firewood outside the barrier grow, Qingfeng Daoist found inspiration in desperation. "I... I'm willing to pay a ransom for a life."

"Whose life?" Lin Bai asked, smiling.

"My own, of course," Qingfeng Daoist said urgently.

"How much are you willing to pay for your life?" Lin Bai asked. "My rate has already reached fifty taels a day. You look thirty at most. To be conservative, say you live to eighty—that's another fifty years. Eighteen thousand taels a year, so fifty years would be..."

Fuck!

You just said I was over forty! How did I get younger the moment you started calculating the money?!

You absolute bastard!

Qingfeng Daoist hastily interrupted Lin Bai to correct him. "Shopkeeper Lin, I am already forty-five."

Lin Bai glanced at him and smiled. "All right, let's say you're forty-five. You look well-preserved, Daoist. You should live to at least a hundred. By that reckoning, you have another fifty-five years..."

Motherfucker!

The Daoist felt another urge to vomit blood. Forcing a smile, he took a bamboo tube from inside his robe, pulled off its wax seal, and tipped out a roll of banknotes. He unfolded them and held them up for Lin Bai to see. "Please stop teasing me, Shopkeeper Lin. My life is naturally nowhere near as precious as yours. Over the years, I've saved nearly three thousand taels of fine silver. I'll simply give it all to you as ransom for my life!"

"Daoist, if I take your ransom and you go running back to fetch your elders, won't I be screwing myself over?" Looking at the banknotes, Lin Bai's face showed a flicker of conflict. Finally, he sighed. "Inviting a whole mess of trouble for a measly three thousand taels isn't worth it. Xiao Deng, light the fire! Once we smoke the Daoist to death, the banknotes will still be ours..."

"Shopkeeper Lin, I can swear an oath! I swear in the Dao Venerable's name that if I pay this ransom and later seek revenge against you, may five heavenly thunderbolts strike me down, and may I die without a place to be buried," Qingfeng Daoist said hastily. "If... if you light that fire, I'll throw these banknotes into it even if it costs me my life. You won't get a thing!"

The moment those words came out,

Lin Bai knew he had this in the bag.

It wasn't because of the oath.

An ordinary person facing death would try to fight him to the bitter end, preferably taking him down with them.

This fellow was ready to risk his life just to throw the banknotes into the fire...

His mind was already in turmoil.

"You underestimate my generosity, Daoist. Of course I trust you!" Lin Bai broke into a smile. "I was only joking earlier. Forget all this talk of ransom. In the Rivers and Lakes, another friend means another road open to you. How about this? For three thousand taels, I'll give you a ten-percent non-operating stake.

"Not that I'm looking down on you, Daoist, but being over forty and having saved only three thousand taels is honestly a little embarrassing.

"Our little shop is doing such brisk business that you'll recoup your investment in just a few years, and you'll receive dividends every year too. What do you say?"

The ransom had turned into shares?

That counted as a good thing, right?

But why did something still feel off?!

Right!

I fucking came here to drive them out and shut down the shop!

How had I ended up buying into it instead?

Qingfeng Daoist's head buzzed, but faced with Lin Bai's smiling expression, he still nodded in a daze.

"Shopkeeper, should I still light the fire?" [Deng Libuduo] asked.

"What fire? Qingfeng Daoist is our shareholder now. What if you burn him to death? Go see what food and wine we have left in the shop and bring it out. I'm going to share a drink with him." Lin Bai turned and sternly reprimanded Deng Libuduo. "Xiao Deng, let me teach you another lesson. The Rivers and Lakes has never been about fighting and killing. It's about relationships and knowing how to deal with people. If all you think about is beating and killing people, you've already taken the inferior path."

"..." [Deng Libuduo] stood frozen in bewilderment. This wasn't the same lesson as before!

"Shopkeeper Lin, you know me?" Qingfeng Daoist's eyes widened.

"What are you saying? If I didn't know you, I'd have burned you to death already. How would I dare invite you to invest?" Lin Bai smiled and dealt Qingfeng the final blow. "Before I came out for my trial, my sect had already investigated every sect, large and small, within a thousand-mile radius. To tell you the truth, I recognized you the moment I saw you. Compared to you, I'm the true darling of my sect!"

Holy shit!

A genuine hidden major NPC!

[Deng Libuduo] had no doubts left. He dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed. "Shopkeeper, please accept me as your disciple."