Chapter 20: Delivering the Goods

“A thousand liang of silver?” Zhou Donghuang was stunned at first but started laughing uncontrollably immediately after. “You should know… the pure profit from a single day of business from my Yunxuan Restaurant, regardless of all operating costs, already exceeds a thousand liang of silver. If Yunxuan Restaurant was yours, would you sell it to someone offering you a thousand liang of silver for it?”

Zhou Donghuang looked at the middle-aged man as he spoke as though he were looking at an idiot.

“Zhou Donghuang, a thousand liang of silver is the greatest gesture of sincerity our second young master will offer… if you are not willing, just beware that you might lose the restaurant and not get a single cent!”

The middle-aged man had a cold gleam in his eye, and his tone was threatening.

“What? Your second young master of the Li family of the prefecture capital is surely not thinking of seizing my Yunxuan Restaurant?”

Zhou Donghuang remained expressionless, but his smile became brighter and brighter.

“You could say that,” the middle-aged man said in a low voice, “I’ll give you one last chance… accept the thousand liang of silver and hand over the title deed to Yunxuan Restaurant. Otherwise, I’ll maim your arms and legs and take the title deed to Yunxuan Restaurant off your body myself.”

The middle-aged man began to rise as soon as he finished speaking, fixing Zhou Donghuang with a savage grin as though he would lash out immediately if Zhou Donghuang dared to refuse.

As a level-two adept, he believed that he could handle this martial invalid before him.

“What? You intend to start a fightsomething?” Zhou Donghuang asked with a laugh, his expression carefree and relaxed, not showing even a hint of the fear that the middle-aged man expected.

However, there was a touch of coldness in the depths of his gaze.

Maim his arms and legs?

“It seems you have chosen the latter.”

The middle-aged man’s eyes flashed, and his body seemed to flicker as he swiftly took a large step towards Zhou Donghuang. He extended and then tucked in his arms like a hawk would with its wings and grabbed for Zhou Donghuang’s shoulders with both clawed hands. “If that’s the case, I’ll maim both your arms first!”

A level-two adept?

In the split-second the middle-aged man took to make his move, Zhou Donghuang had already discerned that he was a level-two adept, although his qi was not as concentrated as Wang Yukun’s.

Anyway, even Wang Yukun had died at his hands, and Donghuang had been nowhere near as strong then as he was now.

These two days of practice had made the qi within his body even more concentrated, and he was only a step away from level-one of the gathered qi.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The middle-aged man’s figure flashed before Zhou Donghuang, and as both his clawed hands grabbed for Zhou Donghuang’s shoulder, Donghuang bent his upper body backwards as though he was drawing a bow. His arms trembled as he straightened up in an instant, and Donghuang flung his body forward like a thunderclap, both palms aiming for the middle-aged man’s arms.

Eh?

As the middle-aged man was surprised at how quickly Zhou Donghuang had struck out with his palms, Zhou Donghuang’s palms had already landed on both his arms.

Pong! Pong!

Ka-chak! Ka-chak!

Two loud sounds were followed by the clear sound of bones shattering.

The next moment, “Aaaahhhhh—”

The middle-aged man let out a piteous scream like a pig being slaughtered and flew backwards, landing heavily on the dining table with no way out of this difficult situation.

Swoosh!

As the middle-aged man landed on the dining table, Zhou Donghuang moved in a flash to pursue him and stomped down with one foot on the chest of the middle-aged man as he struggled to rise.

“With just this little bit of ability, you intend to seize Yunxuan Restaurant from me, Zhou Donghuang?” Zhou Donghuang smiled, looking down at the middle-aged man.

“You…”

Now, the middle-aged man looked at Zhou Donghuang with shock and dread as though he had seen a ghost, cursing Li Xian continuously in his heart.

Did Li Xian not say that this Zhou Donghuang was a martial invalid? How could a martial invalid have such great abilities?

In the instant that Zhou Donghuang’s palms had struck his arms, he realized that Zhou Donghuang’s ability exceeded his.

Without considering any other factors, the strength contained in the blows from Zhou Donghuang’s palms was not what an ordinary level-two adept would have been able to exert.

“Go back and tell your dog sh*t, second young master that if he wants to seize my Yunxuan Restaurant, he can come here personally.”

As Zhou Donghuang finished speaking, his gaze suddenly turned cold, and he squatted down without warning. With a whoosh, his palms landed on the middle-aged man’s legs.

Immediately, the middle-aged man’s legs suffered the same fate as his arms, and with another piteous scream like a pig being slaughtered, he fainted.

Just a moment ago, the middle-aged man had been supremely arrogant, proclaiming that he would maim Zhou Donghuang’s limbs. Now, Zhou Donghuang’s limbs were whole and undamaged, and it was this man’s limbs that had been maimed.

Walking out of the heavenly dining booth, Zhou Donghuang instructed Chief Steward Fu who had been waiting outside, “Take the money for the meal off his body… then go out and find some people and a stretcher and send him back to the Li family. The money to employ those people and buy the stretcher, you don’t have to take it from him… our Yunxuan Restaurant can still afford this bit of money.”

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As soon as he finished, Zhou Donghuang left under the reverent gaze of Fu.

It seems that I, Zhou Donghuang, becoming the new owner of Yunxuan Restaurant has led many people to make stupid moves.

As he left Yunxuan Restaurant, a cold look flashed across Zhou Donghuang’s eyes.

However, we shall see if they have the ability to seize Yunxuan Restaurant from my hands!

It was clear to Zhou Donghuang that the takeover attempt by the Li family of the prefecture capital was only the beginning.

Because of Li Xian, the Li family of the prefecture capital had more updated news and knew that Zhao San actually had no close connection to him and would not intervene on his behalf.

In the future, there would be even more people seeking out Zhao San, and once they were certain that there were no close connections between Zhao San and him, they would definitely not spare Yunxuan Restaurant from their attention.

As the most profitable business in Qingshan Town, Yunxuan Restaurant would be a worthy prize for any of the preeminent families of the prefecture capital.

I must strive to attain level-one of the gathered qi by today.

After leaving Yunxuan Restaurant, Zhou Donghuang returned to the compound behind Yunxuan Restaurant and was greeted by the guards at the entrance with respectful bows.

“Young Master.”

“Young Master.”

…

Several of the guards had served the Magnolia Guild for a long time and had watched Zhou Donghuang grow up. But now, the looks they gave this young master were full of reverence.

They dared not look at Zhou Donghuang even though he was a child a generation younger than them. They understood perfectly that after this young master killed Wang Yukun, a level-two adept, the main pillar of strength of this family was no longer the former guild master of the Magnolia Guild, Lin Lan, but this young master.

On the way back to his room, Zhou Donghuang had to pass Lin Lan’s room, and he immediately saw a worried-looking Granny Lian hesitating outside the door of Lin Lan’s room, undecided whether to knock or not.

“Granny Lian, what’s wrong? You want to see my mother?” Zhou Donghuang asked Granny Lian gently.

“Young Master.”

Seeing Zhou Donghuang, Granny Lian looked carefully at Lin Lan’s room and said, “Let’s go outside to the receiving chamber and talk.”

When they reached the receiving chamber, Granny Lian said with a bitter smile, “Young Master, what happened was this… Half a month ago, the Qingyun Guild of Ningping Town ordered ten bracelets of pure gold from the goldsmith of the Lin family through the Magnolia Guild. Because of their great value, the original plan was for Commander Lin Ping to deliver them personally, but now he has been recalled by the Lin family.

“Lin Ping was the commander of the former Magnolia Guild’s guards, a level-two adept, and the man stationed in Qingshan Town by the Lin family of the prefecture capital to protect the Magnolia Guild. The goods of high value that the Magnolia Guild sent out would usually be delivered personally by Lin Ping.”

“The agents sent by the Lin family of the prefecture capital to establish the new guild should already have reached Qingshan Town, right? Why not let them deliver it?” Zhou Donghuang asked.

Granny Lian shook her head. “The payment for the items on this account was previously settled with the Lin family of the prefecture capital, and the money to be paid upon delivery of these ten bracelets belongs to the Magnolia Guild. We do not need to split it with the Lin family.”

This was the reason why they had to deliver the goods themselves and collect the balance of the money owed.

Ten bracelets of pure gold…

Ten bracelets of pure gold had considerable value, and without a level-two adept to personally deliver them, it would be too risky to deliver.

“Granny Lian, I’ll make the delivery personally,” Zhou Donghuang told Granny Lian. “Prepare a carriage for me, I intend to practice during the journey.”

One day and one night was enough time to get from Qingshan Town to Ningping Town on a fast horse at top speed. However, if a carriage was used instead, three days and three nights would be needed. He would not be able to practice if he rode a fast horse at top speed, but if he rode in a carriage, he would be able to practice during the journey.

At this crucial time when he was about to attain level-one of the gathered qi, Zhou Donghuang did not want to waste any time.

“Good!”

Upon hearing Zhou Donghuang say that he would personally deliver the ten bracelets of pure gold, Granny Lian’s eyes lit up, and she left the receiving chamber hurriedly to make arrangements.

In her view, as long as the young master of her family made the delivery personally, all would be well.

It was known that the young master of her family could kill even the Wang family’s level-two adept, Wang Yukun, who was known as the bloody-handed butcher. The bandits who made their rounds between the small towns could not possibly be a match for the young master of her family.

Granny Lian was extremely efficient at doing things.

Roughly 15 minutes later, Zhou Donghuang had gotten into the carriage with the ten bracelets of pure gold, which were stored in a thick, heavy wooden box, and left Qingshan Town.

The driver of the carriage was a middle-aged guard who had followed them over from the Magnolia Guild. He had served the Magnolia Guild for a long time, right from the time when the Magnolia Guild was established.

“Sir, if you encounter anything on the road you can’t handle, throw this bell,” Zhou “Uncle, if you encounter anything on the road you can’t handle, throw this bell,” Zhou Donghuang said once they had left Qingshan Town. He passed a bell to the middle-aged guard who was driving the carriage.

“If they are ordinary bandits, you can warn them off… if they refuse to go away and you can’t handle them, throw the bell in, and I will deal with themact.”

The cold gleam in Zhou Donghuang’s eyes as he said this would have made people swallow in fear.

“Yes, Young Master,” the middle-aged guard acknowledged as he took the bell from Zhou Donghuang respectfully and put it carefully into his pocket.

Zhou Donghuang then prepared to concentrate fully on practicing; he did not wantintend to be interrupted during his practice. Therefore, he had given the middle-aged guard a bell to prepare for a time of need.

This bell was also something he had instructed Granny Lian to prepare.