Chapter 235: CH. 235 | Business... Started

"Wait... is the reason for your visit here to do business with us, Senior?" the old man asked. Lin Tian said nothing, staying silent.

He laughed heartily. The head of the Xiao Family felt relieved and pleased, since the man they’d assumed had come to destroy their family had, in fact, only come to do business.

His aggressive stance earlier had only been a response to how unfriendly the Xiao Family’s gatekeepers had been toward Lin Tian.

The man clasped his hands together and bowed his head. He quickly descended from his floating platform, landing on the ground right in front of Lin Tian.

"Of course. We’d be more than happy to do business with you," the man said, introducing himself as Xiao Hun.

Lin Tian raised his hand and swept it to the side, releasing the cultivation pressure on everyone, freeing all the people in the Xiao residence.

"Please, this way, Senior Daoist."

He and Lin Tian walked into the Xiao residence and arrived at a room, not the main hall. Inside was a wooden table, a teapot, and a few cups.

The two of them sat side by side, and Xiao Hun poured tea from the pot into Lin Tian’s cup. One of the female elders came in carrying the Xiao Family’s trade records.

"According to our trade records and the latest inspection of our mining materials, we still have about 1,200 Shi in stock."

"How much do you need? We’ll provide it for you," Xiao Hun said.

Lin Tian set down his cup, his attention fixed ahead. He asked Xiao Hun plainly about the blacksmith shops in Yanzhe City, whether they got their iron ore supply from the Xiao Family.

The female elder opened the trade ledger and looked through it carefully. She told Lin Tian that the Xiao Family supplied iron ore to three blacksmith shops in Yanzhe City.

"I want you to cancel your trade agreements with them. In exchange, I’ll buy the iron ore supply from all three shops myself."

Xiao Hun paused for a moment, glancing over at the female elder, who oversaw trade with mortals.

She shook her head. Lin Tian might well be powerful and skilled, but they couldn’t just cancel existing trade deals on a whim.

"I’m sorry, but it’s fine, I’ll make it up to you with a bonus," Xiao Hun said.

"No need," Lin Tian answered. "I just want to buy two Shi of iron ore from you. Please have it delivered to Lin’s Blacksmith in Xiayu Village, north of Yanzhe City."

"Of course, Senior Daoist," the woman added. "That’ll come to 50 spirit stones."

Lin Tian tapped his bag of holding and handed over a high-grade spirit stone, "I hope that’s enough to cover a year’s worth of iron ore supply."

The man stood up right away to take his leave, since he’d promised An Yue he’d be home before midnight. That meant he couldn’t afford to linger at the Xiao residence.

"Get that iron ore delivered tomorrow. I won’t wait around!"

"Of course. We’ll send it right away."

Lin Tian raised his hand and tore open a rift in space beside him.

A dimensional crack appeared, startling everyone present. He stepped through it and vanished as the crack sealed itself shut behind him.

Xiao Hun was still stunned by what he’d just witnessed, then his attention shifted to the high-grade spirit stone floating and glowing on the table.

A wide smile spread across his face.

"Make him a priority customer, we stand to profit a great deal if we keep helping him," Xiao Hun said.

"Understood, Head Xiao."

"But who exactly is he?" the woman asked.

"Not sure," Xiao Hun replied. "But a cultivator who can tear open a dimensional rift and pull out a high-grade spirit stone easily, there’s really only one possibility."

The woman paused for a moment, recalling the name of the man’s blacksmith shop, Lin’s Blacksmith. Her thoughts immediately jumped to one particular name.

"Lin’s Blacksmith... could it be that he’s..."

Xiao Hun held up the high-grade spirit stone and glanced at the female elder beside him, "That’s right. He’s Lin Tian, Sect Master of the Lingxian Sect."

"But why would he need iron ore? And such a small amount too, for a major sect."

"Not sure, but it seems he doesn’t want his identity known," Xiao Hun answered. "Don’t bring this up again."

"Understood, Head Xiao."

Elsewhere, a dimensional rift opened once more, not at the Lingxian Sect, but at Lin Tian’s house. He stepped out of the rift, arriving home with good news for his business the next day.

He walked to the bedroom and opened the door, finding An Yue already fast asleep, resting peacefully, undisturbed.

Lin Tian walked over and sat at the edge of the bed, gently stroking her cheek.

"I’m home, Yue’er."

***

The next day.

Lin Tian stepped out of the house. He glanced to the side and was surprised to see a crowd gathered in front of his blacksmith shop, people who’d brought their broken tools to be fixed.

"Brother Lin."

He turned and saw Wei Hutong standing there, his face beaming, his eyes full of excitement. This would be his first steady job in years.

"Brother Lin, I brought my family’s remedy, I hope it helps your wife feel better," a woman said.

An Yue looked surprised, then walked over to the woman and accepted the bottle of remedy. She thanked her and said she’d try it.

"Thank you, Madam Ma."

"No trouble at all, I’m happy to help you two, young couple."

Lin Tian called everyone over and asked them to line up in a queue. Today, he’d promised to fix all their tools. So Lin Tian was going to get it done without a single complaint.

The shop door opened, revealing a front area still bare, the shelves still empty.

Lin Tian walked into the second room, separate from the third. He told Wei Hutong he could rest there in the second room, keeping an eye on the shop in the meantime.

Wei Hutong nodded and thanked him, promising to look after Lin Tian’s shop well.

He then made his way to the third room, the forging and repair area, where Lin Tian would be doing his work.

Once everything was set, Lin Tian and Wei Hutong headed back to the front. Lin Tian spoke clearly to the gathered crowd.

"Hand your tools over to Wei Hutong. They’ll be sorted and worked on by me. Once they’re done, you won’t owe anything, think of it as a welcome gift for my arrival in the village."

"You can pick up all your tools tomorrow. So for today, you can all go back to your usual work."

"Welcome to Lin’s Blacksmith!"