As Li Yundong rested his chin on his hand, scrutinizing Ruan Hongling's masterpiece, Su Chan stared at him, hands clamped tightly over her mouth, her eyebrows twitching up and down, her shoulders shimmying—as if struggling to suppress laughter.

Beside her, Ziyuan was also watching Li Yundong, the corner of her mouth perpetually curled up, occasionally letting slip a smile she couldn't quite contain.

Ruan Hongling remained oblivious. She was focused on carving her creation into the wooden board using her magic tool, just as Li Yundong was completely engrossed in the nearly finished piece.

Seeing how vividly Ruan Hongling had rendered the "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" carving, Li Yundong couldn't help but exclaim, "Not bad, truly a work of art! Though, it still feels like something is missing."

"Then why don't you try doing it yourself?" Ruan Hongling shot him a sideways glance and retorted, but after just one look at Li Yundong, she saw a layer of white sawdust covering his head. If a large white beard were hanging from his chin too, he would have looked exactly like Santa Claus.

The sight of Su Chan and Ziyuan both chuckling at Li Yundong especially amused Ruan Hongling, who finally burst into a fit of giggles.

With that laugh, her artifact immediately slipped from her control, thudding straight through the wooden board and punching a hole clean through it.

Li Yundong immediately shouted, "Damn it! The last ten miles are the hardest! Hongling, how could you make such a novice mistake at the very end! That’s the tenth board you’ve ruined! Not to mention the two you used for practice runs earlier!"

Ruan Hongling stifled her laughter, placed her hands on her hips, and said, "Come on, I'm not a carpenter, you can't expect that much from me!"

Li Yundong was already beginning to regret letting Ruan Hongling handle the woodwork. He spoke with a headache blooming, "But you were doing so well just a moment ago! Why did you suddenly start laughing?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the young girl erupted into loud peals of laughter, shaking with mirth.

Ruan Hongling couldn't hold back a snort of laughter either. She tossed a small makeup mirror she was carrying to Li Yundong, gesturing for him to look at himself.

Li Yundong looked, and instantly, he angrily brushed the snow-like accumulation of sawdust from his head. Then he turned to Ziyuan, who was also turning around to stifle a smile, and said, "Ziyuan, why are you joining them in this nonsense? I always thought you were the reliable one!"

Ziyuan suppressed a laugh, turned around, and offered a sweet smile, "I thought you were always reliable too, until you decided we should handle the renovations ourselves!"

Li Yundong was left without words, torn between laughter and tears, "So what do we do now? We can’t find any construction workers, and waiting might take forever. Plus, there’s a group of people throttling us over the registration capital, and we have cultivators lurking in the shadows watching us like hungry tigers. If we don't do this ourselves, I guarantee this shop will have problems popping up every day! Worst of all, we’ve nearly depleted the money we won last time!"

Seeing Li Yundong getting frustrated, Su Chan quickly managed to stop laughing, ran over to him, and began picking the remaining sawdust out of his hair. She then said with a grin, "Yundong, we’ll work harder! But none of us are skilled laborers yet; we’ll be fine once we get the hang of it. Look how good we were at tearing down that wall earlier!"

Li Yundong patted the little girl’s forehead, "You are only good at destruction, at tearing things down! Besides, I was the one who tore down that wall!"

Su Chan pouted charmingly, "Of course! You’re our Sect Leader! We do the small destruction, and you do the big destruction. We tear down the small things, and you tear down the big things!"

Li Yundong couldn't help but laugh, "If we formed a demolition crew, we would rewrite the entire history of Chinese demolition!"

Ruan Hongling roared with laughter, while Ziyuan shook her head with a smile, "You should focus on how to solve the immediate problem first." Saying this, she pointed at the wooden board carved with the Eight Immortals in front of them.

Li Yundong forced a wry smile, "What else can we do? We'll have to switch to another board!" As he spoke, Li Yundong peered down from the second floor and added, "Hongling, you have three more boards left to ruin!"

Li Yundong declared with relief, "Luckily, I, your wise and mighty elder, bought a few extra boards back then!"

The young girl turned and called out to the little foxes downstairs, "Bring up another board."

The little fox closest to the stack of boards didn't hesitate. It grabbed a board and tossed it upstairs. Su Chan caught the man-high plank easily, set it in front of her, and giggled, "Yundong, how about I try this time? It looks like fun!"

Li Yundong gave her a deadpan look, "You? Forget it. I estimate that even if I bought every single piece of lumber in Tiannan City, it still wouldn't be enough for you to play with. Aren't you aware of your own destructive power?"

Su Chan puffed out her cheeks, looking sullen, "That's not fair! I’m much better now!"

Li Yundong said very seriously, "That’s true, and it’s also the only reason we haven't ended up sleeping on the streets yet!"

Su Chan stamped her foot in mock indignation, just about to throw a charming tantrum, when suddenly she heard a wary shout from downstairs from Cao Yi: "Sect Leader, someone wishes to see you?"

Li Yundong paused and casually asked, "Who is it?"

Cao Yi replied, "The Jade-Faced Golden Monkey of the Quanzhen Longmen Sect, Du Fei!"

Li Yundong stiffened. He looked downstairs and indeed saw Du Fei standing at the shop entrance, dressed impeccably in a tailored suit, staring intently up at him.

Li Yundong nodded to acknowledge him and said, "I'll be right there!" With that, he turned to head downstairs.

As Li Yundong passed by, Ziyuan whispered a reminder, "Alert me if anything seems off."

Li Yundong nodded slightly. He signaled to the fox-spirits of the Fox Zen Gate, telling them to go upstairs, then walked to the shop door. He cupped his hands respectfully and announced, "Venerable Du!"

Du Fei was wearing an Armani black suit, a red tie, and custom-made Armani leather shoes that gleamed brightly. He looked more like a titan of industry than a cultivator detached from worldly affairs.

Seeing Li Yundong greet him courteously, Du Fei cupped his hands, smiled faintly, and said, "Venerable Li, we meet again!"

Although Li Yundong didn't have a terrible impression of Du Fei, Du Fei's intense possessiveness toward the Renyuan Golden Elixir and the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir Art back at Mount Gezao had made Li Yundong highly vigilant. He dared not let his guard down and asked in a deep voice, "Why honor me with a visit today, Venerable Du? What counsel do you bring?"

Du Fei saw that Li Yundong stood firmly at the entrance, like an insurmountable mountain, his expression solemn and profound, commanding respect without anger—like a lion guarding its territory at all times.

Du Fei secretly admired the demeanor and spirit Li Yundong displayed. He glanced at the bustling pedestrian street outside and the passersby craning their necks out of curiosity, then smiled, "You intend to receive guests here?"

Li Yundong returned a slight smile, "How am I to know if you are a guest?"

Du Fei laughed heartily, "Venerable Li is quick to the point, excellent! I am not here to cause trouble today; I am here to discuss business with you!"

Li Yundong shifted slightly to the side, clearing a path, "Then you are welcome. Please come in!"

Du Fei smiled as he passed Li Yundong. He could sense many curious and wary eyes watching him from the second floor. Du Fei looked up momentarily, and instantly those eyes vanished; the heads that had been poking out all instinctively retracted.

Du Fei smiled faintly and looked around the shop, which appeared quite messy, "I heard Venerable Li intends to open a tea shop here?"

Li Yundong asked with some surprise, "How did you know?"

Du Fei chuckled, "Venerable Li, trust me, once you choose to engage with the secular world, you have no secrets left."

Li Yundong smiled noncommittally and retorted, "Very well, since you are all monitoring me, then tell me, are you here today to issue a challenge?"

"A challenge?" Du Fei laughed loudly, waving his hand dismissively, "Don't joke! Venerable Li first defeated all competitors in the battle at Mount Tianlong, and then you reaped the rewards from the fire at Mount Gezao, making all our sects' cultivators run their errands in vain. Now, who in the cultivation world doesn't know the name of Venerable Li?"

Li Yundong smiled, "That makes things even more troublesome. As they say, 'People fear fame as much as pigs fear getting fat.' I imagine many people are currently itching to defeat me and claim the title of the foremost young expert in the cultivation world?"

Seeing that Li Yundong didn't deny the Mount Gezao affair, Du Fei nodded secretly and glanced at Li Yundong with considerable approval, saying, "Venerable Li, I am a straightforward person and dislike beating around the bush. I see you are also a man of passion, not like those hypocrites from other sects. I might as well be direct: I have a few things I need to discuss today."

Li Yundong also responded readily, "Straight to the point, good! Venerable Du, please speak plainly!"

Du Fei nodded, pointed toward the window, and said, "Venerable Li, do you know how many pairs of eyes are secretly watching you from outside right now?"

Li Yundong said faintly, "No, but I know it must be quite a few."

Du Fei continued, "And do you know who is blocking the registration capital for your shop?"

Li Yundong’s heart tightened, but his expression remained completely unchanged. He said calmly, "I don't know, and I don't wish to know!"

Du Fei asked out of curiosity, "Why not?"

Li Yundong smiled faintly and said, "Since Venerable Du knows someone is throttling us, it means you are not only aware of this matter but are also an onlooker standing idly by. You are standing aside for several possible reasons: first, watching the tigers fight from the mountain; second, using it as leverage; third, sowing discord and diverting the trouble, then reaping the final benefits! Given any one of those reasons, I have no desire to hear your answer!"

Du Fei roared with laughter, clapping his hands loudly in admiration, "Excellent! Venerable Li is indeed quick-witted beyond compare. It was no injustice to lose to you back then!" Saying this, he suddenly looked up and shouted toward the second floor, "Venerable Ziyuan, you have excellent taste! Venerable Li is indeed a marvel of both martial and literary skill, no wonder you rejected me back then!"

Everyone on the second floor, who had been eavesdropping intently on the conversation between Li Yundong and Du Fei, suddenly turned their gazes sharply toward Ziyuan. Although Ziyuan tried to appear composed, her slightly flushed earlobes betrayed her embarrassment and frustration.

Li Yundong coughed dryly. He said, "Venerable Ziyuan and I are the closest of friends, and there is nothing more between us. Venerable Du, please do not slander people! Kindly move on to matters other than that."

Du Fei chuckled, not pursuing that topic further. After a moment of thought, he said again, "Since Venerable Li is not someone who enjoys being controlled, then if I said I could provide you with a massive amount of capital, you certainly wouldn't accept it?"

Li Yundong answered without hesitation, "No!"

Du Fei couldn't help but ask out of curiosity again, "Venerable Li, I know you are in desperate need of money right now. Why would you refuse my assistance? I wouldn't charge you interest, nor would I ask you to do anything too excessive. Moreover, you refused before even hearing the amount of capital I intended to offer—don't you find that curious or regrettable? This is merely my goodwill and sincerity. Do you reject that as well? Have you considered your disciples?"

Li Yundong smiled faintly, "Not at all regrettable! As the saying goes, 'Unsolicited favors always hide ill intent!' Though I have met Venerable Du a few times, I believe the bond between us is not deep enough for you to offer such righteous help. Furthermore, if I took your money, even if you asked me to do nothing, I would owe you a favor. Debts of money are easy to repay in this world, but debts of feeling are hard to settle. If I owe you a favor, what would I use to repay it in the future? Besides, my disciples are living very well—eating fine food and drinking good wine. They are quite happy."

Saying this, Li Yundong didn't even lift his head, calling upstairs, "Isn't that right?"

Su Chan and the little foxes of the Fox Zen Gate chimed in with cheerful, clear voices, "Yes, they are!"

Li Yundong smiled broadly, spreading his hands toward Du Fei, "See! The girls are happy!"

Du Fei gave Li Yundong a deep look, his gaze quickly sweeping over the second floor, and smiled meaningfully, "It seems Venerable Li manages his people well. Impressive, truly impressive. I am humbled."

Li Yundong chuckled smugly, "Venerable Du, if that is all you came for, then I must ask you to leave. As you can see, we are quite busy!"

Du Fei smiled, "Don't be so quick to usher me out, Venerable Li. In fact, the real reason I came today is for a very good business opportunity. I wonder if Venerable Li might be interested."