8th Generation Palace Master of the Seven Despairs Palace of Mount Diancang

"Holy crap, has Principal Wang's Wanda Hotel already expanded to Qixia Town?"
"With Tianzun backing it, it's developing so fast!"
"Fast is fine, but malicious competition and causing trouble is wrong!"
"Look at how Innkeeper Tong is being treated; she doesn't even have time to care for her child!"
"Capitalists' hearts are all black. Isn't malicious competition their basic method?"
"We definitely need to @ Principal Wang here!"

A few days ago, a Wanda Hotel had opened right across from the Tongfu Inn, and many viewers following Xiao Duanduan already knew about it. But regarding the trouble-making, they weren't entirely sure. At this moment, many people flooded into Principal Wang's livestream to protest.

"Sister Xiangyu, was it really the hotel across the street that sent people to cause trouble?" Xiao Duanduan was also a bit surprised. Principal Wang had put a lot of effort into Wanda Hotel's image. Even with malicious competition, he wouldn't go as far as doing this in Qixia Town; it would ruin his reputation.

"Who else could it be but them!" Innkeeper Tong still spoke with her characteristic local accent. "We never had people coming to cause trouble like this before. Luckily, Old Bai and Little Guo know some martial arts; otherwise, how could we continue this business!"

A group of enthusiastic viewers rushed to Principal Wang's channel. Principal Wang quickly understood the situation. But he could only smile bitterly. "Brothers, I really didn't know about this. I've been in Jiangnan this whole time. I know about the hotel in Qixia Town, but the manager there was arranged by Tianzun."

"If I wanted to compete maliciously, I wouldn't choose Qixia Town, right?" Principal Wang was telling the truth; this really wasn't his idea. Leaning on Tianzun had massive benefits, but the drawbacks were also clear. The expansion was so fast and large that he lacked enough manpower, naturally allowing Tianzun to interfere.

And Tianzun's business philosophy was clearly different from Principal Wang's; they didn't care about Wanda's reputation. Using any means necessary to eliminate competitors was Tianzun's style. But regardless, Tianzun's people were currently harassing the Tongfu Inn, and Principal Wang couldn't escape responsibility. After all, that hotel carried the Wanda name.

"Brothers, rest assured. I won't let Tianzun interfere with this hotel anymore." Principal Wang felt a bit wronged and could only do his best to promise. However, he now felt a slight sense of crisis. In this world of *Great Jianghu*, money alone wasn't enough; one needed martial arts. Otherwise, he would have no say within Tianzun. No matter how much Wanda expanded, in the end, someone might just "pick the peach" (steal the fruits of his labor).

And to quickly gain good martial arts, the *Luxian Shensuo* in Murong Qiudi's hands was obviously a very good target.

...

Xiao Duanduan was still hesitating. Being so familiar with the group at the Tongfu Inn, she was naturally willing to help. But because of this, she didn't see it as just a game where she could casually accept quests. Combined with the Qu Yang incident, Xiao Duanduan already felt that Liu Zhengfeng's Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony would not be peaceful. In such a dangerous situation, she simply didn't have the ability to protect Mo Xiaobei.

Xiao Duanduan's attitude didn't upset Tong Xiangyu; instead, she nodded with satisfaction. "Indeed, I didn't misjudge you!" Tong Xiangyu smiled. "Don't worry, as her sister-in-law, I won't let Xiaobei truly face danger."

As she spoke, her gaze suddenly became more serious, and she even stopped using her local accent. "Look at me now. I will leave some means on you."

Huh? Xiao Duanduan didn't understand why, but she involuntarily met Tong Xiangyu's eyes.

« You have been affected by the Soul Shifting Art »

A prompt appeared, leaving Xiao Duanduan even more confused. What on earth was the *Soul Shifting Art*? Could Tong Xiangyu really do this? The problem was, she didn't feel anything wrong. Even when she opened her basic attribute panel, she didn't notice any difference. Looking back at Tong Xiangyu, she found her expression seemed a bit strange. It was clearly a smile, but it felt somewhat eerie.

"Rest assured and take Xiaobei with you. As the 8th Generation Palace Master of the Seven Despairs Palace of Mount Diancang, if anything really happens, I will step in!" Tong Xiangyu's expression returned to normal, and the smile on her face was as bright as usual.

If it weren't for the playback function, Xiao Duanduan and the netizens might have doubted if they had seen correctly.

"Diancang Mountain, 8th Generation Palace Master of the Seven Despairs Palace?" Xiao Duanduan couldn't help but widen her eyes. Old Bai and Guo Furong's backgrounds were not simple, and Mo Xiaobei was related to the Hengshan Sect. Now, this stingy Innkeeper Tong was also hiding such a powerful identity? Could it be that everyone in this inn was actually an expert? She just didn't know what skills Scholar Lü and Li Dachui had!

"Hah, that innkeeper is just bragging. You actually believe that!"
"I'm the daughter of the Six Fan Gate!" Seeing Xiao Duanduan's serious face, Guo Furong couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"You're too young. If the innkeeper knew martial arts, could I not notice?"
"Duanduan, you need to be more street-smart in the Jianghu. I could say I'm the Thief Saint; would you believe me?" Old Bai also reminded her, half-seriously and half-jokingly.
"Heh, if the innkeeper is an expert, then I'm the God of Cookery and the God of Gamblers!" Li Dachui joined in the fun.
"Then I..." Scholar Lü thought for a long while. "I am the Confucian Saint!"

If it weren't for the prompt that just appeared, Xiao Duanduan might have truly thought Tong Xiangyu and the others were just joking. But now...

*Hiss!*

Xiao Duanduan took a deep breath. Although she had already concluded that this inn was a place of "Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons," she hadn't expected it to be this domineering!

"Damn, are they telling the truth or not?"
"Isn't it obvious they're using jokes to tell the truth?"
"It must be true. If it weren't for the prompt about Xiao Duanduan being hit by the Soul Shifting Art, we might have really taken it as a joke!"
"I already felt the Tongfu Inn wasn't simple, but I didn't expect it to be this crazy!"
"I still feel Scholar Lü is useless. I didn't expect him to be a Confucian Saint; that sounds very impressive!"
"And Li Dachui—this guy usually looks like he can't do anything but cook, yet he's the God of Cookery and the God of Gamblers!"
"Old Bai is the Thief Saint. No wonder his movements are so good!"
"And Guo Furong! She's the young miss of the Six Fan Gate!"
"I finally understand. This Tongfu Inn is a seclusion spot for a group of experts!"
"The great recluse hides in the city; that's the logic!"
"Domineering! Principal Wang dared to mess with the Tongfu Inn; he's truly brave!"

Principal Wang, who was currently in Xiao Duanduan's channel, suddenly felt a bit flustered. If the Tongfu Inn was this powerful and he offended them, wouldn't Wanda be finished?

"Duanduan, I'm going to find Murong Qiudi right now. You have to keep Innkeeper Tong calm!"