Chapter 12

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Chapter 12: It Has Been a Long Time Since I Saw the Young Master Smile So Happily

In front of the once lively hot spring shop, curious onlookers stood watching.

Regular customers of the hot spring looked up, wanting to see what was happening.

While Safir was already becoming impatient and wanted to end this farce quickly, Lin Lin confidently straightened her back and came before the hot spring owner.

Come on, when my companion is a dragon, unless the other side sends a Paladin leader level opponent, we can at least have a fair exchange.

Lin Lin placed her hands on her hips, exuding strong confidence, "We need to test your hot spring water! Our elder had a high fever the day after using the hot spring!"

"Elder?" Safir looked at the energetic Lin Lin with some hesitation. He lowered his voice, "Is it the Demon King?"

"Of course not!" Lin Lin replied, speechless.

The word "high fever" sounded like it opened the floodgates. After Lin Lin said this word, not only did the girl in the front row start to talk, but other onlookers also joined in the discussion.

"No wonder I had a fever the day before yesterday. I thought it was just the change of seasons."

"I got a rash the day after I went to the hot spring at his house!"

"Didn’t they say natural hot springs are good for the body? Why are so many people feeling unwell after visiting?"

"There’s something wrong with their water!" The girl in the front row shouted loudly. Paul kindly handed her the microphone, "My sister soaked in the hot spring yesterday and has had a high fever ever since! When I went to find them yesterday, they even kicked me out!"

Unlike her fear of the Lizardfolk, the boss was not afraid of these onlookers at all. Even with a bruised face, he wanted to argue a bit.

The bald boss looked up and said, "You’re talking nonsense! You just want to extort money! Besides, natural hot springs have all kinds of minerals. It’s normal for some people to feel unwell!"

Lin Lin was very anxious, "If your water is not good, don’t ruin the name of all hot springs!"

Seeing Lin Lin getting worried, the bald boss spat out some blood, "I know! You want to ruin my reputation and lure my customers to your place!"

Lin Lin, "…Darn it, I’ve been seen through."

Lin Lin remembered her leader’s comment about her, "You can’t hide anything from a dog," and she felt it was very true.

Lin Lin couldn’t argue with her boss, so she told Lizardfolk to stand in front of him.

Someone tried to give him orders directly, skipping the Dragon race. Lizardfolk’s already limited mind began to spin quickly, and in the end, it decided to obey.

Lizardfolk obediently stood in front of the bald boss.

When the boss saw Lizardfolk’s strong tail, he swallowed and fell silent.

Lin Lin cheerfully talked to him, "I just want to know what is wrong with your water. I’m not like him; he wants your life."

Lizardfolk cooperatively waved his tail in the air.

After being thrown to the ground, the bald boss struggled and finally stood up.

His eyes were narrow and sharp. First, he glared at Lin Lin fiercely, then his gaze moved past the Lizardfolk to glare at Safir, who was standing nearby, clearly not daring to provoke the Lizardfolk.

The bald boss brushed off the dust from his clothes. He looked at the crowd around him, fully aware that this affected whether his Hot Spring Shop could continue, "Then you go investigate! If you find nothing, everyone saw you hit me, you must apologize."

Lin Lin, "You weren’t hit because the hot spring water was poisonous; you were hit because there was no hot spring at 800 degrees."

The bald boss paused for a moment and muttered a curse.

Lin Lin and her group entered the Hot Spring Shop, followed by some people who wanted answers.

The moment they stepped inside the shop, they felt the hot steam hit them. Lin Lin quietly asked Paul, "Can we take some water from the hot spring to the doctor or others to test if the water is poisonous or has chemicals?"

"We can take some, but I can’t guarantee the results," Paul lowered his voice, "Besides, we can’t tell if those people might be bribed by the hot spring owner."

In front of everyone, three samples of the hot spring water were taken and sent to different testing locations.

Seeing the boss looking so confident, Lin Lin frowned. The young lady from yesterday had come to the hot spring for her sister who had a fever, but she ended up being kicked out.

If the boss had taken precautions yesterday, it would have been terrible.

Unlike the humans, like Lin Lin, whose faces are flushed from the heat, this temperature is nothing for the Dragon race and Lizardfolk.

However, Safir, as a Sapphire Dragon of the earth element, is more used to dry environments, and he heard some sounds beyond human hearing.

"There is a huge machine here," Safir told Lin Lin.

"Really?" Lin Lin asked, a bit confused. This world was currently a chaotic time for technology, and machines and electricity were quite expensive. Why would a shop that solely relied on hot springs spend so much money on machines?

The Dragon race raised an eyebrow slightly; Safir often had this little expression when everything was under control.

No clue escapes the naturally powerful Dragon race.

But Lin Lin didn’t want to confront him directly, as it was still time to gather popularity for the future inn, and it was best not to reveal abilities beyond ordinary people.

"I need to find his ledger," Lin Lin leaned closer to Safir. "No one here will check their accounts; their ledger is the most real."

The Dragon race still believed that if they threw that suspicious machine in front of the bald boss, he would have nothing to say.

After seeing Safir’s disapproving expression, Lin Lin pulled his arm, "Come on, think of a way. All-powerful Dragon race, right?"

The noble Dragon race lowered his eyes, his icy blue gaze meeting Lin Lin’s eager look, "Are you questioning my abilities?"

Lin Lin smiled brightly, "Of course I believe in you."

The crowd was still gathered around the boss, arguing loudly, while the eye-catching Lizardfolk stood next to Lin Lin, with only a few people paying attention to what the noble-looking human was doing.

Paul reached out to touch the hot spring water, confirming that today’s hot spring was different from yesterday’s. Yesterday had an indescribable smell, but today looked very clear.

Lin Lin crossed her arms, watching as the boss put on a friendly face, discussing with a sister whose younger sibling was sick about how some children really couldn’t absorb the hot spring’s energy elements.

The sister already showed a wavering expression.

Lin Lin waited for good news from the Dragon race.

Lin Lin did not wait long before a cold-looking young man appeared next to Lin Lin, holding a thick book.

Lin Lin opened the pages, and as she imagined, the people here only kept simple records of their habits, like a daily journal tracking income and expenses.

Lin Lin flipped through a few pages.

"This machine only operates during business hours," Lin Lin said, "On days off, there are no electricity costs."

"So, if the machine is turned off, the business cannot run," Safir said, glancing around.

"Have you turned off the machine?" Lin Lin asked with curiosity.

"Yes," Safir replied, "though I don’t know what that machine is actually used for."

Machines and magic are completely unrelated, and the Dragon race has never cared about the mysteries of it.

Lin Lin glanced at a few more pages in the account book, "This boss uses a lot of medicine; perhaps that’s the reason people are getting poisoned."

Lin Lin suddenly thought of a possibility, "If his hot spring is still water, he must regularly add disinfectant and chemicals to cover the smell so that the water can be reused."

In the modern world, Lin Lin and her friends once encountered what they thought was a hot spring, but it turned out to be boiler water, which is very hard to tell apart.

Perhaps the medicines are what caused the guests to have fevers and allergies.

Safir realized, "A fake hot spring?"

Lin Lin touched the side of her face, confirming that the warmth in her cheek was slowly fading, "Now I know what that machine is for."

At this moment, the crowd had started to disperse, and there was still a day left to wait for the test results.

Lin Lin approached the hot spring.

Paul saw Lin Lin getting closer and blinked. He had been trying every way to keep the boss in place and didn’t know what Lin Lin could discover.

Lin Lin knelt by the hot spring and reached out to the water’s surface.

"The water is cold," Lin Lin said.

The one who reacted first was the boss. He opened his eyes wide, realizing that someone had stopped his machine. The man angrily charged at Lin Lin.

The young man behind him was quicker. Paul kicked the fierce-looking bald man into the hot spring.

The man fell into the water, and the hot spring bubbled up.

The others, who were about to leave, came back to check if this so-called "natural hot spring" had truly turned into ordinary cold water.

Everyone confirmed that this was a fake hot spring, let alone the beneficial mineral elements for the body.

"What can I do!" the boss crawled out of the hot spring. "The land for the hot spring is taken by that dragon! Can anyone do business on Dragon race’s territory?"

That’s the sentence I’ve been waiting for.

I’ve been working hard all this time just for that line to advertise for us.

"We can," Lin Lin raised her hand, "We will open this month, please look forward to it."

–

Compared to when they first arrived and no one paid attention, many people were watching Safir’s carriage as it left.

Some people were looking forward to the real hot springs, while others wanted to know if they could really do business on the Dragon race’s territory.

Lin Lin even sent out some handwritten cards in advance, saying that anyone who showed the card could get a 15% discount. They were quickly snatched up.

Unlike others who were just watching for fun, young Paul genuinely felt a bit sad to say goodbye to Lin Lin.

"You are the first witch I have ever met," the boy whispered in her ear and gave her some fruit he had on the way.

"I have wanted to ask," Lin Lin said, feeling troubled, "Why are you so interested in witches? Do you have a secret hobby? You’re still young, so don’t get into this."

"Because I am a child sent to the church by a witch," Paul widened his green eyes, revealing his secret to Lin Lin for the first time, "No one knows if I am the child of a witch, a baby found by a witch, or the only survivor from a family killed by a witch."

Lin Lin’s arrival seemed to be the starting point for him to explore everything from the past.

It was such a magical feeling as Lin Lin looked at the boy holding the trumpet and showing a carefree smile. Even though she still did not understand this world, she had already become a guide for others to discover themselves.

"I told you, witches can be good or bad, just like ordinary people," Lin Lin said, playfully pinching the boy’s chubby cheek. "Next time we meet, don’t stick to stereotypes, little Paladin."

Unlike when they left the Demon King Castle, this time the carriage moved through a magic circle, so they reached the Dragon Race underground castle quickly.

The path in the underground castle was even more complicated than that of the Demon King Castle. Lin Lin leisurely followed Safir, admiring the treasures displayed along the way.

In contrast to the messy treasures of the Demon King, the treasures of the Dragon Race were clearly more eternal and unbreakable.

Then, she saw a female Lizardfolk.

Although her face was just like the male’s lizard face, she wore a dress similar to that of human women, and her eyelashes were very long.

Even more astonishing!

The Lizardfolk in pants and the Lizardfolk in a skirt with lipstick, Lin Lin could not tell which one amazed her more.

Unlike the quiet warrior Lizardfolk, this female Lizardfolk was clearly much cleverer.

Seeing Lin Lin standing behind Safir, she kindly draped a light jacket over the thinly-clad Lin Lin.

Lin Lin, "Thank you."

The Lizardfolk shook her head gently, "You are the first woman the young master has brought back. I should thank you; it has been a long time since I have seen him smile so happily."

Lin Lin: ???

Lin Lin looked at Safir in confusion, "He didn’t smile!"

Safir clearly looked just as speechless.

Safir said, "Donna, your novel is gone."

Lin Lin saw fear on the face of the Lizardfolk, which lacked expression.

Wow, this person is a true fan of powerful leader stories!