Chapter 198: The Top Chef

Lin Dong had initially been troubled by Qiao Tianhao’s overly weak attitude, but after seeing the shock on Feng Jingtang and his wife’s faces, he felt relieved. Undoubtedly, Qiao Tianhao must have been arrogant and domineering in front of them before, otherwise, the contrast alone wouldn’t have shocked them so much today. Seeing Qiao Tianhao still trembling on the ground, Lin Dong thought for a moment and decided to let him tremble a bit more to deepen the fear in his heart. Turning to Feng Jingtang and his wife, Lin Dong said calmly, “Well? Are there any more helpers?”
“H-Helpers?” Feng Jingtang was stunned, then cried out to Qiao Tianhao, “Lord Qiao, please save me!”
Qiao Tianhao continued to tremble violently, oblivious to Feng Jingtang’s words.
“Don’t count on him. Think carefully—are there any other helpers?” Lin Dong stepped forward with a murderous look, “If not, don’t blame me if I break your arms bit by bit and crush your legs step by step. Just as you said, you’ll spend the rest of your life in bed.”
The two panicked and retreated, hugging each other in despair as they cried. The terror they experienced today far exceeded everything they had faced before.
“It seems there really are none left.” Lin Dong stepped forward, grabbed Feng Jingtang, and applied slight pressure to his arm. Instantly, Feng Jingtang let out a shrill, agonized scream.
“God! You can’t kill me!” Liang Chuanzhen, who had barely managed to get up, fell to the ground again, slapping her thighs frantically and screaming, “Someone help! There’s a murder! Is there no law anymore…?”
“Law?” Lin Dong laughed bitterly. “You’re thinking about the law now? Isn’t it a bit late?”
Feng Jingtang shuddered and struggled violently. “You can’t kill me! I’m good friends with Liu, the clerk from the yamen. If you kill me, they’ll surely lock you up in jail!”
“A clerk?” Lin Dong couldn’t help but laugh. He tossed Feng Jingtang aside and said helplessly, “Well, he counts as a helper. Here’s another chance—go ask for help!”
Feng Jingtang was confused. How was he released again?
“Hurry up!” Lin Dong stretched out his right leg and kicked Feng Jingtang out of the courtyard.
Liang Chuanzhen screamed and glanced at Lin Dong before chasing after him.
Lin Dong smiled calmly. If Qiao Tianhao weren’t there, he would definitely keep Liang Chuanzhen as a laborer. But with Qiao Tianhao present, it would be inconvenient to keep her.

After Feng Jingtang and his wife fled in disarray, Lin Dong glanced at Qiao Tianhao, stepped forward, and kicked him mercilessly, ordering, “Look at your worthless attitude! Get up!”
“Master Lin is right, you’ve taught me well,” Qiao Tianhao said, regaining his composure. He nodded eagerly, scrambling to get up from the ground, his face once again filled with despair as if on the verge of tears. “Master Lin, please spare me! I truly realize my mistake. The biggest mistake I’ve made in my life was trying to compete with you for the order of testing at the Military Assessment Institute.”
Lin Dong shook his head with a smile. “It’s a trivial matter. Something that can be settled with just one or two arms.”
Thud!
Qiao Tianhao fell down again. One or two arms? Was that really a trivial matter?
Lin Dong grabbed Qiao Tianhao up, stared intently into his eyes, and said with a sinister smile, “I heard you’re a disciple of Jiang Yichu?”
Qiao Tianhao was stunned for a moment before nodding frantically. “Yes, yes! Master Lin, I am Jiang Yichu’s disciple. Please spare me! Jiang Yichu is a well-known figure in the Great Han Kingdom. Though he can’t compare to you, Master Lin, once he finds out his disciple has been crippled, he’ll surely try to cause trouble to you in his anger. It might be like an egg hitting a rock, but given your status, why risk getting stained with the stench of rotten eggs?”
“You’re quite good at talking,” Lin Dong said, brushing dust off Qiao Tianhao’s clothes. “But… I really don’t take Jiang Yichu seriously. If he wants to avenge you, I welcome it.”
“Master Lin…” Qiao Tianhao’s tears streamed down again. “Master Lin, please forgive my petty mistakes. You’re so magnanimous—please spare me!”
“I heard you were willing to poison people at Maple Forest Tavern earlier,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “Were you lying?”
“No, I swear it!” Qiao Tianhao cried with joy, shaking his head quickly. “I swear, as long as Master Lin wants it, as long as the poison isn’t deadly, I’ll do whatever poison you ask me to use.”
“Aren’t you afraid Maple Forest Tavern will cause you trouble?” Lin Dong asked.
“Why should I be afraid?” Qiao Tianhao puffed out his chest. “If it’s for Master Lin, even if it’s Maple Forest Tavern or even Emperor Qianwei, I’ll still poison them.”
“Since that’s the case…” Lin Dong smiled. “How about joining our Lin’s Inn?”
“Huh?” Qiao Tianhao was confused.
“I mean, join Lin’s Inn,” Lin Dong said calmly. “Or, consider the incident at the Military Assessment Institute as costing you two arms, the attempt by Maple Forest Tavern to stage a gang fight as costing you two legs, and the hostage-taking at Lin’s Inn… You decide what to count as the cost.”

Qiao Tianhao suddenly grabbed Lin Dong’s arm tightly and shook his head frantically, saying, “I’ll join Lin’s Inn. I choose to join Lin’s Inn and work hard as a servant. As long as Manager Lin tells me to go east, I, Qiao Tianhao, will never go west.”
“There’s no need to work as a servant,” Lin Dong said slowly. “The head chef at Lin’s Inn is Jiang Kui. How about you become the top chef?”
“The top chef?” Qiao Tianhao was stunned for a moment before nodding happily. “I’m willing to be the top chef.”
“What about Fenglin Restaurant?” Lin Dong asked.
“Who cares what happens to them?” Qiao Tianhao said nonchalantly. “If they dare to compete with Lin’s Inn for business, rest assured, Manager Lin. With me here, they can’t turn things around. Without saying more, within three to five years, with my cooking skills, I’ll make Fenglin Restaurant leave Qiufeng City.”
Lin Dong was speechless. Such loyalty was truly remarkable. Hiring him as the top chef was uncertain whether it would bring good or bad fortune.
Fortunately, the chefs and staff in the inn could check their attributes, which included loyalty, allowing them to predict whether Qiao Tianhao might have ulterior motives.
After some consideration, Lin Dong asked, “What about Chef Jiang Yi? He’s your master. He surely won’t tolerate you betraying him, right?”
“Well…” Qiao Tianhao had intended to make up some excuse, but seeing Lin Dong’s displeased expression, he hesitated before saying, “My master is my master, and Fenglin Restaurant is Fenglin Restaurant. I didn’t sign a contract to serve them. Besides, Chef Jiang Yi has hundreds of apprentices; he doesn’t need me. Moreover, he’s always busy at Fenglin Restaurant in the capital. Even if I leave, he won’t really care too much.”
“Really?” Lin Dong asked gravely.
“Really, really!” Qiao Tianhao nodded eagerly. “Although my talent ranks among the top among my peers, I caused quite a few problems in the capital. I also wasted most of my time on cultivation. Chef Jiang Yi originally planned to give up on me; otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent me to this remote place. After all, to become a top chef, one needs more opportunities to come into contact with high-grade spiritual materials and beasts. Progress is faster that way. Not just in Xilan City, but even in Qiufeng City, no one can afford high-grade spiritual materials or beasts.”
Lin Dong nodded and patted Qiao Tianhao’s shoulder, sending a surge of spiritual energy out.

Noticing Lin Dong’s spiritual energy surging into his meridians, Qiao Tianhao’s expression changed, and he was about to beg for mercy. Once the spiritual energy entered Qiao Tianhao’s meridians, Lin Dong slowly said, “Don’t panic. Try to resist with your own spiritual energy.” Qiao Tianhao smirked. In terms of strength, he had already given up any hope of defeating Lin Dong. But when it came to spiritual energy… Back at the Xilan City Martial Assessment Institute, he was already at the peak of the sixth level of the Spiritual Movement phase, while Lin Dong was only at the fourth level. Granted, Lin Dong had broken through from the fourth to the fifth level of the Spiritual Movement phase, but he himself had long reached the seventh level. Despite his disdain, Qiao Tianhao didn’t dare show it openly. With a thought, a small amount of spiritual energy from his dantian flowed into his meridians to counter the invading energy. The moment they came into contact, Qiao Tianhao’s spiritual energy seemed to suffer a massive shock and quickly retreated. Lin Dong smiled indifferently and didn’t pursue further. Instead, he began controlling his spiritual energy to strike against the walls of Qiao Tianhao’s meridians. “Lord Lin, Lord Lin…” Qiao Tianhao pleaded urgently, “If my meridians are broken, I’ll become useless.” “Then resist obediently,” Lin Dong said coldly. Without hesitation, a large amount of spiritual energy surged from Qiao Tianhao’s dantian to confront the invading energy. In an instant, the two forces collided. After barely holding back for a few seconds, Qiao Tianhao’s spiritual energy began to retreat steadily. Surprised, Qiao Tianhao gritted his teeth as more spiritual energy rushed out of his dantian to join the fight. The situation immediately reversed—the invading energy started retreating. But then, another wave of powerful spiritual energy surged in, forcing Qiao Tianhao’s energy to retreat once more until it was pushed back into his dantian. Only then did Lin Dong stop. Taking a deep breath, Lin Dong asked, “How is it?” Qiao Tianhao stared at Lin Dong, wanting to say something but unable to open his mouth. “The ninth level of the Spiritual Movement phase! You surely can’t doubt that I’ve taken spiritual pills, right?” Lin Dong said with a smile. In less than a year, going from the fourth to the ninth level of the Spiritual Movement phase—such talent wasn’t even possible for peak warriors. But if he had taken spiritual pills, there would be no need to do this… Confused, Qiao Tianhao had no idea how to respond.

“As long as you fulfill your duties at the inn, I can’t guarantee your training speed will be this fast, but it won’t be hard to double or triple it. If you’re loyal enough, I promise an unexpected surprise for you.” Lin Dong took out the black iron kitchen knife that had originally belonged to Qiao Tianhao from the mobile counter and handed it to him. “You’ll find out then whether your cooking skills improve as fast as I said. As for pay, it’s set at ten taels of silver per month, with possible increases depending on circumstances. If you run short of money, you can ask the manager, Ma Chun.”
Qiao Tianhao foolishly took back the black iron kitchen knife he had lost and instinctively asked, “Can I just get it from the counter?”
Lin Dong was stunned for a moment before kicking Qiao Tianhao away without hesitation.
He had seen people who were greedy for more, but he’d never seen anyone who was greedy even instinctively!