Chapter 210: A Spank Followed by a Treat

Unable to figure it out, Lin Dong stopped trying. Meeting Ling Zhengyang’s gaze, he said casually, “Qiufeng City has beautiful scenery. It’s sure to allow Young Master Ling to stay longer. Then, I’ll personally see you off from the city.”
“To have Manager Lin see me off personally? Zhengyang doesn’t have that good fortune,” Ling Zhengyang said with a smile, shaking his head.
Lin Dong smiled without saying anything.
Ling Zhengyang, sensible enough, bowed slightly. “I’ve just arrived in Qiufeng City, and there are still some matters to handle at the restaurant. Manager Lin, see you later!”
“I’ll see you off,” Lin Dong said with a polite smile.
“I wouldn’t dare accept such kindness. Manager Lin, please stay,” Ling Zhengyang replied with equal courtesy.
“Then, Young Master Ling, go ahead slowly,” Lin Dong said, smiling as he walked a few meters before stopping.
“Tianhao, come to the restaurant when you’re free. I’ll treat you to a drink,” Ling Zhengyang waved at Qiao Tianhao, who seemed distracted.
“Ah? Sure…” Qiao Tianhao nodded vaguely, then realized something was off and looked nervously at Lin Dong.
Lin Dong remained silent, watching Ling Zhengyang enter the lodging building with his entourage and guards before turning to Qiao Tianhao, who was eager to explain but didn’t know how.
He checked Qiao Tianhao’s loyalty level in the inn system—it was 42, unchanged despite Ling Zhengyang’s presence. Lin Dong smiled leisurely, then his expression darkened again when he remembered Qiao Tianhao’s personality. “Lord Qiao, it seems your customer isn’t someone ordinary!”
His shift from smile to coldness frightened Qiao Tianhao greatly. His legs turned weak, and he clutched the table to explain urgently, “Manager, please listen to me! I’m not really close to the third young master. He’s away most of the year—how could I be close to him?”
“So, you’re close to the second young master Ling?” Lin Dong’s expression grew even darker.
“How could that be? Ling Weifeng… I can’t even escape him quickly enough,” Qiao Tianhao said, shivering at the thought of Ling Weifeng’s icy face.
“Is that so?” Lin Dong opened his palm, and a brand-new bench appeared instantly. He then swung it hard at Qiao Tianhao’s head.
Qiao Tianhao’s internal organs burst, his spiritual energy surged, but he couldn’t take a step back. A sharp pain hit him, and he flew backward, covered in blood.
Watching Qiao Tianhao struggle helplessly with a bloody head, Lin Dong felt helpless. His chef hadn’t intended to betray the inn, yet he had smashed the man with a bench. In the past, he probably wouldn’t have believed he could be so heartless.
“Manager, I’m innocent…”

Seeing Lin Dong approaching slowly, each step felt like a hammer striking Qiao Tianhao’s heart, scaring him into crying out in agony.
“Are you really innocent?” Lin Dong asked coldly.
“Really, really…” Qiao Tianhao nodded frantically, blood droplets flying from his mouth. In his life, the person he feared the most was Ling Weifeng, the second young master of the Ling family. But if there was anyone he feared even more, it was Lin Dong—everything stemmed from Lin Dong’s brutal tactics and his repeated efforts to shatter Qiao Tianhao’s confidence.
“So, you think I’ve wronged you?” Lin Dong slammed the bloodstained bench back onto the ground.
“No, no…” Qiao Tianhao lay on the ground, his heart filled with unspeakable grievance.
“That’s good!”
Lin Dong took the bench back to the counter. Just as Qiao Tianhao breathed a sigh of relief, Lin Dong flipped his hand, revealing a green fruit in it.
Qiao Tianhao’s heart sank again as he stared at the green fruit, his body trembling uncontrollably.
The innkeeper hadn’t reached the Lingdong stage yet—killing was a crime. This was forcing him to commit suicide by poisoning…
Lin Dong flicked his wrist, and the green fruit rolled in front of Qiao Tianhao.
“Innkeeper, I won’t dare do it again. Please spare me this time? I swear I’ll never see anyone from the Ling family again… no, I promise I won’t see anyone from Fenglin Restaurant either.” Qiao Tianhao stared at the lush green fruit, fearing it as if it were highly poisonous.
“This is a fifth-tier spiritual fruit. After taking it…” Lin Dong thought for a moment before saying calmly, “It should be enough to take you to the late eighth stage of the Lingdong stage.”
“Huh?” Qiao Tianhao looked up at Lin Dong in shock.
“Didn’t understand?” Lin Dong smiled.
Qiao Tianhao shook his head foolishly. Just moments ago he had seemed fierce, yet now Lin Dong was giving him a spiritual fruit again.
To be honest, Lin Dong hadn’t planned to give Qiao Tianhao a Green Blue Fruit so soon.
Fire Cloud Grass wasn’t like the Ten Thousand Red Trees—growing a second Ten Thousand Red Tree only required breaking off some branches and transplanting them. Growing a second Fire Cloud Grass plant meant letting it mature and harvest repeatedly; even with good luck, seeds could only be obtained eight or ten times out of ten. Thus, during this period, Lin’s Inn in Xilan City was responsible for Fire Cloud Grass, while Lin’s Inn in Qiufeng City focused on cultivating Green Blue Trees.
With the Lingdong stage’s ninth level approaching in just a few days—and since Lin Dong could now take a small amount of Green Blue Fruit after reaching a higher realm—he planned to take two more Green Blue Fruits while their effects still held to break through directly to the ninth level of the Lingdong stage.
Giving one to Qiao Tianhao was out of necessity—this guy couldn’t be treated rudely—but after slapping him, giving him nothing in return might hurt his feelings.

Seeing Qiao Tianhao shake his head, Lin Dong didn’t hesitate and knocked him flying again with a bench. After waiting for a long time, Qiao Tianhao finally got up from the ground. Lin Dong smiled and asked, “Do you understand now?” Qiao Tianhao nodded repeatedly. “Good. Put away the spiritual fruit and take it at night,” Lin Dong said calmly. Qiao Tianhao was overjoyed. He was sure Lin Dong wasn’t lying—otherwise, even if he wanted to force himself to take poison and commit suicide, it would have to be done on the spot. At this point, Qiao Tianhao finally understood why Lin Dong had promised to help him improve his strength so rapidly. With such a spiritual fruit that could lift one from the seventh level of the Spirit Mobility phase to the end of the eighth level with just one dose, it was impossible not to make rapid progress. Smiling happily, he picked up the green fruit, wiped it clean, and tucked it into his clothes. Wiping the blood from his forehead, he grinned and said, “Owner, this spiritual fruit…” “You’ll need a second and third one soon. Although the effect of each dose diminishes over time, as long as you stay honest, you’ll still get other materials to aid your cultivation,” Lin Dong said bluntly. “If you dare to be disloyal and take what’s mine, I’ll make you pay ten times or a hundred times over.” “Rest assured, owner. My loyalty to you is as clear as the sun and sky.” Qiao Tianhao hurriedly swore his loyalty, though his appearance was disheveled, his smile was brighter than anyone else’s. Today’s incident could be considered a blessing in disguise. “I hope you’re not lying to me. Tell me! What does Young Master Ling want from you?” Lin Dong asked. “He just asked why I left Fenglin Restaurant and whether I might return. Without thinking, I refused right away. I told him there’s nothing good about staying in that damned place. The owner has been extremely kind to me, and there’s no way I’d consider leaving him.” Seeing Lin Dong’s impatience, Qiao Tianhao said with a wry smile, “Actually, there’s really nothing. Who is Ling Zhengyang? I’m just a disciple whom Jiang Yichu disdains. Even if I were a disciple he values, given his status, he wouldn’t bother coming to persuade me. He’s here mainly to check out the inn and casually asked why I left Fenglin Restaurant.” “What’s Ling Zhengyang’s personality like?” Lin Dong asked.

“We don’t interact much, but everyone at Jingcheng Fenglin Restaurant admires him greatly. At such a young age, he’s already capable of taking Fenglin Restaurant to new heights. He’s gentle-tempered, unpretentious, and cares deeply for his subordinates. Even my master, Jiang Yichu, with his terrible temper, speaks highly of him.” Qiao Tianhao said seriously, “Since he’s come to Qiufeng City specifically for the owner, and claimed he could shut down Linji Inn in two months, the owner should be careful.”
Lin Dong nodded slightly. “It’s said he’s had remarkable business talent since childhood. What exactly are these achievements?”
Qiao Tianhao pondered for a moment before saying, “There are many, but they all happened outside Jingcheng. I don’t get along well with the staff usually, so I’m not very familiar with them. There are a few notable ones. First, at the age of 15, he proposed reforms for the restaurant—such as ranking branch managers by annual profits, expenses, and interpersonal relationships, promoting the best and dismissing the worst. If staff had good suggestions or contributions, not only could they be promoted and rewarded exceptionally, but everyone in the branch, including the manager, would also receive rewards. He strengthened connections between all branches, established specialized delivery teams, and reduced the costs of spiritual beasts and materials… Thanks to these reforms, Fenglin Restaurant’s annual profits increased significantly. Of course, this also had a lot to do with the second young master, Ling Weifeng, constantly crushing competitors.”
“Next is the county-level plan he personally planned and implemented last year. Fenglin Restaurant has never opened branches in county towns because the cost of transporting spiritual materials and beasts is high, and there aren’t many wealthy people there, resulting in low profits. Unlike restaurant chains at the county or prefecture level, which can mostly source supplies locally. Moreover, county towns are too small, so most customers of major restaurants are regulars, making it hard to attract new ones—so there’s not much advantage for local restaurants. Additionally, there was a shortage of skilled chefs and managers, but these issues have been largely resolved after the restaurant reforms. In terms of cost advantages, he found alternative ways to attract wealthy clients through scholars. The results aren’t clear yet; it seems they’re losing more than making at the moment, but if successful, it would multiply Fenglin Restaurant’s business several times over.”
“Finally, there’s the information board. It seems our inn was the first to create something like this, but he improved it by adding the latest developments from the imperial court. He seems to be planning to include news from various regions as well, but he lacks enough staff, so it probably won’t be ready in three to five years.” Qiao Tianhao looked frustrated, clearly thinking back to what happened in Xilan City.

Lin Dong frowned slightly. Just like the price-cutting tactics used by Fenglin Restaurant this time, all these grand plans were carried out gradually, making it impossible to determine where Ling Zhengyang got the confidence to knock down the inn in just two months. Unfortunately, Qiao Tianhao was unaware of Ling Zhengyang’s competitive strategies in various regions, otherwise he might have noticed some clues. For now, there was nothing but to wait and see what would happen. Remembering the Vital Beef Balls, Lin Dong handed over some straps to Qiao Tianhao. After he finished dressing the wounds, they took out the elephant-sized Fire Bulls and piled them up, occupying half of the courtyard. After outlining a plan for dealing with the Fire Bulls as a whole, Lin Dong told Qiao Tianhao the ingredients for the Vital Beef Balls and asked him and Jiang Kui to take turns adjusting the flavor, before turning back to the inn.