Chapter 450: Prolonging Life

“Your Highness, the food and drinks at Lin’s Inn are passable, right?”
Seeing Liu Yuchang stammering, Lin Dong didn’t spare him any face. His first words targeted his earlier claim that Lin’s Inn was only suitable for peasants from the countryside.
“Manager Lin!” Liu Yuchang looked displeased, his expression turning colder. He knew Lin Dong was quite valuable now; if he could subdue him, his third brother might highly praise him. But he wasn’t Fu Tongshan or Fu Zizhou—someone who could endure being treated rudely and still keep a smile.
“It seems I’ll need to talk to the emperor,” Lin Dong said, turning toward the private room and lifting his right leg.
“Stop! Stay right there,” Liu Yuchang rushed forward, blocking Lin Dong’s path angrily. “Why do you want to see the emperor?”
“To ask about the quality of the food and drinks at Lin’s Inn,” Lin Dong replied, then asked, “Is there something wrong, Your Highness?”
Liu Yuchang’s face turned as red as a pig’s liver, and he couldn’t speak for a while.
“President Liu, it’s time to get up,” Lin Dong said leisurely.
Liu Yuedun, who had been lying on the ground for nearly two hours with his legs completely numb, finally raised his head. He gave Lin Dong a bitter smile, thanked him, then, after resting for a moment, pushed himself up with both hands, staggering to his feet.
“Prince Ninth, still not enough wine?” Lin Dong glanced at Liu Yuchang.
“I’m leaving!” Though angry, Liu Yuchang knew times had changed. He could ignore Lin Dong’s status now, but not confront him head-on, so he managed to control his anger.
“Wait, did Your Highness forget something?” Lin Dong shook his head.
Liu Yuchang froze and followed Lin Dong’s gaze—it was Liu Yuedun.
“Useless wretch. His legs go weak after just a few kneels. The food and drinks at Lin’s Inn are fine—I guarantee it,” Liu Yuchang shouted angrily. Among those present, only Liu Yuedun could make him vent his anger.
“Yes, yes…” Liu Yuedun nodded repeatedly. Ever since Liu Yuchang refused to intercede for him with Emperor Qianwei, he had hated him. But one had to bow their head under someone else’s roof. A chamber of commerce president and a prince were not on the same level—no matter how much he hated him, he had to swallow his resentment.
“I’m leaving!” Liu Yuchang threw those two harsh words at Lin Dong again.
“Did Your Highness forget about Lin’s Gymnasium?” Lin Dong didn’t let it go. Since he had already offended Liu Yuchang, he didn’t care about offending him more times. It was also a chance to use Liu Yuchang to assert authority and resolve the issue with the chamber of commerce once and for all.
“President Liu!” Liu Yuchang’s voice was clearly angry, but it was directed at Liu Yuedun.

“Understood, Your Highness. Rest assured, from now on, no one will dare to trouble Lin’s Inn or Lin’s Gymnasium.” Liu Yuedun hated Liu Yuchang to the point of gritting his teeth, but could only keep nodding.
“Should we discuss anything else together?” Liu Yuchang glanced coldly at Lin Dong.
“There’s nothing else for Your Highness to worry about,” Lin Dong replied casually.
Liu Yuchang was seething with anger. He took several deep breaths before suddenly exhaling sharply and turning to walk away at a fast pace, with six guards following closely behind.
Lin Dong smiled calmly, his gaze slowly shifting to Liu Yuedun, who was now completely alone.
“Shopkeeper Lin, shall I go back to the guild right away to handle the enrollment of Lin’s Inn and Lin’s Gymnasium?” Liu Yuedun forced a smile, looking at Lin Dong warily, feeling immense sorrow inside.
In these times, it was always the little people who suffered. Though this little person was actually quite influential in the capital.
Lin Dong opened his mouth but swallowed back what he was about to say. Bringing Emperor Qianwei out carried great risks—though the extent of those risks was still unknown—the potential rewards were significant. Yet the real mastermind behind preventing Lin’s Inn and Lin’s Gymnasium from joining the guild hadn’t suffered any real consequences.
Gradually, Lin Dong formed a decision but found it hard to choose right away.
“Sh-Shopkeeper Lin…” Seeing Lin Dong silent, as if deep in thought, Liu Yuedun thought he was planning how to retaliate. Swallowing hard, he forced a cheerful smile. “Once I return, I will surely repay you for your kindness today.”
Lin Dong remained silent and asked directly, “Who is the one who’s causing trouble for Lin’s Inn?”
“Well…” Liu Yuedun hesitated.
“If you don’t tell me, I can still find out through Liu Yuchang, but the result will be different,” Lin Dong said calmly.
“It was the Third Prince who sent someone to deliver the message. It seems Fenglin Restaurant is the Third Prince’s private business,” Liu Yuedun said, lowering his head helplessly.
Lin Dong understood. After pondering for a moment, he was about to make up his mind when a clear system notification sounded in his ears.
Ding: Congratulations! Your Colorful Bed has reached full experience points. It has been upgraded to Level 3, gaining the attribute ‘Extended Lifespan’.
Lin Dong was delighted. Since customers reserved the Colorful Bed, it gained experience points once per day from the time of reservation until the same time the next day. It had been about two years now, and the experience gain had been extremely slow—Lin Dong hadn’t paid attention to it for a long time. To his surprise, it had finally reached Level 3.
Extended Lifespan?

Lin Dong suddenly remembered the system prompt and quickly opened the equipment’s attribute panel to check out the Rainbow Bed.
Rainbow Bed, Level 3, 0% unlocked. It consumes a bit of spiritual energy per hour.
1. Induce Sleep: Allows a person to fall asleep within fifteen minutes.
2. Enter Dreams: Enables the person to enter a dream state while still remaining awake.
3. Prolong Life: Keeps the body in the same state as before falling asleep.
Lin Dong instantly forgot where he was and couldn’t help but whistle. Slow progression wasn’t a concern; what mattered was poor attributes. The Rainbow Bed truly was the finest reward obtained by those at the peak of strength.
The first attribute merely had hypnotic powers, which were quite ordinary. Unless dealing with Emperor Qian Wei, whose insomnia was so severe that even spiritual materials were ineffective, its value would only attract a few wealthy elites to give it a try, worth about ten to twenty silver taels per day. The second attribute was already extraordinary—allowing one to enter dreams while staying awake, which for many was equivalent to having countless lives to explore countless scenarios impossible in reality. Its value could no longer be measured in gold or silver. If not for Lin Dong’s desire to avoid causing too much upheaval and trouble for Lin’s Inn, he could have charged 1,800 silver taels per day, with countless people lining up to pay.
The third newly added attribute, in Lin Dong’s eyes, was absolutely extraordinary. With sufficient spiritual stones, one could sleep for millions of years and still remain energetic upon waking. The only drawback was that it only restored the body to its pre-sleep state, meaning spiritual energy would continue to be cultivated while lying there, but strength would remain unchanged upon waking.
“Lin, Manager Lin…” Seeing Lin Dong’s sudden joyous expression but distracted gaze, Zhou Zhengye and Ma Chun didn’t notice anything unusual, thinking he had just remembered something pleasant. But Liu Yuedun was different—his heart was pounding wildly. Truth be told, Lin Dong now held absolute control over his life and death. As the president of the capital’s merchant association, he essentially governed all the wealthy elites in the city, but compared to Emperor Qian Wei, he was no different from an ant.
Disturbed by Liu Yuedun’s thoughts, Lin Dong, in a good mood, wasn’t too angry. After pondering for a moment, he said, “President Liu, you may go back.”
“Huh?” Liu Yuedun couldn’t understand Lin Dong’s meaning.
“The merchant association, Lin’s Inn, and Lin’s Gymnasium—all of them won’t be joining,” Lin Dong said. He had already made up his mind, and the attributes gained from upgrading the Rainbow Bed meant he no longer needed to carefully weigh the pros and cons.

“Don’t plan to join the inn?” Liu Yuedun was speechless. Lin Dong’s words were utterly incomprehensible to him. After all this effort, getting Fu Tongshan to come out and even offending the Ninth Prince—wasn’t it all for Lin’s Inn to join the guild? Why, at the last moment, was he the one who wasn’t willing?

Liu Yuedun could become the guild president, so his status in the capital’s business world was naturally high. If one thought carefully, it would be easy to understand Lin Dong’s thoughts at that moment.

Lin Dong was willing to risk being blackmailed by Fu Tongshan by using Fu Zizhou’s confession letter to get him to intervene, because if Lin’s Inn didn’t join the guild—more importantly, if it failed to do so—then the status of a county merchant that came with an annual donation of 100,000 taels of silver would mean no privileges in the capital. Without privileges, given Lin’s Inn’s many mistakes, just one would be enough to shut it down.

Now, with Emperor Qianwei’s protection, privileges no longer mattered at all. Hanging Emperor Qianwei’s inscription on the fifth floor was in itself the greatest privilege. Even if killed, Lin Dong wouldn’t believe anyone would dare to shut down the inn. Similarly, no one would dare to cause trouble regarding materials.

With the disadvantages of not joining the guild gone, there were only advantages left. Compared to the disadvantages, the advantages were significant too. The most important one was that Lin’s Inn could set its own prices for food and drinks, rather than being confined to a certain profit margin with no room to increase or decrease prices like other restaurants. In competition with other restaurants, having control over prices meant they could decide how to compete.

Just this alone ensured that Lin’s Inn could establish itself firmly in the capital and have a natural advantage over other large restaurants. Besides, not joining the guild meant not being restricted by the guild’s various rules, which also brought considerable benefits.

“President Liu, please!” Lin Dong gestured invitingly.

“This… this… Is Manager Lin thinking it over again?” Liu Yuedun was completely confused, thinking Lin Dong was trying to trick him into giving more benefits.

“Ma Chun, see the guest off!” Lin Dong, tired of arguing, simply waved his hand.

“President Liu, please!” Ma Chun was even more direct, grabbing Liu Yuedun’s arm and pulling him outside.

“Manager Lin, Manager Lin, I know I’ve offended you greatly today. Please forget the past, and I will surely repay you…” Liu Yuedun was desperate, trying to break free from Ma Chun’s grip, but his body couldn’t withstand the strength in Ma Chun’s hands. If he had known this would happen, he would have even been willing to break his own legs to refuse Liu Yuchang.

Lin Dong said nothing and caused trouble at Lin Ji Inn; just enduring fear for a few days was already a bargain.