Chapter 57: Human-Formed Black Charcoal

For over ten days, Lin Dong had been experiencing headaches. He even wondered if his luck was declining after several major successes.

There was no progress with Jiang Kui and Wen Ying’s situation. No matter how subtly Lin Dong tried to approach the issue, Wen Wangzhong insisted on putting his daughter first. As for Wen Ying… although she didn’t say it outright, it was obvious she was afraid of Jiang Kui.

Fear… Lin Dong even went so far as to shave off Jiang Kui’s full beard himself. Yet, with his massive build and thunderous voice, not only young girls but even scoundrels like Wang Liuzhi felt intimidated whenever they saw him.

What troubled Lin Dong even more was that Fenglin Restaurant’s dominance exceeded his expectations. They only delivered gifts to the wealthy clients once, at the time of opening. Cheng Wencai and the “Tiger Mother” also only visited once on opening day. Although Fang Zihong stayed for two extra days, that was still just two days. According to Lin Dong’s calculations, Fenglin Restaurant’s influence should have faded by now. Once those wealthy clients came to Linji Inn, they would eventually be attracted by it.

Indeed, wealthy clients did come to Linji Inn the next day, but instead of increasing, their numbers decreased day by day. At first, Lin Dong thought these clients were just temporarily avoiding returning, after all, a half-hour seating fee of one or two silver coins might be too much for even the rich to pay daily. So, he even asked Wang Liuzhi to send people to keep an eye on these clients who had visited Linji Inn. But aside from the “Tiger Mother,” these clients went to Fenglin Restaurant every few days—not because of the cost.

The expense of a meal at Fenglin Restaurant wasn’t lower than Linji Inn’s seating fee. Tables costing over ten silver coins were not uncommon.

There was no other explanation—Linji Inn wasn’t bad enough, but Fenglin Restaurant was simply too excellent.

In terms of cooking skills, the head chef at Fenglin Restaurant was no worse than Jiang Kui, who had a three-fold advantage in cooking skills. In fact, while Jiang Kui could only prepare simple home-cooked dishes, this chef could handle anything from birds to beasts.

When it came to fine wines, although Fenglin Restaurant’s wines were several times or even dozens of times more expensive, they were all imported from Lingnan Commandery. The inferior wines might not compare to those at Linji Inn, which had the “Wine King Formula” boost, but the good ones were slightly superior.

What’s particularly important is that Fenglin Restaurant does have its tricks. After House Cong stayed there for two days, it attracted almost all the literati in Xilan City, yet these literati didn’t leave when House Cong did. The reason was that Fenglin Restaurant set up a board on the first floor for poems, paintings, and calligraphy. Whenever any of the restaurant’s literati created new works, they would be purchased at high prices after evaluation and displayed on this board. In just over ten days, the first floor of the restaurant became a gathering place for all the literati in Xilan City.

In the Great Han Nation, merchants held a low status, and literati especially despised them, while most merchants also had little fondness for literati. Normally, merchants would be reluctant to dine in the same restaurant as them. Yet Fenglin Restaurant had a second floor, where it belittled those literati who often portrayed themselves as worthless through their poems, paintings, and calligraphy—something that was simply perfect for merchants.

Taken together, these factors made Linji Inn far less attractive than Fenglin Restaurant. Aside from the “Tiger Mother,” there were few repeat customers in the rooms on the second floor of the inn.

Speaking of the “Tiger Mother,” without her, Linji Inn would have lost money throughout those ten days. But with her, Lin Dong still faced headaches. It was all due to experience points.

To enable a comfort bonus, one first had to ensure that the dining table was on the inn’s system list. To earn the maximum ten experience points per table, the “Tiger Mother” had to change tables every now and then. As a result, over those ten days, Lin Dong had to be disturbed by Wang Liuzhi every half an hour to remove the room previously occupied by the “Tiger Mother” from the inn’s system list and add the new one instead.

All in all, it was still the ten rooms on the second floor that had no customers. Otherwise, this problem could have been solved using the old inn’s methods.

Knock, knock, knock!

Knocking sounds came from outside the door. Lin Dong opened his eyes and instinctively accessed the inn’s system.

“Dad, we’re back.”

Outside, Lin Shuang’s childish voice rang out.

Lin Dong’s face lit up with joy. Lin Shuang would return once a month on the 15th, but today was only the 6th. And since she said “we,” it was obvious that Tianhao had brought her along on his way home.

When he opened the door, he saw Lin Shuang in a red dress, her little face rosy and adorable. Behind her… Lin Dong was stunned.

Standing behind her was a human-shaped lump of black coal!

“Dad!” Lin Tianhao called out timidly.

“Xiao Tianchi, you old scoundrel!”

Fury surged in Lin Dong’s heart. Just three or four months apart, Tianhao had turned as dark as if he’d come out of a coal mine.

How much abuse must one endure to end up like this?
Lin Tianhao was terrified, especially when he saw Lin Dong grab a bench from somewhere—his fear was overwhelming. After just a few months apart, why had his father’s temper become so fierce? He wanted to scold him as soon as they met.
Lin Shuang, on the other hand, seemed to understand and quickly stepped forward to hold Lin Dong’s arm.
“Dad, Brother often practices under the sun, that’s why he’s tanned.”
“Tanned?” Lin Dong snapped, “In just a few months, even if he practiced under the sun every day, he wouldn’t turn this dark.”
“It’s true. Brother practices on the top of Gu Huan Mountain, where the sun is stronger,” Lin Shuang said, quickly signaling at Lin Tianhao. “If you don’t believe me, ask Brother.”
“Really?” Lin Dong looked at Lin Tianhao skeptically. He already believed 90% of what Lin Shuang said.
With Tianhao’s talent, even Xiao Tianchi, that old fox, would treat him like a deity—there was no way he would abuse him. Besides, abuse couldn’t turn someone this dark.
Lin Tianhao hurriedly nodded, his head spinning. Only now did he understand why his father was angry.
“Tell me, how do you practice?” Lin Dong’s anger still hadn’t subsided. He understood the saying “one must endure hardship to succeed,” but Tianhao didn’t even have a reason to avenge his father—this wasn’t just hard work; it was sheer desperation!
Look at how tanned he is—worse than that kid Jiang Kui. How will he find a wife in the future?
Lin Tianhao said cautiously, “In the morning, I study with the eldest master. In the morning and afternoon, I practice spiritual skills with the second, third, and fourth masters in turn on the mountain top. At night, I practice by the Cold Pool.”
“The Cold Pool? What Cold Pool?” Lin Dong asked, puzzled.
“There’s a Cold Pool inside the Gu Huan Sect. The second master said that if one can endure the cold, practicing at the bottom of the pool not only doubles the efficiency but also strengthens one’s will.” Lin Tianhao glanced at Lin Dong’s expression and, seeing he still seemed angry, hurriedly added, “The eldest master said that only by enduring hardship can a man protect Dad and Little Shuang from being bullied. I did it voluntarily.”
Lin Dong exhaled and patted Lin Tianhao’s head, asking, “How many hours of rest do you have each day?”
Seeing Lin Dong’s anger subside, Lin Tianhao felt much more at ease and spoke louder, “I can rest for half an hour at noon every day. I can go play around.”
Putting the bench back on the movable counter, Lin Dong asked, “You two go play in the yard. Dad is going to the Gu Huan Sect first. It’s been three or four months—I should at least go thank Sect Master Xiao.”

Lin Tianhao shook his head and said, “The master has gone out. He said that while I’m at home, I should try to find a way to visit other sects to see if I can get some pills, and then return to the inn to visit Dad.”
“Visit me? Alright, you two go play in the courtyard first; Dad will prepare lunch.”
Lin Dong nodded, deciding to wait until Xiao Tianchi arrived before making any decisions. With constant trips to the mountaintop and the cold pond, there was only a short half hour of rest per day, not to mention all those masters… Even the Great Gu Huan Sect didn’t operate this way. Did they really think it didn’t matter if their sons had childhoods or not? They must be heartless enough to let them get exhausted to death!
The siblings were overjoyed. Lin Shuang immediately took Tianhao around, showing him the houses in the backyard of the new inn.