Chapter 180: The Opening of the Colorful Bed Inn

Having swindled three or four hundred thousand taels of silver from a local tycoon, Yingchunhua was undoubtedly in an excellent mood.
Lin Dong was also in high spirits. He had spent four hundred thousand taels to buy Yi Yi’s indenture. Although the price was steep, finding a cheaper option would be nothing short of wishful thinking—unless he used force to force Yingchunhua to choose between the indenture and her life.
Using force to force her to sign the indenture was out of the question. After all, secrets don’t stay hidden forever, and such actions would damage the inn’s reputation. Even if it could be concealed, relying on bandit tactics to solve problems in business wasn’t a sustainable approach.
To obtain the mission reward, the remaining challenge was Wang Shuangxi. As long as he could get Wang Shuangxi to accept Yi Yi, it would be worth risking four hundred thousand taels on a medicinal recipe, even if Wang refused to repay the money.
Along the way, Qingqing kept speaking sweet nothings, expressing her joy at regaining her freedom and her desire to leave the city that day to experience sleeping outdoors.
Lin Dong agreed to everything, but in his mind, he was already planning for this fake Yi Yi’s future.
After all, once she was tricked out, there was no reason to just abandon her. Moreover, if the fake Yi Yi had nowhere to go, she would surely return to Yingfeng Tower, exposing the whole scheme.
“Stop!”
After a while, Lin Dong called out amid the sound of horse hooves.
The coachman pulled back on the reins, the horse neighed, and the carriage came to a halt.
Qingqing was startled by Lin Dong’s sudden action and patted her chest, saying, “Master, what’s wrong?”
“I suddenly remembered something urgent. Wait here a moment; I’ll be back right away.” Lin Dong lifted the curtain of the carriage and gave Ma Chun, who was sitting next to the coachman, seemingly lost in thought, a signal. “Changchun, come here for a moment.”
Ma Chun was taken aback but quickly realized what was needed. He jumped down from the carriage and followed Lin Dong to the entrance of a small alley in the street.
“Boss, do you want me to handle the matter with the fake Yi Yi?”
Lin Dong nodded. “Leave this to you. First, take her to an inn and explain our intentions clearly. See how she decides. One option is to give her one thousand taels of silver and send her out of the city to wherever she wants, with no further contact between us. The other is to send her out of the city as well, but find a way to help her acquire some property or find a family willing to accept her identity.”
Ma Chun nodded, but then hesitated.

“Are you interested in this fake Yi Yi?” Lin Dong suddenly laughed. “Along the way, you kept looking for reasons to lift the carriage curtain on purpose.”
Ma Chun smiled awkwardly.
“Leave her alone; we don’t want any extra complications,” Lin Dong said, shaking his head. “After we finish this, I’ll give you a day off tomorrow. You can take as much silver as you need from the counter for the top courtesans in Qiufeng City for one night. Although fake Yi Yi is pretty, she’s definitely not as good as those top courtesans.”
Ma Chun was overjoyed. Getting to be the top courtesan in the city’s brothels was something he hadn’t even dared to dream of before.
“Alright, go over there. Tell them I suddenly remembered I still need some silver and asked them to stay at an inn for now. I’ll join them later.”
After sending Ma Chun away, Lin Dong quickly slipped into an alley. Once the carriage stopped for a while and left slowly, he put away his fake beard and other disguises, returning to his original appearance except for his long robe.
On his way back, as soon as he stepped into the inn, a staff member rushed up to him.
“Owner, you’re finally back.”
There was clearly something wrong with the inn. Lin Dong nodded, signaling the staff member to continue.
The staff member hurriedly explained, “Half an hour ago, a few guests came to the inn, asking for the top room. Since you weren’t here, we didn’t dare let them in just yet.”
“Someone wants the top room? Are they still here?” Lin Dong showed signs of excitement. After waiting so long, business had finally come.
“They’ve already left,” the staff member said, shaking his head. “But they said they’d go out for a stroll and come back later.”
“Okay, stay at the entrance and let me know if it’s those guests.”
Lin Dong dismissed the staff member and abandoned the idea of going back to his room to practice. He sat down at the counter.
He waited for over an hour. As night fell outside, Lin Dong began to doubt if those people would show up. Suddenly, the staff member waiting at the entrance turned around.
“Owner, they’re here.”
Lin Dong perked up slightly.
“Guests, please come in. Our owner has returned.”
Soon, the staff member’s voice came from the entrance. Then, an old man in a blue silk robe, over seventy years old with white hair and beard, entered the hall.
The old man’s gaze was sharp. After scanning the hall briefly, it settled on Lin Dong, who was standing up to greet him. His face wore a gentle smile, making him seem kind and benevolent. But upon closer inspection, one could sense an air of authority behind his smile—clearly, this man held a high position.

Lin Dong glanced around and saw an elderly man standing slightly behind him, along with a young man with a pale face and no beard, fairly good-looking, dressed like a butler. Further back were two burly men in sturdy clothing, their intense gazes making it hard to look directly at them.

Both the elderly man’s presence and the sense of danger exuded by those two men made Lin Dong realize that these four people—except for the overly young butler—were none ordinary.

As Lin Dong got closer, the two burly men stepped forward slightly, narrowing the distance between them and the elderly man. Just as Lin Dong was about to speak, the young butler stepped forward, blocking half of the elderly man’s body.

“Are you the owner of this inn?”

The young man’s tone was somewhat condescending, but the right hand he extended puzzled Lin Dong greatly.

Finger rings!

Lin Dong stopped and nodded with a smile. “That’s me.”

“Here’s a reward for you.” The young man flipped his wrist and threw a gold ingot at Lin Dong. “Take good care of my master. If that room really has the effects described, you’ll surely get your reward.”

“What’s your master’s name?” Lin Dong subtly glanced at the jade ring on the young butler’s index finger before looking at the elderly man.

“Just call me Lord Wang, Manager Lin,” the elderly man said with a slight smile.

Lin Dong nodded and gestured toward the back door. “Lord Wang, please come in.”

“Thank you, Manager Lin, for showing me the way.” The elderly man nodded gently and followed Lin Dong, with the young butler and the two burly men close behind.

They arrived at the lodging building and went up to the third floor. Lin Dong stopped outside the farthest room and took out a set of keys from a mobile cabinet to search through them.

“Has anyone stayed in this top-floor room these past few days?” the young butler asked, frowning.

Lin Dong shook his head and replied honestly, “Since it was introduced, Lord Wang is the first guest.”

The young butler gently touched the door handle and then checked his fingers.

“Don’t worry. It’s cleaned every day, so it’s always clean and tidy.” Lin Dong smiled as he inserted the key found into the brass lock.

The young butler remained silent, brought his finger to his nose, and frowned. “The water used to clean the door has a rusty smell. It must be water from an iron basin. The room probably has the same issue. Have someone clean it again tomorrow. Make sure to use a non-rusty iron basin; if it’s a wooden basin, it has to be a new one.”

Lin Dong stiffened. What an amazing sense of smell! He could even tell whether the water was in an iron or wooden basin?

“Okay, I’ll arrange that right away,” Lin Dong said, nodding. He turned the brass lock and pushed open the door.

Inside the room, adorned with jewels and treasures, a faint multicolored glow emanated from all around the rainbow bed, filling the entire space with an otherworldly sense of wealth and luxury.
“What a bed! I’m starting to believe Manager Lin’s advertisement.” Lord Wang stroked his long beard, gazed at the rainbow bed, and nodded slightly. “Yang Shun, what material is this bed made of?”
“Your eyes are sharp, Lord. You can tell at a glance that this bed is extraordinary,” replied the young butler promptly. He stepped forward, examined the bed closely for a while, then frowned and shook his head. “The material of this bed is likely some rare, mystical substance.”
“Oh?” Lord Wang looked surprised, clearly puzzled that the young butler didn’t know the bed’s material.
“What kind of mystical material is it made from?” The young butler flipped his hand, tossing another gleaming gold ingot toward Lin Dong.
Catching the gold ingot, Lin Dong smiled bitterly. Times change—not long ago, he had been a wealthy man at Yingfeng Tower. Who would have thought that in such a short time, someone else would become wealthy right before his eyes?
“It’s not exactly a high-grade mystical material. It’s mainly because there’s a strange powder applied on the surface, along with a peculiar array, that makes it seem so extraordinary.”
When the young butler named Yang Shun tossed another gold ingot, Lin Dong caught it quickly. Before he could speak, Lin Dong said with a laugh, “As for what kind of powder and array it is, I don’t know either. It was all arranged by that expert who visited our shop back then.”
“An expert?” The young butler seemed skeptical and wanted to ask further, but Lord Wang waved his hand to stop him.
“Lord Wang, are there any other instructions?” Lin Dong asked.
The young butler took out another gold ingot and threw it at Lin Dong. “All the fake items in this room—have them thrown away tomorrow. I’ll arrange this room differently.”
Lin Dong was speechless. He felt he should reevaluate his previous judgment. Although this young butler behaved in a somewhat domineering and arrogant manner, his sense of smell and discernment were indeed extraordinary.
“Also, have the staff bring over some boiling water. You don’t need to worry about anything else in this inn,” the young butler waved his hand. “Get ready!”
“Um…” Lin Dong couldn’t help but ask, “How many days does Lord Wang plan to stay?”
“If this bed really is as miraculous as advertised, even if just a little, my master will stay here for a few more days,” the young butler replied impatiently. “Serve him well. The income from these few days could equal your income for a lifetime, or even ten lifetimes.”
Lin Dong’s heart stirred—not because of the so-called lifetime or ten-life income, but because of what came before that.

By this reasoning, it’s clear that this Lord Wang intends to use the “Heavenly Room” solely for its hypnotic effects. A butler with unnervingly sharp eyes who tosses gold ingots aside as scrap, and two guards who are clearly trained professionals with extraordinary skills—this Lord Wang is by no means an ordinary wealthy man; it’s not difficult for him to obtain sedative pills. With such pills available, and still choosing to stay at the Lin’s Inn for the hypnotic effects of the Heavenly Room, it’s obvious that his insomnia is extremely severe. If that’s the case, there might be a chance to keep him longer, or even have him stay long enough for the rainbow bed to be upgraded.