Chapter 531: The Mysterious Old Man

The autumn sun hung high above. In the first-floor lobby of Lin’s Inn, guests filled every seat, with a steady stream of diners coming in and out.
The second floor was relatively quieter, even though it was the busiest time of day, as there was still one empty table. The third and fourth floors had even more empty tables, and the atmosphere there was clearly less lively compared to the first-floor lobby.
Of the 25 private rooms on the fifth floor, more than half were open. Coupled with the sound of toasting and eating that couldn’t escape from within the rooms, it made the place seem even more deserted.
It could be said that compared to ordinary restaurants, Lin’s Inn was already thriving to an enviable extent. Even when compared to top-tier restaurants, it was on par or even slightly better. After all, there were as many as 15 top restaurants in the capital, all clustered together. Unless they had some signature dishes or unique features, it was rare to see them fully occupied even at noon.
The capital was filled with countless nobles and officials. If they all went out at the same time, they could fill every top restaurant, even all the major ones, to capacity. But that didn’t mean they would frequent restaurants every day. Although the chefs in those top restaurants were excellent, the chefs in their own mansions were not far behind. Unless they had an occasion to gather friends or missed a signature dish from a top restaurant, they wouldn’t go to a restaurant.
It could be said that Lin’s Inn was already among the best among the capital’s top restaurants. Of course, if it wanted to compete with those top restaurants, it was still far behind. In any competition between restaurants, regular customers were always of utmost importance. No matter what tactics were used, the ultimate goal was usually to attract the other restaurant’s regular customers.
To compete against 15 top restaurants working together was beyond Lin’s Inn’s capabilities, especially since it had only been open for a little over half a year, with less than 30% of its customers being regulars. Even if all its customers were regulars, its capital was still inferior to that of those 15 top restaurants.
Lin Dong, who was knocking on a private room door, didn’t worry about this. Lin’s Inn had only been in the capital for just over half a year, and he was already satisfied to have gained a group of regular customers thanks to its seven spicy dishes. Moreover, Lin’s Inn was taking a steady approach, focusing on cultivating regular customers while provoking the top restaurants into taking more aggressive actions.
The current business of Lin’s Inn was well within Lin Dong’s acceptable range.
He had come to the private room on the fifth floor for an upgrade task.
“Come in!” came a steady voice from inside the door.

Lin Dong pushed the door open and entered. The large round table in the private room was filled with people sitting in a circle. All of them seemed to be in their early forties, clearly gathered for a friend’s gathering. The large round table was piled high with food and drinks—everything was either spiritual materials or spiritual beasts.

“Hey, Manager Lin!”

The people at the table thought it was a server bringing dishes, so they remained seated. But when they saw it was Lin Dong, they all stood up in a rush. They were all wealthy men from the capital. When it came to money, some even felt they could buy two, three, four, or even more Lin’s Inn. But without connections as remarkable as those of King Qingliu, they had to show Lin Dong proper respect. Money was important, but in the face of power, it could sometimes be powerless.

“Boss Liu, Boss Wang, Boss Jiang…” Lin Dong started with Liu Yanghe, the owner of Hongqing Pawnshop, sitting at the head of the table, and bowed to each of them with a smile.

“Manager Lin!” The others also bowed back politely.

“Please forgive me if I haven’t taken good care of you all.”

“Not at all. Lin’s Inn has great food and drinks, excellent staff, and a wonderful environment… In short, everything is excellent!”

“I really don’t deserve such praise. If it weren’t for your support, our Lin’s Inn wouldn’t even be able to afford staff.”

“That’s because of the great food and drinks at Lin’s Inn. Otherwise, why would we come all this way?”

Lin Dong kept being polite, while the wealthy men smiled and flattered him tirelessly. The atmosphere in the private room was very harmonious. Of course, there were also many doubts lurking beneath it.

It was well-known in the capital that Lin Dong, the owner of Lin’s Inn, was a hands-off manager. Among those present, although there were top-tier wealthy men like Liu Yanghe, the owner of Hongqing Pawnshop, who dominated their industries, they still felt they weren’t important enough for Lin’s Inn’s owner to come and greet them personally. After all, they weren’t regular customers, not even frequent ones.

Only those who were high-ranking and regular among frequent customers deserved a top restaurant owner’s personal attention—such people were the ones the restaurant owners wouldn’t dare neglect.

Though it’s polite to be generous, too much of it can become annoying, especially if the other party has matters to attend to, which can easily lead to resentment. Lin Dong took the glass handed to him by the server, toasted, and then got straight to the point: “Boss Liu, Boss Wang, Boss Jiang… I was wondering if any of you would be interested in staying at our Lin’s Inn for three days?”

“Stay for three days?” The group was somewhat confused. Lin Dong’s proposal indeed sounded absurd. This wasn’t a visit to relatives; regardless of whether the host was being polite or sincere, they should at least try to keep guests for a few days.

“That’s right. Our Lin’s Inn has decided to offer a special promotion. Today, whether it’s accommodation or meals, the top spenders among guests or patrons can enjoy free accommodation and meals for three days at Lin’s Inn, and they can even bring two more people along. The rooms will be the best type available, with three meals a day, none of which will be inferior to the dishes you’ve ordered,” Lin Dong explained with a smile. “If you stay for three days and are satisfied, and if you can share your thoughts on our food and accommodation, we’ll give each of you an additional gold card and a mystery gift. I guarantee that this mystery gift will please you even more than the gold card.”

The private room immediately became lively. As the person who arranged the banquet, Liu Yanghe knew very well that the cost of these dishes alone was no less than three hundred taels of silver. Including accommodation, it would amount to over a thousand taels per day, for three consecutive days.

On top of that, there was also a gold card that required a total spending of ten thousand taels of silver to obtain. Beyond the gold card, Lin Dong, the owner of Lin’s Inn, promised a mystery gift that would surpass even the gold card in value.

In total, each person would benefit by tens of thousands of taels of silver.

None of those present were poor; they were all wealthy elites from the capital, especially Liu Yanghe, who was a top-tier tycoon worth hundreds of millions. Eight or ten thousand taels of silver was nothing to him, but since this opportunity came out of nowhere, it was a different story.

It would be unreasonable not to take advantage of such a deal. Moreover, since Master Lin was clearly offering it sincerely, they had to uphold face. Besides, the benefits went beyond just money. These wealthy individuals weren’t short of silver, but even the best VIP cards they had, including Liu Yanghe’s, were only silver cards. It wasn’t that they were reluctant to spend money on meals; it was simply that they saw no reason to frequent Lin’s Inn. They couldn’t keep going there alone every now and then—that would be too hasty and not fit their status as wealthy elites.

Having a gold card meant even greater discounts than a silver card. Wearing it around their waist and stepping into Lin’s Inn would surely attract countless envious looks.

Just this alone is enough to pique the interest of the wealthy people here. After all, the cost is merely staying at Lin’s Inn for three days and eating there for three days. Apart from the slightly longer journey back to their own shops for inspections, there are no other troubles—just needing servants, bringing two maids, having accommodations provided, and bringing two concubines.

Soon, Liu Yanghe was the first to express his willingness to stay, followed by others who also agreed. After some polite exchanges, Lin Dong bowed and left the private room.

“Another table secured!”

Lin Dong let out a long sigh. He said “another table” because there had already been two tables ordering expensive dishes in the morning.

“Manager Lin is truly skilled!”

A voice suddenly spoke, startling Lin Dong. Looking up, he saw a clerk leading an elderly man in his sixties over. The voice was deep and aged—undoubtedly coming from the old man.

Lin Dong glanced at the old man carefully. From over ten meters away, he could hear the old man talking to himself—such hearing ability was beyond ordinary people. Upon closer inspection, Lin Dong noticed something unusual. The old man had white hair and beard, yet his face showed no wrinkles at all. Moreover, his every move was calm and serene, giving off an air of immortality.

“What remarkable hearing you have! Have we met before?” Lin Dong praised, with no intention of leaving. Although Lin’s Inn sometimes had martial artists visiting, someone like this old man was truly unique. Even without using his mental senses to investigate, Lin Dong was certain the old man was at least a strong warrior at the Heart Reversal stage; it was even possible he was at the peak of that stage.

After all, while peak-level warriors are rare, those who can reverse aging are even rarer. At the very least, Old Man Ding and Feng Yue couldn’t do that. Even if they had some special spiritual techniques, they would need sufficient strength to use them.

“This is my first time at Lin’s Inn, so naturally, it’s also my first time meeting Manager Lin,” the old man said with a smile as he stroked his beard.

“Well…” Lin Dong was puzzled. “Then how do you know I am Manager Lin?”

“This is Lin’s Inn, so the manager must surely be surnamed Lin,” the old man replied calmly. “As for knowing you’re Manager Lin… it’s intuition!”

“Intuition?” Lin Dong was astonished.

“Yes. I simply feel that you are the manager of this inn,” the old man nodded gently.

Lin Dong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Yet, the old man’s demeanor made it impossible for him to think of the man as a swindler.

“Manager Lin seems not to believe me?” the old man asked with a smile.

Lin Dong shook his head with a smile. Whether someone was a swindler had nothing to do with him. Whether the old man was a peak warrior or how he managed to reverse aging also had nothing to do with him. As long as they didn’t cause trouble at Lin’s Inn, those who spent money on drinks and food were just guests, nothing more.
“I’ve heard that Lin’s Inn is famous for its unique dishes. I’ll go in first. Manager Lin, shall we talk later?” the old man said with a smile.
Talk later?
Lin Dong was momentarily stunned, then nodded, immediately becoming alert.
Those words made him think that the old man might cause trouble at Lin’s Inn later.