Chapter 532: Keeping the Guest

Lin Dong bowed to the old man and stepped aside with a smile. Once the waiter led the old man to a private room, he focused his mind on the old man’s bundle.
As his mind touched the old man’s energy barrier, Lin Dong’s body suddenly stiffened, and he quickly pulled his mind back.
The old man stepped into the private room, a smile slowly appearing on his lips.
Lin Dong exhaled in relief—it was indeed a peak-level expert.
A peak-level expert coming to Lin’s Inn to cause trouble would surely make things interesting.
After a brief moment of thought, Lin Dong didn’t turn around. He activated the inn’s system, set the defense to trigger an alarm even if pots and pans were knocked over, then opened the inn’s map to locate the old man’s position. He strode toward the stairs.
Back in his room, Lin Dong sat down on the wooden bed but didn’t meditate. Instead, he stared at the glowing dot representing the old man, allowing his spiritual energy to flow freely through his meridians.
Less than half an hour later, knocking sounds suddenly arose.
“Owner, a guest has ordered all of our inn’s spiritual beast materials and signature dishes,” Ma Chun called from outside.
Lin Dong jolted and got out of bed. Ordering all the spiritual beast materials and signature dishes almost meant that, aside from this person, there could be no other candidate for the upgrade task.
Opening the door, Lin Dong asked eagerly, “Which private room?”
“Room 12!” Ma Chun replied.
Lin Dong’s steps hesitated. Room 12 was the very room the old man had entered!
Considering Ma Chun’s walking speed, plus the time it took for the waiter to write the menu, go to the kitchen, and return to the lobby to find Ma Chun, it was almost exactly the same time as when the old man entered the room.
Unconsciously, Lin Dong remembered the old man’s last words.
A chill ran down Lin Dong’s spine, and his hairs stood on end.
This old man was too strange! He had predicted that Lin Dong would go after him.
“Owner, what’s wrong?” Ma Chun asked, noticing Lin Dong’s dazed expression and pale complexion.
“Nothing. Go ahead with your work! I’ll go check Room 12,” Lin Dong replied. Before Ma Chun could say anything, he vanished in a flash, crossing the over 200-meter-long stone path in an instant and arriving on the fifth floor.
Walking quickly to Room 12, Lin Dong hesitated for a moment before gently knocking on the door.
“Come in!” the old man’s voice came from inside.
Lin Dong pushed the door open. On the round table, four dishes were already laid out, along with a pot of fine wine. The old man sat at the head of the table, savoring a half-energy beef ball in his mouth, so focused that he seemed unaware of Lin Dong’s arrival.

Lin Dong said nothing. He walked slowly to the table, sat down on a chair, and waited quietly.
The old man’s restraint while eating was even greater than that of noble ladies and princesses. He chewed slowly, bite by bite, his gaze gently fixed on the large beef meatball on his chopsticks, as if savoring it or recalling something.
It took a long time before the old man finished the entire beef meatball. He put down his chopsticks and nodded slowly, saying, “Not bad. I’ve tasted all the delicacies in the world, yet I never expected there to be dishes whose ingredients I couldn’t identify even I.”
Lin Dong was speechless. The words sounded like self-mockery, but it also resembled someone trying to sell overpriced goods.
Lin Dong believed that someone could tell the name and origin of any wine—Old Man Ding could do that. But there were only about ten to twenty thousand kinds of wine in the entire Great Han Kingdom. It wasn’t bad to have reached such a level after drinking them all over decades or even centuries. But dishes were different. There were hundreds of thousands of edible spiritual beasts and materials, and nearly ten thousand ordinary ingredients. Trying to taste them all would take hundreds of years if at all possible. Moreover, identifying all the ingredients in a single dish—where even seasonings counted as ingredients—was even more difficult.
“Does Manager Lin not believe that I’ve tasted all the delicacies in the world?” the old man asked with a smile.
“I do!” Lin Dong replied without hesitation. His purpose here wasn’t to argue about this. Whether it was a bragging master or a gourmet king, it didn’t really matter to him.
The old man smiled and didn’t press further. He said, “It seems to me that Manager Lin wants to keep me as a guest.”
Lin Dong was stunned. He had miscalculated. Who exactly was this person before him?
If he were as perceptive and wise as the King of Clear Streams, capable of seeing through people’s hearts, it wouldn’t be that extreme. No matter how powerful the King of Clear Streams was, it was impossible for him to guess someone’s thoughts just by visiting—after all, there could be countless reasons for a visit, many of which had a higher chance than staying as a guest.
This went beyond the scope of perception and judgment.
And if he could predict everything by fanning his fingers, that would be even more extraordinary. Lin Dong had seen a lot in his life. Apart from not knowing what beings beyond the peak of strength looked like, almost any strange thing or person could at most arouse his curiosity, not astonishment.
The possibility that this person was a being at the peak of strength was 100%, but as for something beyond that, Lin Dong didn’t think he had the luck, nor did he believe the old man had the strength. Otherwise, if there really was such a person who could know anything by fanning his fingers and wasn’t very low-key, surely someone would have heard of him.

“Master Lin, it’s fine if you don’t believe it. Could you tell this old man more about these Vitality Beef Balls?” the old man asked casually. “If you’re not satisfied, no matter how much I taste them, I still can’t figure out what magical ingredients are added to make people feel energetic after eating them.”

“Well… that’s a secret of the inn; it’s hard to say,” Lin Dong replied hesitantly. No matter who this old man was, since he had ordered all of Lin Ji Inn’s magical beasts, ingredients, and signature dishes at once, it was highly likely they were key to an upgrade task. Keeping him here for three days was undoubtedly necessary.

However, a peak-level expert couldn’t be retained just with a gold card, so Lin Dong had to handle the situation carefully.

“It’s alright. Could you explain this dish a bit? That way, I can prepare myself before eating it,” the old man said, pointing his chopsticks at the Turtle Stewed with Maple Leaves.

Lin Dong nodded and began to explain, “This dish is called Turtle Stewed with Maple Leaves. It’s made by using five qian worth of maple leaves, one plump turtle, two liang of garlic, along with various seasonings, and simmered slowly over low heat for two hours. Eating it can strengthen the body, prolong life, and is also beneficial for those suffering from headaches or angina.”

The old man reached out with his chopsticks, picked some turtle meat, put it in his mouth, chewed slowly for a moment, and then smiled faintly. “I’m afraid there’s another secret of Lin Ji Inn hidden in it, right?”

Lin Dong smiled and nodded, then quickly shifted the topic to another spicy dish prepared by Cheng Bao.

After explaining all four dishes and the old man having tasted each one, a waiter knocked on the door, and another four dishes were served one after another. From noon until evening, all of Lin Ji Inn’s magical beasts, ingredients, and signature dishes were finally introduced, and the old man tasted each one briefly. Yet his attitude left Lin Dong satisfied—he remained smiling and gave plenty of praise.

This was a good start for the upgrade task.

“I wonder if the senior is satisfied with the food and drinks at Lin Ji Inn?” Lin Dong had already changed his tone. It wasn’t inappropriate to call an eighty- or ninety-year-old person an elder, but calling a peak-level expert of that age an elder sounded somewhat mocking. After all, when he had used his mental senses to investigate earlier, his own strength must have been exposed as well. It was better to simply use the terms used in the martial world.

“It’s not bad! Especially those seven spicy dishes—are simply exquisite. The others, though not quite as perfect, are still top-notch,” the old man nodded slowly.

Lin Dong laughed and said, “If the senior thinks it’s good, how about staying for a few more days to try more dishes?”

The old man smiled, took out a silver note from his storage ring, and placed it in front of Lin Dong, saying slowly, “Ten thousand taels of silver. I wonder if that’s enough?”
The total cost of all the dishes and drinks at Lin’s Inn was probably around a thousand taels of silver, but Lin Dong held the silver note in his hand and shifted the problem back onto the other party: “It’s enough. Three or five taels will suffice. However, Lin’s Inn can’t provide that much change right away. I was wondering if you could stay for a few days while I gather the money?”
The old man stopped beating around the bush and said, “To be honest with you, Manager Lin, I’m a bit hesitant about staying at Lin’s Inn.”
“Why hesitant?” Lin Dong asked, secretly pleased. Hesitation meant he had considered staying—so solving the issue of not wanting to stay would allow him to stay. Compared to the other party not even thinking of staying, this was a good start.
“Because when I passed by Lin’s Inn, I felt that I might encounter many dishes and drinks there that would surprise me,” the old man said calmly. “Originally, I had other matters to attend to and planned to come back later. But suddenly, I felt that there were people and matters at Lin’s Inn that were extremely important to me, so I came in. Since you invited me to stay, I couldn’t refuse such kindness. Yet, I also felt that accepting the invitation might mean facing great danger.”
Feelings, again just feelings.
Lin Dong couldn’t understand how a peak-level powerhouse, who wielded immense energy, could value something as intangible and ungraspable as feelings. Yet, it seemed that this powerhouse’s feelings had been quite accurate before.
After thinking it over, Lin Dong said, “Your strength is extraordinary, and Lin’s Inn operates with integrity, treating everyone fairly. There’s no need to talk about great danger. You’re joking.”
The old man shook his head slowly and said calmly, “My feelings have never been wrong.”
“Then… I wonder what would make you willing to stay at Lin’s Inn?” Lin Dong stopped hiding his intentions. In front of someone who acted based on feelings and possessed the strength of a peak-level powerhouse, everything else was meaningless.
“To be honest with you, Lin’s Inn really needs you to stay for three or five days. The reason is inconvenient to disclose, but there are no ill intentions.”
“Conditions… I do have one,” the old man said calmly.
Lin Dong was overjoyed and quickly said, “Please go ahead!”
“I’ve loved delicious food my whole life and am eager to learn about its ingredients and recipes. If Manager Lin could share some insights, then facing great danger wouldn’t be such a big deal,” the old man said slowly.
“How about seven spicy dishes?” Lin Dong decided to take a risk.

“Alright!”
The old man stroked his white beard gently and nodded slowly. He felt that this was already the bottom line for Shopkeeper Lin before him; refusing any further would mean he wouldn’t be able to learn the preparation methods and ingredients for those two signature dishes that he was most curious about.