“Just who on earth wants me dead?”
Lin Jin couldn’t wrap his head around the attempted assassination. He shouldn’t have any enemies in the royal capital. Moreover, Lin Jin had always preferred diplomacy so even if there were people who disliked him, they wouldn’t go so far as to want him dead.
“It’s times like these that I have to trust the authorities,” Lin Jin muttered to himself.
He was out of options. Although there were tons of ways he could deal with this body, why should he?
He ought to do what was right. Another part of the reason was that the authorities must be notified that someone was trying to kill him.
Thus, Lin Jin woke the innkeeper up, whom he got to make a report to the authorities on his behalf.
The officials came over before dawn arrived.
Several constables and coroners came to take the body away.
At first, the constables spoke sternly and insisted on taking Lin Jin away for questioning, as it was the standard operating procedure. Lin Jin had no other choice but to mention Lu Bin’s name.
One of the constables clearly heard of Lu Bin before by the way he reacted. He squinted his eyes and scanned Lin Jin from head-to-toe. Moments later, he seemed to be satisfied that Lin Jin wasn’t lying.
After all, Lin Jin was an official Rank 2 beast appraiser.
“Mr. Appraiser, it doesn’t matter who you’re acquainted with. This is a case involving homicide so we still need you to come with us for questioning and certain details need to be recorded in black-and-white. Fret not. After the questioning, you will be released immediately should everything go smoothly.” The constable’s tone was much softer now.
At this, Lin Jin knew that he couldn’t avoid going so he nodded and followed them.
He was brought to a place where he met the people in charge of recording his statements. Lin Jin told them the truth as there was no reason to hide anything.
Moreover, he still had the arrow stuck in the inn’s wall and the bow as proof that he was a victim.
All these items were taken away by the constables.
Halfway through the interrogation session, an official hurried over.
Clearly, this newcomer was of a significant rank because the other officials immediately got up and greeted him as ‘Governor’.
Lin Jin knew that among the officers of the Jade Dragon Kingdom, this man was at the top of the totem pole. Those above him would be the officials of the nation.
“Appraiser Lin, apologies for all the trouble we have caused you. I’m Zhang Mengliang, governor of the royal capital!” the official spoke courteously. Then, he turned to the other officials and asked, “Is the recording done yet?”
“It is, it is!” The scribe put down his brush at once.
They weren’t blind. Based on the governor’s behavior, they could tell how Lin Jin was a man of power. That, or someone powerful was backing him up.
There was a saying that one should tread carefully when working in the royal capital. Who knows when they might offend someone they should have never provoked? Thankfully, they had been courteous to Lin Jin earlier so there shouldn’t be any problems.
Governor Zhang escorted Lin Jin out and sure enough, Lu Bin was standing there.
Lin Jin knew that the only person who could make the governor yield had to be Lu Bin. He also knew of Lu Bin’s unique status in Jade Dragon City. The man’s family used to produce the nation’s greatest expert and this glory was bestowed upon them by the founding emperor. Even the current emperor couldn’t afford to provoke him.
It was no wonder that Governor Zhang was this polite around him
Lu Bin’s expression was grim as he waited outside, clearly annoyed with the police for taking Lin Jin away. He wasn’t any friendlier to Governor Zhang either but Lin Jin managed to ease the tension by thanking the governor for his assistance.
“Master Zhang, you’re responsible for maintaining law and order within the city are you not? So tell me, why was there an assassination attempt?” Lu Bin suddenly asked.
Zhang Mengling was crying in his heart, ‘How should I know? I didn’t even have time to investigate the incident.’
However, he dared not say it outright. He smiled helplessly and answered, “Sir, I’ve already sent my men to investigate the incident so we should be expecting answers soon. After all, this happened right within the city walls so we have to investigate it thoroughly.”
He didn’t say this just for the sake of satisfying Lu Bin but he was also expressing his humiliation for allowing such incidents to happen under their watchful eyes.
“Alright then, I shall grant you three days. If you fail to track down the person behind this heinous crime, I will not hesitate to report your incompetence to the emperor.”
After this scare from Lu Bin, Master Zhang hurried away.
Lu Bin didn’t worry much about Lin Jin. He knew how capable Lin Jin was and how the man’s pet beast was actually at Rank 4. However, Lin Jin didn’t tell him about the incident last night.
That assassin probably never even considered engaging in close-quarters combat with Lin Jin, which was why he opted to use a bow and arrow instead. Had it not been for Lin Jin’s keen senses and quick reflexes, even a Rank 4 pet beast couldn’t have saved him.
Lin Jin gave it more thought. No one would kill without a motive. That assassin must have a reason for going after his head but Lin Jin had only arrived at the Jade Dragon City yesterday. He didn’t even have time to offend anybody.
He only went to two places yesterday. One was the Beast Appraisal Headquarters where everything went swimmingly and everything ended on a high note, the other was the palace where he treated Sixth Princess He Yu.
If he had to choose one, Lin Jin had an inkling of an idea which it might be.
Considering the fact that He Qing had just revealed to him a secret about the royal family’s curse yesterday, even an idiot would be able to connect the dots.
“Appraiser Lin, you can leave this to Master Zhang. Despite what I said to him earlier, he’s actually a just and competent man,” Lu Bin said.
Lin Jin nodded. Lu Bin was just trying to comfort him.
Lu Bin would then go on to declare that Lin Jin would be moving to a new place.
His own manor.
“It’s just in case something happens again, Appraiser Lin. If you don’t mind living under the same roof as me, that is,” Lu Bin offered. Lin Jin nodded at once. “How could I possibly mind? Staying at Lu Manor would be an honor.”
So things were settled then.
As Lu Bin didn’t know much about the specifics of the incident, he didn’t know what to say so he kept quiet.
However, the more things stayed this way, the more Lu Bin suspected that Lin Jin was attacked because he tried to cure the sixth princess.
“We have to speed things up. Things should return to normal once we’re done,” Lu Bin randomly spoke on the way.
Lin Jin understood what his words meant.
“I just need three hours today!” Lin Jin announced.
Lu Bin was clearly exhilarated. Had someone else said this, Lu Bin would never believe them. But Lin Jin was different. If he said he would resolve things today, it must be true.
“Alright. Once this matter’s resolved, whatever Appraiser Lin asks of me in the future, I will surely honor it.”
This was a man’s word, and Lin Jin would never question Lu Bin’s promise.
Since an unknown faction was trying to stop him from curing He Yu, Lin Jin decided that he would remove this curse today, once and for all to prevent any unnecessary trouble.
When they reached the palace gates, unlike yesterday, there were more guards now who simply stopped Lin Jin, forbidding his entry.
Nothing worked even when Lu Bin lashed out.
“Appraiser Lin, please wait a moment.” Lu Bin was brimming with murderous intent. Even an idiot could tell that someone was trying to sabotage their plans.
Lin Jin could tell too. No one but the emperor of Jade Dragon Kingdom could possibly issue such an order in the palace. Even if it was someone else, they couldn’t have done it without the emperor’s permission.
Lu Bin was clearly trying to escalate the matter. Sensing things were about to turn ugly, Lin Jin quickly stopped him. They shouldn’t be rash at times like this. The enemy might even be waiting for Lu Bin to cause a scene.
“Mr. Lu, the person they’re stopping is me, but you’re free to enter and leave. I have something here. You just have to go in and…” Lin Jin whispered some instructions into Lu Bin’s ear.
