After standing at the door for the longest time, Jia Qian finally summoned the courage to enter Lin Jin’s hall with gritted teeth.
She wanted to see how Lin Jin handled the deer.
Her animosity toward Lin Jin was now a thing of the past. The feelings of contempt had now headed away. It was as if Jia Qian had molted overnight into a whole new person when she decided to get rid of her prejudice and arrogance. And in the process, she realized how ‘terrifying’ Lin Jin’s skills were.
He proceeded steadily, step-by-step as if it all came easily to him, working with surprising speed and accuracy, making little to no errors.
Watching Lin Jin treat the deer was like a revision of what Jia Qian had learned back in the beast appraising academy. Lin Jin’s level of skill was on par with her lecturers and there were even some methods he used that the academy had never taught them before.
‘Looks like Lin Jin didn’t rely on luck to pass the Rank 2 beast appraiser exam after all. He’s genuinely skilled and I’ve been too blind to see it this whole time. To think I thought I was special…In retrospect, I was too ignorant, too naive.’ Jia Qian started self-reflecting. At times, moving forward was the only choice a person could make to feel better.
And it was happening to Jia Qian now.
All this while, she realized, she was the only person who cared about her own reputation. Rather than living a lie, wasn’t it better to live life being true to oneself?
Instead of storming off in denial, this new Jia Qian stood there observing carefully as Lin Jin treated the deer.
This operation went on for half an hour.
The deer still wasn’t moving.
Lin Jin invoked a seal and slapped it onto the deer’s head. In an instant, the creature shuddered and to everyone’s surprise, it opened its eyes and lifted its head.
At a closer look, this large deer was actually quite intimidating. Although its antlers had been cruelly sawn off, it wasn’t all that bad, because Lin Jin had at least ten solutions to help regrow them in a short amount of time.
Knowing that it was Lin Jin who rescued it, the deer kept nudging its head against Lin Jin’s palm, an attempt to express its gratitude.
Lin Jin smiled before writing out an evaluation report.
The shipwrights approached him and asked, “Appraiser Lin, we managed to rescue this deer by chance and had no idea how it got lost. We have to get back to sea soon, so can we leave it here under your care for the time being?”
The shipwrights looked slightly embarrassed when they made the request but Lin Jin agreed without hesitation. “That’s alright. You can leave it here. If you guys happen to find its owner, you can come to me again.”
The shipwrights thanked him earnestly. They were about to pay him the treatment fees but Lin Jin declined.
These shipwrights were kind-hearted men. In fact, they weren’t obliged to save the deer at all. No one would blame them if they left the deer to drown. However, these men chose to save it, sacrificing much effort in the process.
Compared to the deer’s original owner, these shipwrights were much more honorable.
Lin Jin never mentioned to them that the deer was ‘abandoned’. That he felt, wasn’t necessary.
After sending off the shipwrights, Lin Jin noticed Jia Qian standing in a corner.
He was unaware when she came into his hall.
Jia Qian spoke up, “I’ve examined this deer at the emergency hall just now. Its antlers were obviously broken off by humans and many of the cut wounds on its body seemed to be caused by daggers. Someone was clearly… With those injuries, it was supposed to die but Appraiser Lin, you managed to bring it back to life with your phenomenal skills. I’ve been too arrogant and ignorant in the past. Those harsh words I spat at you back then. Now I’ve realized that I was at fault. While I do not expect you to forgive me, but still, I wish to apologize for all the things I’ve said and done unto you. I, Jia Qian, was wrong!”
Having said that, she bowed.
Lin Jin waved dismissively. “It’s all in the past now. I don’t mind it.”
While it seemed like a superficial response, Lin Jin genuinely meant it.
“As for the deer. You’ve got it all wrong. It was fatally wounded yes, but it wasn’t dead yet. I didn’t bring it back to life like a sorcerer. If it really was dead, there’s nothing I could have done to help either.”
That was the truth.
No matter how skillful Lin Jin was, no amount of effort could ever revive a dead beast.
However, there was a myth from ancient times that there existed a medical trick that could cause flesh to grow from bones. But that was just a myth and obviously, no one could do it now.
Jia Qian flashed an awkward smile. She was just figuratively speaking.
She was about to bid farewell and leave Lin Jin’s hall.
But when she saw Lin Jin about to write an evaluation report, she stopped in her tracks.
Her biggest dream was to become an official beast appraiser, and for the sake of this, she had been working hard all these years. Yet, Jia Qian was always only one step away from achieving her dream.
Perhaps it was because she had been too conceited and proud in the past.
She had to fix this shortcoming of hers, so the first step was to put away her ego.
After diagnosing the deer herself and witnessing Lin Jin’s performance earlier, she found some medical principles of diagnosis and treatment to be confusing. She had to study and learn them carefully.
If only she could get her hands on Lin Jin’s evaluation report.
Jia Qian wanted to ask Lin Jin for his evaluation report but when the words arrived at her lips, she choked up. It was hard to forgo her dignity so abruptly.
Lin Jin stole a glance at her but said nothing.
Seeing how hesitant Jia Qian was to leave, she must have a request. Perhaps she wanted to read his report. However, Lin Jin wouldn’t offer it to her that easily. If she wanted it, she had to ask for it. Gone were the days when people were willing to spoil her rotten.
Lin Jin ignored Jia Qian and finished writing the evaluation report.
For the sake of keeping records, he had to write one.
Jia Qian’s face alternated between red and white, showing the urge to speak but her reluctance was still evident. Finally, she braced herself and said, “Appraiser Lin, I have a request.”
“Spit it out,” Lin Jin replied without looking up.
Humans usually hesitated to open their mouths due to the fear of rejection. However, in most situations, no one would deliberately make things easier for you. In spite of the possibility of rejection, one still had to speak up.
If they didn’t, how could they be sure a rejection was due?
In the past, Jia Qian was too obsessed with dignity and those who wanted to take advantage of her would contribute to her inflated ego. When faced with Lin Jin who couldn’t care less about her, she had no choice but to adopt a different approach.
At last, she said it. “I’d like to borrow your evaluation report on the deer.”
Lin Jin said nothing. After writing down the last detail, he put his brush away, tidied his attire, and before leaving the hall, he said, “After you’re done reading it, put it away for me, will you?”
Having said that, he left without looking back.
Jia Qian’s forehead was covered in a glistening layer of cold sweat, but she was stunned when she heard Lin Jin’s answer.
So… It was that easy?
***
Lin Jin patted the deer and blessed it with a minor spell so it could get up and stumble along.
As the deer had no owner, Lin Jin could only take it under his care for the time being. He led the deer home and got it settled inside the beast pen in his yard.
This beast pen originally had one patient, the shadow wolf. And now, there was a deer.
The Museum of Deadly Beasts described it as a ‘nine-striped thunderhorn deer’. It had an excellent bloodline and could grow into a formidable existence given the right circumstances. It was on par with the shadow wolf and Goldy.
However, it was only at Rank 1 now and was heavily injured.
Now that its life was no longer in danger, the most important thing for it now was to recuperate its strength.
Lin Jin fed the deer some of the medical herbs he had lying around at home. Being a sensible creature, the deer behaved itself and complied with all of Lin Jin’s requests.
“Nine-striped thunderhorn deer with a good bloodline and above-average potential. Just who was it that abandoned it so ruthlessly and foolishly? And if they wanted to abandon it, so be it. Was there a need to leave it to die like that?”
Lin Jin settled the deer in before leaving. During his journey, he pondered.
Xiao Huo followed beside him. Wherever Lin Jin went, he would surely be right next to him.
Lin Jin glanced at Xiao Huo, unable to figure out an explanation. Pet beasts were a human’s greatest companion. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to even call them family.
That deer was attacked by blades and axes. But it didn’t seem like it resisted the attacks, because if it did, a regular person wouldn’t have been able to fight the deer off. In other words, the person trying to kill it must have been its owner.
