“Curator, if there’s anyone else who would like to seek your appraisal services, could I bring a fur or blood sample of their pet beast?” Black Crow asked.
Lin Jin didn’t mind it. After all, being able to record more beasts was beneficial to him. But if he accepted appraisal requests from just anyone so easily, this image of an almighty Curator he had been trying to maintain would soon crumble away.
After giving it some thought, Lin Jin said, “Since you and Ghost Child helped me this time, I’ll appraise one more beast for each of you without conditions but no more than that unless I seek your help again in the future.”
Black Crow nodded.
As for Ghost Child, Lin Jin handed her a few pills for Coffin Man.
Coffin Man’s current predicament was that his pet beast hadn’t healed yet, just like Madam Ghost Child’s babyface spider. Hence, that was their current priority. Anything else would have to wait until afterward.
Madam Ghost Child stepped back, evidently satisfied by what she got from the Curator.
Lin Jin turned to Ye Yuzhou.
Ye Yuzhou had done a great job too when he firmly stood on his side during moments of crisis. Thus, Lin Jin decided to bestow great rewards upon him.
And so, the incident with Snake Country came to an end.
The other visitors were completely clueless as to what they were talking about. Given his personality, Jiang Ziqi didn’t really mind it, nor would he bother to ask any questions.
But He Qing was different.
Her ears had been perked up ever since she heard it had something to do with the Jade Dragon Kingdom. If she hadn’t held back out of fear of being rude, she would have asked right away.
Now, she couldn’t hold back anymore.
After all, she was a member of the Jade Dragon Kingdom’s royal family.
Lin Jin anticipated questions from He Qing but he decided that he would keep his lips sealed since it didn’t really concern her.
Hence, Lin Jin ignored her questions.
He Qing seemed indignant but since the Curator wouldn’t talk, there was nothing else she could do about it.
Although she couldn’t get an answer out of the Curator, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t investigate the matter. She also remembered to ask about her sister’s treatment.
Lin Jin had a simpler answer for this one. “In a few more days, someone will go and treat her.”
He Qing was confused but out of faith in the Curator, she stopped asking.
Old Tian, aka Tian Bao, suddenly stepped forward and partially knelt on the ground. He produced a wooden box and offered it with both hands.
“Curator, Old Tian has treasures to present.”
Old Tian’s sudden kneeling startled everyone. No one expected the pompous and audacious Old Tian to start acting so respectfully on his third visit here.
This change in attitude was too significant to ignore.
The others hadn’t spoken much with Old Tian and weren’t familiar with him so they said nothing. Just like them, they could also tell that the Curator wasn’t very fond of Old Tian.
It was forgivable to not know the rules during one’s first visit. Considering how Old Tian maintained the same arrogant attitude during his second visit, everyone could sense the Curator’s growing discontent for the old man. This was part of the reason why most of the visitors tried to distance themselves from him.
No one could have foreseen Old Tian kneeling on the ground to present treasures to the Curator.
Now, they would wait for the Curator’s reaction.
Everyone turned to Lin Jin.
Indeed Lin Jin was still displeased with Old Tian so he didn’t plan on accepting the man’s offering this time. However, when Old Tian opened the box, Lin Jin was stunned.
Inside the wooden box was a medicinal herb as thick as a finger and half a foot long. But upon taking a closer look, one would realize that it was in fact a worm.
Cordyceps.
A unique medicinal herb.
What made the cordyceps stand out from regular ones was the fact that it was shrouded in a frosty mist.
When Jiang Ziqi noticed the piece of cordyceps, he stated, “Cordyceps Sinensis. Has cold attributes. The number of rings on its body represents its age. One new ring will appear every year. The more rings it has, the more valuable and effective it is. This cordyceps is at least a hundred years old, a premium item among premiums. Curator, you mustn’t forego this opportunity. This item is near-impossible to acquire, even with wagonloads of gold.”
Jiang Ziqi was clearly well-versed in medicine. He had said this out of goodwill, hoping that the Curator wouldn’t miss out on such a treasure.
Fortunately, Lin Jin was as knowledgeable as him too.
This cordyceps just happened to be one of the materials he required in his upcoming pelletization projects.
For example, the ‘beast marrow cleansing pill’ for Xiao Huo required an aged cordyceps. Similarly, Goldy’s Rank 4 evolution would need this too.
Century-old cordyceps was important for Xiao Huo, but it was of even greater importance for Goldy.
For a creature like Goldy with a Golden Crow bloodline, he only managed to evolve the last time because he ate something packed with ‘yang’ energy, the ’emerald bloodworm’.
The fiery ‘yang’ property in the worm was what kickstarted Goldy’s evolution process.
However, for its next evolution, it was a tough job finding an item possessing a high enough level of Yang energy.
However, the opposite would work too.
He could theoretically obtain something packed with ‘yin’ properties.
Alternatively, he could use such an item to create a concentrated yin pill for Goldy to consume.
Extreme Yin energy could awaken Goldy’s Golden Crow bloodline, which made reaching Rank 4 so much easier.
Pelletizing a concentrated yin pill required cordyceps with cold properties. This was a crucial ingredient and the cordyceps had to be at least a hundred years old.
Lin Jin already had the prescription but the materials were impossible to acquire on the market. Lin Jin had planned to get these visitors to help him gather the ingredients this time but who knew that Old Tian would present to him the material he needed most.
Though he wasn’t fond of Old Tian, there was no reason for him to refuse such a valuable item.
Moreover, with this century-old cordyceps, Old Tian didn’t look that irritating anymore.
Lin Jin made a grabbing gesture and the wooden box flew over into his storage.
“I’ll put it to good use!”
It was a simple response but Old Tian trembled with gratitude. He knew he had done the right thing. Although presenting this century-old frozen cordyceps made his heart ache, being able to change the curator’s impression of him was what mattered.
He had been too foolish to not recognize the Curator’s prowess. Fortunately, it wasn’t too late to come to his senses.
Tian Bao had a lowly upbringing and had always been a crook. He used to steal in his younger days and when he got stronger, he started to engage in robbery. Finally, he seized control of a mountain and gathered a large group of friends to live a free life there, eating and drinking whenever they pleased. Hence, when he was first pulled into the Visitation Hall, Tian Bao was extremely full of himself.
But after coming here twice, he witnessed the Curator’s might. During that period, Tian Bao came to learn of Madam Ghost Child’s notoriety from his friend in the villainous community.
And further investigation only yielded much more frightening information. Almost everyone in South Continent knew about the Lingnan Deities and coincidentally, Tian Bao just happened to be on this same continent. By randomly asking about Madam Ghost Child, anyone could tell him stories about her for a day and night without repetition in details.
Tian Bao shuddered in fear when he first heard the tales about her. Madam Ghost Child herself seemed to be capable of killing him with just the snap of her fingers. Would that also mean that the Curator was even more frightening?
Hence, no matter how much it pained him, Tian Bao was insistent on offering this century-old frozen cordyceps that he had kept as a treasure for so long.
Hoping to strike while the iron was hot, he took out a pouch filled with the fur of his subordinates’ pet beasts. Tian Bao knew that the Curator had been requesting for them to gather fur samples for reasons unknown, but it seemed like the Curator could appraise beasts with ease.
He brought them along hoping he could ask about his pet beast if the Curator happened to be in a good mood. If he wasn’t, Tian Bao would refrain from asking.
