Speaking of which, Lu Bin had been urging for him to pack up since yesterday but Lin Jin wasn’t done with his arrangements yet so he dragged it on for another two days. After all, he had to show Shang’er around the neighborhood and get her to familiarize herself with the local folks.
He also had to call Zhao Ying, Lu Xiaoyun, and the gang over for an introduction session.
As for Shang’er’s identity, Lin Jin wanted to introduce her as his sister but it was unlikely that they’d believe him. After all, his family’s registrar in the government records never mentioned a daughter in the Lin family.
Hence, Lin Jin decided to call Shang’er his ‘godsister’, since no one would actually investigate anyway.
Even if they did, there was nothing to be afraid of.
At the moment, Lin Jin’s reputation couldn’t have been any better in Maple City; he was considered a prominent figure by many. From the City Lord Manor down to the neighboring streets, everyone here respected Lin Jin, who rightfully deserved it. Who would ever doubt his words and investigate his background?
Even if anyone got suspicious, they shouldn’t be able to cause much of a commotion.
After all, he still had the Shi and Zu families backing him up.
This was why Lin Jin wasn’t worried at all. Before he knew it, his status within Maple City had become unshakable.
After another day of delay, Lu Bin decided to camp outside Lin Jin’s door early in the morning. Lin Jin knew that he had to go with Lu Bin today no matter what. Moreover, he had already made a promise with He Qing so canceling his mission at the imperial city was out of the question.
So be it.
Before leaving, a thought popped into Lin Jin’s mind, which prompted him to go back inside the house to cut the century-old frozen cordyceps in half.
He kept half of it for Xiao Huo’s pill and left the other half with Shang’er, instructing her to cut a tiny piece every other day to feed to Goldy. He also made sure to warn her against feeding it too much at once.
Unlike the other beasts, Goldy never cultivates. The bird refused to learn the Beast Energy Formation and was a true rebel.
Thus, while his evolution process could be described as easy, it still required a significant amount of effort to pull off.
The reason why it was easy was thanks to Goldy’s amazing talent and his sensational Golden Crow bloodline. If he had a miraculous encounter, an evolution was guaranteed to come sooner or later. But this was also the difficult part. Without anyone to guide him and if he got unlucky, Goldy might just die during this ‘miracle incident’.
Just like the last time when he swallowed the emerald bloodworm. Had Lin Jin not been there to guide him into drinking the medicine, to dissolve the pure yang energy in his body, forget evolution, Goldy might have succumbed to the evolution process.
This century-old frozen cordyceps was essential for Goldy’s next evolution. Of course, he couldn’t eat the entire thing in one go. If he did, even as a Rank 3 beast, Goldy would surely die.
Half of it was enough.
What’s more, this half couldn’t be swallowed whole in one go. It had to be consumed gradually so this was why Lin Jin had Shang’er feed Goldy a tiny piece once every other day.
This should last for about ten days and according to Lin Jin’s calculations, he should be back in Maple City by then. Ten days should be enough. By the time Lin Jin returns, he should be able to help Goldy evolve, so when the time comes, there would be another Rank 4 on his team.
How exciting!
“I’ll be away for a few days. Don’t leave this place if you can help it. If you need anything, seek help from Zhao Ying and Lu Xiaoyun,” Lin Jin instructed Shang’er.
Since it was her first time living in the city, Shang’er was rather reserved. But to reassure Lin Jin, she agreed to it.
“I’m off then!”
Lin Jin stepped out with Xiao Huo following behind him. The white ape’s fur had been dyed black by a secret spell so it looked like a regular monkey riding on Xiao Huo’s back. The sight of the little monkey surprised Lu Bin, who was waiting outside the door.
Lu Bin knew about the fire wolf but what was this black ape?
And that wasn’t his biggest concern.
Lin Jin’s pet beast was Rank 4, so how could an almighty Rank 4 beast tolerate another beast riding on its back?
But Xiao Huo didn’t seem the least bit fazed.
Despite his astonishment, Lu Bin felt it would be inappropriate to probe into the matter. His only explanation was that Lin Jin was a true master at taming beasts
Just as they were about to set off on their journey, Lu Bin noticed Shang’er, who had come out to send them off.
At his age, even Lu Bin couldn’t help but be slightly dazed by her beauty.
He had seen countless pretty young maidens in his life but compared to this one, they were only slightly above average. With looks that could destroy cities and awe the world, this woman in Lin Jin’s home was probably the most beautiful person he had ever seen.
Those girls in the imperial city couldn’t even come close to this one.
In an instant, Lu Bin flashed a cheeky grin at Lin Jin.
Lin Jin was even about to introduce them but paused when he saw that strange smile on Lu Bin’s face. He was confused.
“Mr. Lu, this is my godsister!” Though he had no idea what Lu Bin was grinning at, Lin Jin proceeded to introduce Shang’er to Lu Bin.
Godsister?
Right, Appraiser Lin must be overwhelmed by embarrassment to explain that he was keeping a beloved at home. As an experienced man, Lu Bin understood what Lin Jin was going through so he merely nodded at his woman and said ‘hello’ without asking any unnecessary questions.
“Appraiser Lin, shall we begin our journey?” Lu Bin asked. To be honest, he had been staying at Maple City for far too long. Had it been someone else and not Lin Jin, Lu Bin would have forcefully kidnapped them back to the royal capital.
Of course, he couldn’t possibly do that now. Etiquette aside, even if he did try it, he might be no match for Lin Jin.
After all, the latter’s pet beast was Rank 4.
Since he was done making arrangements, it was time to leave.
They followed Lu Bin to a large empty space. Shang’er and Little Five tagged along to see them off, reluctant to see their teacher go.
Once they were there, Lu Bin used secret arts to summon two massive eagle beasts.
Whenever he saw eagles like these being used for transportation, Lin Jin got envious. He planned to ask how he could get one of these later so he could cut down on travel time and look cool while doing so.
Lu Bin jumped onto one of the eagle’s back and Lin Jin mimicked him. Xiao Huo and the white ape leaped up too but they were obviously giving their eagle a hard time.
Lin Jin looked at Lu Bin, feeling embarrassed. The latter sighed and said, “That’s alright. Brother Yuzhou would like to see you off too and he has an eagle as well. We can borrow his.”
Old Ye would like to see him off?
Lin Jin looked up at the sky and sure enough, an eagle was circling above.
As the two eagles rose above, Lin Jin waved at Shang’er and Little Five below. With the wind howling into their ears, they instantly rose up to a thousand feet above. The houses below now looked like toys while the humans looked like ants.
Sure enough, Ye Yuzhou was waiting on another eagle above. At the sight of Lin Jin, he got closer and saluted in greeting. “Appraiser Lin, all the best for your trip to Jade Dragon City.”
Lin Jin knew that Ye Yuzhou was being extra courteous because he mistook him for being the Curator’s disciple.
And from the looks of it, Ye Yuzhou seemed to have guessed what he was heading to the royal capital for.
Lin Jin hadn’t thought about this idea of being the Curator’s disciple at first. It was due to Ye Yuzhou’s misunderstanding that he played along. Now, it seems like this mistaken identity was quite the convenient one. At the very least, great figures like Ye Yuzhou now listened to him so Lin Jin assumed that if he asked for favors, Ye Yuzhou wouldn’t reject him too.
Lu Bin was a straightforward man so he asked to borrow Ye Yuzhou’s eagle. This stunned the latter.
He had planned to head over to Jade Dragon City himself in a few days to watch how the Curator’s disciple would save his patient. If he lent his eagle to them, wouldn’t he have to go over by foot?
But he clearly couldn’t say no.
Ye Yuzhou answered readily, thinking that he would just borrow another eagle from Bai Zhenkong.
Although they had minor conflicts before, Ye Yuzhou was still Maple City’s number one expert and one of the nation’s imperial guardians. As reluctant as Bai Zhenkong may be, he still had to lend Ye Yuzhou his eagle.
After bidding Ye Yuzhou farewell, Lin Jin rode on one eagle while Xiao Huo and the white ape rode the other with Lu Bin leading the way. And so, three eagles flapped their wings and soared across the bright skies, heading straight for Jade Dragon City.
