Lin Jin observed his surroundings. The main hall was lined with intricate decorations like sophisticated calligraphy and paintings on the walls. There was a guzheng on one side, a chess game on the table, and a shelf filled with books and scrolls.
There was incense burning in a copper burner and the fragrance that it emitted calmed the mind.
Soon, he heard footsteps and He Qing emerged from the hall. She scanned Lin Jin from head-to-toe.
“He’s so young. To think a gallant man like Uncle Lu would be that easily deceived! Oh well, I guess his age must be catching up to him,” He Qing said to herself before turning to Lin Jin. “It appears that Uncle Lu has faith in you, but I don’t. I’m gonna be honest with you mister. If you can’t cure my sister, I won’t even give you a single coin.”
She was obviously under the assumption that Lin Jin was some sort of con artist.
Just then, Lu Bin came out. “Seventh Princess, please mind your manners.”
Next to Lu Bin was a frail-looking young girl whose physical appearance somewhat resembled He Qing’s. What set them apart was the fact that she seemed so fragile, as if the wind could blow her away if it blew too hard. Still, there was something in her gaze that reflected a sense of stubborn perseverance.
She was that cross-dressing woman.
“Qing’er, mind your words. Apologize to Appraiser Lin.” As He Qing’s older sister, He Yu had the right to reprimand her junior. He Qing was well aware of how rude she had been earlier so she apologized to Lin Jin, albeit reluctantly.
Lin Jin was aware of He Qing’s exuberant personality so he didn’t blame her.
He Yu was currently studying Lin Jin with great curiosity.
She had met Lin Jin before back in Maple City but at the time, she had mistaken him as a perverted beggar. Who knew that Appraiser Lin was such an accomplished individual? Other achievements aside, the fact that he provided her with the nine water floating cloud pill’s prescription was more than enough to gain her gratitude.
Without the pill, she would have been completely bedridden at this point.
“Greetings, Appraiser Lin!”
He Yu gave him an official curtsy.
With a smile, Lin Jin said, “I am here today to treat the Sixth Princess’s illness as requested by a certain someone.”
He Yu assumed that he was referring to Lu Bin but in fact, Lin Jin was here mostly because of He Qing.
In spite of this, He Qing wore a skeptical expression and thought of Lin Jin as a shameless fraudster.
“Well then, how does Appraiser Lin plan to conduct the treatment?” He Yu knew that it was impossible to remove the curse on her body and any attempts would prove futile, but she couldn’t say it outright.
She would just go with the flow so as to reassure Uncle Lu.
“I’ll use acupuncture to seal off the bestial curse’s influence for now before we gradually break and remove it,” Lin Jin responded in a serious tone.
He Yu smiled. “I’ll be troubling you then, Appraiser Lin.”
He Yu knew herself best and what the curse inside her was. It was literally impossible for mortals like him to remove it. Appraiser Lin was young and ambitious, he was capable too, but that didn’t mean he could remove the curse, even if he said he could.
However, the prescription he gave her had eased much of her pain, allowing her to leave this world in a more decent manner. For the benevolence he had shown thus far, He Yu felt that it was alright to let him try his best shot before the inevitable happens.
Lin Jin smiled and said to Lu Bin, “Absolute silence is required during the process and we mustn’t be disturbed so, Mr. Lu and this… young lady, will you please wait outside for the moment? You can return here once I am done.”
Before Lu Bin said anything, He Qing replied indignantly, “No way! It’s just acupuncture. It’s not like I haven’t seen how it works! There’s no need to be so secretive.”
“Qing’er, mind your manners!” He Yu reprimanded her sister, again. Thankfully, Lu Bin pulled her outside before she could make any more protests.
He Qing was mumbling something under her breath the entire time, clearly unwilling to leave He Yu and the suspicious young man alone.
He Yu said helplessly, “Quite the character, isn’t she? I apologize for any of her mistakes, as she has yet to learn her manners. Please do not blame her Appraiser Lin.”
Lin Jin smiled inwardly and mused, ‘You’re all royalty so how could I possibly blame her?’
Moreover, it wasn’t like this was Lin Jin’s first rodeo dealing with He Qing. This lass was the type to speak her mind and wasn’t the scheming type. Having lived two lives, Lin Jin certainly wouldn’t hold a grudge against a naive little girl like her.
Only Lin Jin and He Yu were left in the hall. Lin Jin wasted no time in saying, “Please remove your outer robe so that I can perform the acupuncture.”
He Yu froze up as her cheeks became flushed red.
A man and a woman alone in a room. As if that wasn’t enough, now he’s requesting for her to remove her outer robe? Since she still had her inner robes on, He Yu tried to stop herself from overthinking things. After all, there was no use trying to hide in fear of treatment. Appraiser Lin was behaving in an upright manner so for her to feel otherwise would make her seem indecent instead.
And so, He Yu removed her outer robe.
“Please take a seat.” After saying this, Lin Jin hadn’t taken out any needles. Despite her curiosity, He Yu sat upright in the chair and watched Lin Jin’s movements.
The next instant, she saw him flick his fingers. Although He Yu couldn’t see anything, she was abruptly paralyzed. Due to how sudden it was, she started panicking on the inside.
She wanted to speak but realized that no sound came out of her mouth.
This was obviously Lin Jin’s doing.
He would be performing one of the pulse-seeking technique’s methods later, the spirit sealing needle. The process might be a little difficult to endure so he had to restrict He Yu’s movements to stop her from moving about, which may negatively affect his performance.
This step also would help to relieve some of her pain. However, the spirit sealing needle was rather unique. Even if Lin Jin managed to reduce eighty percent of the pain, the remaining twenty percent was still torturous enough, especially on someone as frail as He Yu. Hence, he sealed off her voice too in case she started screaming in pain.
Speaking of which, Lin Jin had been practicing the pulse-seeking technique for quite some time now. Even on regular days when there wasn’t a patient, whenever he had time, he would fiddle with the needles to get used to working with them.
In the lessons on the pulse-seeking technique, there was a specific skill that taught him how to “fly” needles.
Lin Jin had been complaining throughout the entire learning process. Some legendary warriors who are able to fly swords can send blades out hundreds of miles away to slash away at demons. That was the epitome of glamour, the image befitting an expert.
But he…he was flying needles.
These needles were too tiny to be noticed by the naked eye. They were even harder to catch when traveling at Mach speed. The fact that they were almost invisible added to the mystery of these needles. If he mimicked the moves of warriors who were flying their blades, those who couldn’t see the needles might just assume that there were a couple of loose screws in his head.
It is interesting to note that the coiled wire needle was primarily meant to be an offensive skill. In a death match, these tiny needles were just as lethal as flashy blades if used correctly.
It may even prove superior at times.
It had the advantage of being barely detectable. Once pierced into the target’s body, all beings from ferocious beasts to friar experts would just be slabs of meat on Lin Jin’s chopping board.
Lin Jin pierced some of He Yu’s acupoints so she wouldn’t feel much pain, but this was only the beginning. When he started the spirit sealing, she would be in for a ride.
He had to clarify this upfront.
“Sixth Princess, I will begin performing acupuncture that forces the cursed soul into the pinky of your right hand. This process will involve some pain so please endure it.”
After issuing the gentle reminder, Lin Jin began.
As stated in the Museum of Deadly Beasts, there were several steps required to remove He Yu’s bestial curse. The first was to seal the spirit and Lin Jin planned to seal it in He Yu’s pinky. This was to ensure that if they came across any unplanned accidents, they could perform remove the threat immediately.
In the worst-case scenario, that pinky finger would have to be severed to remove the curse.
Of course, that was the last resort and Lin Jin hoped to avoid it if he could. She wouldn’t need to have her finger cut off either if she didn’t want to. The museum provided a corresponding sealing technique if they had to cross that bridge.
One was to use the spirit sealing needle, while another solution was to craft an artifact for He Yu to wear on her finger to seal the curse.
For Lin Jin, he didn’t consider either of these a success. To him, by completely removing the curse from the host could he deem this task accomplished.
Lin Jin began performing the spirit sealing technique.
He Yu showed an immediate response to the procedure.
