“I’m going to kill you!” the rat’s owner burst out in a fit of rage. The rat was the precious baby that he had kept for so many years now. After White Ape smashed it to death, this man obviously wouldn’t let Lin Jin off the hook, especially considering how hot-headed he was.
He stepped forward and drew out two flying daggers, which he threw at Lin Jin.
It was clear that the man was pretty skilled at using his flying daggers, and he seemed visibly confident that he would succeed as well.
His daggers were aimed to kill and maim. Lin Jin on the other hand, simply flicked his fingers and sent out three silver needles in response to the attack.
Lin Jin’s needles traveled at a much higher speed than those cumbersome daggers.
Everybody heard two delicate clinking sounds right at the moment when the man’s daggers dropped to the ground. The last needle went straight into the man’s throat.
It was ill-mannered not to return a favor, and since the man was out to kill Lin Jin, he should have been prepared to be killed as well.
Both the flying daggers and silver needles were hidden weapons, but the latter were far more discreet than the former. The man couldn’t even react in time when the needle pierced into his throat. The projectile entered his brain through his arteries, killing him instantly. The demonic appraiser seized up before blood started pouring from all sockets. Then, like a heavy sack of potatoes, he fell to the ground dead.
Elder Zhou and his group gasped.
It all happened too fast. He knew his subordinate must have thrown out some flying daggers with the intention to kill. His subordinate was experienced in the attack too. Countless people were sent to the netherworld by those daggers of his.
However, his subordinate’s attack was repelled and the man ended up dying instead.
This counter-attack happened so quickly that by the time Elder Zhou and his group realized what had just happened, the man was already dead on the ground.
Now, one person among their group of four was dead. The traveling pharmacist was scared out of his wits, especially after being defeated by him once in the past. He almost lost his life during that encounter.
The boatman was good in melee combat but since his pet beast could only live underwater, he couldn’t possibly fight on land. Hence, he wasn’t useful here on this battlefield.
Despite the odds, it would have been more than enough to deal with the Qiao family. However, that simple task was rendered near impossible after a man of this caliber entered the fray. It was clear that these appraisers were going to lose this battle.
Elder Zhou immediately said to Lin Jin, “We have no grudges between each other and the Qiao family doesn’t seem to know you either so why do you have to dirty your hands for their sake? Why don’t we offer each other a way out? We’ll leave you alone and you leave us to deal with our own affairs. Do we have a deal?”
He was surrendering.
That couldn’t be helped. Despite having exchanged blows, Elder Zhou wasn’t able to tell how Lin Jin countered his attacks, nor could he gauge the man’s true strength.
What’s more, the traveling pharmacist now had a fire seedling inside his body. Despite Elder Zhou’s repeated attempts to remove it, he still ended up burning the pharmacist’s eyebrows and hair.
Elder Zhou remembered those flames well and was terribly fearful of it.
The man responsible for laying such a trap was sitting right in front of them. No doubt, he was another expert. He was able to produce flames out of nothing and incinerated all of Elder Zhou’s pet beast. Similarly, his white ape easily smashed the huge rat to death. In mere seconds, he was able to take down one of his subordinates without moving a single muscle.
It must have been this man’s doing.
In the past, it had always been others who feared them as demonic appraisers. Today, the tables have turned and it was their turn to experience fear.
It wasn’t Elder Zhou’s first time out in the world and he knew full well that Lin Jin wouldn’t let them off the hook that easily so it was useless even if they surrendered.
Some battles just couldn’t end until one side was completely wiped out.
Hence, Elder Zhou’s offer of surrender was just a facade, a trick to buy them time which they could use to look for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.
They were already used to sneak attacks and despicable methods anyway.
Without warning, the centipede in Elder Zhou’s sleeve abruptly leaped up and shot a jet of green venom that was so deadly that it killed anyone who came into contact with the fluid.
Elder Zhou had been preparing for this attack this entire time. His plan was simple. They wouldn’t fight the man head-on but at least they could escape with their lives.
That person’s flame attacks were too overwhelming and they couldn’t afford to provoke him any further. His pet beast was powerful too so the possibility of losing was still there, even if they poisoned it. In other words, today’s mission was doomed to fail, but Elder Zhou wasn’t too concerned with that as he had plenty of chances in the future.
Looking up at the poison that was about to rain down on him, Lin Jin waved his hand before an arc of fire surged forth.
Dragonfire.
As if there was an actual fire-breathing dragon fighting on Lin Jin’s side, the fire formed an impenetrable wall, blocking the poisonous attack completely.
Elder Zhou and his group used this time to run for their lives.
“Trying to leave? It won’t be that easy.” Lin Jin lifted his hand again. As if holding a blade, he thrusted it forward. “En garde!”
What followed was the low rumbling of thunder.
Even Elder Zhou was shocked. Despite his fear, he didn’t dare to look behind him. Instead, he hastened his pace. His two accomplices weren’t as lucky.
Upon hearing the words ‘En Garde, the traveling pharmacist and boatman couldn’t resist the urge to turn back and look.
All of them, including Elder Zhou, felt as if they had been slashed by a sword.
Blood sprayed out from the two’s mouths before they died instantly. Elder Zhou, on the other hand, let out a painful wail before falling pathetically to the ground. Although he wasn’t dead, he was exhaling more than he was breathing in.
His pet beast was dead.
The strangest thing was, Lin Jin merely held an illusion. There was no actual sword. All three villains, including their pet beasts, did not suffer physical wounds either, but it was a fact that three were dead and one was left gravely injured.
Time was ticking out for the severely wounded Elder Zhou.
His body trembled as he forced himself to turn back just in time to see Lin Jin standing in the distance. He was still in the stance of having slashed his blade at them. He noticed how Lin Jin wasn’t actually holding a blade at all.
“Wha-what’s going on?” Elder Zhou was frightened. Then, following a hiccup, he died with his eyes wide open. Even in his final moments, he failed to understand how he died. He had clearly felt a sword pierce into his body but that person wasn’t holding a sword at all.
Elder Zhou and the others died confused while the others who observed the battle were flustered. No one dared to make a sound save for Escort Zhang who looked extremely excited.
As he had witnessed Lin Jin’s phenomenal skills before, he wasn’t too surprised. Given the many miraculous things Lin Jin had done before him, slashing enemies with an invisible sword sounded plausible too.
‘Going against Appraiser Lin is like trying to break a rock with an egg,’ Escort Zhang thought.
By now, the Qiao family came to their senses.
Qiao Feigong was the first to react. Leaning forward, he hurried over and bowed before Lin Jin. “Greetings, Appraiser Lin. I am Qiao Feigong.”
Seeing their patriarch behave that way, the other family members followed suit and bowed.
Even that brazen and youthful Qiao Xing looked excited as he bowed at Lin Jin. A young man his age was prone to be rebellious, but upon witnessing true greatness, he would also be the first to be impressed. The way Lin Jin slew his enemies exceeded Qiao Xing’s expectation to such a degree that he was instantly captivated by his strength.
Only a handful of the family members knew who Lin Jin was, as there were only a few people around when Escort Zhang talked about him. The rest of the Qiao family were confused as to what was happening. They were currently whispering among themselves, wondering who this phenomenal Appraiser Lin was.
