Lin Jin’s status within the beast appraisers’ community was no longer what it was before. Firstly, upon being chosen as the host of the Jade Dragon Festival, he managed to evolve five pet beasts before a crowd, which proved his competence as a Rank 3 beast appraiser. Next, His Majesty of the Jade Dragon Kingdom had personally written the title, ‘Jade Dragon’s Supreme Appraiser’ and presented it to Lin Jin.
The fact that it was made by the hands of the Emperor made Lin Jin the Jade Dragon Kingdom’s number one beast appraiser going forward.
No one dared to object to it nor could they deny this fact.
Even the Rank 3 beast appraisers at headquarters were convinced by Lin Jin’s skill.
Hence, upon learning that Lin Jin was to return to Maple City, many appraisers at headquarters came outside to send him off. It had been a grand send-off, and before he left, Lin Jin shot a glance at Ouyang Tong who was standing among the crowd.
It was at that point that the latter understood that he had earned Lin Jin’s respect. This, in turn, would bring him more opportunities in the future, and that was enough for him.
Lin Jin said nothing. He blew into the whistle he was holding to summon his eagle beast, and Lin Jin saluted them all before setting off on his journey.
***
One day before the Jade Dragon Festival, at Maple City, Shang’er received the letter Lin Jin had written for her. The letter stated that he would be staying in the capital for several days. Other instructions aside, he wanted Shang’er to take Goldy along and make her way to Reed City’s Qiao Manor to ensure the Qiao family’s safety.
Since this was Lin Jin’s arrangement, Shang’er, began preparations right after reading the letter.
Coffin Man and Old Turtle remained at Lin Jin’s house for the past few days.
Previously, Coffin Man brought Old Turtle over to seek Lin Jin’s assistance but he wasn’t home. Left with no other choice, Shang’er could only brace herself and proceed with the treatment herself. Somehow, she managed to pull it off, saving Old Turtle’s life.
Not only was Old Turtle still alive, but his pet beast was also safe and sound. Old Turtle couldn’t thank her enough and without hesitation, he issued a proclamation that he owed her his life.
Upon hearing that Shang’er was to head to Reed City, Coffin Man and Old Turtle offered to go with her to help out.
Shang’er couldn’t dissuade them. She couldn’t afford any delays either. If anything went wrong, she wouldn’t know how to face Lin Jin so if Coffin Man and Old Turtle wanted to tag along, then so be it.
From the moment she received the letter until they departed from Lin Jin’s manor, it had only taken an hour or less.
Shang’er may not have an eagle beast, but she was extremely proficient at Object Manipulation now. Even Lin Jin might not be aware of the extent of her mastery of the skill, since he wasn’t home most of the time and what’s more, Object Manipulation wasn’t exactly his forte.
Outside the city, Shang’er was carrying the somewhat reluctant Goldy as she said to Coffin Man and Old Turtle, “Master Lin has instructed me to make haste to Reed City. If you’d like to come along, remember to grab on tight later, or else you’d risk falling off.”
At first, Coffin Man didn’t quite understand what she meant by falling off. Then, his and Old Turtle’s eyes widened as Shang’er slashed her arm through the air, uprooting a nearby tree before she hopped onto it. Both men were dumbstruck when they saw the massive tree hovering midair.
Once they got on the tree as well, Shang’er invoked a spell and pointed her finger forward. Sure enough, the large tree shot ahead like a cruise missile.
Hearing the wind whistle beside their ears, Coffin Man and Old Turtle clung onto the tree for dear life with their faces ghastly pale.
“No wonder Miss Shang’er told us to hold on tight.”
Both men finally understood why.
At the same time, they couldn’t even begin to describe their astonishment.
What kind of skill was this?
Being able to control a large tree and use it as a makeshift flying raft was unbelievable. They would never believe such a skill existed if they weren’t seeing it with their own eyes.
This was especially so when the spell-caster was a seemingly fragile young woman, and that just made her a whole lot scarier.
The flying tree sped through the void. Both Coffin Man and Old Turtle were so busy making sure that they weren’t going to fall off that they didn’t even have the time to speak. On the other hand, Goldy was clucking with excitement the whole time.
Judging from how crazy strong this woman from Appraiser Lin’s manor was, they figured that the chicken was most probably not your average bird either.
To maintain her Object Manipulation spell while carrying the load of this many people, and covering over a thousand miles, even Shang’er found it to be a tough ordeal. However, she could not afford to waste any more time so she crushed a spirit stone during their journey to replenish her spirit energy. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the border of Reed City.
Due to insufficient energy, she wasn’t able to control her descent. She said something to her passengers before the tree fell from the sky like a missile, diving straight into a pond. The collision was so powerful that even the ground started shaking. Half of the pond’s water was thrown into the air before it rained back down into the pool.
Coffin Man and Old Turtle managed to land safely, but their clothes were in a mess. Shang’er was in better shape. She made sure to scan the area right after their landing. Now, they could see Reed City’s walls in the distance now.
Qiao Feigong had been unsettled the whole time.
He had a nagging feeling that something would happen, but fortunately, Appraiser Lin had left his white ape here, which reassured Qiao Feigong to a certain extent.
Speaking of the white ape, despite his considerable knowledge, Qiao Feigong couldn’t help but feel awed by his demeanor.
At the Qiao Manor’s guest room, donning a tailor-made shirt, the furry white ape sat upright, just like Lin Jin as he snacked on some grapes.
Grapes were rare fruits in Reed City as they had to be imported from the nearby Grassy Continent. The Qiao family was only able to get some because of how well-off they were.
Holding a bunch of juicy grapes in his hand, the simian chewed on seven to eight grapes at a time. Allowing the juice to splatter everywhere seemed to have a therapeutic effect for White Ape.
“This Qiao family is really nice. They gave me clothes and even fed me. Should I try out their liquor tonight?” At the thought of tasty wine, White Ape began to drool.
White Ape loved drinking but hadn’t dared to do so all this while because of Master Lin’s warning, which was to never drink if his mental state wasn’t strong enough. The man also warned that getting himself drunk might lead to unnecessary trouble.
White Ape didn’t understand what he meant by that and he assumed that his mind was already strong enough.
“Forget it. It’d be terrible if Master Lin found out so I’ll endure. I will endure the temptations!” White Ape said to himself.
It had only been less than a day since Lin Jin left, so there was lingering intimidation that prevented White Ape from letting loose completely.
Suddenly, there was a sound on the door.
“I’ve been sensing the aura of a monster coming from around here since just now and sure enough, here you are. Get out, monkey demon! In the name of the universe, sun, and moon! How dare you show up here and harm innocent humans? I shall make you perish for your acts!”
The voice came like rolling thunder, startling White Ape so much that he dropped his grapes.
White Ape was angry.
He could tolerate anything but sudden threats.
The words ‘monkey demon’ ticked him off too.
He looked outside, only to be greeted by the sight of a monk who had been standing there for God knows how long.
The Jade Dragon Kingdom didn’t have many temples so monks were few and far between. However, Grassy Continent had more of them. Since White Ape still retained memories of when he was still in the Grassy Continent, he easily recognized that this person was a monk.
Speaking of monks, White Ape had a terrible impression of them.
When he was young, White Ape’s father, the leader of their ape tribe, died under the iron staff of a monk. White Ape had witnessed the ordeal with his own eyes so he remembered it well.
In the past, he was unable to fathom what had transpired, but after becoming Master Lin’s disciple and having his wisdom expanded, White Ape realized the truth of the incident. Perhaps their tribe had incurred the humans’ wrath by hunting their livestock and killing the hunters who came after them. However, should a person just wait around and get hunted down if someone wanted to kill them?
White Ape had asked Master Lin about this before. His master took the longest time before he managed to come up with a reply, and this reply was seared onto White Ape’s mind.
“If there is an enemy against me, there is no right or wrong!”
