White Ape had thought about Lin Jin’s answer for the longest time before he finally understood what his master was trying to say.
The simian picked up the scattered grapes off the floor before walking out into the courtyard.
The aloof monk waiting outside was hairless, and yet emanating off his body was an imposing sanctitude. One of his hands clasped an iron demon-slaying staff and the other maintained a lotus seal. His electrifying eyes were burning with rage. His robes and shoes were spotless, and his immaculate appearance made him seem untainted by the world.
Having faced various unprecedented situations under Lin Jin’s mentorship, White Ape knew that this monk wouldn’t be an easy opponent. The man’s staggering aura was making White Ape very uncomfortable.
The monk may be tough but White Ape was no pushover either. Still, he would not resort to violence unless there really was no other choice. Having received Lin Jin’s guidance, he had learned his manners too. He scrutinized the monk, aware that the latter harbored ill-intentions, but nonetheless, White Ape saluted. “Greetings, Venerable Sir!”
He was well-mannered and polite.
The monk was momentarily taken aback. However, after years of slaying demons and capturing monsters, the monk had come across countless cunning creatures so he decided to seize the demon ape first before talking.
Out of habit, the monk extended his hand and grabbed empty air. At the same time, the wind howled as a strong force burst forth.
White Ape could feel a huge pressure akin to a mountain crashing toward him.
Now, his patience snapped.
He had shown self-restraint, but the monk failed to reciprocate. White Ape heeded Master Lin’s teachings and tried not to make enemies, but if the opponent was driving him into a corner, then it couldn’t be helped.
“Roar!”
White Ape flew into a fit of rage as its power surged. Swinging his first, he forced the monk back before leaping up and out of Qiao Manor.
If they were to fight, White Ape had to leave the Qiao Manor or the Qiao family might get caught in the crossfire.
“Demon, you won’t be able to escape!” boomed the voice of the monk.
The monk leaped up and gave chase to White Ape, all while yelling, “I am Monk Zhi Yin of Daluo Temple, and I’m here to slay a monster. Those who are not involved in this matter, stay out of the way or you may get hurt!”
The thunderous warning reverberated throughout Reed City.
Everyone began to panic. Even the elderly had never encountered such a situation before so everyone remained hidden in their homes.
The Qiao family was also a mess.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know!”
“A monk barged in earlier, saying there’s monster energy in our mansion. He was too overbearing and fast that we couldn’t stop him.”
“Get Master Qiao, quick!”
By the time Qiao Feigong arrived, White Ape and the monk were already gone. Given how fast they were traveling, they were probably out of the city by now. Too many strange things had happened recently that Qiao Feigong was unable to get a good night’s rest for several days now.
However, he could do nothing now but send someone out to investigate while he waited at home.
Qiao Feigong found it odd. He had heard of Daluo Temple from the Grassy Continent, which was a world away from here. So why would one of its monks show up here?
Just then, fog shrouded his vision and Qiao Feigong knew that something terrible was about to happen. Before he could speak, all the pet beasts and servants around him fell to the ground.
Upon closer observation, they were all struck by darts.
‘This is bad!’ Qiao Feigong thought. Then, several ferocious beasts leaped down from the walls and tore the remaining guards to shreds before surrounding Qiao Feigong and his family members.
“Qiao Feigong, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll hand over your family heirloom right now. Or else, not a single Qiao family member will live to see the light of tomorrow. To live or to die, the choice is yours.”
A voice spoke from fog, frightening the Qiao family members into turning pale.
Qiao Feigong finally knew why he had been uneasy for the entire day. Now that the white ape Appraiser Lin had left behind was chased away by the monk, the Qiao family had no means of fighting back.
Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to protect his family treasure anymore, Qiao Feigong sighed and replied, “Let my family go. Once I’m alone, I retrieve it for you.”
There was a moment of silence before the man in the fog agreed to it.
Other than Qiao Feigong, the other family members were released. At the same time, three masked men with menacing eyes stepped out of the fog.
“Lord Qiao, I advise you to keep your word. Should you deceive us, you know what will happen next,” one of the men threatened. But as he spoke, he glanced around, seemingly cautious of his surroundings.
Qiao Feigong figured that he must be afraid of the white ape returning.
This further confirmed his suspicion that the strange monk was lured over by these three men to deal with the white ape.
However, their family had no means of putting up a fight now. Qiao Feigong could only lead the three men to their ancestral house to retrieve their treasure, the wooden token.
To Qiao Feigong, though this may be what his ancestor left behind, the treasure was practically useless. Not only did it lack value, but it also painted his family as a juicy target for thieves. While Appraiser Lin may have helped them out, Qiao Feigong already had a plan up his sleeve. Appraiser Lin could help them out once or twice, but he couldn’t look after them forever. So why not hand the treasure over and regain their peaceful days?
However, fearing that the fiends might start killing after they got what they wanted, Qiao Feigong said, “Listen well, Appraiser Lin will be back soon so after you take the item, leave at once. If you harm my family, Appraiser Lin will never stop until he avenges us.”
Qiao Feigong was sure that the three men were allies of the thieves from before.
They must have been hiding around Reed City, waiting for Appraiser Lin to leave, so that they could carry out their plan of luring White Ape away. With all the obstacles gone, they swooped in and took advantage of the situation.
In a sense, these people must have been terrified of Appraiser Lin, so whether or not the Qiao family could survive would depend on how much these people feared Appraiser Lin.
Upon hearing this, fear was apparent in their eyes.
They were indeed demonic appraisers who have been hiding inside Reed City all this while so they weren’t done away by Lin Jin, not yet at least. They had returned to Turtle Island on Nine Crescent Lake later on only to be horrified by what they saw.
The massive Turtle Island was split in half and there were zero survivors. No doubt, to them, Appraiser Lin was an opponent they could not afford to fight.
This time, they were rushing headlong into danger. If they managed to secure the treasure, there was truly no need to kill anyone.
Arriving at this conclusion, the three men nodded, agreeing with Qiao Feigong.
With this, Qiao Feigong reluctantly handed the wooden token to them.
Once they obtained the item, the thieves left immediately without causing any bloodshed. After they were out of sight, Qiao Feigong finally fell limp to the ground, feeling dispirited but also relieved at the same time.
When the other Qiao family members returned fearfully, tears started flowing from Qiao Feigong’s eyes, who was relieved to see his family safe and sound.
By handing the treasure over, Qiao Feigong felt that he had let his ancestors down. No matter how much his family had advised him against it, after his crying episode, Qiao Feigong insisted on kneeling before their ancestral house to apologize to his ancestors.
Seeing this, his son, Qiao Xing, knelt behind him with grievance and fury in his eyes.
To a young man like him, being threatened by thieves into giving up their family heirloom was a terrible humiliation.
Their family’s second uncle knelt down as well. In the end, their entire family had to beg their ancestors for forgiveness.
“Master, there’s a young lady outside saying that she’s Appraiser Lin’s disciple. She…” one of the servants stepped in and reported.
