City Lord Wang jolted at the sight of the three-ringed beast pattern sleeve guard.
As lord of a city, how could he possibly fail to recognize what the symbol represented? Within the walls of Reed City which he managed, there too was a beast appraisal association but they had no Rank 3 beast appraisers.
“Utter nonsense!”
Chen Ruyuan suddenly raged.
Even if the other person was ill-mannered and disrespectful, Chen Ruyuan would be able to tolerate it due to his commendable degree of self-control. Despite his annoyance, he wouldn’t actively seek an explanation from Lin Jin, or deliberately give him any trouble.
However, this person had clearly crossed the line when he leaped into the crater so suddenly.
The general of the Jade Dragon Kingdom had delegated the task of overseeing the situation here to him. Although they were certain that the monster was dead thanks to the exorcist abbot from the Daluo Temple, there would always be that margin of error.
He had come here on orders to gather men and fill up the crater. Since that was the case, it was only natural for him to be surprised by the sight of Lin Jin hopping into the crater.
Although Chen Ruyuan couldn’t care less about Lin Jin’s safety, he was concerned with his own reputation, since it was inevitable that he would be deemed incompetent if word got out that he had buried a man alive.
What would his superiors think of him?
Thus, Chen Ruyuan jumped down as well, planning to seize the man as soon as he got the chance.
“Wait up you punk!” As a guardian of the country, Chen Ruyuan was among the handful of people in the Jade Dragon Kingdom who possessed a Rank 4 pet beast.
In other words, he was as powerful as he was confident of his own capabilities.
For a crater of about a hundred feet deep, Chen Ruyuan only needed to borrow some of his pet beast’s powers to safely reach the bottom.
This place was filled with crushed rocks and rubble, but there were also tons of massive crevasses that extended further down into the ground.
The fact that Lin Jin was nowhere to be seen indicated that he was somewhere in those cracks.
Some crevasses were about five feet wide so there was no doubt that a human could fit in there.
Chen Ruyuan walked over to the spot where the brat disappeared and sure enough, there was a crack there. Chen Ruyuan cursed under his breath before jumping in.
To capture the man, he had to go down there.
However, right after his descent, he found himself in a dome. It was actually a huge cave and by the looks of it, it seemed like a natural formation. Perhaps after the collapse of their city, the hidden cave here was opened up. There was a large boulder that sealed the entrance to the cave, so they could only access it through the cracks that had appeared following the fight.
However, this cave did not extend far. It was a blank space of about dozens of feet and the brat who jumped down earlier was standing in the middle of it, holding something in his arms.
Chen Ruyuan flared up in anger.
“Listen up kid! This is a restricted area! You’re not allowed to barge in here as you please. Get out now!” As he spoke, Chen Ruyuan swiped his palm through the air.
He was using the gripping force which he borrowed from his pet beast.
The shadow of a beast could be seen lurking on his body and that was his pet beast. Merged through the Beastmaster Second Scroll, Chen Ruyuan’s strength was now ten times as strong as an average man’s.
However, before he could grab the young man, he was pushed back by an invisible force.
Chen Ruyuan had to stumble backward for a couple of feet before he could steady himself.
He was visibly startled.
“You! Who are you?”
Chen Ruyuan remained on guard. In most cases, the Beastmaster Second Scroll should be enough to deal with troublemakers, but now, it seemed inevitable that he had to bring out his pet beast.
“Golden bear! I summon thee!”
Chen Ruyuan invoked a spell and the shadow that lingered around his body immediately materialized and took the form of a huge golden bear that seemed ready for combat.
However, the bear was only halfway out when Lin Jin extended his arm in front of him.
“Go back!”
It took only two words and a simple gesture before the ferocious golden bear was forced back into Chen Ruyuan’s body by an invisible force.
The Beastmaster Second Scroll that was supposed to come undone was sealed up again. When he tried to unleash it again, he was met with strong resistance.
This struck Chen Ruyuan dumb.
His eyes were as wide as saucers and he started to stammer, “You… T-This is! I-I…”
He couldn’t even form a complete sentence and no one could blame him. It was Chen Ruyuan’s first time encountering such a situation after all. To think someone could actually reseal his pet beast back into his body just as it was about to separate.
Who should he try to reason this with?
He had never seen anything like this before either.
Just as Chen Ruyuan was at a loss of what to do, when he was overwhelmed by fear, Lin Jin finally spoke up.
“Greetings. Firstly, allow me to apologize for jumping straight into the crater without prior notification. I had only done so due to the urgency of the situation. You have asked who I am so allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lin Jin, chief of Maple City’s Beast Appraisal Association.”
“Lin Jin?”
Chen Ruyuan was immediately taken aback upon the mention of that name.
Although his Iron Feather Troops weren’t based in the royal capital, he knew many things that went on in the big city.
At the Jade Dragon Festival, the general of his army formation had gone to the royal capital to participate in the festivities. When he came back at night, he told Chen Ruyuan about a peculiar incident.
The general told him that His Majesty, Emperor He Qian, had personally conferred to Lin Jin the title of Jade Dragon’s Supreme Appraiser. Apart from that, the general also described witnessing Lin Jin evolve the five lucky pet beasts on the spot, something which astonished him.
When he returned and told Chen Ruyuan about it, he seemed visibly impressed by Lin Jin.
So could this person here be Jade Dragon’s Supreme Appraiser?
He must be!
Chen Ruyuan suddenly found the answer to his question. If this man wasn’t Jade Dragon’s Supreme Appraiser, how did he manage to seal his pet beast back into his body?
Thus, Chen Ruyuan’s demeanor changed completely.
Forcing a smile onto his face, he stepped forward and saluted Lin Jin.
“Ah, so you’re Appraiser Lin. Apologies for my unruly behavior. I am Chen Ruyuan, chief of the Iron Feather Troops. It is an honor, to be able to meet Appraiser Lin here today.”
Chen Ruyuan may be an arrogant man, but he valued strength in others the most. Without a doubt, Lin Jin was a man of caliber.
Not only was he a prized individual of His Majesty, but Lin Jin was also a guardian of their kingdom. Instead of offending this person, it would be a much wiser choice for Chen Ruyuan to befriend him instead.
Lin Jin nodded at Chen Ruyuan. “Lord Chen, I need your help with something.”
Chen Ruyuan immediately answered, “There’s no need to hold back, Appraiser Lin. Just tell me what it is and consider it done.”
Then, Lin Jin glanced at the thing in his arms before saying, “I’d like to trouble Lord Chen to guard this cave for one day. Don’t let anyone inside for the duration.”
By now, Chen Ruyuan could clearly see that Lin Jin was carrying a little fox. However, this fox seemed to be lying unconscious in his arms. He had no idea whether it was dead or alive. One thing that caught his eye was how fluffy its tail was, and how it seemed to have more than one tail.
Chen Ruyuan had his suspicions but since Lin Jin was here, he didn’t really want any more trouble for himself, so he replied, “That won’t be an issue, so don’t worry Appraiser Lin. I will do that right now. In fact, I’m perfectly fine with standing guard for three or even five days.”
Lin Jin nodded and thanked him before Chen Ruyuan took his leave.
Once outside, Chen Ruyuan regained that pompous attitude of his before he leaped up to the edge of the crater.
“City Lord Wang, everything is under control. Turns out that person was actually a good friend of mine,” said Chen Ruyuan.
Wang Yuanqiao was no idiot so he obviously didn’t buy it. Still, he couldn’t possibly point out the man’s lie, as his position dictated him to play dumb for the sake of diplomacy.
“Oh really? He’s a good friend of Lord Chen? If that’s the case, then I guess all is well now.”
Wang Yuanqiao was visibly relieved and he did not even mention the point that an outsider had just trespassed into a restricted area.
“City Lord Wang, you may head back first. I’ll be staying to catch up with my friend so I won’t be taking up any more of your time.”
Chen Ruyuan was trying to chase them away.
This golden opportunity of befriending Appraiser Lin wasn’t something he wanted to share with others.
City Lord Wang and his men had no other choice but to turn and leave since they had no valid reasons to remain here either. At the same time, Lin Jin was in the underground cave, caressing the fox’s head.
“Shang’er, I will avenge you,” he whispered.
