Zhao Jingyan?
Lin Jin was stunned.
He thought, ‘What is she doing here? Didn’t we just meet in the Visitation Hall? It’s only been two days so how did she manage to get all the way here?
‘If she was coming, why didn’t she tell me at all?’ wondered Lin Jin.
‘Oh well, let’s just see if it’s actually her,’ he thought.
Lin Jin allowed the guest in and sure enough, it was Zhao Jingyan. However, Lin Jin was currently wearing the hat of Curator’s disciple, so he should act as if he hadn’t met Zhao Jingyan before. Thus, Lin Jin feigned ignorance, “I am the chief of Maple City’s Beast Appraisal Association, Lin Jin. How may I be of help, ma’am?”
As Lin Jin pretended to study his unexpected guest, so did Zhao Jingyan study Lin Jin.
At first glance, he seemed like a gentleman from the upper-class. As expected of Curator’s disciple!
However, as Zhao Jingyan was Phoenix Palace’s great commander, and Phoenix Palace was only second to premium countries, Zhao Jingyan’s pride had grown inflated over time.
She couldn’t afford to act all high-and-mighty before Curator but if she was up against his disciple, Zhao Jingyan held the opinion that she was on par with him. In fact, she thought of herself as being slightly superior to Lin Jin.
Of course, this was what Zhao Jingyan thought, and she made sure to appear courteous on the surface.
“Appraiser Lin, I come from Phoenix Palace. My name is Jingyan and I am acquainted with your master. I have come uninvited because I have urgent questions that require your master’s guidance. Also, I am here on the advice of your master, who suggested that I search for an exotic fire source,” Zhao Jingyan answered with a smile.
While whatever she said sounded reasonable, Lin Jin found a huge problem in her explanation.
He could understand Zhao Jingyan coming over to seek his assistance because she couldn’t track down ‘Curator’ herself, but to search for an exotic fire source? Where in the whole of Jade Dragon Kingdom would she find an exotic fire source?
Instead of asking her that question now, Lin Jin got Zhao Ying to brew a steaming cup of tea for his guest. Zhao Ying was sensible enough to leave right after the tea was prepared so Lin Jin could attend to his guest. For now, Lin Jin’s consultation hall was fully left to Zhao Ying, Lu Xiaoyun, Jia Qian, and Han Dong. Only when they came across tricky cases or rare beasts would they require Lin Jin’s assistance. Even so, they have been handling their jobs well for some time now.
Hence, Lin Jin was confident that they were worthy enough to receive the title of Rank 1 beast appraiser, maybe even higher.
Inside the room, Zhao Jingyan told Lin Jin about what happened in the Visitation Hall. Although Lin Jin already knew all about it, he still had to listen to her story from the beginning.
“Your master, Curator, is such a phenomenal man that Jingyan is utterly impressed. I have also benefited considerably from the phoenix Nirvana and rebirth concepts he shared with me. Besides coming here to visit Appraiser Lin and try my luck at meeting Curator, I also happen to know that Maple City has an underground exotic fire stream.”
Zhao Jingyan didn’t try to hide anything. Since Lin Jin was Curator’s disciple, she figured that it would be best to be honest with him.
Now, Lin Jin was sure that Zhao Jingyan didn’t use that as an empty excuse to come over to Maple City. Looks like she really came here for the exotic fire source to hatch her phoenix egg.
He was, however, surprised to learn that they had an exotic fire stream underneath Maple City.
It didn’t take long for him to recall that there was an Earth-Fire Spirit Stream below their association. While earth streams of this sort were rare, they weren’t that remarkable to be called an exotic fire.
If Maple City did have an exotic fire stream, security around their association would have been far tighter compared to the system that was currently in place. An exotic fire stream was just that important.
Upon hearing his doubt, Zhao Jingyan smiled.
“Appraiser Lin, I don’t think you are aware of the exotic fire stream below Maple City. In fact, it is likely that the entire Jade Dragon Kingdom isn’t yet aware of this either. Only our Phoenix Palace knows about its existence. As Phoenix Palace specializes in the fire attribute, our seniors and ancestors have investigated all continents and marked the locations of exotic fire sources. In addition to that, they would seal up the place with a secret art to prevent others from detecting these sources.”
Lin Jin was captivated by what Zhao Jingyan said.
Indeed, Phoenix Palace was capable of such a feat. Their organization had lasted for several hundred years now, and it was an organization from which many experts were raised. If a Phoenix Palace expert had found an exotic fire stream below Maple City even before the establishment of Jade Dragon Kingdom, then it was not all that surprising for things to be as what Zhao Jingyan described.
It was like finding a treasure chest at home that had been locked up by someone else. As the owner of the property, one could imagine how vexing it would be.
And Lin Jin was a little annoyed right now.
Had he known there was an exotic fire stream below Maple City, Xiao Huo could have borrowed the exotic fire to achieve his next perfect evolution.
What Phoenix Palace did ticked him off slightly.
However, if they hadn’t sealed the place up, other experts might have found the stream hundreds of years ago instead. A river of blood would have been spilled in order to seize the stream and it would have eventually dried up by now.
With that in mind, it seems that Phoenix Palace had done a good deed instead. At the very least, it was thanks to them that the exotic fire stream remained till today.
Now that Lin Jin had learned of its existence, he certainly wouldn’t just sit still.
He recalled the entrance of this exotic fire stream being located right inside their branch office. In the past, he had borrowed fire for beast refinement, but Lin Jin had no idea that it was an exotic fire stream back then.
He performed pelletization there too.
Lin Jin couldn’t stay calm anymore. He decided to visit the place with Zhao Jingyan at once. Zhao Jingyan did not stop him as she was here to borrow the strength of the exotic fire stream for the rebirth of her phoenix after all.
Though, she was still slightly hesitant.
“Shouldn’t we wait for Curator? Just in case something happens, I’d feel safer with him around.” Zhao Jingyan clearly had more confidence in Curator instead.
Wait? That was the last thing Lin Jin could do at the moment.
“Curator won’t be coming for a while, and since I’ve received direct guidance from him, it’ll be the same as having him around.”
Lin Jin got up from his seat immediately and Zhao Jingyan had no other choice but to follow him.
The association’s Earth Fire Spirit Stream was a place for appraisers to treat and improve their fire attribute pet beasts. The person in charge of guarding the place was the association’s Elder Mo.
Elder Mo was a veteran. Lin Jin used to receive his help too so even after becoming the association’s chief, Lin Jin remained respectful toward Elder Mo.
“Elder Mo!” Upon entering the cave, Lin Jin saluted the old man who was down here meditating. The latter laughed heartily at the sight of Lin Jin. “Chief Lin, it’s been so long since you came here. I heard about your achievements in the royal capital. If you have the time, you must teach me a trick or two about beast appraising.”
Elder Mo wasn’t the type to put on airs because of his rich life experience, and this was also a trait that impressed Lin Jin.
“Elder Mo, I have come here for a reason.” Lin Jin already knew that Elder Mo was tasked with guarding the Earth Fire Spirit Stream. He was actually embarrassed by the degree of his lack of concern for why Elder Mo was guarding it in the first palace. To Lin Jin, it was a dereliction of his duty as chief of their branch.
When he asked about it, Elder Mo cast a glance at Zhao Jingyan who came in together with Lin Jin.
Since Elder Mo was assigned the task to guard this place, it implied that it involved the association’s secrets, so it wasn’t like he could speak freely about it before an outsider.
