Lin Jin thought he had misheard it.
Shu Xiaolou added, “Something feels off about that Appraiser Yan.”
Lin Jin treated her remark seriously. Unlike average humans, Shu Xiaolou was a painting spirit that had been cultivating for the past five hundred years. Apart from that, her standard was higher than that of a Rank 5 beast appraiser. Lin Jin could not even compare to her in terms of experience, observation skills, and knowledge.
Had it not been for the Museum of Deadly Beasts, he would be like a drop in the ocean compared to someone like Shu Xiaolou.
Hence, Lin Jin was very much concerned about Shu Xiaolou’s grave reminder.
“What’s off about Appraiser Yan?” Lin Jin asked.
Shu Xiaolou smiled. The crimson robes that contrasted with her fair skin, coupled with the tranquil atmosphere of the night accentuated her unique charm.
“Instinct. That Appraiser Yan is concealing his true strength and there’s a discreet layer of energy that surrounds him. Even I can’t tell what he’s hiding underneath. From the start, he’s been constantly observing you and me!” Shu Xiaolou didn’t state anything too obvious but since she had put it that way, something must be wrong.
Lin Jin kept quiet, but he began to consider the possibilities.
Shu Xiaolou’s senses were sharper than his. They were likely keener than most beasts that had sharp senses. Lin Jin was certain that it was true. Since she had brought it up, he had to have overlooked something.
Thinking back carefully, Lin Jin remembered something. Someone had previously planted that tin can in Peach Blossom House.
That “someone” was among his visitors.
It was unlikely that his students were the culprits, given their tender age and inexperience. Right, Tan Lin came by before too but Lin Jin would never suspect her. With this, the only people capable of doing something like this without being detected had to be someone of caliber. This meant that the number of suspects was narrowed down even further.
Rank 4 appraisers were much more capable than Rank 3 appraisers so Lin Jin could exclude the latter too. Of the Rank 4 appraisers who visited, Appraiser Yan had been one of them.
Lin Jin remembered that Appraiser Yan and Appraiser Ouyang had visited him as mediators for his confrontation with Appraiser Yang Ming. They then engaged in idle chatter and both appraisers even asked to tour around Peach Blossom House.
Now that he thought about it, their visit did seem suspicious.
Only Appraiser Yan had treated him with exceptional friendliness. This went as far back as the Rank 4 assessment when he deliberately looked out for him. That could have just been an act too.
Either way, now that Shu Xiaolou had mentioned it, Lin Jin began to notice the multiple red flags that he had previously ignored.
However, it was only pure suspicion as there was no evidence to prove Appraiser Yan guilty. It would be terrible if they misunderstood him as Appraiser Yan had always been nice to Lin Jin.
If Appraiser Yan was indeed a problematic character, that would be incredibly frightening and Lin Jin couldn’t imagine just what was he planning to achieve.
Lin Jin knew that Shu Xiaolou was just reminding him to be careful, and he was grateful for that. Otherwise, Appraiser Yan would have flown under his radar.
“Let’s get a drink. Didn’t you say it’ll be on your tab?” Shu Xiaolou said. By now, they had left the palace and entered Heavenly Spiral City.
Although it was dark outside, Heavenly Spiral City was still lively as ever.
Lin Jin estimated the time. There were still more than two hours until the Visitation Hall opened so he had time to accompany Shu Xiaolou around to eat and drink.
And so, both of them began wandering around the city. Some of the streets were brightly lit and lined with food stands and peddlers. Touts mingled with the music played by buskers and performers to form a bustling atmosphere.
To Lin Jin’s surprise, Shu Xiaolou no longer behaved like the wise old spirit from before. Now, she had taken on the personality of the young girl in the painting. She was fascinated by everything and wanted to buy them all.
Soon, her hands were filled with a variety of merchandise. A fan, candy figures, and little scraps. Of course, Lin Jin had to foot the bill for her. Thankfully, these things were relatively cheap.
Lin Jin noticed that Shu Xiaolou especially loved paintings.
Whenever something caught her fancy, she would ask if she could buy it. Lin Jin wondered if this had something to do with her being a painting spirit. This reminded him of the Unending Nature Landscape. That was a painting too. It even had another dimension inside it. If he brought her along to see it, she might start jumping out of joy.
But that wasn’t urgent. Lin Jin and Shu Xiaolou were currently seated across from each other in a restaurant. They ordered two pots of liquor and several dishes, both of which tasted so much better than what they were offered in the palace.
The patrons at the restaurant quickly noticed the couple. Here sat a handsome, dignified man and a divine-looking woman. They looked like a match made in heaven, and it drew the envy of everyone else.
***
Great Deer Country.
An intermediate country in United Continent and neighbor of Jade Dragon Kingdom. Several decades ago, the two nations were engaged in a lengthy war, in which both nations lost at least one hundred thousand men near the border.
For this exact reason, the tension between the two countries persisted through the years, and both of them refused to communicate with each other.
At Stone Pass, the border between the two countries, a human silhouette could be seen flying across the sky.
Without relying on anything, that person soared through the sky. Anyone would be baffled if they saw such a scene. Thankfully, this person was able to glide silently through the night sky so no one noticed him at all.
Up ahead, several men were rushing forward on horses. Looks like the person in the sky was secretly tailing them.
Without stopping, these horses passed through great plains to enter Great Deer Country’s borders. Then, they stopped to rest at a random village that was on their side of the border.
F*ck! This operation is a disaster. Not only did we fail but we even lost a few brothers. It’s good that we’re at least smart enough to escape.” Inside the yard of a village building, several men sat in a circle as they ate. Beside them laid the corpse of two people.
They were the owners of the residence.
The group had killed them immediately upon intruding into the property. They would use this place as a temporary resting place.
The man who spoke wore a vicious expression. He invoked a spell and a large python slithered out of his neck. The python had several wounds, clearly injured.
It slithered down and simply swallowed one of the corpses on the floor whole.
Opposite the man was another injured person. This person had lost an arm, and blood continued to ooze out of his bandaged wound. He seemed to be in a tragic state but looked just as savage as the first man. He didn’t seem like a good guy either.
“This isn’t over yet. I don’t care who they are, but whoever that offends our Demonic Appraisal Association has to die,” he said icily. Perhaps he pulled a muscle near his wound, the man hissed and began spouting profanities.
Another man who just finished feeding their horses came over to sit down. “We’ve come across an expert this time. We just have to report this to Elder Ye. After all, he the one who arranged for this surveillance on Maple City.”
At the mention of their mission, all three men turned ominous.
It had been a supposedly simple mission where they were tasked to keep watch on a mansion in Jade Dragon’s Maple City. No one anticipated that their plan would be discovered by someone else on the very first day.
By a gorgeous woman at that.
But this woman was much too terrifying. Two out of their group of five had died on the spot. The rest retreated, but not without one of the men losing his arm. They had been lucky enough to be able to escape with their lives.
Once they left Maple City, they continued their retreat until they entered the border of Great Deer Kingdom.
“Elder Ye has sent pigeon mail to gather all subordinates at Great Deer Kingdom so there must be a huge mission going on. We can use this opportunity to report to Elder Ye of our situation and let him decide what to do next,” that last person said.
His other two companions nodded in agreement.
Unbeknownst to these three men, a person was standing atop a large tree nearby, hidden by the darkness of night.
This beautiful silhouette belonged to none other than Shang’er who pursued these men from Maple City.
