Tan Lin told him the full story of what had happened.
As she elaborated, the people around her all wore different expressions. Some of their mouths were gaping from shock, especially Wang Ji, whose eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.
Tan Xun asked, “Who is this Lin Jin?”
None of them spoke up, especially Wang Ji. At that instant, he didn’t know what he should say. He couldn’t possibly tell Tan Xun that the person who rescued his daughter was the man he deemed unworthy of becoming a beast appraiser, could he?
“Father, I’ll tell you about him.” Tan Lin continued to explain Lin Jin’s situation. The more Tan Xun listened, the darker his expression because, and the harder he frowned.
Other than the appraisal mishap, Tan Lin told him about the ‘punishments’ Lin Jin had suffered over the past few days as well without hiding anything.
“How foolish and capricious!” Tan Xun couldn’t resist the urge to lash out.
Tan Lin kept her head down.
“Lin’er, it’s no wonder you coughed up blood out of shame just now. If it were me, I’d have done the same. You must feel really guilty, don’t you? At least you know that you’re in the wrong here.
Having said that, Tan Xun walked over to the shadow wolf.
Even since Lin Jin entered the exam hall, the shadow wolf remained rooted to the spot. It would let out a dangerous growl at whoever approached it. But when Tan Xun went over, it didn’t resist and lowered its head obediently instead.
As a Rank 3 beast appraiser, it was evidently easy for Tan Xun to tame the shadow wolf. One glance was more than enough for him to figure out what had happened.
“Indeed it wasn’t an appraisal mishap. This shadow wolf’s hidden bloodline was concealed too deeply and only those who are skilled enough in beast appraisals can realize it. Also, if I’m not mistaken, what triggered this wolf’s bloodline activation was a ‘blood seal’. It’s a very profound seal technique that only a scarce few beast appraisers in headquarters had mastery over.”
He was indirectly praising Lin Jin’s skill.
Wang Ji had heard of the blood seal as well. However, he was subpar in it and couldn’t successfully activate a pet beast’s bloodline in just one go.
“Lin’er, you’re the inspector dispatched by headquarters so the decision is yours whether this Lin Jin is suited to continue being a beast appraiser or not. I won’t get involved in this matter,” Tan Xun said.
Although he said he wouldn’t get involved, his facial expression clearly showed that he thought otherwise.
Tan Lin took a deep breath and wore a grave expression.
“Chief Wang, please hand me all of Lin Jin’s past assessment records. I want to investigate them. Also, bring me a few of his evaluation reports.”
After regaining her composure, Tan Lin displayed her competent side.
Reluctant to accept this outcome, Wang Ji said, “I don’t think it was Lin Jin who broke Appraiser Tan Lin’s curse. From what I know, he’s incapable of such a feat. Also, if it was really him, why didn’t he speak up? I think this matter needs further investigation.”
Tan Lin frowned.
While she was previously prejudiced against Lin Jin, now that she realized he was instead a benefactor who saved her life, Tan Lin’s attitude undergone a major makeover. Before all this, she hadn’t noticed Wang Ji’s suspicious behavior. But now, in retrospect, this Wang Ji was clearly biased against Lin Jin and was constantly searching for ways to sabotage him.
“Chief Wang, I’ll be the one to judge. You do as I say,” Tan Lin replied coldly. Without any excuses left, Wang Ji could only send someone to retrieve Lin Jin’s assessment scores.
As for the evaluation reports, he didn’t keep any of them. However, as Zhao Ying was present as well, she had Han Dong retrieve their copies at once.
Soon, the required documents were retrieved and Tan Lin inspected them on the spot. Now that she had regained her sense of justice, it only took a few glances to see where the problem was. First, it was Lin Jin’s evaluation.
The contents were too subjective and were mostly filled with things that couldn’t be detected. Also, many of the minor flaws that were passed off in other people’s evaluations were instead magnified in Lin Jin’s case, turning them into intolerable and grave mistakes.
“It’s no wonder Lin Jin’s assessment scores were so low!” Tan Lin shot a vicious glare at Wang Ji.
If she had yet to figure out what was going on, that would truly be foolish of her.
It was clear that Wang Ji had been working against Lin Jin.
And he had done it brazenly.
Then, she looked at the evaluation reports from Zhao Ying. Tan Lin felt that she had been too reckless for not examining Lin Jin’s evaluation reports when she first came for the inspection. She had neglected her duty as a proper inspector.
Now that she studied them, she was instantly convinced by the contents. These evaluation reports could even serve as reference materials in headquarters.
This was a world’s difference compared to what Wang Ji had commented about Lin Jin.
At that moment, Wang Ji’s expression became solemn as he kept quiet.
He couldn’t say anything.
However, he wasn’t afraid. It was only normal to have elements of subjectivity in a subordinate’s evaluation. Since it was all determined by himself, even if there was any prejudice, Wang Ji could call it an oversight.
He could even get a random scapegoat to take the blame and this will all be resolved easily.
At that instant, Wang Ji spoke up, “I rarely interact with Lin Jin on a daily basis, after all, it’s quite hard for me to pay attention to everything in such a huge association. Zhang He, you were in charge of recording Lin Jin’s daily matters. Tell me, why was his evaluation so low? In the reports that you submitted every day, how much of them had your biased views mixed into it?”
Wang Ji had obviously found a scapegoat.
Zhang He shuddered in fear. But he was no idiot. He knew that he was going to have to take the fall so he quickly said, “Chief, Appraiser Tan, it was my fault. I haven’t been diligent enough in my investigation and only listened to hearsay so some of the parts might sound a little heavy-handed. But most of the contents are true.”
Just then, Nan Gongxian spoke up as well. “This isn’t anything major. The main issue concerning Lin Jin was the previous mishap. But since it was proven to be invalid, we can just undo the previous punishments. At worst, we can restore Lin Jin’s qualifications as a certified beast appraiser.”
As expected of an elder. His first words were to reduce the magnitude of the problem, and after that, he would turn them into nothingness. Clearly, he didn’t want to let some people take responsibility.
Also, he made sure to point out that Tan Lin was also involved in evaluating that appraisal mishap. If they were to take responsibility, she wouldn’t be let off the hook that easily as well.
This was indeed a smart move. Wang Ji and Zhang He were thrilled on the inside as they mused, a man was indeed wiser as he aged. With Elder Nan on their side, speaking up for them, they could probably let today’s matter slide.
But to their surprise, Tan Lin didn’t share the same sentiment.
Or rather, her pride wouldn’t let her do it.
“I will take responsibility for this mistake of mine. After today, I will resign from my post as an inspector, and Maple City’s branch association must face the consequences and measures must be taken to prevent something like this from happening again.”
She was clearly adamant about seeing this matter through justly.
Nan Gongxian frowned without saying anything. Since Tan Lin wouldn’t show him the respect he expected from her, he was out of ideas. He shot Wang Ji a glance to signify that he couldn’t help this time.
Knowing that he should show determination at this moment, Wang Ji took a deep breath and said, “Appraiser Tan is right. I’m also responsible so I will punish myself by forgoing three months of my salary. I’ll also revoke Zhang He’s rights to run a consultation hall and demote him to a regular apprentice. He will remain at the association for monitoring purposes. If he still doesn’t mend his ways, he will be severely punished.”
It required many grueling years before an apprentice could have his own consultation hall. Now that his right to be a listed consultant was revoked, it was equivalent to shutting down his hall, turning years of continuous effort into nothing. Zhang He’s expression instantly turned sour, but he could only accept it.
Having his consultation hall shut down was better than being kicked out of the association.
Nan Gongxian wanted things to end here, so he extended an invitation to the Rank 3 beast appraiser, Tan Xun to the banquet they had prepared in advance. Wang Ji remembered this as well and said, “Oh, excuse my poor memory. How could we not do our part as local hosts since Elder Tan has come all the way to our Maple City’s Beast Appraisal Association? Symphony Restaurant makes the best dishes and we’ve made reservations for a banquet there. We hope Elder Tan can join us so we can also receive your guidance in the study of beast appraisals.”
However, Tan Xun shook his head instead. “It’s inconvenient for me to get involved in Maple City branch’s internal affairs. I refused to get involved as well. But I, Tan Xun, must wait for my daughter’s benefactor to come out so I may thank him in person.”
