Chapter 43: Blood Pact With The Ink Monster
Upon seeing Gu Mengzhong enter the room, Lu Yunhe rubbed his gaping eyes in disbelief.
His friar mentor just happened to be old friends with Gu Mengzhong so Lu Yunhe had met the calligraphy master several times.
“It’s Master Gu. Why is he here?”
Lu Yunhe was dumbfounded. He had heard from his mentor that Master Gu had come over to Maple City recently. Countless times had the Friar Association tried to invite Master Gu over only to be rejected cold-bloodedly. Every single time, he’d respond by saying that he didn’t have the time for such events.
Who knew that Master Gu had come to the Beast Appraisal Association instead.
‘That’s right, I heard from my mentor that Master Gu obtained a rare beast but couldn’t find a way to form a blood pact with it. He must be here to seek out Chief Wang Ji for help with it,’ Lu Yunhe mused as he came to a realization.
From his perspective, of all the people here in Maple City, only the Beast Appraisal Association’s Chief, Wang Ji had the right to be paid a visit by Master Gu.
Keep in mind that Master Gu was quite the prominent figure. All of his paintings were priceless and not every dignitary who yearned it had the opportunity to possess such a treasure.
In addition to that, Master Gu was also a great poet. Everyone in this world desired fame. It was literally a dream come true if one could become the subject of a poem from such a dignified poet like Master Gu.
Lu Yunhe assumed that Master Gu must be new to the Beast Appraisal Association, that he wanted to search for Chief Wang Ji but had come to the wrong place instead. A lightbulb lit up in Lu Yunhe’s mind. He would approach and greet Master Gu to direct him to the right place, then, he would invite the master to make a trip to the Friar Association. If his mentor found out about this, it was likely that Lu Yunhe might be rewarded for his deed.
Tidying his robes, Lu Yunhe was about to make his move. And yet, he had merely taken one step when he saw Gu Mengzhong hurry over to Lin Jin. “Appraiser Lin, ’twas a real difficult task tracking you down.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yunhe retracted his foot.
Master Gu was here for Lin Jin.
What gives?
Noticing the shock on her brother’s face, Lu Xiaoyun pulled him aside and explained to him in whispers what had happened at Symphony Restaurant yesterday.
Now that Lu Yunhe was brought away to one side of the room, Gu Mengzhong began speaking to Lin Jin.
Gu Mengzhong noticed that Lin Jin was in a terrible mood, so out of curiosity, he asked about it. Lin Jin told him about how he had carelessly misplaced the painting Gu Mengzhong had given him. At this, Gu Mengzhong laughed heartily and said, “And here I thought something terrible had happened. It’s just a painting. I’ll scribble you another one later.”
Lin Jin’s gloominess faded away instantly “A gentleman never goes back on his word!”
When Lu Yunhe overheard this, he didn’t know what else to say. His mentor had tried many times to request a painting from Gu Mengzhong but failed every single time. It took a mere utterance from Appraiser Lin for Master Gu to offer him a painting. And it seemed like he was getting ready to do it on the spot!
‘Are you guys relatives?’
Lin Jin chuckled gleefully and said, “Master Gu, I’ve figured out how to complete the blood contract with your ink monster. These are the relevant procedures. Take a look and memorize them. Once we begin, you just have to strictly follow these steps.”
Gu Mengzhong nodded. He was already aware of Lin Jin’s caliber, especially in the field of beast appraisals. The man was no doubt a fellow prodigy, just like how Gu Mengzhong himself was talented in the field of calligraphy.
Hence, without any hesitation, he began reading Lin Jin’s notes. And it didn’t take long for the writings to startle Gu Mengzhong, again.
Because on the paper were at least four alternative blood contract methods, each written with extreme detail. Gu Mengzhong was a knowledgeable man with profound experience. Although beast appraising wasn’t his exact field of expertise, he could still tell between good and bad appraisers.
The level of detail in Lin Jin’s evaluation report was something he had never seen in a very long time. They were all backed up with facts and scientific reasoning and it was difficult for one to locate any flaws in them.
Of the four blood contract methods, one had been circled out. Clearly, this was the one Lin Jin had chosen for him.
Gu Mengzhong read through it and memorized the steps.
“Alright, let’s begin.”
Without wasting time, Lin Jin grabbed the ink monster and then took out a small knife which he used to slash a tiny wound on Gu Mengzhong’s palm.
As fresh red blood oozed out, Lin Jin pressed the ink monster onto the wound.
At first, the ink monster struggled for a bit. But when Lin Jin channeled the black falcon’s aura which he found in the museum, the ink monster immediately became docile.
The blood contract process was more successful than he expected. From start to finish, it only took a brief moment.
“And we’re done!”
Lin Jin loosened his grip and the ink monster didn’t try to escape. Instead, like a blob of ink, it wrapped itself around Gu Mengzhong’s arm like a tiny snake.
Gu Mengzhong could hardly conceal the excitement on his face.
Which man of literature didn’t desire to form a blood pact with an ink monster? From this day onwards, he could write whenever he pleased, wield a sword whenever he desired. With the sleight of his hand, Gu Mengzhong extended his arm and the ink monster morphed into an obsidian long sword, its blade gleaming sharp underneath the fluorescent lights.
Raising his hand, the sword shot out like an arrow, piercing through concrete effortlessly. With a wave of his hand, the sword returned like a flying goose.
After the blood contract for forged, the ink monster was under his command. If he familiarized himself with it a little more, he would be able to utilize the beast’s capability to its maximum potential. Among its kind, this ink monster was an outstanding specimen, being a Rank 3 at birth. Now, Gu Mengzhong could finally become a wandering hero and travel across the lands.
Feeling pleased, Gu Menzhong gave a hearty laugh before saluting Lin Jin. “I, Gu Mengzhong, would like to thank Appraiser Lin for fulfilling my humble request.”
Initially, Gu Mengzhong had almost given up on forming a blood pact with this ink monster. Now that his dream had actually come true, how could he not be thankful? Moreover, he knew better than anyone else that Lin Jin was worthy of the title, Master Beast Appraiser. Forget Rank 1, even a Rank 2 or 3 beast appraiser paled in comparison to him.
Gu Mengzhong was convinced about his strength alright.
Lin Jin merely waved his hand and said, “You’re too kind, Master Gu. Come, come, let’s get down to some real business. I have a brush and paper here, help me draw up another painting, quickly.”
Lu Yunhe was one more sentence away from coughing up blood.
So to Lin Jin, forming a blood contract with the ink monster wasn’t serious business at all.
If it was said that Lu Yunhe had started looking up to Lin Jin with admiration after what happened yesterday, then today, he felt nothing but respect for the man. It was baffling how Lin Jin was interacting with Master Gu as if they were old buddies. This alone was more than enough an indicator that Lin Jin was an extraordinary individual.
When he recalled that Appraiser Lin’s fire wolf was possibly a Rank 3 pet beast, the irritation Lu Yunhe felt earlier disappeared without a trace. He knew that he had to start finding ways to flatter Lin Jin. Putting all else aside, maybe Lin Jin was the key to helping his pet beast evolve.
As Gu Mengzhong painted strokes of brilliance, Steward Zuo and Wang Ji were having a delightful conversation at Maple City’s City Lord Manor.
“Your reputation precedes you, Chief Wang Ji. The city lord has read through your evaluation reports earlier and he has nothing but praise for it. Even more so, he feels great admiration for your beast appraisal skills.” Steward Zuo didn’t hold back on his compliments as Wang Ji had indeed done a good job this time.
It had been an impossible challenge. To have Maple City’s Beast Appraisal Association evaluate eleven mutant eggs yesterday was in fact, overwhelming and Zuo Wentang knew this well.
The city lord had intended for them to appraise as much as they could, and then, they would invite a Rank 3 beast appraiser from the Beast Appraisal Association Headquarters to take a look at the remaining ones today.
Who knew that Wang Ji would do such a great job.
When the Rank 3 beast appraiser rushed over to examine the evaluation reports, he too was nodding his head in approval. He even stated that he might not have been able to evaluate some of the beast eggs, but Wang Ji managed to appraise them using subtle details to supplement his deduction. Basing on just this point, the Rank 3 beast appraiser complimented Wang Ji on his talent and bottomless potential in beast appraising.
At that moment, Wang Ji was basking in the glory as he replied, “It is only my duty. Although it took the entire night, as long as the city lord is pleased, I’m more than satisfied.”
Clearly, Wang Ji had taken credit for this glory for himself.
“Also, the city lord is equally as pleased with your gift. It is such a surprise how well-connected you are, Chief Wang Ji, to be able to get your hands on a painting by Master Gu.”
When Zuo Wentang was done talking, Wang Ji was stunned.
‘What?
‘What painting by Master Gu?’
Confused, Wang Ji subconsciously asked, “Were you perhaps, referring to Master Gu Mengzhong?”
Zuo Wentang assumed that Wang Ji was doing this on purpose and laughed out loud in response. “Is there another Master Gu that I don’t know of? Chief Wang, you’ve been too kind this time. The city lord has spoken. He will be holding a feast tonight and a valuable guest from the royal city has been invited. Chief Wang, you must join us at the table.”
Since he was already guilty, Wang Ji dared not ask any more questions that might work against him. He merely mumbled to himself, “I don’t even have a painting from Master Gu Mengzhong, how could I give it to you? Maybe they got it wrong.”