Chapter 51: The Spy, Han Dong
Han Dong went ahead to get the paperwork done. It wasn’t long before he was officially affiliated with Lin Jin. This speed was a little surreal. Had it been the other appraisers, from registration to the review phase, up to the final assessment, it would have taken at least six days to complete.
Lin Jin brought Han Dong over to greet Zhao Ying and Lu Xiaoyun.
Upon meeting the girls, Han Dong’s eyes sparkled. He had long heard of these beauties’ names but they had never spoken in a conversation before, even when they previously bumped into one another in the association. Now that they were officially acquainted, things felt different.
There was a beauty ranking circulating within Maple City’s Beast Appraisal Association. Ranked number one was none other than the number one apprentice, Jia Qian, who was also close to becoming a certified beast appraiser.
Number two was Lu Xiaoyun.
Zhao Ying was considered a rising star. Her looks and demeanor were so remarkable that she was regarded to be on par with Lu Xiaoyun. After meeting her today, Han Dong could tell that she deserved her reputation.
“Greeting, seniors. My name is Han Dong.” Han Dong clearly knew how to carry himself. The man was quick-witted and smart. Otherwise, Dong He would have never chosen him to become a ‘spy’.
Zhao Ying merely nodded without saying anything. Lu Xiaoyun on the other hand was more ardent. “You’ve done the right thing by being affiliated with Appraiser Lin. From now on, we’ll be working in the same consultation hall. We’ll make sure to look out for you if anything happens.”
Han Dong nodded at once.
Despite his plump figure, Han Dong was quick on his feet. Moments after he arrived, he began sweeping the floor and wiping the tables. He insisted on taking on most of the chores, making Lin Jin nod with approval.
At least this newcomer was a hardworking chap.
Han Dong was here to spy on Lin Jin and he remembered to stay true to his mission. While it seemed like he was cleaning up, he was actually examining Lin Jin’s consultation hall.
If he had to give his honest opinion, this place was really rundown.
Dong He was planning to begin providing consultations too. Even his consultation hall was wider and brighter despite being an apprentice, never mind that of Appraiser Gao Jiang’s or Chief Wang Ji’s. Even the hardware they had here couldn’t be compared to what the others had.
The hall was divided into two parts. The outer room was where consultations took place. The interior served as a storage room. While “tidying up” the place, Han Dong went inside and immediately caught sight of several pet beasts.
The most noticeable creature was Zu Can’s sapphire turtle who was left in Lin Jin’s care.
It was after all a large creature that was half as tall as a human. With such a massive turtle sitting there, it was hard to miss. The huge reptile was currently resting on the floor. Although it was barely moving, it poked its head out to steal a glance at the fire wolf in a corner.
The fire wolf was none other than Xiao Huo.
Every since his perfect evolution, at Rank 3, Xiao Huo’s temperament was completely different from when he was a mongrel. Despite its tiny size, there was a sense of dominance that added to his unique aura. He was currently curled up in a corner. Xiao Huo vigilantly glanced at Han Dong the moment he entered the room.
One was a man, the other a wolf. The instant they exchanged glances, Han Dong raised his arms in surrender. He shifted his gaze away, feeling slightly frightened on the inside.
“This fire wolf is a little weird.”
Han Dong wasn’t sure if he was mistaken but he had a hunch that this fire wolf was actually cautious of him. Moreover, its gaze didn’t seem like it belonged to a pet beast. The look Han Dong received from the beast actually made him nervous and fearful.
What an odd phenomenon.
Although he wasn’t an official beast appraiser, Han Dong was an apprentice. He possessed the ability to stand his ground against violent beasts. It was called the ‘Mind-Calming Technique’, a basic skill that all apprentices were required to master.
After all, they would be facing various types of deadly beasts in the future. It would be fine if they came across gentle beasts, but if they came across ferocious and deadly ones, could they allow themselves to be frightened by just one look?
Absolutely not!
Hence, the Mind-Calming Technique was a necessary skill and everyone was required to pass.
However, from that one look earlier, Han Dong got the feeling that his mastery over such a basic skill was really poor. He was actually frightened.
“Accident. It was an accident.” Reluctant to give in to the visceral fear, Han Dong continued sniffing around.
Other than the sapphire turtle and fire wolf, there was Zhao Ying’s pangolin and Lu Xiaoyun’s red fox. Both pet beasts were resting behind Xiao Huo and emitted unusual auras as well.
At that moment, Han Dong realized something important.
Other than that sapphire turtle, the other pet beasts were Rank 2.
Han Dong was an apprentice beast appraiser with solid foundation skills. There was no way he could have made a mistake as Rank 2 pet beasts have denser auras and were able to utilize their elemental powers. Just by activating his spiritual eye, he was able to tell from the elemental spirit energy that emanated off their bodies.
The margin of error here was nil.
‘Appraiser Lin’s pet beast is as Rank 2. The two apprentices’ affiliated with him also have Rank 2 pet beasts. This is an important discovery. I have to record this and report it when I get back.’ Han Dong contemplated silently before he carried on, pretending to clean up.
‘Wait.’
Suddenly recalling something, Han Dong spun around to look at the sapphire turtle.
‘Whose large turtle is this? And why does it look so familiar?’
After searching through his memory, he remembered seeing this sapphire turtle. And it was definitely more than once he had come across this turtle.
‘It’s Young Master Zu’s pet beast. Previously, Young Master Zu had come to the association several times to seek out Chief Wang Ji and Appraiser Gao Jiang for a diagnosis. It seemed like the large turtle has some kind of weird illness but I heard it was terminal. Even Chief Wang Ji and Appraiser Gao had no solutions so they asked Young Master Zu to give up. The last time I saw it, this sapphire turtle looked like it was about to die. It should have been dying but why does it look so lively now?’
This was undoubtedly a huge discovery.
Feeling perplexed and in fear of being mistaken, Han Dong got a closer look.
‘I’m not mistaken. This is Young Master Zu’s pet beast. There’s no mistaking it because the Zu family’s seal is on its shell.’ Han Dong gasped.
Two days ago, this pet beast showed signs of impending death and was deemed ‘incurable’ by both Chief Wang Ji and Appraiser Gao. But here it was today, alive and kicking. Although it wasn’t exactly active, it seemed lively enough. Ain’t no way this is a dying beast, right?
‘Is it possible that Young Master Zu came to Appraiser Lin for treatment and the turtle was saved?’ Han Dong shook his head. Even he refused to believe this idea. ‘How could it possibly be?’
Even Chief Wang and Appraiser Gao couldn’t help so how could a mere Lin Jin rescue this large turtle?
However, reality was right before his eyes. There was nothing Han Dong could do to deny it.
Feeling awestruck, Han Dong tried his best to contain himself, trying not to make a sound. He made a mental note of this as his impression of Lin Jin improved at the same time.
‘Everyone says that Appraiser Lin is unskilled and incompetent. But from the looks of it, that doesn’t seem true at all. Could the rumors be fake? Was it deliberate defamation?’ While the association seemed harmonious on the surface, Han Dong knew how unforgiving the internal conflicts were. His speculation might just be spot on.
‘But even if it’s true, I can’t change things. I’m only a tiny apprentice. I just have to finish my own tasks.’ Han Dong warned himself before getting ready to leave.
Suddenly he noticed a pile of evaluation reports.
These were freshly delivered.
Han Dong picked one up and began skimming through. His eyes lit up immediately.
‘Amazing. This is too remarkable. To think an evaluation report could be written this way.’
‘How marvelous. Illnesses that couldn’t be diagnosed from the surface could actually be found from a pet beast’s attributes and the surrounding environment. Is this something an average person could do?’
‘Shallow water crocodile. Its underlying attribute is actually fire. Shouldn’t it be a water attribute? This appraisal method… so novel… tsk… to think you could do it this way…’
Just like Zhao Ying and Lu Xiaoyun, if one had the faintest appreciation for beast appraisals, they couldn’t possibly put down Lin Jin’s evaluation reports.
Han Dong’s dream was to become an excellent beast appraiser. However, he came from a poor family and didn’t have particularly good looks so he could only rely on hard work to prove his worth.
When it came to basic knowledge, he wouldn’t lose to anyone. Hence, just by studying this evaluation report, he could tell how extraordinary it was to the point where he had lost sense of everything else around him. Han Dong was so focused on reading he would put on interesting expressions from time to time. He even slapped his thigh when he got too excited.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” A voice suddenly spoke up, startling Han Dong to the point of shuddering.
Bearing a guilty conscience, he was so frightened that the evaluation report in his hands fell to the ground. He turned around to see Zhao Ying standing there, looking calm and composed.
“Senior Zhao!” Han Dong exclaimed and quickly regained his bearings.
Zhao Ying bent down to pick up the evaluation report.
“I must have startled you, haven’t I? I was the same when I first laid eyes on Appraiser Lin’s evaluation reports. I was so deeply immersed that I couldn’t pull myself away for several hours.”
Han Dong asked, “Were these all written by Appraiser Lin?”
Zhao Ying rolled her eyes. “Of course. Or perhaps you think that I wrote it?”
Han Dong was completely awestruck on the inside.
‘Is this what they meant by unskilled?’
‘Is this what they meant by ‘undeserving of his reputation’?’
‘Was Lin Jin even a disgrace of the association?’
‘If all the above was true, what about everyone else?’
The brain is a marvelous possession. When at times a person didn’t understand what was going on, he only had to add in some scenarios and everything would click into place. Right now, inside Han Dong’s head, there was a peerless prodigy that became a target of discrimination. Scenes of the prodigy being framed, slandered, and even deliberately belittled came to life in his mind.