Chapter 53: Keep This A Secret
The water in the pot was boiling and steam was coming out. With the lid covered on top, no one knew what was going inside. As they began to have doubts, only Lin Jin seemed most confident.
Since the Museum of Deadly Beasts had directed him to this treatment method, it must be effective.
Hence, he wore a nonchalant expression without an ounce of worry on his face.
After about fifteen minutes, the lid was popped open. The iron crab simply leaped out of the pot with the chills in its body almost gone.
Waves of heat were emitted from the iron crab’s body and it looked vigorous. Even an idiot would know that the treatment worked.
Lin Jin beckoned the apprentices and instructed, “I’ll leave the rest to you guys. Prepare some medicine that helps to regulate the pet beast’s attribute and it’ll be fine. Also, there was a blessing in disguise for this iron crab. Ninety percent of the chills in its body are gone but instead of harming it, what remains can actually help the crab increase its strength. In the near future, it might even be able to evolve with this newfound pool of energy.”
When the bulky men heard this, they quickly thanked Lin Jin.
They were truly convinced of Lin Jin’s skill this time. It was impossible not to with the reality happening before their eyes. After seeking help from those so-called top-tier apprentices, none of them could offer any help. The apprentice Zhang He even went so far as to declare that even certified beast appraisers wouldn’t be able to save this iron crab.
Meaning to say, there was no hope for the iron crab.
But who could imagine that after carrying the crab over to the notorious Appraiser Lin, it would be cured so easily?
Who said that Appraiser Lin was unskilled?
Who said he was incompetent and undeserving of his title?
The men thanked Lin Jin profusely before taking their leave.
“Appraiser Lin is extremely skillful and is an honorable man. I can’t imagine that there were actually rumors out there to deliberately slander him.” The iron crab’s owner seemed enraged.
These men were shipwrights with explosive tempers, straightforward personalities, and were incredibly loyal. After this incident, they felt as if they owed Lin Jin a favor.
“Why don’t we give him a plaque tomorrow? Don’t the other appraisers have plaques hanging on their walls that read ‘exquisite skills’ or ‘great benevolence’? Appraiser Lin is such a skilled man but there’s not a single plaque in his hall.”
“That sounds like a good idea, let’s do it!”
And so, the men left with the iron crab.
A plump man passing them by had heard their conversation.
He was none other than Dong He.
From tomorrow onward, Dong He would officially be in business to provide consultations and beast appraisals. He had seen these shipwrights earlier, seeking urgent consultation at Jia Qian and Zhang He’s hall. However, it seemed like the results were disappointing.
Such situations were a regular occurrence at the association. Some pet beasts would contract incurable diseases and the beast appraisers would show up to save it. It wasn’t anything new.
However, Dong He had clearly seen that the iron crab was on the verge of death. Now, it was running around on its own, and judging by how nimble its legs were, it looked nothing like a dying beast.
Dong He was initially puzzled, but when he heard the men’s conversation, he understood at once.
“It was that Lin Jin who cured it? How is this possible?” Dong He was startled.
In his knowledge, while Lin Jin was a certified beast appraiser, his skills were subpar. It had been a known fact. But after deeper contemplation, it seemed like rumors of Lin Jin being incompetent came from Zhang He’s mouth. Zhang He had betrayed Lin Jin and switched out his affiliation to another certified beast appraiser. Could he have been deliberately slandering Lin Jin?
That was a plausible explanation.
But something’s still off. Dong He remembered clearly how Lin Jin had scored poorly in the monthly assessments for several consecutive months. Lin Jin only managed to stay in the middle of the ranking list, losing to quite a few apprentices.
That wouldn’t have been a problem if he were an apprentice, but Lin Jin was a certified beast appraiser. His ranking was considered too awful. If Lin Jin was truly skilled, how could he score so low?
Dong He couldn’t understand it so he quickly returned to report this to his older sister, Dong Que. Coincidentally, Han Dong had slipped out to secretly report today’s findings to the siblings.
Han Dong’s information was clearly more detailed. He reported the statuses of Lin Jin’s and both his affiliated apprentices’ pet beats, the contents of Lin Jin’s evaluation reports, and also the urgent case Lin Jin had taken up today. Han Dong managed to recap the treatment and the proceedings in detail.
“I secretly made a copy of one of Lin Jin’s evaluation reports while they weren’t paying attention,” Han Dong said as he took out a piece of paper.
Dong Que and Dong He read it together.
Dong Que was also an apprentice beast appraiser but she tended to keep a low profile. One glance at Lin Jin’s evaluation report made her eyelids twitch while Dong He’s jaw dropped.
“This… this is quite good,” Dong He mumbled.
Dong Que shook her head. “How is it just ‘good’?”
Despite her composed expression, Dong Que was startled on the inside.
This evaluation report was for an average Rank 1 pet beast. It was a simple task that even normal apprentices could take on. However, even if it was a task of the same level, a report written by an expert and an average person was undoubtedly different.
Just like how every painter would paint the same scenery differently. Could a master painter’s piece be compared to the regular painters’ works? Those who were knowledgeable in the field could instantly tell them apart. Its value was also poles apart.
In a sense, the same theory applied to evaluation reports.
If different beast appraisers were to evaluate the same pet beasts, their evaluation reports would no doubt turn out differently. Lin Jin’s evaluation report was extremely detailed. It included information on the pet beast’s type, bloodline, attribute, up to its status, hidden diseases, and he even provided a treatment method. Everything was comprehensively laid out.
It was a well-founded, well-organized, and excellent report.
“This Lin Jin isn’t as incompetent as Zhang He made him out to be. But his monthly assessment scores were terrible and he even messed up in one appraisal…” Dong He still wasn’t convinced.
Meanwhile, his sister Dong Que was far more thorough with her thoughts. “While monthly assessments seem fair, it’s not impossible for the results to be falsified… As for the appraisal accident, we have to know the exact situation before we can conclude. After all, there are some beasts that are naturally difficult to appraise. Even Wang Ji and Gao Jiang can’t be accurate all the time.”
Dong He’s heart thumped. He quickly inquired in a hushed voice, “Sister, you mean…”
Dong Que took a deep breath before replying, “It looks like Lin Jin isn’t as useless as the rumors said he was. He is at least skillful enough as a certified beast appraiser.”
“What should we do then? If he doesn’t get kicked out, I can’t take over his position.” Dong He was panicking.
This was how things were sometimes. Without hope, one wouldn’t have cravings. But once a ray of light was given, it was almost impossible to kill the dream. Moreover, Dong He had handed over his position at the logistic department so he could focus on his consultation business starting tomorrow. If he were told that Lin Jin couldn’t be kicked out, Dong He wouldn’t have it.
Dong Que smiled. “Silly brother, what are you afraid of? It’s not like Lin Jin only got skillful recently. Looks like someone’s been sabotaging him for a long time now. I doubt that he’d be able to redeem himself no matter how capable he is. The only thing he could blame is his bad luck. Not only were his assessment scores terrible, but he also messed up an evaluation. And with that old fox Wang Ji pulling the strings, you have nothing to worry about.”
“That’s good then. That Lin Jin is an eyesore anyway. When he gets kicked out of the association, I’ll definitely get someone to teach him a grave lesson,” Dong He said menacingly.
“Let keep this information about Lin Jin a secret. Don’t let anyone else know about him. Wang Ji will help us so we won’t have to dirty our hands,” Dong Que declared with confidence.