Chapter 219: Name Your Price
Come to think of it, this was Lin Jin’s first time traveling so far from home.
The furthest he had been up until now was to a village at Maple City’s borders which was about two hundred miles away. That wasn’t much compared to their trip to Jade Dragon City this time, which was at least eight hundred miles away.
God knows how long it would take to go there on foot. While riding a beast would be much faster, none of these compared to traveling by air.
Before he transmigrated, Lin Jin had flown by plane before too. But of course, taking a plane and riding an eagle beast were two different things even though both were technically air travel.
The exhilaration of seeing the clouds above your head and the world below your feet could be felt on a deeper level here than when he was inside a metal box.
Without realizing it, Lin Jin’s state of mind had improved.
He had wanted to ask questions during their journey but the howling sound of the wind was so strong that a proper conversation wasn’t possible. Those questions were better reserved for when they landed at their destination.
Plains, mountains and rivers passed beneath them, and about one hour later, the eagles began their gradual descent. It was then that Lin Jin realized they had arrived at the royal capital’s borders.
After another brief moment, the border came into sight, which stretched thousands of miles across the horizon This place was so much bigger than Maple City.
The eagles stopped outside the city and both men jumped down.
“Appraiser Lin, this is Jade Dragon Kingdom’s imperial city and the city’s rules prohibit us from flying in. I’m afraid we’ll have to continue the rest of our journey on foot.”
Lu Bin tidied up his clothes and Lin Jin nodded. A little walk wasn’t an issue. Finally, Lin Jin couldn’t resist the urge and asked about the eagles.
Stunned, Lu Bin then smiled and said, “And here I thought something was bothering you. If Appraiser Lin would like one, I’ll give you one as a gift when we head back.”
Lin Jin was thrilled to hear this. He pretended to be reserved before accepting Lu Bin’s offer excitedly.
Of course, Lin Jin was aware that by ‘when we head back’ Lu Bin meant that if the patient’s illness wasn’t cured and if Lin Jin couldn’t break the curse, he probably wouldn’t be getting that eagle.
Jade Dragon City was indeed a prosperous town; even the city gates were far livelier than in Maple City.
Upon entering the city, one could see shops lining the streets, outside of which the shopkeepers were drawing in customers by shouting promoting their merchandise at a lower price. The best part was, everyone had their own pet beasts. There were so many pet beasts that some of them Lin Jin had never seen before.
‘What a great place!’
Lin Jin was thrilled. He began appraising beasts as he walked along, touching those that were close enough and piercing those a little further away with the coiled wire needle.
By the time they reached the place they would be staying at, Lin Jin had recorded over two hundred new beasts. What a productive walk. Many of the beasts were rare breeds too.
As expected of the royal capital.
“Appraiser Lin, this is the most excellent inn we have here in the royal capital. Please wait and rest up here, I will go and inform my master,” Lu Bin explained with a salute.
Lin Jin nodded. He had an inkling who Lu Bin’s master might be. If his assumption was correct, she might be one of the princesses and He Qing’s older sister.
Logically speaking, if Lu Bin served the royal family, all members of this royal family should be his masters.
And yet, he noticed from their interaction that Lu Bin didn’t seem to care about the rest of the royal family. Lin Jin even heard rumors of Lu Bin slamming the table as he reprimanded the emperor of the Jade Dragon Kingdom.
This was the odd part. Why was Lu Bin indifferent to the other members of the royal family but addressed that cross-dressing woman as his master instead?
It didn’t make sense.
Though Lin Jin was curious, now wasn’t the time to ask about it. He would observe the situation later after meeting this person.
As for the treatment method, Lin Jin had it all planned out. Speaking of which, the princess’s curse was quite a strong one.
Though they were all bestial soul curses, the one on Tan Lin could be easily broken with just a jab. It could also be removed by having the patient consume the nine water floating cloud pill. It was that simple and direct.
But compared to Tan Lin’s bestial soul curse, the one on the princess was on a completely different level.
The curse was of an unprecedented level.
Even the treatment method presented in the Museum of Deadly Beast was rather ambiguous but the fact that it was there suggests that there was a way to break it, and that was the only important detail.
Lu Bin went on his way.
As Lin Jin wasn’t the type to stay indoors, he went outside for a little stroll to explore the surrounding area.
Riding on Xiao Huo’s back, the white ape glanced around curiously too.
As a safety precaution, Lin Jin slapped a seal on the white ape so as to help it maintain its current form more securely.
After memorizing the inn’s location, Lin Jin leisurely walked along the concrete path as he admired the bustling city. Xiao Huo followed behind him with the white ape looking everywhere excitedly.
Up ahead was a place that sold paintings.
Looking into the open store, one could see many paintings by famous artists hanging on the walls. At first glance, Lin Jin’s attention was captured by a mountain and river painting. The piece was exquisite and the brushwork was divine. It felt as if he at the scene of this beautiful frame. Lin Jin got closer and noticed the artist’s seal to belong to Gu Mengzhong.
It was actually Master Gu’s work.
Lin Jin recalled how Gu Mengzhong was a citizen of the royal capital and a famous calligraphist here.
Ever since Master Gu departed from Maple City and went traveling with his ink monster, Lin Jin hadn’t met him after that. But he would sometimes hear news about this calligraphy master brandishing his ink blade to rid the world of fiends somewhere.
It was obvious that Master Gu had been longing for a heroic adventure all this while but hadn’t got a suitable pet beast as his companion on the road. Now, with the Rank 3 ink monster that could shape-shift at will, his dream finally came true.
‘I wonder if Master Gu is here in the city,’ Lin Jin said inwardly. If Gu Mengzhong was here, he planned to pay the man a visit.
Just then, Lin Jin felt a mental connection and turned around to see someone talking to the white ape on Xiao Huo’s back.
Seeing Lin Jin turn around, that man looked over too.
“Hello, young sir!” he greeted and saluted Lin Jin. The man was slim but had a fine aura. His eyes were sharp despite how he was dressed like an average man.
However, there wasn’t a trace of goodwill in his gaze. Lin Jin even sensed hostility and contempt.
This was odd.
Lin Jin was sure that the man had been talking to the white ape.
Now that was quite amazing.
The white ape was no longer an average beast. As it wasn’t bound by a blood pact, after cultivating Beast Energy Formation, the white ape had transformed into a monster.
Lin Jin knew this well.
This man had been talking suspiciously with the white ape so did that mean he noticed something?
Lin Jin began scrutinizing this man carefully.
The man said, “Sir, does this white ape belong to you?”
Lin Jin nodded.
As he observed the bony man, Lin Jin noticed something was obviously off about the whole situation.
There was a faint aura around this person and his body hair was quite thick. Although there was nothing wrong with his behavior, Lin Jin could see something moving underneath his robes.
As an experienced individual, even without the coiled wire needle, Lin Jin could rely on his current elevated capabilities that this slender man was no human.
While this faint aura of his could deceive others, it couldn’t possibly deceive Lin Jin who spent his days mingling with monsters.
This was a monster.
And a monster that knows Transfiguration at that.
Lin Jin was startled. To think he would run into a transfigured monster at Jade Dragon City in broad daylight.
This was inconceivable.
The other party must have great confidence in his Transfiguration abilities to be able to come out during the day.
He said, “Sir, I’d like to buy this white ape. Please state your price.”