Chapter 684: A Crystal
In the past, no matter what injuries a creature had, be it old or new, the Museum of Deadly Beasts never failed to show Lin Jin a comprehensive description of it.
If a foreign object existed within the subject, the museum would have mentioned it too. It had never failed on Lin Jin before.
This was a first.
Lin Jin steadied his mind. He knew that even immortals made mistakes. After all, no one could ever guarantee that they had a hundred percent success rate in life.
But the museum was different.
From Lin Jin's perspective, the museum was like a calculator. In other words, the margin of error was zero.
This was unless the museum worked on the assumption that the foreign object wasn't of any issue. That, or it couldn't detect the object in its diagnosis. Both possibilities still led to the same conclusion.
The foreign object was problematic.
With his curiosity piqued, Lin Jin recalled how Mr. Qi's injury was caused by the Rank 9 immortal devouring beast. This object was smack in the middle of the injury.
Was this something the immortal devouring beast left behind?
To satiate his curiosity, Lin Jin worked to remove the foreign object. If he wanted to mend Mr. Qi's damaged areas, it was necessary for him to remove the foreign object.
He carried out the process diligently, and one hour later, Lin Jin held in his hand a strange-looking rock. It resembled a crystal of sorts.
When he touched it, the museum was unresponsive.
As if this was only an ordinary piece of stone.
Yet, nothing about this was ordinary, since a regular piece of stone couldn't possibly enter the Qirin's body, much less sit at the injured point of his spine.
Ridiculously strong electric current streamed through his body, so no foreign object could possibly stay lodged in there for thousands of years; the current would have melted it down within an hour.
Unable to come up with a reasonable explanation, Lin Jin decided to leave it aside for now. He had to focus on treating the Qirin, so those questions could wait.
By now, he was already eighty percent done with mending, so the remaining task should be much easier.
In two hours tops, Lin Jin finished the job.
He had to admit, the Purple Thunder Needle was truly remarkable, allowing him to completely mend the Qirin's thousand-year-old injury in just a few hours.
Of course, as Mr. Qi was injured for too long, although the mending was complete, he needed some time to make a full recovery.
Lin Jin got up and wiped away the sweat on his forehead. Miao Yan Zhenren hurried over at once. "Mr. Lin!"
Lin Jin smiled. "It's done. He just has to rest up for a month and he'll be fine."
He spoke so casually as if that injury was merely a minor and transitory.
Miao Yan Zhenren knew it was anything but minor or transitory. That injury had troubled Mr. Qi for thousands of years now. Even a profound immortal like himself and other renowned physicians couldn't do anything to help.
And now, Lin Jin had treated it in just a few hours.
While Miao Yan Zhenren was sure Lin Jin wouldn't lie to him, he couldn't resist doubting his words.
However, Lin Jin was being completely honest. He only spoke the truth, which was based on solid evidence so his conscience would not be troubled.
Lin Jin had been holding onto the stone the entire time. He decided to ask Miao Yan Zhenren about it to see if the man knew anything about its origins.
Of course, he was only asking for the sake of it. It would be great if Miao Yan Zhenren knew, but Lin Jin wouldn't be bothered if he didn't. Mr. Qi was alright now anyway. Lin Jin only wanted to satiate his curiosity.
"Miao Yan Zhenren, have you seen something like this before… Huh?"
Lin Jin opened his palm as he spoke, but the next instant, he was dumbstruck. This confused Miao Yan Zhenren, who was unable to connect the dots.
Lin Jin was staring straight at his palm. It was empty.
That small stone had disappeared.
He must be seeing things!
Lin Jin mused, 'I remember holding that stone in my hand. It hasn't been two hours and now it's gone?'
He searched around, thinking he might have dropped it but didn't find it anywhere. Lin Jin knew that he most likely did not drop it, since his hands were clamped shut the entire time.
In fact, he was able to feel the presence of the stone in his hand before he opened it.
Was it an illusion?
Lin Jin began to ponder.
Then, he shook his head. Calling it an illusion didn't sound right as that would mean the stone never existed, that it was all just Lin Jin's imagination. Perhaps the stone was there but he couldn't see it. But that was even more unlikely.
Miao Yan Zhenren watched as Lin Jin's expression changed in rapid succession. At first, he was solemn, then doubtful and finally, he was confused.
Miao Yan Zhenren couldn't resist saying, "If there is anything that befuddles you, Mr. Lin, do ask. I'll do my best to answer your query."
He thought Lin Jin was hesitating to ask his question.
"Never mind it!" said Lin Jin while waving his hand. He did want to ask, but now that the stone was gone, so too was the need to ask questions. Although confused, Miao Yan Zhenren didn't know what happened so there was no need to make a fuss about it.
Lin Jin used the Body-Recast, Psyche-Refining Needle to undo Mr. Qi's anesthesia. Shortly after, Mr. Qi regained consciousness.
Although Lin Jin claimed that he treated Mr. Qi, the evidence of a complete recovery had yet to be seen. Miao Yan Zhenren hadn't voiced out his doubts yet, but Lin Jin could tell that he was skeptical toward Lin Jin's ability to treat Mr. Qi in such a short span of time.
Thus, Lin Jin didn't have to say more. As facts spoke louder than words, letting Mr. Qi speak for himself would surely be more persuasive.
Sure enough, Mr. Qi looked perplexed the instant he woke up. Then, as if he felt something, his expression drastically changed.
Rumble!
Following a spark, bolts of thunder surged from his being. These bolts lasted longer than before and carrying a unique sense of intimidation.
The next instant, white mist shrouded his body and he reverted to his human form. Looking incredibly shocked and delighted, he stepped forward and bowed at Lin Jin.
This highly-esteemed salutation was done willingly.
Even if Lin Jin was merely mortal, what he did could never be ignored.
Lin Jin accepted the honor with a gentle smile.
Mr. Qi's gesture of respect was not inappropriate, since Lin Jin did his best in treating Mr. Qi. Had Mr. Qi lived without treating his wounds, death would be the ultimate price he had to pay.
Hence, calling Lin Jin his savior wasn't an exaggeration.