Lin Jin carried his blood kindred beast, Xiao Huo all the way through their journey. He asked Zhao Ying to help identify what was behind Xiao Huo's condition, but the girl could only tell that it was in a state of hunger. She asked him why didn't he feed his pet beast.
Lin Jin knows he had it hard. It wasn't that he didn't want to feed him, he couldn't. Xiao Huo didn't want to eat.
The reason might probably be because Xiao Huo was injured.
However, Lin Jin had no idea how his pet beast got hurt, it wasn't recorded in his obtained memories either. But that's okay. With the museum, he had a dozen treatment methods and one of them was sure to heal his pet beast.
Lin Jin had no money with him so he asked to loan some from Zhao Ying when they got to Everlasting Town to buy some medicinal ingredients.
***
Maple City's Beast Appraisal Association.
"Have you heard? Appraiser Lin and Zhang He had a public beast evaluation duel…"
"Lin Jin? Does he still have the guts even to be so high profile now?"
"Right? Guess who won."
"Lin Jin is a level one beast appraiser, but everyone knows he's a fake. If he were competing with other apprentices, it's definitely his win. After all, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, but Zhang He isn't a regular apprentice. He's ranked top three among the apprentices and in the last assessment, all top three apprentices have exceeded Lin Jin in scores. Besides, the chief is personally guiding Zhang He now, training him to rapidly hone his skills. His capabilities must exceed Lin Jin's by now, and if he didn't have confidence, why would he compete with Lin Jin? So I'm guessing Zhang He won."
"Wrong. It was Lin Jin who won… Let me tell you, the process was quite thrilling…"
"What? Zhang He actually found out the beast had a hidden bloodline? This is huge. But why did he still lose?
"Is this true? To think Lin Jin could even tell the attribute of the hidden bloodline. Isn't that too bizzare?"
"He must have been really lucky. I heard that he got certified because luck was on his side. He got tested on the questions he studied for, otherwise, he would've never gotten certified even after ten years."
Word on Lin Jin and Zhang He's private duel spread like wildfire and became the talk of the town.
"Did Zhang He really lose to Lin Jin?" Inside an exquisite tea house, a beautiful and elegant woman frowned alongside her pet beast, a ten-feet long ivory python that grew as thick as a human's waist, that spat a hiss in response to its owner's displeasure.
Across them was her subordinate who was specially hired as her intelligencer.
"Yes, I got it!" The woman waved her subordinate away. Then, she leaned forward in a leisured yet charming position, unique only to a woman. Her curvaceous body was as fluid as a beautiful snake, just like her pet beast.
Jia Qian was an apprentice beast appraiser of Maple City's Beast Appraisal Association. She scored first place in the association's assessment, exceeding Lin Jin's scores by a light-year.
With her fame and prowess outshining Lin Jin's, her status was now equivalent to a certified beast appraiser. People reckoned that with her skills and knowledge in beast appraisal, she could overpower the notorious Lin Jin.
"Lin Jin, oh, Lin Jin, I know your capabilities best. We were once classmates. Had I not fallen ill and dropped out before the exam, would you have had such a huge advantage?"
Recalling her past, Jia Qian gritted her teeth.
She loathed Lin Jin.
In that same year, she participated in the same exam as Lin Jin. Alas, due to health problems, she had to drop out, and coincidentally, several other examinees encountered problems as well, resulting in Lin Jin having an overwhelming advantage.
This was how the rumors of Lin Jin's reputation spread.
Strange to say that Jia Qian might have been brooding over this incident over the next two exams, costing her her performance, leading her to fail both times. Just like a person who had missed their chance to reach the summit, their only path was to head back down.
And Jia Qian was going downhill.
She refused to reflect and blamed this on Lin Jin instead.
Now, becoming a certified beast appraiser was her obsession. The shortcut to getting there was to get a recommendation from the local branch. Using that, she could make her last examination result which was one mark short, be offered as an exception and become an official beast appraiser.
However, obtaining a recommendation required a prerequisite.
Only if there was an opening in the association for official beast appraisers could she get this recommendation. Chief Wang Ji fully supports her so now she only had to drive Lin Jin away or come up with an idea to make him slip up so his rights will be revoked. That was her key to opening her gate to success.
Within Maple City's Association, there were only two slots for official beast appraisers. Besides Lin Jin, the other person was Gao Jiang, the young master of one of Maple City's three big families, the Gao family. The Gao family had deep roots within the city and an enormous influence. Even Chief Wang Ji had to be polite when facing the Gao family's patriarch. Hence, someone like Lin Jin who had no backing nor foundation naturally become an easy target for Jia Qian and Wang Ji. He had also become an obstacle to Jia Qian's path to glory.
"Don't fret. Relying on luck to evaluate beasts is unsustainable. The previous evaluation accident had been alerted the association's superiors. In less than half a month, the authorities will send inspectors over and Lin Jin's certification would be inevitably revoked, so I only need to wait for another two weeks. Lin Jin was also sent to Everlasting Town to evaluate beasts which was an unrewarding task. Consuming only half a day's time, if he evaluated too little, that would leave folks disappointed. If he evaluated too many… Hmph! No matter how skilled he is, there's only two of them, and one is an amateur little girl. How many beasts could they evaluate until they die of exhaustion? They'd definitely irritate the citizens. With this event as the ice on salt in the wound, Lin Jin's career would be beyond salvation. Tsk tsk, when it comes to torturing people, Chief Wang Ji is truly incomparable."
***
Beast evaluation in the countryside was a strenuous and insipid assignment. Even apprentices didn't want to take up the job because one, the pay was minuscule; two, it was draining.
Supposedly as a level one beast appraiser, Lin Jin wasn't required for such jobs. But in Wang Ji's attempt to beat him down, the man would naturally throw every dirty job his way.
As she pondered at the endless queue in front, Zhao Ying felt a tingling chill down her scalp.
They were supposed to evaluate beasts on the streets of Everlasting Town and this place was already brimming with people. The Beast Appraisal Association had set up such an event where each beast appraisal only incurred ten copper coins. Hence, these events would always attract many people seeking to have their beasts evaluated. Normally, there would be at least six or seven apprentices tagging along, but this time, there were only two of them. Forget half a day, they might not be able to finish even if they stayed another.
"Appraiser Lin, you… have you offended Chief Wang Ji before?" Zhao Ying couldn't resist her overflowing curiosity and asked in a small voice.
Lin Jin shook his head.
From his memories, his predecessor was very respectful toward Wang Ji and held no grudges of the man.
Yet this queue before him was truly horrific.
Desperate citizens either led, held, carried, or dragged their caged pets here, waiting faithfully to get a report. One glance and this place was packed like sardines, a symphony of cackling chatter, harmonized by the uproar of beastly calls filled the air, what a racket.
Since he was here, might as well make the best of it.
Lin Jin never thought too much about it. Even if he was clueless on beast evaluation, with the Museum of Deadly Beasts as his asset, this should be a piece of cake.
Using the money he loaned earlier, he browsed through the treatment methods for Xiao Huo written in the Deadly Beast Museum, chose a relatively attainable prescription, bought the medicinal ingredients, and formed a pill out of it.
Although Xiao Huo wasn't a presentable pet beast, the little guy had a blood contract with him so Lin Jin had to take good care of him.
Pelletization was a basic skill of beast appraisers but it was a pity Lin Jin didn't know how. Fortunately, Zhao Ying was here so Lin Jin could shamelessly ask this apprentice to make the pill for him while he did the beast appraisals.
His appraisal method was unique. He didn't issue a beast talisman, nor draw a seal. He only touched the beasts' head with his hand and then lifted the pen to write down his conclusions.
Such speed was supernatural.