Tian Bao had been greedy before, but now that he thought about it, it wasn't practical to bring his men in. If they encountered visitors inside and a fight broke out, his chances of winning wouldn't be high.
Fortunately, his plan didn't work this time. If he did bring his brothers in, it wouldn't be a good thing either.
Other than that naive little girl, the others weren't to be trifled with, especially Old Crow, Old Ye, and Ghost Child.
He couldn't afford to offend any one of them.
And he had witnessed with his own eyes how respectful these three were toward the Curator.
Tian Bao felt like he hadn't awakened too late.
"We have to change tactics. Brothers, help me collect some medicinal ingredients. Right, give me a portion of your pet beasts' fur and blood. That Curator is truly capable. Our Black Wind Camp might be able to take advantage of his influence and grow stronger. "
After two observations, Tian Bao understood what he had to do.
...
Early in the morning, Lin Jin headed straight for the Beast Appraisal Association.
Now that he had gathered all the necessary ingredients for Xiao Huo's perfect evolution, Lin Jin didn't want to wait any longer. He had to hurry up and help his little friend evolve.
This was his top priority.
However, the advancement this time was completely different from the previous one.
Last time, it was from Rank 1 to Rank 3. To be honest, it only took a few hours to reach Rank 3. But this time, it was from Rank 3 to Rank 4.
This time, it was different.
The difficulty of Rank 3 to Rank 4 was ten times higher than before. Naturally, the amount of time and resources required would be more than ten times higher as well.
The commotion caused by the evolution would far surpass that of Rank 3. In that case, he couldn't do it in Maple City.
If he really advanced in the city, the entire Maple City would be alarmed.
He didn't want to attract too much attention just yet. At least, he had to preserve his strength before the disciple's tournament.
Moreover, even if he didn't consider that, he couldn't do it in the city. The last time he evolved, his house was burned down. This time, he might not even be able to keep the houses on the street.
Outside, he didn't have to worry about this.
However, he had to inform Tan Lin before he left for a few days. He also had to arrange for Zhao Ying and Lu Xiaoyun to guard his consultation hall.
Tan Lin didn't say much. She was only curious about where Lin Jin was going for the next few days.
But since Lin Jin wouldn't tell her, she wouldn't press him.
After dealing with Tan Lin, Lin Jin returned to his consultation hall.
Jia Qian had gradually integrated into the group after she arrived. Whether it was Zhao Ying or Lu Xiaoyun, they no longer had any prejudice against her. Sometimes, they even treated her like sisters.
Han Dong, on the other hand, was rather pitiful. He was the only male in the group, and the three women often chatted away while he sorted out the sword books and brewed medicinal pills by himself.
However, it was also because of this that Han Dong's basic skills were extremely solid. Other than beast appraising, his knowledge and pharmacology had also improved tremendously.
After informing them, Lin Jin didn't hide anything from them. When Lu Xiaoyun asked, he told them that he was going out to help Xiao Huo evolve.
"Another breakthrough?" Lu Xiaoyun and the others were shocked.
They all knew that Lin Jin's fire wolf was already Rank 3. If it evolved, wouldn't it be Rank 4?
As a beast appraiser, how could he not know the value of a Rank 4 pet beast?
Generally speaking, a Rank 4 pet beast was the standard to determine whether a country was considered an intermediate country. Also, once a pet beast evolved into Rank 4, the status of the blood contract owner would change drastically.
Take Maple Kingdom for example. If one were to count with their fingers, the number of people who owned Rank 4 pet beasts could be counted on one hand.
Jia Qian said, "Master Lin, don't worry. Focus on studying the evolution method. We'll be here."
In terms of composure, Jia Qian was definitely the most composed among them. But then again, Lin Jin had been spending most of his time at the Friar Association. Seeing that Jia Qian's pet beast, the white snake, was still Rank 1, Lin Jin felt bad.
In fact, it wasn't just Jia Qian. Even Han Dong's pet beast was Rank 1.
Lin Jin immediately wrote out an evolution method for both of them, all of which were achievable at their current stage.
Other than that, he also left them a pill that Lin Jin had personally refined.
The six unity pill!
Lin Jin had refined this pill a few days ago. The recipe came from the museum, and it could enhance a pet beast's vitality and strengthen its internal organs. He had given it to Xiao Huo and Goldy on a daily basis.
Since he still had some on hand, he decided to give them to Jia Qian and Han Dong. With the six unity pill and the evolution method he had given them, their pet beasts should be able to evolve without a problem.
After everything was settled, Lin Jin left with a peace of mind.
The only thing he was worried about was the deer. Lin Jin estimated that it would take at least three days for Xiao Huo to achieve a perfect evolution, perhaps even longer.
The deer was almost fully recovered. Why not return it to the Shi family and let Shi Wenjun take care of it?
At this thought, Lin Jin brought the deer back to the Shi Manor.
When he arrived at the Shi Manor, he had someone announce their arrival. Soon, Shi Wenjun came out to greet them personally.
It had only been a few days and Shi Wenjun had lost a lot of weight. She looked much more haggard and her already frail body seemed even more delicate now.
Shi Wenjun was obviously happy to see the deer. However, the frown on her face wouldn't disappear no matter how hard she tried.
Lin Jin asked.
Then, he found out about the Shi family's current crisis.
Although Shi Wenjun spoke calmly, Lin Jin was no fool. He knew that the situation was dire. Previously, the Shi family's medicine hall business was on the brink of collapse due to the Chen family's competition. They had to rely on their pill business to survive.
But a few days ago, the Chen family also started a pill business. Anyone could start a pill business and not everyone had to monopolize it. However, the Chen family's pills were exactly the same as the Shi family's. There was no difference in type, name, or effect.
They even purposely lowered the price. This was clearly a ploy to destroy the Shi family.
It was no wonder Lin Jin felt so deserted when he passed by the Shi family's medicine hall. It was a stark contrast to their usual booming business.
It would be strange if they didn't fret under such circumstances.
However, why did the Chen family sell the same pills as the Shi family? There must be something fishy going on here.
Lin Jin was a smart man. He immediately thought of someone.
"Is it Wu Chenwei?"
At the mention of this name, Shi Wenjun's expression turned into one of hatred.
She nodded before sighing. "Appraiser Lin, this is all my fault. I didn't keep my guard up against him but I didn't expect him to start stealing and copying our family's prescriptions. All I can do now is lower the price. But every day we maintain this situation means another day of losses. No matter how big the Shi family is, we won't be able to hold on for much longer."
Shi Wenjun had never said this to her own family members. She only said it to Lin Jin.
It wasn't because of her true feelings or her trust in Lin Jin. It was because she knew that Lin Jin wasn't an average person. Shi Wenjun even had a feeling that whether the Shi family could survive this crisis would depend on Lin Jin.
The reason was simple. Lin Jin's pelletization skills were profound. Even the Shi family's Six Yang Pellet Whisking Technique paled in comparison. Back then, several experienced alchemists concluded that Appraiser Lin must have mastered the even more powerful 'Spiritual Pellet Scripture'.
This Spiritual Pellet Scripture was the legendary sacred book of pelletization. Back then, their Shi family's ancestor happened to stumble upon an incomplete version of this scripture engraved on the inner wall of a dead tree. That was how the Shi family founded their family.
If Appraiser Lin really was the successor of this Spiritual Pellet Scripture, then he was the only one who could save the Shi family from this crisis.
The Shi family had long wanted to beg Lin Jin for help but Shi Wenjun stopped them.
She was chosen as the Shi family's matriarch. Even when she had a legitimate son, she was still able to convince her elder brother. This was all because of her capabilities.
Shi Wenjun knew that if she were to beg Appraiser Lin directly, Lin Jin might be displeased. Hence, they had to be cautious and choose the right time.
Now was the perfect opportunity.
Seeing that Lin Jin didn't seem annoyed, Shi Wenjun took a deep breath and said, "Now, the Shi family has to pay several thousand taels a day. And if I'm not mistaken, most of the customers are from the Chen family."
Lin Jin didn't know much about business, but he could tell that the Chen family was trying to destroy the Shi family completely.
If they relied on Wu Chenwei to steal the recipe, it would be considered a competition to see who could produce better pills and earn more money. But clearly, the Chen family didn't do that.
What they wanted was to squeeze the Shi family to death. That was going overboard.
Of course, this wasn't a big deal in the business world. Both the Shi and Chen families were pursuing profits and there was no right or wrong between them.
However, people had different standpoints.
Lin Jin didn't like the Chen family. Now that he had received help from the Shi family, he had to stand on their side.
He could just stand by and watch. But Lin Jin soon thought of something.
In the future, he would need to purchase all sorts of expensive medicinal ingredients to help Xiao Huo and the other pet beasts evolve. Shang'er and the others would need them too. These things couldn't be done without money.
While it was impossible to cut down on expenses, he had to open up more sources of income.
Wasn't this an opportunity?
Now that the Shi family was in a difficult situation, it wouldn't be too much to negotiate a partnership with them and earn some profits, right?
Didn't the Chen family get rid of the Shi family because they had their pill recipes? This was the key and Lin Jin had plenty of them in his hands.
From the nine water floating cloud pill, to the six sun beast soul pill, six shadow beast soul pill, and six unity pill, including the simplest energy gathering pill and blood energy pill, Lin Jin had copied at least a dozen pill recipes from the Museum of Deadly Beasts. Moreover, they were all extremely rare and had their own unique uses.
These pill recipes were all resources. It shouldn't be a problem to use them as shares and dividends.
Lin Jin didn't have the time for this. Working with the Shi family would save him a lot of trouble. Moreover, Shi Wenjun was a principled person.
At this, Lin Jin made up his mind.
"Patriarch Shi, I have a business deal here that might be able to solve your urgent problems. Do you want to do it?"
"Business? What kind of business? "Shi Wenjun was puzzled.
Lin Jin went straight to the point. "I'll provide the recipe while you provide the ingredients and refinement. Once it's sold, we'll split the profits in half. I guarantee that this recipe will be unique in Maple City. No other family has it."
Shi Wenjun's eyes lit up.
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