After Tan Xun became an official beast appraiser, he came into contact with a wide range of beasts. Naturally, he learned about the transfiguration of monsters. In the past few decades, he had encountered some monsters, but none of them had reached the level of transfiguration.
It was because of this experience that Tan Xun took Lin Jin's words seriously.
"We still need to confirm this. If there are really shapeshifting monsters in the royal capital, we'll have to investigate further!" Tan Xun said.
Lin Jin knew that Tan Xun enjoyed a high status in the royal capital so he was naturally familiar with high-ranking officials of the royal court. Hence, he didn't care how they would investigate further.
Lin Jin had only mentioned the monster encounter in the royal capital out of curiosity. If Tan Xun didn't know about it, it could only mean that the monkey demon was just passing by.
After all, this was Jade Dragon City where both land and water were well-connected.
After the meal, Lin Jin and Tan Xun became much more familiar with each other. Tan Xun asked Lin Jin about his purpose in coming to the royal capital and Lin Jin answered that he was here to diagnose someone's illness.
Tan Xun didn't probe further. After learning which inn Lin Jin was staying at, they parted ways. One went back to headquarters while the other continued walking around the royal capital.
Lin Jin didn't have a specific destination in mind. When he came across an intersection, he would choose based on his intuition. After walking for about an hour, he noticed that there were few people around. At the end of the road, there seemed to be a temple.
This was Lin Jin's first time seeing a temple in Jade Dragon City. From afar, it looked huge so Lin Jin planned to take a closer look. But before he could reach the entrance, he was stopped by a few soldiers with tiger pet beasts.
The soldiers merely said that the royal capital's forbidden area was up ahead and no one was allowed to enter before chasing Lin Jin out.
Since it was forbidden, Lin Jin just had to stay.
When Lin Jin returned, he saw a tea stall not too far away. Tired from the long walk, he decided to sit down at the stall and asked the owner to boil a pot of tea for him.
Xiao Huo and White Ape were obediently squatting by the side. Xiao Huo had been keeping a close eye on their surroundings while White Ape was much more casual. He would scratch his itch or help Xiao Huo catch lice even though he didn't manage to catch a single one along the way.
Ignoring them, Lin Jin took a sip of his tea before asking about the temple.
The owner of the tea stall smiled. "Sir, you're not a local, are you?"
Lin Jin nodded. "I just got here today and everything is new to me. On my way here, I wanted to check out the temple but they didn't let me in."
"Of course not. That temple is no ordinary place. It's dedicated to the Jade Dragon Deity. I heard that the guardian beast of our Jade Dragon Kingdom came from the Jade Dragon Temple," the owner whispered.
Lin Jin was enlightened.
No wonder no one was allowed to enter, it was the Jade Dragon Temple.
He knew the reason why Jade Dragon Kingdom was named Jade Dragon was because it was founded on a jade dragon. In fact, in the early years, Jade Dragon Kingdom was even ranked as a premium country because of this.
But for some unknown reason, Jade Dragon Kingdom's prestige fell. This was a story that happened at least fifty years ago. There weren't any specific records in the history books and they were all hearsay.
But at the very least, it was certain that the Jade Dragon Kingdom's guardian beast was a jade dragon.
Come to think of it, Lin Jin was curious about what kind of beast this jade dragon was. It must be a rare beast, but he didn't know what it looked like.
The owner of the tea stall was keeping a dog.
From the looks of it, this dog was the owner's pet beast.
Ordinary people couldn't afford to buy rare beasts so even if they had blood pacts, they were just regular beasts. Take dogs for example. Many people kept them as pets.
Not only could they guard the house, but they could also relieve their loneliness. They were never picky when it came to food.
At this moment, the owner of the tea stall was looking at Xiao Huo and the white ape curiously.
"Ah Bao, come back here. Don't disturb our customers," the owner shouted. The dog scurried back to the back.
Lin Jin could tell that the owner came from a poor family but at least he lived a carefree life.
After paying for the tea, Lin Jin turned back. He had walked around half of the royal capital so it was time for him to go back and rest.
The royal capital's roads were complicated. Lin Jin wandered around a few times before he found a familiar path. Following it, he finally saw the inn.
On the second floor, Xiao Huo let out a low growl. Lin Jin knew there was someone inside.
Taking a deep breath, he could smell the faint fragrance of flowers. Lin Jin immediately knew who was inside.
"Seventh Princess, you must have been waiting for a long time," Lin Jin said as he pushed the door open.
Sure enough, He Qing was sitting inside with her pet beast, the tetrawinged butterfly dragon.
He Qing was clearly surprised to see Lin Jin. She was a playful and bubbly girl. After waiting for so long for Lin Jin to return, she was infuriated. She wanted to hide in the house, hold her breath, and wait for Lin Jin to come back so that she could scare him. Little did she expect him to notice her presence right at the door.
"How did you know it was me?" He Qing couldn't figure it out.
Lin Jin didn't explain. He couldn't possibly say that he remembered her scent, right?
"Seventh Princess, is there a reason for your sudden visit?" Lin Jin asked without closing the door.
He Qing was the type who was easily swayed by others. When she heard Lin Jin's question, she forgot about scaring him and got up to bow. "I didn't know you were Curator's disciple, Appraiser Lin. Now that I know, of course I have to pay you a visit. Is Curator here?"
As she spoke, He Qing scanned her surroundings.
Her eyes were filled with anticipation as if she was a fangirl who was about to meet her idol.
Lin Jin knew Lu Bin must have told her about it. But he had no intention of hiding it so he sat down on a stool and shook his head. "I came alone."
He Qing looked disappointed.
She sat down as well and looked at Lin Jin. "Appraiser Lin, I didn't know you were Curator's disciple so I offended you with my words. Please be magnanimous and forgive me."
Lin Jin nodded.
"I snuck out this time. Firstly, I wanted to apologize to you. Secondly, I wanted to tell you about my sister's condition," He Qing said softly.
Lin Jin seemed to have heard that Jade Dragon Palace was extremely strict. Back in the Visitation Hall, He Qing seemed to have complained about being unable to leave. Now that she was able to leave, she must have broken the rules.
But it was also possible that her pet beast had reached Rank 4 so some people turned a blind eye to it.
At the very least, while the palace didn't seem to know she was here, there were definitely people keeping an eye on her. Perhaps, there were even spies on the rooftops nearby.
Lin Jin looked out the window and saw a silhouette behind a rooftop. His heart skipped a beat and he quickly hid himself. Earlier, he felt like he was being watched.
"I'm a high-ranking palace guard and I have a stealthy pet beast. Most people shouldn't be able to notice me. That must have been an illusion," the guard muttered to himself.
The guard mumbled to himself.
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