The Qiao family's crisis came and went just as quickly.
Whether it came or went, it wasn't within Qiao Feigong's expectations. He thought that by recruiting a large number of guests, he could intimidate the thieves and make them flee without a fight. He was wrong. The culprit had come prepared and caught them off guard.
This was the first thing Qiao Feigong didn't expect.
Another reason was that when the Qiao family was at an absolute disadvantage and was about to be trampled on, an expert came to their rescue and resolved the crisis. Not only that, but he did so with a thunderous method.
Perhaps what Qiao Feigong couldn't believe the most was that this expert was the one Escort Zhang mentioned two days ago who robbed the Qiao family of their medicinal herbs.
This incident would be the most fortunate thing for Qiao Feigong in the future. He was thankful that he didn't pursue the matter and was magnanimous. It was also thanks to Escort Zhang's letter to invite this expert over. Otherwise, the Qiao family would have been in grave danger.
Hence, Qiao Feigong bowed to Lin Jin. It was a relief after the fright, a joy of being reborn, and also a desire to curry favor with Lin Jin.
Qiao Feigong wanted to hold a new banquet to invite this expert, Lin Jin, but Lin Jin declined with a shake of his head.
Lin Jin didn't come to help the Qiao family out of friendship. It was because he ate a Ganoderma and owed them a favor. Hence, he was here to repay the favor.
This was something that Lin Yi had told Escort Zhang earlier.
Also, from Lin Jin's perspective, the Qiao family's troubles hadn't been completely eradicated. There were definitely more demonic appraisers than just these four people.
When weeding out weeds, one must eliminate the roots, especially when dealing with an existence like the Demonic Appraisal Association.
This way, Lin Jin could enforce justice on behalf of the heavens while eradicating the Qiao family's troubles, repaying the debt of gratitude.
Of course, Lin Jin could tell that the Qiao family was trying to befriend him. If there was nothing else, staying for a meal wouldn't be a big deal. But now was the perfect opportunity to destroy the Demonic Appraisal Association, so Lin Jin had to prioritize the bigger picture.
Lin Jin glanced at the four corpses on the ground before locking his gaze on the boatman.
Out of the four of them, only the boatman didn't have a pet beast with him. It wasn't that he didn't have one, but he was still out there. Perhaps they could follow this clue to his lair.
In the next instant, Lin Jin flicked out a needle and pierced it into the boatman's body. After the needle was soaked in blood, Lin Jin cast a spell on it. With that, the blood-soaked needle would search for the strength of the blood contract, which was where the boatman's pet beast was.
Sure enough, the needle flew away. Lin Jin quickly gave chase and soon, they were out of sight.
The Qiao family was stunned for a moment before Qiao Feigong's second uncle said, "What an expert."
No one dared to deny this.
Everyone was in awe of Lin Jin's masterful way of killing the four villains, especially his final words, 'Watch my sword'. Lin Jin clearly didn't have a sword in his hand, but he was able to unleash the will of a sword without it, killing the three villains on the spot. Including Qiao Feigong's second uncle, it was their first time witnessing such a feat.
"Escort Zhang, I really have to thank you this time."
Seeing that Lin Jin had left, Qiao Feigong hurriedly bowed to Escort Zhang.
Appraiser Lin was sitting with Escort Zhang earlier, so needless to say, this expert must have been invited here by Escort Zhang. With this, the Qiao family now owed Escort Zhang a huge favor.
More importantly, Appraiser Lin seemed to be on good terms with Escort Zhang. Hence, Escort Zhang immediately became the Qiao family's most important guest.
It wasn't just Qiao Feigong, even Qiao Feigong's second uncle came over to greet Escort Zhang enthusiastically. Overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, Escort Zhang quickly returned the gesture.
Of course, deep down, he was feeling elated.
Escort Zhang had never received such treatment in the Qiao family before. It was truly a case of a man ascending to the heavens. Escort Zhang wasn't a fool. He knew why the Qiao family was treating him with such respect. It was all because of Appraiser Lin.
Someone had already begun cleaning up the yard. The bodies of the bandits had been dragged away and placed in a corner for the authorities to collect.
This incident had blown out of proportion with casualties and injuries. There was no way they could keep it under wraps so they might as well report it to the authorities. Of course, the Qiao family knew how to handle the situation.
Naturally, they would turn a big issue into a small one.
In the living room, Escort Zhang sat awkwardly as Qiao Feigong and his second uncle tried to find out more about Appraiser Lin. Escort Zhang told them everything he knew.
This time, no one doubted his words.
At the same time, Lin Jin stepped onto the cloud steps and hovered two hundred feet in the air, looking down at the outskirts of Reed City.
The silver needle had traveled a thousand feet and pierced into the body of a fish beast in the river. That fish beast was the boatman's pet beast. With the needle in its abdomen, the fish beast couldn't bear the pain and would surely choose to return to its lair. Lin Jin figured that was most likely the lair of the four demonic appraisers.
Outside the city, Nine Crescent Lake, Turtle Island.
The people on the island were obviously unaware that Elder Zhou and the others had died. Currently, in the living room of the island, Elder Song, who held a similar position as Elder Zhou, was going through the recent accounts.
As an important branch of the Demonic Appraisal Association, they naturally needed income to sustain themselves. Of course, most of the Demonic Appraisal Association's businesses were shady.
For example, they would steal pet beasts, poison, assassinate, appraise beasts, and sell pills. Basically, as long as they could earn money, they would do it.
Despite being a small branch, the amount of money they earned every month was a huge sum. At the very least, it was comparable to some of the wealthiest families.
"If Zhou Changlong and the others take care of the Qiao Family this time, they will be able to extract at least a few hundred thousand taels of silver from the Qiao Family." Elder Song had a smile on his face. Clearly, he was very satisfied with the profits he had received.
Next to him was Elder Song's trusted aide.
"I heard that Elder Zhou and the others aren't just after the Qiao family's assets. They're also eyeing a treasure?" Elder Song and Elder Zhou were the higher-ups of this branch, but they didn't share everything with each other. In fact, they even competed behind the scenes. However, Elder Song was well-informed so he was able to gather some information.
Some of the people below shook their heads, indicating that they didn't know anything about this. There were also people who knew a few things and said, "Elder Song, it's true. The Qiao Clan does have an ancestral treasure, but as for what it is exactly, I don't know. Perhaps Elder Zhou knows, but you should know that Elder Zhou doesn't usually tell others about such secrets."
"Forget it. I was just asking. Since the higher-ups have assigned this matter to Elder Zhou, let him handle it. I can't be bothered to ask." Elder Song knew Elder Zhou's personality well. Since the other party was treating it as a secret, it must be something important. However, if the other party didn't want to talk about it, Elder Song couldn't ask.
"Hmph, it's just a mere Qiao Family. Other than some money, what other treasures could they have!" Elder Song could only feel bitter at this moment.
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