Old Turtle wasn't tall, much shorter than Coffin Man. His back was hunched and he held a walking stick in his hand. His hands were currently trembling and he had to rely on Coffin Man's support.
"Since Appraiser Lin isn't home, perhaps this is my fate." Old Turtle's voice was hoarse and he looked dejected. He had suffered too much over the years. Just like Madam Ghost Child and Coffin Man, he had to use symbiosis to protect his pet beast.
Unfortunately, his cultivation and capabilities were inferior to Ghost Child and Coffin Man so the backlash he suffered was greater. He was now at the end of his rope.
Old Turtle even felt that he might not survive the night.
Coffin Man looked grim as well. He was the one who brought Old Turtle all the way to Maple City to seek Appraiser Lin's help but to no avail.
If Old Turtle lost his life because of him, Coffin Man would surely be filled with guilt.
"Is Appraiser Lin really not coming back tonight?" Coffin Man couldn't resist asking.
Xiaowu shook her head. Shang'er also said, "Master Lin didn't say when he would be back. But normally, unless there's something important, he should be back tomorrow morning at the latest, or tomorrow night at the latest."
Shang'er wasn't lying. This was Lin Jin's habit. Sometimes, he would cultivate so he wouldn't return until the next morning.
But this wasn't a guarantee.
Coffin Man knew that Old Turtle wouldn't be able to wait that long.
Shang'er could tell that these two were here to seek medical advice. Although she knew that Lin Jin wasn't a doctor, if it involved pet beasts, he was the right choice.
After some thought, Shang'er suddenly said, "Indeed, Master Lin might not be back tonight. If you don't mind, can you let me take a look?"
Coffin Man and Old Turtle were stunned.
Perhaps thinking that these two were underestimating her sister, Little Five said, "Sister Shang'er is Master Lin's first disciple. If you're not willing to let her take a look, forget it."
Shang'er turned to glare at Little Five who was still unconvinced. She wasn't wrong.
After some thought, Coffin Man mused, 'Since Appraiser Lin is Curator's disciple, this lady named Shang'er must be Curator's grand-disciple. She must be quite capable too. Why not let her take a look? At the very least, it's a last resort.'
As such, he hurriedly bowed and said, "Then, I'll have to trouble Miss Jin 'er to take a look."
Old Turtle didn't object. He was already waiting to die. If Old Coffin hadn't dragged him here, he would've been preparing for his funeral. He just wanted someone to take a look at him. What was wrong with that?
Over the past few decades, he had sought countless doctors and asked for countless medicines. Naturally, he wouldn't mind doing it again.
Shang'er was also a little nervous.
She had indeed learned a lot from Lin Jin, especially the books Lin Jin collected and wrote. She had read through them many times and often went to the Beast Appraisal Association to help out.
However, to be honest, this was the first time he was helping someone to diagnose a disease.
To be honest, she was also quite nervous. At this time, the Coffin Man had already explained the situation and pulled up the clothes on Old Turtle's back. Now that they saw what was underneath, both Shang'er and Little Five were shocked.
On the back of the old turtle, there was a huge turtle that was almost sticking to it.
However, this turtle was already dried up like a dried fish. It seemed to have become one with the flesh on Old Turtle's back. It was no wonder Old Turtle was hunched over. There was this thing on his back.
Most people would be petrified by this scene. However, Shang'er and Little Five weren't ordinary people. Despite their shock, they didn't panic at all, especially Shang'er. She had heard about the symbiosis from Coffin Man and knew about it. In addition to what she had learned from Lin Jin, she asked Little Five to fetch the needles.
She learned acupuncture too.
Other than asking Lin Jin for guidance, Shang'er mostly learned it on her own. When Lin Jin had free time, he had written down some of the key points of the pulse-seeking technique in a book and Shang'er had already flipped through it more than ten times. In other words, Shang'er knew the pulse-seeking technique too. Of course, her level wasn't as high as Lin Jin's, but she understood basic medical knowledge and acupuncture techniques.
In Old Turtle's case, they had to cut off the symbiosis while ensuring that both man and pet beast didn't die. This was the key. To achieve this, they had to use the pulse-seeking technique.
Although Shang'er was nervous, she had thought through the entire process. She believed that even if Master Lin was here, the method would be the same. At most, there would be a difference in technique.
If Lin Jin was here, he would surely be surprised by Shang'er's treatment method. Although there were some flaws, it was generally correct.
Sometimes, once the direction was right, everything else depended on luck and skill.
However, if Lin Jin was here, he wouldn't have let Shang'er risk her life to save Old Turtle. Unfortunately, he wasn't here and Old Turtle clearly couldn't hold on much longer.
Shang'er decisively started preparing to cut off the symbiosis.
At the same time, Lin Jin arrived above the royal capital on his eagle.
The eagle could fly up to two thousand miles in a single night. Usually, it would take at least ten days to travel from Reed City to the royal capital. But with the eagle, it took less than a night.
Initially, Lin Jin didn't want to come back to the royal capital. But since he was here to visit headquarters and investigate the Demonic Appraisal Association, he had no choice but to come.
The eagle Lu Bin gave Lin Jin was obviously different. It was marked with the royal family's mark and Lu Bin had mentioned that this eagle could fly into the royal capital without anyone stopping it.
Lin Jin gave it a try, and sure enough, he was right.
The royal capital was several times bigger than Maple Reed City. The eagle circled around for a while before Lin Jin spotted headquarters and had it land.
There were also beast appraisers on duty at headquarters. However, they usually didn't have much to do during the night. Even if they did, their apprentices would help them out.
But this time, the beast appraiser who was dozing off was jolted awake by a series of hurried knocks on the door.
"What's wrong?" The slightly plump beast appraiser looked drowsy and annoyed. Anyone who was woken up in the middle of the night would react the same way.
"Appraiser Ouyang, the chief of Maple City's branch is here. He says he wants to look through some files," the apprentice reported from outside.
"So what if he's a branch chief? Why doesn't he know when he wants to look through the files? This is headquarters in the royal capital, not their branch in a small city. " Appraiser Ouyang was visibly annoyed. He hadn't slept well for the past few days and his head felt heavy. Although he was only a Rank 1 beast appraiser, he was a Rank 1 beast appraiser from headquarters. Usually, the chiefs of all the branches would treat him with utmost respect. Hence, Appraiser Ouyang didn't think much of a mere branch chief.
Usually, he would be polite to these branch chiefs, but now that he was in a fit of anger, he decided to put on a show.
"Let him wait and see!" Furious, Appraiser Ouyang decided to make things difficult for the other party.
The apprentice outside knew Appraiser Ouyang's temper so he kindly reminded him, "Appraiser Ouyang, the chief of Maple City's branch is a Rank 3 beast appraiser."
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