Along the way, Lin Jin carried his blood pact beast, Xiao Huo. He asked Zhao Ying about it but she could only tell that Xiao Huo was in a state of extreme hunger. She even asked why Lin Jin didn't feed his pet beast.
Lin Jin knew his pain. It wasn't that he didn't want to feed his pet beast, but he couldn't. Xiao Huo wasn't eating right now.
The reason was probably because Xiao Huo was injured.
However, Lin Jin had no idea how his pet beast got injured. It wasn't recorded in the memories he obtained either. But that was fine. With the Museum of Deadly Beasts, he had more than a dozen treatment methods. Any one of them could cure his pet beast's injury.
Lin Jin had no money in his pockets so when he arrived at Everlasting Town, he borrowed some from Zhao Ying to buy the required herbs.
...
Maple City's Beast Appraisal Association.
"Have you heard? Appraiser Lin and Zhang He had a public beast appraisal competition …"
"Lin Jin? He still dares to be so high-profile? "
"That's right. Guess who won?"
"Lin Jin is a rank 1 beast appraiser, but everyone knows he doesn't live up to his name. If he were to compete with other apprentices, he would definitely win. After all, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. But Zhang He isn't just any apprentice. He's ranked third among the apprentices. In the most recent evaluation, the top three apprentices have surpassed Lin Jin. Moreover, with the chief personally guiding Zhang He, he's grown up very quickly. His abilities are probably above Lin Jin's now. If he wasn't confident, why would he compete with Lin Jin? "
"Wrong, Lin Jin won … Let me tell you, the process was quite exciting …"
"What? Zhang He could actually see through his pet beast's hidden bloodline? That's amazing, but why did he still lose? "
"Is that for real? Lin Jin could even see through the attribute of a hidden bloodline. That's ridiculous."
"He must have gotten lucky. I heard that Lin Jin only managed to become an official beast appraiser because he was lucky enough to bet on the right questions. Otherwise, with his abilities, he wouldn't be able to pass even after ten years."
News of Lin Jin and Zhang He's private competition spread like wildfire. Many people in the association were discussing it.
"Did Zhang He really lose to Lin Jin?" Inside an elegant tea house, a beautiful woman with a graceful figure was frowning. The pet beast next to her, a ten-foot-long white-scaled python as thick as a man's waist, seemed to have sensed its master's displeasure as it flicked its long and thin forked tongue.
The person opposite her was one of her subordinates, who was in charge of gathering information for her.
"Alright, I got it!" The woman waved her hand, gesturing for him to leave. Then, she leaned forward in a languid yet feminine manner. Her curvaceous figure was soft and boneless, just like her pet beast, a beautiful snake lady.
Jia Qian was an apprentice beast appraiser of Maple City's Beast Appraisal Association. She was ranked number one among apprentices in the association and her score far surpassed that of an official beast appraiser like Lin Jin.
Hence, her status was now no different from an official beast appraiser. Her reputation and influence had surpassed Lin Jin's. Most people even believed that in terms of beast appraising skills and knowledge, she could crush Lin Jin who didn't live up to his name.
"Oh, Lin Jin, I know better than anyone else how capable you are. We were classmates back then. If I hadn't felt unwell before the exam and had to withdraw halfway, you wouldn't have been able to take advantage of me."
Recalling the past, Jia Qian gritted her teeth.
She held a grudge against Lin Jin.
Back then, she and Lin Jin took the exam together but withdrew halfway due to her unwell condition. Coincidentally, a few other candidates who weren't that bad also had problems, so Lin Jin was able to take advantage of them.
It was also because of this that the rumor that Lin Jin had relied on luck to pass the exam started spreading.
Oddly enough, perhaps because of this incident, Jia Qian couldn't take it to heart. For the next two years, she didn't perform well and returned in low spirits. Just like a person at the peak, once they passed this stage, they would start going downhill.
Jia Qian was going downhill.
However, she wasn't willing to give up. She blamed everything on Lin Jin.
Becoming an official beast appraiser had become her obsession. There was another shortcut to becoming an official beast appraiser, and that was to obtain a 'recommendation' from the various branches. With that, based on her score of one mark in the previous exam, she could make an exception and become an official beast appraiser.
However, to obtain a recommendation, there was a prerequisite.
Only when the local association lacked an official beast appraiser could she obtain this recommendation. Chief Wang Ji was fully supporting her. Now, all she had to do was force Lin Jin to leave or think of a way to make him make a mistake and have his qualifications revoked. Only then would her path to the top be paved.
In Maple City's Beast Appraisal Association, there were only two official beast appraisers. Other than Lin Jin, the other official beast appraiser was Gao Jiang. He was the young master of the Gao family, one of Maple City's top three families. The Gao family had deep roots in Maple City and was a powerful force. Even Chief Wang Ji had to be polite to the Gao family's leader. Hence, Lin Jin, who had no backing or foundation, naturally became a 'pushover' in both Jia Qian and Wang Ji's eyes. He also became a stumbling block in Jia Qian's path to the top.
"It's fine. Relying on luck to appraise beasts won't last long. The previous appraisal incident has alerted the association's higher-ups. In half a month at most, the higher-ups will send an inspector here. When that happens, Lin Jin's qualifications will definitely be revoked. I only need to wait for another half a month. Also, Lin Jin was sent to Everlasting Town to appraise beasts. That's an arduous and unrewarding job. He only has half a day's time. If he appraises too few beasts, the villagers will be dissatisfied. If he appraises too many … Hmph, no matter how skilled he is, there's only two of them. One of them is a greenhorn, so even if he tires himself to death, how many pet beasts could he appraise? Hence, the villagers will definitely be dissatisfied. If this matter is reported to the higher-ups with exaggerated details, Lin Jin will never be able to make a comeback. Tsk tsk, when it comes to torturing people, no one can compare to Chief Wang. "
…
Appraising beasts in the countryside was an arduous and unrewarding job. Usually, even apprentices wouldn't want to do it. Firstly, there wasn't much to be gained. Secondly, it was tiring.
As an official Rank 1 beast appraiser, Lin Jin didn't have to participate in such a job. But since Wang Ji wanted to suppress him, he naturally threw all the dirty and tiring tasks at him.
Zhao Ying felt her scalp tingle as she stared at the endless queue before her.
They were helping the people of Everlasting Town appraise beasts on the streets. The place was already overcrowded. This event was organized by the Beast Appraisal Association and each appraisal would only charge a nominal fee of ten copper coins. Hence, every time it was held, many people would come to appraise beasts. Usually, there would be at least six to seven apprentice beast appraisers, but this time, there were only the two of them. Forget half a day, they wouldn't even be able to finish the job in a day.
"Appraiser Lin, have … have you offended Chief Wang before?" Zhao Ying couldn't help but whisper out of curiosity.
Lin Jin shook his head.
In his memory, his predecessor treated Wang Ji with respect and didn't hold any grudges against him.
However, the long queue in front of him was indeed frightening.
These people were either holding, hugging, or dragging their pet beasts in cages to be appraised. At a glance, it was a complete mess. Sounds of humans and beasts alike, it was a lively scene.
Since he was already here, he might as well make the best out of it.
Lin Jin didn't think too much about it. Wasn't it just appraising beasts? He didn't know how to do it anyway, but with the Museum of Deadly Beasts around, it shouldn't be a big deal.
He had borrowed some silver from Zhao Ying earlier to follow the museum's treatment method for Xiao Huo. He chose a prescription that was relatively easy to obtain, bought the ingredients, and 'brewed' them.
Although Xiao Huo's pet beast wasn't that impressive, it was still his blood contract beast so he had to take good care of it.
Brewing pellets was a basic skill for beast appraisers. It was a pity that Lin Jin didn't know how to do it. Fortunately, Zhao Ying was here so Lin Jin shamelessly asked the apprentice to brew the pellets while he appraised beasts.
His appraisal method was unique. He didn't use a beast talisman, nor did he use his Dharma Eye. He didn't even need to form a seal. All he did was touch the pet beast with his hand before picking up his brush and writing his conclusion on a piece of paper.
His speed was so fast that it seemed surreal.
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