After daybreak, Lin Jin's students arrived.
Last night's incident caused quite a stir in the academy. After all, seven to eight teachers were alarmed. Naturally, the news spread among the student community as well. Li Xinqi and the others also heard about what happened last night, but they didn't know much about the details. All they knew was that Lin Jin was attacked, so they were all very concerned. Lin Jin acted the same as usual, but he was secretly observing everyone.
For the entire morning, Lin Jin didn't notice anything amiss.
He knew that either that spy was a skilled actor or none of his students were suspicious. Either way, Lin Jin didn't get anything out of the ordinary.
Of course, from a certain perspective, not getting anything out of the ordinary was a good thing. Lin Jin didn't want anything to happen to his students.
In the afternoon, to everyone's surprise, Feng Ziqian came running over.
He was here to visit the academy's teachers as the third prince of Heavenly Spiral Kingdom. Of course, Lin Jin knew that the man was mainly here to visit him.
Lin Jin had claimed that he was feeling unwell and wouldn't go out unless there was an emergency. Feng Ziqian had no idea what excuse he came up with but when he knocked on the door, Lin Jin recognized him immediately.
However, Lin Jin had to feign ignorance.
Because the one who recognized Feng Ziqian was the 'Curator', not Lin Jin.
"Is it Lin Jin, Appraiser Lin?" Feng Ziqian was dressed extravagantly but he seemed rather respectful. Behind him, there were many guards standing at least a hundred feet away.
Needless to say, Feng Ziqian must have ordered them to stay away.
He sure was considerate.
Lin Jin sized him up and smiled. "That's me. And you are …"
"We're on the same side, we're on the same side!" Feng Ziqian chuckled and whispered, "I'm a visitor of the Visitation Hall, Curator's man. Let's talk inside. Let's talk inside."
They looked like they were meeting up with an underground gang.
Lin Jin nodded and glanced at the guards behind him. Feng Ziqian immediately said, "Don't worry, Appraiser Lin. I've instructed them to wait ten feet away. They're not allowed to come any closer."
After entering the yard and closing the door, Feng Ziqian looked around. "Appraiser Lin, this yard is really nice. Although it's not big, it's elegant. I like it a lot. I'll come visit more often in the future."
He then leaned over and whispered, "Appraiser Lin, is Curator here yet?"
Lin Jin knew what Feng Ziqian meant but he waved his hand. "No one knows Curator's whereabouts, including me. Also, keep your voice down, I'm afraid …"
Before Lin Jin could finish, he heard Shu Xiaolou's voice: "What are you afraid of?"
Fine, let's not talk about it anymore.
Lin Jin knew he couldn't hide it from Shu Xiaolou's ears. It was said that there was a six-eyed, six-eared beast in the academy that could eavesdrop on everything, but Lin Jin felt like Shu Xiaolou's ears were even better than that beast's.
Feng Zi Qian was also startled, but when he saw that it was a beautiful young woman in a long red dress, his mind immediately turned, and he immediately put on a smile that said, "I understand."
"Feng Zi Qian greets Madam Lin!"
This time, it was Shu Xiaolou who was dumbfounded. In her five hundred years at the academy, she had never met someone like Feng Zi Qian. Did he not know that even the teachers of the academy weren't allowed to bring their family members in, let alone stay here?
Feng Ziqian didn't think too much about it. He just assumed that Lin Jin was keeping a mistress in his house. Although this red-dressed Madam Lin was devastatingly beautiful, Feng Ziqian's heart wasn't on women right now.
He was in a disadvantageous situation. The competition within the royal family seemed peaceful on the surface, but in reality, it had reached a cruel stage. He was forced into a dead end and that was why he came here to ask for help. Although the Visitation Hall would open tonight, he couldn't wait that long. He needed help now.
It was a desperate situation. No matter how beautiful the lady was, Feng Zi Qian didn't have the time to admire her, mainly because he wasn't in the mood.
"Appraiser Lin, if Curator isn't here, I'll have to ask for your help." Feng Zi Qian had already made up his mind. He knew the chances of Curator being here were slim so he came here for Lin Jin.
"Yesterday, a foreign affairs minister from the East Continent's Thousand Island Kingdom came to visit. He said he wants to make peace with our Heavenly Spiral Kingdom through marriage. He even brought a woman with him, claiming she's the princess of the Thousand Island Kingdom," Feng Zi Qian began. At this, Lin Jin shook his head. "Why is he looking for me?"
That was right. This had nothing to do with Lin Jin.
"Appraiser Lin, please let me finish." Feng Zi Qian was panicking so he spoke faster. Only then did Lin Jin understand what was going on.
The Thousand Island Kingdom was a premium country in the East Continent. Its status was similar to Heavenly Spiral Kingdom. Although it was slightly smaller in scale, it wasn't too far off.
Indeed, the Thousand Island Kingdom was here for a marriage alliance. It was said that the two countries' emperors had decided on this more than a decade ago.
However, they hadn't decided on which prince they would be looking for.
There was clearly something fishy about this because no one knew what Emperor Heavenly Spiral was thinking. Whether this marriage alliance was a good or bad thing for the prince was still unknown.
It might be a good thing because after the marriage alliance, the prince would surely have a close relationship with the Thousand Island Kingdom. With the support of another premium country, the prince might be chosen as the crown prince and have a chance of inheriting the throne.
But this wasn't absolute. What if it wasn't? No one knew what Emperor Heavenly Spiral's attitude toward the Thousand Island Kingdom was. If the marriage alliance went through and they ended up being sacrificed, or if their relationship with the Thousand Island Kingdom became strained in the future, this marriage alliance would mean missing out on the throne.
However, many of Feng Zi Qian's supporters believed that the first possibility was more likely. In other words, they had to fight for this marriage alliance.
There was even a possibility that this was a test set by the emperor to see how the princes would solve it.
There was one more thing. The Thousand Island Kingdom had brought some extremely rare and exotic beasts. According to Emperor Tianxuan's wishes, he would not attend the banquet tonight. Instead, the princes would host it. At the same time, there would definitely be a segment to appraise the exotic beasts from the Thousand Island Kingdom.
Beast appraisers would definitely be brought along.
But the question was, who would they bring?
After all, Heavenly Spiral's Beast Appraisal Headquarters was different from other places. Here, not even Emperor Heavenly Spiral had the authority to order the headquarters to do anything. As for Heavenly Spiral Academy, it was an independent entity.
"We mustn't embarrass Spiral Nation during this banquet. Father isn't participating because he wants to see our connections and means. I might be able to invite a Rank 3 beast appraiser, but not a Rank 4 beast appraiser. Even Father might not be able to invite one. My brothers must be looking for a Rank 4 beast appraiser, so after giving it some thought, I came to you for help, Appraiser Lin."
Feng Ziqian had a pitiful look on his face. It seemed like he had no other choice but to seek Lin Jin's help.
Lin Jin understood.
However, it was inconceivable that the third prince of Heavenly Spiral Kingdom couldn't even invite a Rank 4 beast appraiser. But on second thought, Rank 4 beast appraisers were indeed unique. Perhaps there were only twenty or so Rank 4 beast appraisers in the entire Central Continent. Even if there were other veteran beast appraisers, some of them had gone into seclusion and were difficult to find. If a Rank 4 beast appraiser were to be placed in an intermediate country, that country's status would immediately change because a Rank 4 beast appraiser could possibly help a pet beast evolve to Rank 5.
Even the Heavenly Spiral royal family treated Rank 4 beast appraisers with utmost respect.
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