As he waited outside, Lu Bin who had traveled here from Jade Dragon City was admiring the scenery in Ye Yuzhou’s yard.
Lu Bin was here to invite Lin Jin to Jade Dragon City. As this was the sixth princess’s request, he had to ensure that it was done nicely from start-to-finish.
He was very grateful to Lin Jin. Had it not been for his ‘nine water floating cloud pill’ prescription, the sixth princess would still be bedridden right now.
Lu Bin had always held this grace dearly in his heart.
Unlike the last time when he came in a hurry, Lu Bin decided to drop by and visit his old friend, Ye Yuzhou since he had more time now.
Both men were old acquaintances. Although Lu Bin was younger than Ye Yuzhou in terms of age and slightly inferior in cultivation level, he had a prominent identity. His father, Lu Yaogong, was not only Jade Dragon Kingdom’s former top-class expert but also Ye Yuzhou’s prized mentor.
Hence, Ye Yuzhou had to address Lu Bin as Senior Lu.
Ye Yuzhou appeared shortly after. At the sight of Lu Bin, he raised his hands to give a salute. “Greetings, Senior Lu!”
Lu Bin smiled. “I’m here at Maple City for some business so I thought I’d drop by to visit you.”
Standing behind his mentor, Yang Jie surveyed Lu Bin, musing, ‘This person doesn’t seem older than Teacher, so why does Teacher have to respect him so?’
Yang Jie obviously didn’t know about their relationship.
“Yang Jie, come and give your greetings!” Ye Yuzhou turned and instructed. Yang Jie immediately stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
Lu Bin glanced at Yang Jie and nodded. “Why, aren’t you an outstanding young man!”
Ye Yuzhou grinned. “He’s my number one disciple, Yang Jie.”
Having said that, he turned to Yang Jie and explained, “This is Uncle Lu. Back in the day, he…”
Before he could finish, Lu Bin waved his hand. “Let’s not bring up the past.”
Ye Yuzhou hadn’t even said anything yet.
Despite his curiosity, Yang Jie dared not inquire about it. Seeing as the two men intended to catch up, he felt it was inappropriate to stay so he excused himself sensibly.
However, instead of leaving, Yang Jie waited outside.
A long while later, Ye Yuzhou escorted Lu Bin out.
“Yuzhou, it’s alright, you don’t have to send me off all the way. After I’m done with my business here, I’ll be returning to the royal city,” Lu Bin said.
Ye Yuzhou nodded. “I’ll visit Senior Lu at the royal city one of these days.”
Lu Bin nodded before soaring away.
After Lu Bin was gone, Yang Jie came over.
“Teacher, who was that Uncle Lu?”
“He’s the only son of my teacher, Lu Yaogong. He used to be an imperial left general and is now a consecrated member of the royal family,” Ye Yuzhou explained.
Upon hearing this, Yang Jie’s eye lit up.
This Uncle Lu was undoubtedly a great support figure. Ye Yuzhou was a distinguished figure in Maple City that even the City Lord Manor had to treat him with respect, but in the Jade Dragon Kingdom, his influence wasn’t as significant.
As an ambitious young man, Yang Jie knew he would soon grow too big for this pond and was destined for greater heights. His future didn’t lie in this tiny Maple City. Rather, it was found in the great Jade Dragon City.
If he could receive support from a figure as great as Lu Bin, he would have more confidence when the time came for him to venture into Jade Dragon City.
More importantly, the man was Lu Yaogong’s only son. And who was Lu Yaogong?
He was the greatest friar ever known to the Jade Dragon Kingdom in the last century. Back in the day, Jade Dragon Kingdom was a first-class large country, and its Rank 5 guardian pet beast belonged to none other than Lu Yaogong.
In other words, Lu Yaogong was the backbone of their country in the last century.
However, Lu Yaogong lost his life in an accident one day. This loss significantly affected the entire Jade Dragon Kingdom, causing it to degrade from a large country to a medium one.
Several decades after that, no other experts as superior as Lu Yaogong showed up in the Jade Dragon Kingdom. For this reason, the country remained a shadow of what it once was and worshiped Lu Yaogong like a god.
Just this alone proved how influential Lu Bin could be.
Yang Jie couldn’t wait to get acquainted with this great support figure so he asked, “Teacher, what has Uncle Lu come to Maple City for?”
However, Ye Yuzhou shook his head. “I’ve tried asking but he wouldn’t say. He only mentioned it’s something of grave importance.”
Ye Yuzhou was evidently just as curious.
They had no idea that Lu Bin’s important mission that brought him here was to invite Lin Jin back to the Jade Dragon Kingdom. Apparently, the sixth princess, He Yu, made a request to meet her benefactor.
As he knew where Lin Jin stayed, Lu Bin headed straight for his home.
However, Lin Jin wasn’t at home.
As he wasn’t in a hurry, Lu Bin sat down at a nearby tea stall and ordered a pot of tea, getting himself a drink as he waited for Lin Jin’s return.
But to his surprise, Lin Jin still didn’t return even when night fell.
This baffled Lu Bin.
He mused, ‘Just where did Lin Jin go?’
However, he assumed that Lin Jin should be coming back no matter how busy he was because it was already dark outside.
Hence, Lu Bin continued waiting.
When the tea stall had to close up for the day, Lu Bin leaped up to the roof of the house next door to wait.
Yet, even by midnight, there were still no signs of Lin Jin.
Lu Bin finally got impatient. He suddenly thought of a possibility. Could Lin Jin be inside the house after all?
Unlikely, but still probable.
Seeing as it was midnight, Lu Bin couldn’t resist jumping into Lin Jin’s yard.
The moment his feet touched the ground, Lu Bin sensed danger.
It felt as if this place was restricted territory, a den of dangerous beasts, and a sea of flames.
As a veteran of war, Lu Bin had experienced too many brushes with death that he possessed heightened alertness for danger. But how could a tiny yard like this have any dangers?
Lu Bin became skeptical.
Instead of moving, he called toward the house, “Appraiser Lin, are you home?”
He had cast a spell that muted his voice on the outside. But the occupants of the house should be able to receive his voice clearly.
Even if someone was sleeping inside, they could definitely hear this voice calling out.
After waiting for a while, there was no response.
No one must be inside.
That was odd.
Lu Bin didn’t understand where else Lin Jin could be this late at night. Could he perhaps have a home somewhere else?
That was possible.
“I’ve been careless. I should have clarified with him before coming here.” Lu Bin was mildly vexed. He planned to leave but all of a sudden, he looked up to see a rooster standing a few feet in front of him.
The rooster made no sound when it walked so Lu Bin hadn’t noticed him earlier. He didn’t even know when the creature showed up.
Many of Maple City’s folks kept chickens to crow and tell time. This wasn’t odd, but this rooster in particular seemed rather different.
While there wasn’t much to tell from the rooster’s appearance, it was only a little more muscular than usual and had an exceptionally beautiful coat. Still, the strangest trait by far lied in the rooster’s eyes.
The creature was actually scrutinizing Lu Bin.
Lu Bin actually sensed danger coming from the chicken.
This was creepy.
As a former left general and now a consecrated member of the royal family, to think he felt intimidated by a chicken.
Lu Bin knew that roosters were territorial creatures. As he rashly entered the yard, it was only normal that he invoked the rooster’s hostility.
But the problem was, where did this sense of danger come from?
Lu Bin took a closer look at the rooster who was now ruffling his feathers in irritation. He finally understood the reason why.
This was no regular chicken, but a beast. It also had a significant rank, probably a Rank 3. Only creatures of this level could elicit Lu Bin’s sense of danger.
“Who knew that Appraiser Lin’s yard had a Rank 3 pet beast.” Knowing that Lin Jin wasn’t an average guy, this fact didn’t surprise Lu Bin.
He planned to leave the yard.
However, he suddenly felt a gust of wind attacking him from behind. Startled, he turned around immediately and pushed out a counterattack.
Slap!
Lu Bin felt himself hitting something but the shirt on his chest was simultaneously clawed open. Had it not been for his quick reflexes, he might have been wounded.
This alarmed Lu Bin.
A cloud of black haze hovered up ahead and the vague silhouette of a wolf beast appeared in the darkness.
It was a long and slender creature with claws sharp as blades. The wolf emitted a harrowing aura.
‘Another Rank 3 beast!’ Lu Bin felt his scalp prickle. This average-looking little yard actually housed two Rank 3 beasts and both of them had unique bloodlines.
The wolf that could conceal itself in the darkness, in particular, must have had its bloodline activated. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been able to use this unusual power.
Lu Bin knew his own capabilities. His blood contract was on the sixth realm and his pet beast was only Rank 3. Although his pet beast was unique, a rare breed among rare breeds, and was quite powerful, dealing with two Rank 3 pet beasts at the same time was quite dangerous.
Moreover, if they really battled, he wouldn’t know how to face Lin Jin after that.
Lu Bin retreated at once. Fortunately for his special skill, with just a push of his toes, he rose up into the air like a roc[1] and with one step of thin air, he flew a hundred feet away from the yard.
He found it odd that the sense of danger disappeared right after he exited the yard.
That large rooster and the wolf hidden in the darkness didn’t pursue him.
Lu Bin steadied himself and gave a bitter smile.
To think a person of his status was actually overwhelmed in a tiny yard. If word got out, probably no one would believe him.
Finally, his thoughts arrived at how extraordinary this Appraiser Lin was.
Although Rank 3 pet beasts weren’t rare in a medium-sized country like the Jade Dragon Kingdom, they couldn’t be found just anywhere. Only prominent families, Friar Associations of various cities, and the government entities housed them.
Lin Jin’s tiny yard already had two of them. If the guardians of his yard were already Rank 3 pet beasts, Lin Jin’s blood contracted pet beast must be Rank 3 as well.
That totaled to three Rank 3 beasts.
At this deduction, Lu Bin felt his eyelid twitch madly.
However, this only proved Lin Jin’s excellence. Lu Bin was sure that Lin Jin had a great figure backing him up. Otherwise, the young man couldn’t possibly have achieved so much at such a young age.
After all, an average person wouldn’t easily give away the prescription of a nine-water floating cloud pill.
Lu Bin’s curiosity about Lin Jin grew.
“Our Jade Dragon Kingdom is in a critical period where we’re facing difficulties in both domestic and foreign affairs. If Lin Jin can provide us with his service, it’d be good to recommend him to be consecrated as a member of the royal family,” Lu Bin murmured to himself.
[1] a mythical bird of prey