Tan Xun wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to treat Lin Jin to a meal. He wasn’t the extravagant type either so he brought Lin Jin to a restaurant he frequented and ordered more of the store’s specialties.
Liquor was of course, mandatory.
It was customary to treat a faraway guest to good alcohol.
To be honest, Lin Jin wasn’t exactly that close to Tan Xun prior to this as there existed a significant age gap between them. From Lin Jin’s perspective, a difference of about three to five years would have made it hard for them to relate, never mind a gap of thirty to fifty years.
But after this meal, Lin Jin was surprised by how freely he was able to converse with Tan Xun.
It was important that humans shared similar values and standpoints when forming friendships. Lin Jin and Tan Xun had a lot in common but both of them also excelled in different aspects and had unique advantages over one another when it came to beast appraising.
Lin Jin had been studying beast appraising from the museum all this while so his knowledge was incredibly vast. Those around his age couldn’t possibly compare to him while those older than him may not be any better too.
On the other hand, Tan Xun was a keen learner.
After engaging in a discussion with Lin Jin, the old man was shocked. The young man knew more about pet beasts than he thought. To sum up his thoughts, Lin Jin’s standard far exceeded that of a Rank 2 beast appraiser and may even be superior to a Rank 3 beast appraiser in certain aspects.
Tan Xun suddenly commented, “Appraiser Lin, if you took the Rank 3 beast appraiser’s exam, I’m sure you’ll be able to pass.”
Lin Jin was stunned and then realized that Tan Xun was recognizing this prowess.
“Elder Tan, you’re too kind!”
Being humble was necessary sometimes.
Tan Xun shook his head resolutely. “I’m not. Your knowledge is incredible. I’ve seen too many talented individuals in this royal capital and for the past thirty years at least, no one I’ve ever met could compare to you.”
One may suspect that Tan Xun’s previous comment was made out of courtesy, but this compliment confirmed that he was being serious.
Lin Jin smiled, clearly delighted to hear this.
The dishes on the table were mostly cleared off by now. Lin Jin suddenly recalled the monkey demon in human form he met earlier today. After thinking about it, he decided to probe the matter.
“Elder Tan, has the royal capital been peaceful?”
The scope of this question was incredibly broad but Lin Jin didn’t know from where he would start the conversation so he decided to use this as an opening.
As an experienced man, Tan Xun could tell that Lin Jin was trying to say something else. “Appraiser Lin, the royal capital is the heart of the Jade Dragon Kingdom. is it then not reasonable to expect a place that was nearest to the emperor’s residence to be peaceful? If you have any doubts, fire away and I’ll answer them all. Though I’m older than you in age, I’m not a pedant so there’s no need to beat around the bush.”
Lin Jin chuckled. He was waiting for this.
“Alright, alright, Elder Tan. Then I’ll cut straight to the point.”
“Go ahead.”
“When I first reached the royal capital this morning, I bumped into a transfigured monster…”
After Lin Jin said this, Tan Xun was seemingly startled.
“A transfigured monster?”
“That’s right!” Lin Jin briefly explained his encounter this morning, omitting the part about the white ape, of course. He described how he bumped into the monster randomly on the streets and upon sensing that something was off, his suspicions were confirmed by a number of strange clues.
Tan Xun regarded this as a serious issue. Had it been raised by anyone else, he would never have believed it. After all, it was terribly rare for monsters to be able to transfigure. The average person would probably never see one in their life.
However, as a Rank 3 beast appraiser, Tan Xun understood how these monsters came about. Since ancient times, for monsters to cultivate, their first take was to absorb the world’s spirit energy and after a chance encounter, greater intelligence would be unlocked.
This was the first step.
Only with their increased intelligence could monsters learn cultivation.
Then, the monster would begin to refine its knowledge and learn the human language.
Monsters who could reach this level were considered amazing. Recorded in ancient books, it was mentioned that monsters at this stage should now possess skills such as bewitching, illusionary, dream invasion, and many others. No average human could possibly stand up to them.
Transfiguration was the third step.
This meant that they could achieve human form and walk among humans without being detected.
However, these were incidents recorded too long ago and Tan Xun only knew that much. Frankly speaking, having lived for so long, he had only encountered such a thing once in his life when he was still a student.
Tan Xun couldn’t help but recall the past.
Noticing how Tan Xun was silent and wore a solemn expression, Lin Jin didn’t disturb him but waited quietly. After a while, Tan Xun finally said, “Long ago, when I was still a student, I’ve once met a transfigured monster in the outskirts of the city.”
Forty years ago, Tan Xun was still in his teens and at the height of his youth. Back then, he was merely an apprentice when he followed some friars deep into the mountains in pursuit of wild beasts.
Their group stayed the night in those mountains. Deep into the night, when Tan Xun excused himself to the toilet, he met a strange old man.
That old man donned brocades and was standing on a cliff up ahead about less than ten feet from Tan Xun. With the help of the moonlight, Tan Xun managed to catch a glimpse of the old man’s features with great clarity.
The old man seemed to be in his sixties and had a burly build. His beard was thick and bushy, but his eyes reflected clear hatred.
Back then, Tan Xun didn’t know who he was but only found it strange that an old man dressed in expensive clothes was there, deep in the woods. Any signs of civilization were at least a hundred miles away from where they were currently. If he had ventured in here as they had, his robes couldn’t possibly have remained intact, let alone being so creaseless. After all, even with armor and tough clothing, Tan Xun and his group were all scratched up by rocks and tree branches on their hike to this part of the forest. And yet, this old man’s clothes looked as if they were brand new and just came out of a store.
Feeling curious, Tan Xun spoke to the old man, albeit warily.
The old man asked why they had come into the mountains to capture beasts.
Back then, Tan Xun and his group had captured about eight wolf cubs, planning to take them home to tame and then have them turned into blood-contracted pet beasts.
Capturing wild beasts and turning them into blood-contracted pet beasts was common practice for humans so he didn’t realize the inherent wrong in the act. And so, Tan Xun answered him honestly.
That old man was visibly furious upon hearing his answer. At that moment, Tan Xun noticed how the old man’s shadow was actually the silhouette of a great wolf thanks to the moonlight.
He was fortunate that one of the older friars noticed something was off so he hurried over only to witness this scene as well. The old friar quickly apologized to the old man and woke up the rest of the group before ordering them to set the wolf cubs free.
The old man was much less hostile after they released the wolf cubs.
Tan Xun remembered clearly how they all had pet beasts back then with the strongest being Rank 2. Even then, all their pet beasts were curled up, shaking with fear before the old man. Not a single one of them dared to stand up.
The mysterious old man led the wolf cubs away while Tan Xun and his group fled the mountains that night. On their way back, he learned from the old friar that the old man they met in the forest was no human.
It was then that Tan Xun knew how certain monsters could perform Transfiguration.
Monsters who managed to achieve this feat possess at least the capabilities of a Rank 3 beast. If they engaged in battle, according to the old friar, their group of ten people might have perished in the forest that very night.