A door-knock in the dead silence of the night sounded unusually loud.
Lin Jin was startled.
Xiao Huo and White Ape just realized it too.
Prior to this, none of them had heard any signs of someone coming over.
This was certainly strange.
Glancing at Xiao Huo and White Ape, Lin Jin then got up and went out into the yard to open the door.
As he did, Lin Jin raised his guard.
The door opened to reveal a stern-looking elderly man dressed in brocades and wore a jade crown on his head. He was more than two meters tall so Lin Jin had to raise his head to look at the man.
The man looked at Lin Jin and held his hands together in salutation. “Is this Appraiser Lin of Maple City?
A guest for him?
Lin Jin raised his hands too to return a salute. “This is he. May I know who am I speaking to?”
The elderly man chuckled. “Yu Hong.”
Then, he asked, “Appraiser Lin, won’t you invite me inside?”
Realizing they were standing at the door, Lin Jin invited the man inside. “Mr. Yu, this way please.”
Xiao Huo and White Ape stood ready in the yard while Lin Jin held silver needles between his fingers. This person was clearly no ordinary man nor did he bear good intentions so they had to be cautious.
In contrast, this elderly man named Yu Hong was quite relaxed, behaving as if he was at home. He merely swept Xiao Huo a glance but paid more attention to the white ape.
“Hehehe, Appraiser Lin, your little yard is quite elegant and peaceful!” the elderly man praised.
Lin Jin smiled in response, saying nothing.
An unacquainted person who would suddenly show up and curry favor with him surely didn’t bear good intentions. In addition, Lin Jin could sense a dense demonic aura from this old man.
Seeing Lin Jin stay quiet with no signs of wanting to treat him as a guest, the elderly man merely glanced around before saying, “I didn’t come to meet you today without a purpose.”
“Mr. Yu, please speak your mind.” Lin Jin remained cautious.
“About the royal family’s sixth princess, I hope you can mind your own business,” the elderly man said smilingly.
The atmosphere just got tenser.
Lin Jin hadn’t expected the man to be this straightforward. This was a blatant warning.
How arrogant.
Why hadn’t the assassin and intruders from the past two days carried this sort of attitude?
Could they be different factions?
After learning the man’s motives, Lin Jin calmed down. He had his Rank 4 pet beast, Xiao Huo and the white ape who wasn’t any inferior to Xiao Huo. If they truly had to fight, Lin Jin wouldn’t back down easily.
And so, he chucked and scrutinized the elderly man before asking, “Then, may I ask how Mr. Yu is involved in all this?”
Maintaining a proud look, the old man answered, “This has nothing to do with you.”
Lin Jin nodded. “That’s right, this has nothing to do with you.”
Stunned, the old man came to realize what Lin Jin meant by that.
“The nerve of you! Appraiser Lin, I’ve been kind to you and know you have some tricks up your sleeve but you best not overestimate yourself. You may regret it later.”
As he spoke, the elderly man’s robes fluttered and his long beard swayed. A pressuring air swept past and even his voice sounded thunderous.
Lin Jin frowned and shook his head. “You’re quite an unreasonable old dragon. You’re the one who came here spouting atrocities and now you’re picking a fight with me.”
The words ‘old dragon’ fazed the elderly man.
“How could you tell?” The old man’s expression darkened.
Lin Jin pointed to his Rank 2 beast appraiser sleeve. “I’m an official Rank 2 beast appraiser so I’m capable of telling at least that much.”
“That’s nonsense!” Visibly enraged, the old man flung his sleeve. “Forget a mere Rank 2 beast appraiser, a Rank 3, even Rank 4 beast appraiser can’t tell my true form. I know you have someone to back you up, so why don’t you call him over.”
Lin Jin could now feel the threat from the elderly man’s forceful aura.
Xiao Huo immediately grew larger in size and shielded Lin Jin. The white ape was glaring, ready to pounce at Lin Jin’s order or if any sudden movements were made.
In fact, Lin Jin was merely guessing earlier as he sensed the aura of a dragon from the old man. There was specific information on a dragon’s aura provided in the Museum of Deadly Beasts. In addition, after sensing similar energy from the lesser dragon blood pill he had gotten, Lin Jin came to recognize this aura.
To think his blind guess was spot-on.
Earlier today, Lin Jin hadn’t remained idle. Instead, he had been going around, accumulating information so he gained a more comprehensive understanding of Jade Dragon Temple’s history.
From the museum, Lin Jin already learned that He Yu’s bestial soul curse was a jade dragon curse so it was fairly easy to link these two points together.
His investigation told him that Jade Dragon Temple enshrined a ‘dragon deity’. It was said to have existed since Jade Dragon Kingdom was founded and that the nation’s first leading guardian pet beast was bestowed by this dragon deity.
Jade Dragon Kingdom had been established for about three hundred years now, so if a dragon deity genuinely existed, it would be older than this country, not younger.
To Lin Jin, this so-called dragon deity was merely a monster class beast whose cultivation level was incredibly high.
However, since this dragon deity was worshiped by Jade Dragon Kingdom’s royalty, why did he need to curse female members of the royal family? Lin Jin couldn’t understand it. That curse was clearly used to sap out the host’s life energy and would devour everything in one go when the time was ripe. The host would surely die after that.
The old dragon’s overflowing energy was rather frightening. According to Lin Jin’s estimation, this creature might have reached Rank 5 or possibly higher.
And his instincts told him that the old dragon probably already exceeded Rank 5.
Above Rank 5 meant Rank 6.
A Rank 6 monster and a dragon to boot was a little too terrifying.
If they did battle, Xiao Huo would never win, and the white ape’s assistance wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Lin Jin wasn’t prepared for this situation and by the time he realized it, it had become too dangerous that he began to panic.
‘It’d be great if I can touch this old dragon!’ Everything prior was just Lin Jin’s assumptions. He couldn’t be sure based on his judgment so he hoped to leave this to the museum.
Just then, the old dragon flashed an eerie grin. “If your backer won’t come out, fine. I’ll just subdue you first and we’ll see if he can continue to stay hidden.”
Having said that, he suddenly initiated an attack.
A burst of fire exploded and Xiao Huo immediately blew up in size as flames enwrapped his body.
There was a loud boom and the blaze could probably be seen in the entire royal capital.
Yet, the odd thing was, as if this area had been sealed off against the outside world, this commotion didn’t attract any attention. Lin Jin figured this must be the old dragon’s doing. With his staggering capabilities, sealing off an area shouldn’t be difficult.
“How dare a mere Rank 4 fire wolf stand in my way. Get lost!” Seeing Xiao Huo pounce over, the old man grinned maliciously. Following a scratching gesture, the illusion of a dragon claw slashed forward, instantly subduing the flames on Xiao Huo’s body.