“City Lord, perhaps we’ve been over-complicating things. Think about it. Lin Jin isn’t an average man. He has a master called ‘Curator’ and a Rank 4 pet beast. Just these points make him worthy of befriending. Moreover, Lin Jin’s beast appraising skills are incredible. Even if it’s not at Rank 3 level, he should be close enough. His Majesty is fond of talents so giving this exception doesn’t sound weird at all.” Upon hearing Zuo Wentang’s deduction, this train of thought seemed reasonable for this situation.
By now, Bai Zhenkong was done eating. Indeed, he was interested in Lin Jin. Although he hadn’t yet clarified the reason why His Majesty held Lin Jin in such high regard, he could be sure now that Lin Jin was someone he could only befriend and not provoke.
However, several hours later, Bai Zhenkong received a personally written letter from Fan City’s city lord.
As Maple City and Fan City were immediate neighbors, Bai Zhenkong and City Lord Fan were quite familiar with each other. Upon receiving the letter, he opened it up, but after reading through, Bai Zhenkong had a peculiar expression on his face.
Zuo Wentang didn’t know the letter’s contents but having served Bai Zhenkong for so many years now, he was aware of how shrewd his employer was. Even in private, Bai Zhenkong didn’t reveal his expressions easily. However, as the city lord studied the letter, he clearly seemed to be shocked and in deep thought.
In such situations, Zuo Wentang knew better than to ask about it. After all, there had to be something unique about the letter. If he asked insensibly, how would the city lord answer him?
However, Bai Zhenkong clearly didn’t plan on hiding this from his steward.
“Wentang, Fan City’s lord wrote to me, asking me to locate someone for him. Tell me, do you think I should help him, or not?”
After saying that, Bai Zhenkong handed the letter to Zuo Wentang, suggesting that he could read it too.
The latter quickly received and read through it before understanding City Lord Bai’s meaning.
“Uhm… The person City Lord Fan is looking for is Lin Jin, isn’t it? It must be. Lin Jin just came back from the royal capital so he had to pass through Fan City’s territory. Also, this letter says that Lin Jin is rearing a monster and allow it to harm his son. He’s clearly trying to request for an explanation.”
Being an intelligent man, Zuo Wentang knew that City Lord Fan wrote this letter because he was sure about Lin Jin being the culprit. However, before he made a move, he just wanted to inform Bai Zhenkong. After all, it was rude to just attack someone in Maple City’s territory without informing the city’s lord.
“City Lord Fan has always been a protective man. He has four daughters but only one son. Now that his son was injured by a monster, he’d obviously want to reclaim justice for him. I think City Lord Fan’s experts should already be in Maple City by now,” Bai Zhenkong suddenly said as he continued pondering.
A thought came to Zuo Wentang and he quickly replied, “City Lord, we can’t allow this. Forget if Lin Jin is actually keeping a monster, even if he was, he can’t be harmed. Based on his identity as the nation’s guardian alone, he’s not someone a mere city lord can afford to provoke. Not to mention that Lin Jin is valued highly by His Majesty. Provoking him would just be asking for trouble.”
Bai Zhenkong chuckled. “Of course I know that. But the thing is, based on my understanding of City Lord Fan’s character, he probably wouldn’t wait for my reply. He must think that informing me with this letter should suffice.”
“Then…” Zuo Wentang now knew that City Lord Fan must have begun taking action. Bai Zhenkong’s concern now was how he should react as the representative of Maple City.
Without hesitation, Zuo Wentang bowed and said, “City Lord Fan is just bringing trouble onto himself. My lord, as the patriarch of Maple City, you are like the parent to our beloved citizens. You can’t possibly watch as our people get bullied, right?”
It was a subtle plea, but someone like Bai Zhenkong obviously understood Zuo Wentang’s meaning.
“I was thinking the same. Wentang, take care of it immediately and personally,” Bai Zhenkong ordered. Zuo Wentang acknowledged his command and went away. After he left, Bai Zhenkong held up the letter again and shook his head. “Old Fan, I just did you a huge favor so let’s see how you’ll thank me later.”
Outside Maple City’s Beast Appraisal Association stood a few groups of hostile-looking men with their pet beasts.
These people clearly know each other. Their muscles were buffed and their breaths steady, not visible to the average folk. Even their pet beasts carried a subdued aura of aggression.
They were Fan City’s experts.
There were more than twenty people and ten of them had Rank 3 pet beasts. These were all elites among Fan City’s officials.
Besides being experts themselves, they also brought along many powerful ‘artifacts’, fully preparing themselves. With this, if everything went according to plan, they could effortlessly take one man down.
Right now, these people were loitering around the outside of Maple City’s Beast Appraisal Association, surveying the terrain. Some of them had gone inside to gather information and secure their target’s location.
“Did you find him?”
“Yeah. This person is now the Beast Appraisal Association’s chief so it’s easy to locate him.”
“Chief? Hah! So what? We’ll still apprehend him for provoking our city lord.”
“Get ready to move out. Remember, we leave for Fan City immediately after capturing him. Our Lord has sent his regards to Maple City’s patriarch so they won’t interfere.”
“Don’t worry, we’re all experienced. Even if they have some skills, they can’t match up to us.”
“Yeah. All in all, we just have to put in our best effort later to ensure no mistakes.”
After their discussion, the men got ready to enter.
Only, another group of people abruptly blocked their path, and leading them was none other than Zuo Wentang.
As the city lord manor’s manager, Zuo Wentang’s strength was not to be doubted. Not only was his pet beast at Rank 3 but his blood contract cultivation level was also at fifth realm.
Fan City’s elites may not know of everyone else, but they certainly knew someone like Zuo Wentang.
“Steward Zuo?”
The leader of Fan City’s experts was dumbstruck so he asked tentatively, “Steward Zuo, are you here to give us a hand?”
To them, this seemed like a plausible reason.
Zuo Wentang shook his head. “You’ve come all the way from Fan City, and now that it’s lunchtime, why don’t I treat everyone to a drink?”
The Fan City experts digested his response. If he was here to help, how could he be offering them a drink? He was clearly here to stop them.
Their expressions darkened at once.
“Steward Zuo, our lord has issued an absolute order and no one can interfere. If Steward Zuo won’t be helping, step aside. Once our mission is done, we’ll come and thank you.”
“Hold up!” Zuo Wentang held up a hand to stop them. “While I am here to stop you, I’m also doing this for your sake and City Lord Fan’s sake. My good men, let’s move and talk somewhere else.”
The Fan City experts were obviously enraged and refused to listen. However, Zuo Wentang came prepared.
They had about twenty men on their side but when Zuo Wentang clapped his hands together, more than a hundred fighters surrounded their group. Moreover, each of them looked formidable and had more than enough strength to defeat the intruders.