“Chief Lin, was there perhaps a misunderstanding between you and Fan City’s city lord in the past?” Zuo Wentang suddenly asked.
He only knew fragments of the story from City Lord Fan’s side so he wanted to hear Lin Jin’s side of the story.
“I wouldn’t really call it a misunderstanding.” Lin Jin recalled the incident. Back in the forest of Mount Gua, those people had tried to hunt White Ape down but failed due to their sheer incompetence. White Ape had been forgiving enough to let them live.
Hence, Lin Jin didn’t think he was at fault here, and all the more so for White Ape.
Lin Jin proceeded to explain the ins and outs of the story Zuo Wentang, who understood it soon enough. He already knew that Lin Jin was keeping a monster but it definitely wasn’t a creature that killed indiscriminately. In contrast, the young master of Fan City’s City Lord Manor had always had a terrible reputation for committing all sorts of evil deeds. In other words, he was worse than a monster.
“Haha, that doesn’t sound like much at all. Since Chief Lin is a citizen of Maple City, City Lord Bai will have your back no matter what happens. I’m sure that Chief Lin is busy so I won’t keep you occupied for long. I also hope that Chief Lin can take a look at my pet beast someday.” Zuo Wentang got up and prepared to leave.
His timing was impeccable, choosing to leave right after saying what he intended without unduly taking up their time nor annoying them.
“You’re too kind, Steward Zuo. If you’d like, I can even take a look at it now.” Lin Jin smiled, but Zuo Wentang quickly shook his head. “I still have matters to attend to at the City Lord Manor. Why don’t I treat Chief Lin to a drink at Grace Pavilion tonight?”
Grace Pavilion was a famous spot in Maple City though Lin Jin had never been there before.
But since Zuo Wentang was being so kind, it would seem inappropriate to reject his expression of goodwill.
“I’ll be imposing on you then, Steward Zuo,” Lin Jin answered. Zuo Wentang said, “Let us drink our fill tonight. For now, we shall part ways.”
“Take care.” Lin Jin saw him off at the door. He watched until Zuo Wentang left before returning to his consultation hall.
Lin Jin was now indebted to Zuo Wentang for today’s incident and because of this, he felt that Zuo Wentang was a person worth befriending.
Lin Jin paid no mind to the issue with Fan City.
Had it been before, offending a city lord would have been a scary thought, but would he have to fear one now?
Lin Jin had even locked horns with the Emperor of Jade Dragon City before so he couldn’t care less about a mere city lord.
Let the man wade in his agony.
Lin Jin composed himself before returning to work.
He was in luck as the first beast he would appraise for the afternoon was a rare beast.
This continued until evening.
At the City Lord Manor, Bai Zhenkong’s brows furrowed at the latest news and he stepped outside.
“Eagle!” Bai Zhenkong called out.
From below, a subordinate brought one of the manor’s eagles over. Bai Zhenkong turned to Zuo Wentang and said, “Wentang, come with me.”
Then, he hopped onto the eagle. Without another word, Zuo Wentang got onto his own eagle.
Both birds rose to the air and flew out of the city, arriving at a pavilion about ten miles away from the city walls.
During the daytime, many people frequented this place to rest, but at this time of day, it was mostly deserted. Still, a man could be seen sitting there.
It was Fan City’s city lord.
“Old Fan, it’s been so long.” Bai Zhenkong let out a hearty chuckle as he landed.
Compared to Bai Zhenkong’s smiling face and leisurely demeanor, City Lord Fan was visibly gloomy and his expression livid.
Outside the pavilion stood an attendant. It was the man who led Fan City’s forces this afternoon and he too was glaring in a hostile manner at Zuo Wentang.
“City Lord Bai, I’ve received your letter and came to meet you immediately after. We’re old acquaintances and these people here are our confidants so be honest with me, who is this Lin Jin? Why do you shield him so?”
City Lord Fan was clearly still seething, and his tone sounded confrontational.
Paying it no mind, City Lord Bai walked into the pavilion and sat down.
“Old Fan, like you’ve said, we’re old acquaintances and since you’re willing to come to see me, that means my words can still get through to you. If you’d like to know, I’ll tell you the truth. Lin Jin isn’t someone you can afford to provoke. Now before you start yelling at me, do let me finish speaking. If you think I’m wrong, you can get angry later.”
Outside the pavilion, Zuo Wentang was all smiles as he looked at Fan City’s steward. The latter still seemed antagonistic.
“Brother Leng, before you went in to give Lin Jin trouble, were you not aware that he’s one of our country’s guardians?” Zuo Wentang asked softly.
The other man froze up immediately upon hearing this.
Obviously, he was clueless about it.
After they learned that Lin Jin was only a beast appraiser in Maple City’s Beast Appraisal Association, they immediately dispatched their forces. They didn’t even bother to look deeper for more information after that.
However, at the mention of ‘guardian’, Brother Leng’s eyelid twitched violently.
He knew full well what being a nation’s guardian implied. Only those who had Rank 4 pet beasts were worthy of such a title. They were the protectors of this country so one could imagine how much weight they carry.
“That Lin Jin is really our country’s guardian?” The man asked with widened eyes.
Zuo Wentang responded with a subtle smile and held a finger before his lips “Listen to what our City Lord Bai has to say.”
Bai Zhenkong didn’t go into much detail but that was enough to stun his two visitors. Just the news about His Majesty issuing an imperial decree to exceptionally promote Lin Jin to a Rank 3 beast appraiser made City Lord Fan’s hands and feet turn cold.
His son only broke a leg and he could still recover. At most, he wouldn’t be able to walk properly for the rest of his life. In hindsight, it didn’t seem like a huge matter considering how the boy was still breathing.
Even if he died, they couldn’t seek revenge on Lin Jin.
Those who managed to be appointed as city lord were no fools. After thinking it through, City Lord Fan knew what to do next.
He glanced at Bai Zhenkong before getting up to salute and bow at the man.
“Deary me, Old Fan, what are you doing?” Bai Zhenkong smiled faintly as he asked. To be honest, he already knew why Old Fan was behaving this way.
After bowing, City Lord Fan said, “Brother Bai, I owe you one. If you hadn’t sent someone to stop me, I might have brought upon a disaster unto myself.”
Indeed, it would have been a tremendous disaster. He was only a mere city lord. Throughout the Jade Dragon Kingdom, there were sixteen cities and sixteen city lords. It would have been effortless for His Majesty to dispose of someone of their rank.
One could imagine that if City Lord Fan made a scene, he would have to pay for it later.
Also, City Lord Fan wasn’t an idiot. Lin Jin most definitely wasn’t just all that Bai Zhenkong had described. Perhaps there were things that even the latter didn’t know, or perhaps he hadn’t been entirely truthful with him.
In any case, one thing was certain. Lin Jin mustn’t be offended. He had to find ways to investigate deeper once he got back.
As for his son, he could only blame himself for not being harsh enough on the young man. Getting hurt should serve as a good lesson for the boy. It just so happened that the Zhao and Huang family were also involved so City Lord Fan decided he would seek compensation from them instead.
Intelligent people didn’t need too many explanations. City Lord Fan no longer looked as hostile as he was before. Instead, he was all smiles as he continued chatting with City Lord Bai.
Outside the pavilion, Zuo Wentang was getting anxious as he looked at the time.
After all, he had agreed to treat Lin Jin to a drink at night.
Fortunately, City Lord Fan and City Lord Bai’s conversation didn’t go on for too long. After a few more exchanges, they got up to bid each other farewell.
As City Lord Fan left on his eagle, Bai Zhenkong seemed to be in a pleasant mood.
“I managed to earn a favor from Old Fan today.”