If one were to ask about the Shi family in Maple City, every person could tell you who they were. Searching for the Qiao family in Reed City was the same thing. It was even easier since the whole city knew that the Qiaos was hosting a banquet today.
“The Qiao family? Of course, I know about them! They’re such a dignified family after all! They’ve got so much money that they can’t spend it all, even if they tried! Every medicine hall in the city is run by them. I heard they’re hosting a banquet today for many capable fighters in the martial arts community. We’re not strong enough or we would have gone to enjoy the feast too,” replied the local who Lin Jin stopped to ask.
From the sound of things, it seemed like the Qiao family held this banquet in very high regard.
“Since this morning, we could smell the mouth-watering smell of food wafting from their house. You just have to follow this delicious scent and you’ll find them,” said the man as he swallowed.
Lin Jin quickly thanked this foodie and headed for Qiao Manor.
Although it was Escort Zhang who wrote to him requesting his assistance, it was to resolve the Qiao family’s trouble so Lin Jin thought it was better to seek them out directly.
However, at that instant, Lin Jin’s eyes widened as he sensed a familiar aura.
“Why is it here?” he mumbled to himself after realizing what that faint aura was.
This was Lin Jin’s very own Dragonfire aura and he hadn’t been performing this spell much lately. Other than for practice, he had only ever used it on the blood contract insect that was clinging onto Lu Yunhe’s pet beast, Lu Ba.
Lin Jin was able to sense those who had been burned by his Dragonfire before.
‘Could that demonic appraiser be here in Reed City as well?’ Lin Jin thought. However, due to insufficient cultivation level, Lin Jin could only sense the lingering traces of his Dragonfire aura but not pinpoint the location as to where it was coming from.
‘I’ll visit the Qiao family first. Once their issue has been resolved, I’ll investigate this,’ Lin Jin decided. After all, he was mainly here for the Qiao family.
Thus, he continued forward until he arrived at the gates of a huge mansion. It was the Qiao Manor.
The main gates to the courtyard were now open. The walls were pearl white and the roof tiles were grey. Guests were streaming in and Lin Jin could smell the strong fragrance of food overflowing from the mansion. Looks like news about them hosting a banquet was real after all.
There was someone posted at the entrance to greet the family’s esteemed guests and those who entered didn’t seem like average folks judging by their outfits and pet beast types.
After a thought, Lin Jin stepped forward.
Someone came up to greet him at once.
“Sir, may I know how to address you?”
Lin Jin smiled. “Lin Jin from Maple City!”
Simple and concise.
Upon hearing this, the Qiao family’s servant mused, ‘Even an expert from another city is here. But that’s no surprise since we’ve already invited a few of those in. Our master has instructed us to let in whoever was capable. The Qiao family welcomes competent men even if they have notorious reputations. We are willing to pay the price of their meals.’
Hence, the servant began to scrutinize Lin Jin. Indeed, Lin Jin wasn’t dressed like average folk and he had a white ape about half his height following beside him. Judging by the creature’s size, it should be very powerful and ferocious. A Rank 2, maybe?
The servant guessed.
Lin Jin didn’t know what the man was thinking but if the servant knew, he would be flabbergasted. White Ape was many times smaller than his actual size right now and if he revealed his actual form, this servant might just wet his pants.
Anyway, this man named Lin Jin didn’t seem like an average person to this servant.
Hence, in accordance with his master’s instruction, the servant led Lin Jin inside.
Lin Jin didn’t think it would be that easy.
Though, he didn’t say anything because he still wanted to observe his surroundings. After circling around a huge white screen, they entered the courtyard. More than ten banquet tables were laid out in this spacious yard, making the place exceptionally lively. Most of the tables have been filled. Since there were too many pet beasts to fit in the manor’s beast pen, many creatures were curled up or laying down on the ground. It looked like a marketplace in here.
Lin Jin found himself an empty seat nearby.
More than half of this table was filled, and judging by the way everyone was dressed, Lin Jin could tell there were all sorts of people gathered here. Of course, they were all somewhat capable or they wouldn’t have made it past the Qiao Manor’s gates.
As the banquet had yet to begin, Lin Jin sat in silence to enjoy his tea.
Looking at the hundreds of pet beasts around him, Lin Jin drew out a few needles with a flick of his hand and shot them out using the coiled wire technique. As usual, no one noticed a thing. The pet beasts merely felt a sting somewhere on their bodies but nothing else after that.
In just fifteen minutes, every pet beast here had been stung by Lin Jin’s needles. The museum gained more than a hundred new entries. Though, Lin Jin’s beast deterrence skill had yet to level up.
A rough estimate told him that he might need to record several thousand more pet beasts before triggering the next reward.
He would do it slowly.
Guests continued to pour in.
Suddenly, Lin Jin’s head shot up as he looked to the door.
He was four people entering.
In the lead was a stern-looking old man in a purple-gold crown whose expression looked somewhat menacing. This old man had no pet beast with him but nonetheless possessed an aura that indicated otherwise. No doubt, he was an expert who cultivated the Beastmaster Scroll.
The remaining three who followed behind him gave off pressuring auras too.
Perched on the shoulder of a smiling young man was a rat the size of a normal house cat, which was quite a harrowing sight. There was another man with tanned skin and was barefooted wearing short sleeves and pants, looking like a boatman. This man didn’t have a pet beast with him either and didn’t seem to have cultivated the Beastmaster Scroll. Maybe he just didn’t have a pet beast at all.
The last person was a man whose hair was charred. His eyebrows were gone too. He was dressed like a traveling drug dealer but due to the loss of his hair and eyebrows, he seemed pretty vicious.
Perched on his shoulder was a large bat that looked equally fierce and ugly.
Lin Jin’s gaze was currently fixed on this person.
Although the traces of Dragonfire on his body had faded to the point of being undetectable, Lin Jin could still sense it due to how close they were to each other.
Lin Jin’s eyes narrowed at once as a peculiar smile played on his lips.
Even the demonic appraiser had shown up. Enemies were bound to meet on a narrow path after all. To think he actually met the man who tried to kidnap Lu Bu here. How lucky!
Lin Jin was never fond of appraisers who resorted to evil spells, to begin with. Now that he came across one, he wouldn’t let them off the hook that easily. One could say he was being vengeful or nosy, but since the other party showed up, he could forget about escaping unscathed.
The four men sat at a nearby table. With this, all tables were now filled up with and there were no empty seats left.
Upon realizing, the Qiao family’s housekeeper knew this was enough. If they continued letting people in, those guests would have no places left to sit.
And so, he ordered the servants to shut the gates.
It was a gesture that informed outsiders that they were no longer accepting new guests.
Based on Lin Jin’s observation, although the Qiao family had openly invited capable fighters, their guests sat according to a hierarchy. Those sitting in the front were individuals recognized by the family and possessed significant strength. On the other hand, Lin Jin and the rest sat at tables further out. These people were recruited at the last minute for extra help. They definitely weren’t as valued compared to the people sitting in front.