A ‘dark cell’ was what locals such Ouyang Tong called the place where death row inmates were held. It was called ‘dark’ because the place was built underground where no sunlight was able to penetrate.
Lin Jin was surprised by his discovery during this investigation trip to the Du Manor.
He was currently sitting at a food stall, enjoying a soup made from ground beans and eating fried pancakes as he thought about his next plan.
He had sent Ouyang Tong away because he wanted some time to himself.
At first, Lin Jin had only dived into this issue just to satisfy his curiosity. He thought he would dig around for a little before the Jade Dragon Festival started. To think he actually unveiled something important.
First, he now understood why the Du family’s young lady, Du Lianxi was still in a coma. According to the case report, the demonic appraiser planned to turn Du Lianxi into a human cocoon but their plan was subsequently foiled by the Appraisers Tan Xun and Yang Qingshi. Both Rank 3 appraisers worked together to break the demonic appraiser’s spell and defeated the perpetrator of the crime, who was finally put behind bars.
That was all Lin Jin knew. The Human Cocoon spell was sorcery that Lin Jin had heard of too. It was a method that involved locking a live human inside a clay pot filled with eggs of various insects. Once the eggs hatched, the insects would then devour the human as nourishment before finally breaking out of the cocoon.
Exotic insects born from a human cocoon were nothing but harrowing. There used to be different books teaching this method from several hundreds of years ago. Thanks to a couple of righteous appraisers, these books were forcefully removed and the method gradually withered away silently. However, in rare cases, history would sometimes return to life and this was one of those few cases.
Fortunately, Tan Xun and Yang Qingshi had found out about it in time so they managed to stop the demonic appraiser before he could complete his deed.
As for why Du Lianxi wouldn’t wake up, many people speculated that it was due to the effects of the human cocoon spell. But after Lin Jin’s investigation, he found that to be untrue.
This was also the reason for his wandering mind at the moment.
The problem had more depth than it seemed. The first point that raised Lin Jin’s concern was the putrid smell in Du Lianxi’s room. To Lin Jin, someone must have intentionally tried to cover it up with a spell. Although that person was skilled enough to trick regular visitors, his spell was uncovered the moment he was faced with high-level experts like Lin Jin.
Also, after examining Du Lianxi with his needle, Lin Jin was able to tell that she was still under the Human Cocoon spell. Though, rather than being sealed in a clay pot, there was some other trick going on inside.
Something was hidden within Du Lianxi’s intestines and it was none other than her missing pet beast, the steel skylark.
That was the reason for Lin Jin’s shocked expression the moment he pierced her skin with his needle. Otherwise, for someone as composed as he was, he wouldn’t have shown such an unsightly side.
Things were getting interesting.
Who was behind all this?
For now, it seemed like something the demonic appraisers had done. The demonic appraiser might have deliberately allowed himself to be apprehended so that the people here in the capital would lower their guards. He would then take advantage of the situation and brew a new scheme that was even more potent.
But if that was the case, there was one question that puzzled Lin Jin.
Why couldn’t anyone else tell this was going on?
There were at least five Rank 3 beast appraisers working at the headquarters. Had none of these five realized anything?
Lin Jin would never underestimate anyone. While he did possess a unique advantage thanks to the Museum of Deadly Beasts, the other Rank 3 beast appraisers didn’t achieve their rank without being actually competent at their job. It may be normal for Ouyang Tong not to sense anything but Lin Jin refused to believe that the same went for the other Rank 3 beast appraisers.
Unless someone was deliberately trying to cover this up.
Lin Jin started investigating this case out of pure curiosity but to think he would come across such a huge secret, and that caught him off guard.
Lin Jin had asked Ouyang Tong about it earlier. Ever since that incident, Appraiser Yang Qingshi constantly kept an eye out for the Du family while Appraiser Tan was too occupied with work.
Lin Jin tore a smaller piece of his pancake, dipped it in the bean soup before putting it in his mouth. “I can’t be blamed for thinking too much. Unless Yang Qingshi is an exceptionally incompetent Rank 3 beast appraiser. Otherwise, there was no way he wouldn’t have noticed the odd smell despite visiting their place so many times. Maybe he’s involved in this too… Sigh, this is so troublesome…”
Lin Jin was troubled.
He did not intend to get himself into a whole other issue, but upon learning of something as important as this, he couldn’t feign ignorance any longer. He knew that his brief visit at the Du Manor would soon spread around the city as well.
If he was the one plotting such a scheme, he would be just as frightened by this turn of events and perhaps even start a brand new plot to remove the new obstacle.
“Looks like I’ve been too nosy that I got into a new set of trouble again.” Lin Jin sighed before, finishing up the rest of his meal. This stall may be tiny but he had to admit, the taste was quite authentic.
After paying for his food, Lin Jin strolled around leisurely on his way back to headquarters.
He had thought it through. It didn’t matter if his suspicion was on the mark. Since he had unknowingly wandered into the thick of the battle, he would take things as they come. There was nothing to be afraid of.
What’s more, if there really was a misbehaving beast appraiser who while putting on a decent act, was committing treacherous deeds, Lin Jin had to do something about it. This was especially so since he was the one who uncovered it. This act wasn’t just indecent, it was against nature and inherently immoral.
The others may not be aware of it but from his examination, Lin Jin found out that the skylark inside Du Lianxi’s stomach was the actual vessel to hatch the exotic insects. The person who performed this feat was undoubtedly skilled. Even an experienced beast appraiser wouldn’t be able to tell how he did it, much less a normal person. However, Lin Jin knew how significant the evildoer’s plot was. The egg belonged to an ‘eight-headed viper’. Even well-informed beast appraisers may not have heard of this creature before.
Lin Jin only found out because of the museum.
According to the museum’s description, this eight-headed viper was such a threat that its existence was not tolerated in any corner of the globe. It was near impossible to breed these creatures, but the moment one did it successfully, the creature would start out as a Rank 4.
How terrifying.
To be born as an apex Rank 4 creature meant that it had a high probability of advancing to Rank 5 in the near future. It was no wonder some people were willing to take the risk.
Of course, the day this eight-headed viper comes alive would mark the death of Du Lianxi. Apart from that, the eight-headed viper was described as having a rotten musk, so that was probably why Lin Jin thought Du Lianxi’s room stank.
As for why the others couldn’t smell it, Lin Jin was only sure that it wasn’t because of a spell cast onto Du Lianxi’s body. Had that been the case, his silver needles would have detected the spell right away. Lin Jin actually didn’t know how the culprit managed this feat but it must be thanks to some incredible skill.
Leaving his needle inside Du Lianxi was just a precaution he took. Should it be necessary, Lin Jin could control it to destroy the eight-headed viper in Du Lianxi’s body.
However, that was the last resort because if the eight-headed viper was killed, the creature would immediately unleash its venom. By then, even with the help of God, Du Lianxi would still die.
She was an innocent girl so Lin Jin would his best to save her.
Lin Jin had his reason for visiting the dark cell at night. After all, there was a high chance he would have to use his might against the enemy and a night battle meant that he wouldn’t have to pull back his punches.
Lin Jin had already considered nearly all of the things that needed further consideration.