“Sis, you’re here too.” Lu Yunhe laughed as he entered. It didn’t take long for him to notice Zombie Cthulhu, which made him shudder out of shock and disgust. Lu Ba who still had some vigor earlier was now cowering behind Lu Yunhe.
“Shh!” Lu Xiaoyun quickly made a hushing gesture at her brother, a signal for him to not disturb her master at work.
Lu Yunhe nodded. This was a very strange scene and it was mainly due to that thing in the coffin. Lu Yunhe took pride in being a knowledgeable person but he had never seen such a creature before.
It was simply too scary.
Look! Even Lu Ba was frightened out of his wits.
Lu Yunhe shook his head at Lu Ba who was crouching by his feet.
Lately, while the shedding was a problem, Lu Ba had also gotten much more cowardly, which frustrated Lu Yunhe.
Lu Xiaoyun now noticed Lu Ba with his terrible shedding problem. Her eyes widened and she whispered to him, “What happened to Lu Ba?”
Lu Yunhe hadn’t told Lu Xiaoyun about Lu Ba’s shedding problem out of embarrassment. Even when he went for treatment, Lu Yunhe chose to visit close acquaintances who would keep this issue a secret.
However, the problem was getting increasingly out of hand recently so Lu Yunhe grew anxious.
“Don’t ask. That’s why I’m here to see Brother Lin.” Lu Yunhe looked helpless. Lu Xiaoyun frowned. “Why didn’t you come to me? I’m an apprentice beast appraiser after all. I can easily treat something as simple as a shedding.”
Lu Yunhe had genuinely been too ashamed to go to his little sister.
He found it embarrassing.
However, now that he seemed to have angered his sister by keeping her in the dark about the issue, Lu Yunhe tried to appease her by whispering, “Then… Xiaoyun, can you take a look and see what the problem is?”
“I won’t. You don’t even trust your sister so I won’t concern myself with your balding cat.” Lu Xiaoyun began throwing a tantrum. Lu Yunhe was about to say something when Lin Jin spoke, “Brother Yunhe, bring Lu Ba over here, I’ll take a look at him.”
It seemed that while they were talking, Lin Jin had finished treating Zombie Cthulhu.
The effects were positive and the process had been successful. Zombie Cthulhu had completely separated from the coffin made of wood filled with Yang energy. He no longer needed the Yang energy’s nourishment and his old injuries have healed.
However, like spinning silk, it would take a significant period of time for a chronic illness to recede. Zombie Cthulhu would have to recuperate for a long while to make a complete recovery but he was mostly fine now.
Lin Jin didn’t even have to administer acupuncture on him daily anymore. He just had to let the creature recover on his own.
‘I’ll get Ghost Child to inform Coffin Man that he can come and get Zombie Cthulhu the next time the Visitation Hall opens,’ Lin Jin thought to himself.
As for Lu Xiaoyun and Lu Yunhe, Lin Jin had noticed them long ago. He obviously saw the balding Lu Ba too.
At Lin Jin’s instruction, Lu Yunhe quickly brought Lu Ba over. Lu Ba recognized who Lin Jin was, so he went over obediently.
It was Lin Jin who helped him evolve last time.
After taking just one look, Lin Jin asked, “Brother Yunhe, did you feed Lu Ba any pills?”
“Pills?” Stunned, Lu Yunhe began to rummage through his memory before shaking his head. “Nope!”
Lu Yunhe answered with great resolution.
Lin Jin nodded before asking, “Then… Have you made enemies recently?”
After thinking for a moment, Lu Yunhe said, “A while back, a wandering drug peddler saw Lu Ba on the street so he stopped me, insisting that I let him take a look at Lu Ba. I would never trust a wandering drug peddler so I told him off on the spot. Does that count?”
“That must be it.” Lin Jin nodded. Without hiding the truth from him, Lin Jin pointed to somewhere below Lu Ba’s neck. A silver needle flew out of his hand and pierced through something. They heard a crack and a black beetle the size of a fingernail fell out.
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A silver needle passed through this black beetle’s body but even so, the insect was far from dead. It was still struggling, trying to escape.
“Malicious sorcery!” Lin Jin commented. With a point of his finger, an ember appeared out of nowhere, burning the beetle alive.
In the blink of an eye, the scorching flames burned the black beetle into a crisp.
There may have been a misperception, but everyone present, including Lu Yunhe and Lu Xiaoyun, seemed to have heard a human’s shriek when the black beetle was burned.
After the black beetle was scorched into ashes, Lin Jin retracted his Dragonfire.
Everything happened so fast that the Lu siblings gaped. Especially Lu Yunhe. He had clearly seen that black beetle fall off Lu Ba’s body.
“Brother Lin, wh-what the hell was that?” Lu Yunhe stammered. He could sense that the black beetle was something evil.
“It was sorcery,” Lin Jin revealed. Where there was good, there would also be evil in the beast appraiser’s industry. And this was no secret within their community.
The moment Lu Yunhe spoke of his conflict with the wandering drug peddler, Lin Jin knew that the peddler had probably cast a malicious spell against Lu Ba in secret.
Strictly speaking, that wandering drug peddler was also a beast appraiser as his spells only worked on pet beasts.
That black beetle was one of his spells, which he was able to cast discreetly. The fact that Lu Yunhe and Lu Ba were equally insensitive to minor changes made his spell all the more effective, all the more potent.
While it only seemed like a simple case of shedding, Lu Ba wouldn’t just be shedding if the spell were to continue working against the poor creature.
The most troublesome part was that regular beast appraisers wouldn’t be able to tell what had happened. Lin Jin only arrived at his conclusion due to his competence, which had far exceeded his peers of the same rank.
After clarifying the situation, Lu Yunhe was obviously enraged.
“That b*stard, what I said was insignificant compared to such a spiteful spell!” Lu Yunhe gritted his teeth.
Lu Ba was now his lifeline. If something were to happen to Lu Ba, Lu Yunhe would be ruined.
“Things aren’t that simple.” Lin Jin smiled. “To invest half of his cultivation in a blood contract insect just because he was scolded would make him a terribly foolish person.”
A blood contract insect was something only evil beast appraisers knew how to create, and the conditions for cultivating such a skill were harsh.
It was so difficult that only about two out of ten people could succeed cultivating it after suffering various hardships.
“In most cases, a blood contract insect is used to steal pet beasts with whom others had blood contracts. That person must have been interested in Lu Ba and was planning to snatch it for himself. Once Lu Ba’s fur sheds completely, the blood contract insect would drill into his brain, allowing no one to control him. Of course, your blood contract would also be broken in the process.”
Lin Jin’s explanation sent chills all down Lu Yunhe’s spine.
The more he thought about it, the more frightened he got. If he hadn’t met Lin Jin, wouldn’t he be doomed? Lu Ba was a Rank 3 pet beast and according to Lin Jin, his companion had huge potential. If Lu Ba was stolen away, no amount of crying could bring him back.
“But you don’t have to worry anymore. I broke his blood contract insect spell and burned that wicked creature. Lu Ba should be fine now. He just needs to eat, drink and get some sun. In about half a month, his fur should grow back,” Lin Jin reassured Lu Yunhe.
Despite Lin Jin’s carefree tone, Lu Yunhe knew it wouldn’t be that simple. Lu Xiaoyun simply asked, “Master Lin, we clearly heard a shriek earlier and it definitely didn’t come from the insect.”
Lin Jin nodded. “Cultivating a blood contract insect is a risky attempt that requires the castor to imbue half of his cultivation into the insect. Now that I’ve burned it with Dragonfire, that person’s soul would be damaged so how could he not scream?”
It was then that Lu Yunhe learned what fire Lin Jin had just used.
Despite it looking like a tiny ember, the flames felt intimidating. Even from a distance, they could feel the scorching heat so it definitely wasn’t a normal fire.
Right, Lin Jin said it was Dragonfire.
Lu Xiaoyun was worried about something else.
“Making enemies?” Lin Jin smiled. “That’s a given. But it was him who initiated it so he isn’t in the best position to blame others for breaking his spell. Don’t worry. Even if he were to seek revenge, he’ll be coming for me.”