Upon entering the palace, Lin Jin found He Qian waiting for him together with He Yu and He Qing.
He was here to select a pet beast for He Yu so there really was no reason for He Qing to be here. Though, knowing her personality, her presence did not come as a surprise to Lin Jin.
Aside from the two noble princesses, there were two other people standing beside He Qian.
These men were He Qian’s sons, in other words, they were the princes of the Jade Dragon Kingdom.
One was the first prince, He Huang, while the other was the second prince, He Yv.
Princes and princesses were considered giants among men. In terms of their appearance, temperament, knowledge, or experience, no child from an average family could even compare to them, not even children of aristocrats.
After all, the mightiest family in the Jade Dragon Kingdom was the royal He family.
The first prince, He Huang was already in his thirties, and in spite of the fact that his age, he already possessed a dignified demeanor typically seen among older members of the royal family. The second prince, He Yv was slightly more mellow and amiable.
For a moment, Lin Jin couldn’t figure out why He Qian brought his sons along too.
However, as they headed over to the Jade Dragon Lair, He Qian asked, “Appraiser Lin, what do you think of my two sons?”
With this, Lin Jin understood what He Qian was trying to do.
‘Tsk tsk, Your Majesty, you think too highly of me!’ Lin Jin lamented jokingly.
To think He Qian was asking him to judge his two sons. This was akin to having an elder assess his juniors. Lin Jin’s comment might ultimately affect the trajectory of their lives!
Lin Jin wasn’t imagining things because from He Qian’s expression and the tone of voice, he could see that His Majesty valued his opinion greatly.
This made Lin Jin all the more nervous.
“Your Majesty, I’m just a beast appraiser. How can I comment on your sons? It wouldn’t be right.” Lin Jin tried his best to shrug off the proposition, which He Qian shoved onto him without warning. Although Lin Jin wasn’t afraid of the consequences, he refused to get involved in such troublesome situations.
It might be linked to ongoing royal strife and power struggles.
However, He Qian wasn’t going to let Lin Jin off the hook that easily.
“Appraiser Lin, you’re mistaken.” He Qian smiled. “I was hoping to get Appraiser Lin’s opinion on my sons’ pet beasts’ and the level of their blood contracts. I just wanted to see who’s pet beast has the capacity for further growth.”
“That, I can do,” Lin Jin replied with a nod. Specialized in the field, Lin Jin was genuinely able to comment on this. It wasn’t an exaggeration to claim that whatever Lin Jin had to say were hard facts, especially if it was an assessment of whose blood pact was stronger blood pact or whoever’s pet beast had a higher evolutionary potential.
It went without saying that the result of his evaluation would affect He Qian’s opinion of his two sons.
Though, it wasn’t like that had anything to do with Lin Jin.
As they walked, the two princes competed with each other to befriend Lin Jin too. As members of the ruling class, if they didn’t realize what they had to do, they weren’t worth the time educating.
Emperor He Qian had been tremendously respectful towards Lin Jin and the princes weren’t blind nor fools to overlook Lin Jin’s prominent status. Hence, their personal opinion of him did not matter. They would try to be as respectful as they could on the surface.
The first prince, He Huang kept trying to strike up a conversation with Lin Jin through questions about beast appraisals. Of course, Lin Jin would answer his queries without failure. The second prince, He Yv would sometimes ask his own questions too, but most of the time, he would just smile and listen, a move that maintained a peaceful atmosphere.
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However, the blabbermouth He Qing proceeded to tear down the facade they were trying to maintain.
“Appraiser Lin, my brothers may appear close, but they’re actually like ice and fire. They’ve been competing against each other for quite some time now.”
Lin Jin quickly tried to shush her up because it would be terrible if the princes or He Qian were to hear her.
“What’s there to be afraid of? I-” He Qing was nonchalant as she could be. Before she could say anything even more outrageous though, He Yu stuffed a piece of candied fruit into her sister’s mouth, silencing her instantly.
Their destination, the Jade Dragon Lair was located deep inside the palace gardens. This area was off-limits that no one other than Emperor He Qian himself could come here.
In the past, Yu Xiang who held overwhelming authority was allowed here as well. But after his death, the emperor was the only person who had access to the premises.
Simply put, the Jade Dragon Lair was where the jade dragon tribe resided. It was a different universe in which only royalty or those with special permission were allowed entry. It was a place where pet beasts would be selected for members of the royal family.
During their journey, Lin Jin came to realize that He Qian’s pet beast was a Rank 4 jade dragon. The Emperor had also cultivated the Beastmaster Scroll, allowing him to merge with his dragon.
Both princes were the same. Although they too had jade dragons, their companions were only at Rank 3.
As He Yu had been the old dragon’s target, she hadn’t formed a blood contract yet. What confused Lin Jin was He Qing’s pet beast, which instead of being another jade dragon, was a tetrawinged butterfly dragon instead.
However, after careful observation and asking the right questions, Lin Jin was able to come up with a rough explanation for this.
It was because He Qian doted on the little princess, He Qing the most.
Hence, he didn’t let He Qing form a blood pact with a jade dragon like her other royal siblings. The royal family had always been under the jade dragon deity’s control as it controlled their jade dragons. In turn, this arrangement allowed the deity to exercise control over the entire kingdom.
Back then, the old dragon’s existence was akin to a supreme emperor.
Hence, He Qian did not allow his most precious little daughter to form a blood pact with a jade dragon. He feared that she would be controlled by the old dragon in the future.
The entourage of guards didn’t follow them inside. Even His Majesty’s confidant, Yao Sheng, could only wait outside while Lin Jin was permitted special entry to the Jade Dragon Lair as a beast appraiser.
There was an entrance at the base of a rocky hill. Through the artificially carved tunnel, they arrived before a stone door.
Before the aged and sturdy stone door was a round platform. He Qian stood on the platform and invoked a secret spell. Multicolored lights streamed as spirit energy flowed into the round platform beneath his feet. Then, the platform started rotating, and the sound of rocks grinding against each other could be heard as the stone door ahead slowly swung open.
They could vaguely hear the cries of dragons coming from the other side of the door.
He Qing became wary and a little intimidated. He Yu held her younger sister’s hand, but she looked just as nervous. Perhaps the two princes have been here before so they weren’t afraid. Though, they weren’t smiling either.
He Qian maximized his aura to the point where the silhouette of his jade dragon appeared behind him. That must be his pet beast.
“Let’s go inside,” He Qian said. Then, he urged softly, “Once we’re inside the Jade Dragon Lair, no one else other than me should speak or we risk disturbing the jade dragons inside.”
Stay quiet and avoid creating trouble, got it.
He Qian began to lead them inside but even he was cautious, as indicated by the speed at which he walked, which was slower than a snail’s pace.
There were no longer signs of artificial work done on the inside. This was a natural underground cave that surprisingly existed below the royal capital. To think there would be such a massive cave here filled with strange rock formations.
Within the darkness, they could vaguely hear the wind whistle as if something just flew by their heads. There were also cries from near and far.
The group arrived at a stone altar and He Qian proceeded to light up one of the torches.