It wasn’t Lin Jin’s first time traveling so far from home. His last trip to Daluo Temple, which was thousands of miles away from Jade Dragon Kingdom, took three days on eagleback.
Heavenly Spiral Kingdom was situated in the heart of United Continent so it was even further away compared to Daluo Temple. Even with the eagle, they would need about five days to get there.
Lin Jin wasn’t in a hurry so there was no need to force themselves to travel at night. He also hasn’t been to the hinterlands of United Continent so it would be a waste not to enjoy the scenery as he traveled.
To Old Mo, he considered this an opportunity.
During their trip, he gathered the courage to ask Lin Jin about the study of beast appraising. Although Lin Jin was aware of Old Mo’s intentions, he was bored too so he decided to initiate a conversation.
With mountains passing down below and wild geese flying beside them, he felt so liberated and carefree. The night breeze and clear moon made it all the more enjoyable.
After flying for a few hours, Lin Jin sensed a decline in the eagle’s energy so he had it descend to get some rest.
In fact, they were already beyond Jade Dragon Kingdom’s borders and were in a neighboring country. Dawn had yet to come but the air was already foggy. They could see a large village in the distance with smoke rising from their chimneys.
There was no such thing as a GPS in this world so Lin Jin could only rely on a crude map to get to his destination. If they kept flying, they were bound to overshoot their target so Lin Jin had to stop every once in a while to ask where they were right now. That way, he could cross-check with his map to ascertain their current position.
Of course, Lin Jin had asked for Old Mo’s opinion too, but the dark jade dragon who confidently declared that he had traveled to Heavenly Spiral Kingdom in the past was unable to tell which way to go. He was a terrestrial creature after all.
Old Mo remained silent for the longest time before he answered sheepishly, “Appraiser Lin, I traveled on land back then so traveling by air confuses me.”
Lin Jin stayed quiet. Looks like there was no point in bringing Old Mo along on this journey.
However, it wasn’t Lin Jin’s style to boot him off the eagle after this confession. Mother dragon was willing to hear him out and had agreed to protect Jade Dragon Kingdom for two reasons. The first was that she wanted to repay him, but she also wanted to entrust her only living son to Lin Jin.
Lin Jin was aware of this.
Old Mo was somewhat conceited and was prone to make rash decisions, traits which contradicted his age. Even so, if Lin Jin looked deeper into his actions, he could tell that Old Mo was a filial son. For him to be so devoted to his mother, it implied that he had a loyal personality. After some probing and tests, Lin Jin was confident that Old Mo was a somewhat trustworthy character.
That being the case, he found no reason to send Old Mo back to Jade Dragon Kingdom.
Lin Jin was experienced in teaching monsters and Old Mo wasn’t even considered a monster. His qualities were above White Ape’s because he was a dragon after all.
If he ventured on the correct cultivation path, he could reach greater heights compared to the jade dragon deity and mother dragon.
This was what Lin Jin thought, but he didn’t reveal it outright. Old Mo had been anxious the whole time. He was worried that Lin Jin might chase him back home so he had to tread carefully from this point onward.
Now, Lin Jin wanted to enter the village to ask where they currently were. After confirming their location, they would continue their journey.
Lin Jin led the way into the village. Old Mo was currently the size of a tiny dog so he had a pretty adorable appearance. To the ordinary man, he looked more like a silly lizard than a menacing dragon.
The way he tagged behind Lin Jin made him look like a pet beast instead.
When they arrived at the village, it was already bright outside. They could see many villagers walking about. Most of them were up early in the morning to toil away in the fields with their pet beasts, which were mostly bulls, pigs, and dogs.
This seemed like a harmonious village.
Lin Jin stopped a villager to ask for the name of this place. Then, he nodded after cross-checking with the map. Although they had gone slightly off course, they weren’t too far away from the original trajectory, so after confirming the right direction, they could resume their journey.
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However, Lin Jin suddenly heard a loud sneeze. He turned to see someone sprawled over a table soundly asleep inside a tavern that was currently opening for business.
Scattered on the table and floor around him were empty liquor bottles.
“A drunkard!” Old Mo mumbled from behind. However, Lin Jin’s eyebrows twitched because the man sprawled over the table looked very familiar.
Thus, Lin Jin started approaching him.
The tavern had just opened up for business, so the snoring man must have been drinking here overnight.
A brief exchange with the waiter confirmed Lin Jin’s suspicion.
“This customer came here yesterday noon but he kept drinking till our closing time. Even then, he refused to leave. He was really drunk so our shopkeeper let him sleep here to prevent any unnecessary trouble. He still hasn’t woken up until now,” the waiter wore a helpless expression as he spoke.
“Sir, do you know him? If you do, can you help us bring him away?”
Lin Jin smiled. “I do know him. Please help me prepare a pot of tea.”
Lin Jin made sure to hand the waiter some cash.
As they say, money makes the world go round. The waiter got to work immediately at the sight of the silver piece.
“Alrighty. Please have a seat, sir! Your hot pot of tea is coming right up.”
Upon closer observation, Lin Jin was completely certain that he knew who this person was. In fact, they were pretty close friends.
Lin Jin reached over and patted him.
“Master Gu? Master Gu?” he called out.
The drunkard who was knocked out cold in a random village tavern was none other than the famed painter and calligraphist of Jade Dragon Kingdom, Gu Mengzhong. However, Gu Mengzhong didn’t look as debonair as he did before. What’s left was the downcast shell of a man.
Lin Jin hadn’t seen Master Gu for several months now so he had no idea what happened in the time he was gone. It was such a surprise to see him in this state. Wasn’t he out in the world fighting for justice as a wandering hero?
Such ideals were unrealistic for a man of literature because, in the real world, the sword was mightier than the pen. Experts lay hidden in every corner of the world and most things simply could not be definitely labeled as right or wrong. In other words, Gu Mengzhong had to wake up from his naive dream sooner or later.
Still, Lin Jin didn’t expect Master Gu to run into trouble so quickly. It was fortunate that he ran into him or God knows what would have happened.
As Master Gu was still out cold from the alcohol, Lin Jin allowed him to snore away.
Moments later, the waiter brought over a steaming pot of tea. Lin Jin poured some tea into a cup and he pushed it toward Master Gu. Perhaps he detected the presence of water, Master Gu licked his lips before grabbing the cup to down it in one go.
“Thirsty… Is there more?” With a face full of untrimmed stubble, Gu Mengzhong asked with a hoarse. His eyes remained shut.
Lin Jin knew how thirsty one could be when suffering from a hangover, so he instructed the waiter to prepare a huge pot of tea in advance.
“There is. More than enough!” Lin Jin poured him another cup and Gu Mengzhong finished it in one go too. Before Lin Jin could refill his cup, Gu Mengzhong simply picked up the pot and drank from it.
Gulp gulp!
“Ah! Refreshing!” said Gu Mengzhong as he emptied the pot into his belly. His eyes were still shut when he said, “Thanks, may I have your na-”
Upon peeling his eyes open, Gu Mengzhong saw who was sitting before him, and he froze up immediately.