This was where spells shone.
With Camouflage, Lin Jin was practically non-existent in the eyes of mortals.
Upon reaching a wooden building named ‘Auspicious House’, Lin Jin stopped.
‘This is it!’ After glancing up at the luxurious four-story building, Lin Jin entered the front door.
The two muscular men standing guard at the entrance did not stop Lin Jin from entering as if they couldn’t see him.
These burly men were only common folk with almost no cultivation so they obviously couldn’t see through Lin Jin’s Camouflage.
Once inside, Lin Jin realized he was in an exclusive restaurant. Everything here was exquisite and the waitresses tasked with serving dishes and pouring wine were all young and budding women, dressed in skimpy outfits. Indulging in young beauties and scrumptious meals, some people would see this place as heaven on earth.
The first floor was quite spacious, seeing how it was able to fit nine whole dining tables. However, only three tables were filled. As expected, the customers seemed to be wealthy aristocrats.
Their pet beasts were rested by their feet. Judging by their appearance, these were ferocious beasts.
Lin Jin’s Camouflage may deceive the human eye but it probably couldn’t escape a beast’s senses. And so, as if it sensing something, a lion abruptly looked up in Lin Jin’s direction.
The next instant, a wave of intimidation came crashing down like an unstoppable wave. That lion had just lifted his head when it felt a bolt of lightning strike its body, ultimately knocking it out cold.
Lin Jin revealed a sheepish look.
It seems that he had overestimated the force that was needed to subdue the Rank 3 lion. Still, this lion had sharp senses.
With three eyes and four ears, it was probably a rare breed with extraordinary senses which set it apart from average beasts. That was why it was able to detect Lin Jin’s presence, even though Camouflage was still operating.
What Lin Jin did was overkill.
Still, what’s done was done. The unconscious lion couldn’t speak nor tattle on him now anyway.
The moment he noticed his pet beast fainting over, the owner of the lion started to panic. His friends at the table crowded over to check out what was going on and the other customers on the first floor were drawn over by the commotion as well.
Meanwhile, Lin Jin was already ascending the stairs, heading for the second floor.
Suddenly, he heard voices from above.
“Something’s happened on the first floor. Let’s go and take a look.”
A man soon appeared from the second floor, coming downstairs to take a look around.
He was standing only a few inches away from Lin Jin. Lin Jin recognized this man to be one of the men who staged the accident this morning.
Looks like he had found the right place.
Despite how close Lin Jin was, that man failed to detect his presence. He only peered down the stairs before going back inside. Lin Jin quickly followed after him, making sure to synchronize their footsteps to avoid detection by sound.
The man soon arrived before a private room. He pulled the curtains aside before he entered it.
“It was nothing, shopkeeper. One of the pet beasts of the customers downstairs just collapsed for some reason. It’s nothing to worry about.”
The man clearly thought nothing of it.
The private room had two large tables. Among those present in the room was the bald shopkeeper from this morning.
Besides him, his henchmen were also there, standing in a corner.
“A pet beast fainted? Why did it faint so suddenly? You guys, go down there and take a look. Boss will be hosting valuable guests here today so we can’t have any accidents happening. If things are really that serious, have them chase everyone else out.” The bald shopkeeper looked wary.
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His subordinates hurried downstairs while Lin Jin took the opportunity to sneak inside and stand in a corner.
Right now, only the bald shopkeeper was left inside this private room. The way he stood indicated that he was waiting for someone. From their conversation earlier, Lin Jin could confirm one thing.
The ‘boss’ he had mentioned earlier was probably that enigmatic rich young master they met today.
This piqued Lin Jin’s interest.
He was only trying his luck by coming here. He never expected to strike gold so early on. Since that was the case, he would wait here and see if their guests of honor were members of the Demonic Appraisal Association.
Lin Jin looked around and saw a chair in the corner of the room. He went over and sat down quietly.
The wait began.
The bald shopkeeper seemed oblivious to the fact that he was sharing the room with someone else. Perhaps he was too anxious to even consider that possibility. While he awaited the return of his subordinates, the boss of Auspicious House came in to have a chat with him. The bald shopkeeper was informed that the dishes were ready to be served once his guests were here.
The bald shopkeeper thanked him before mentioning a few areas that required extra attention.
“Don’t you worry, we’re old friends aren’t we? I’ll do whatever I can to help you.” The owner chuckled before heading out to make the necessary preparations.
Soon, the bald shopkeeper’s subordinates returned.
“Shopkeeper, it was nothing. A customer’s pet beast suddenly fainted but it’s awake now. That customer had brought it to the Beast Appraisal Association.”
The bald shopkeeper was relieved to hear this.
“You guys, keep your chins up and stay alert. Boss’ guests today aren’t people we can afford to offend.”
“Got it. Don’t worry Shopkeeper, this isn’t our first day working as a team.”
“So long as you understand!”
Like the bald shopkeeper, they continued standing as they waited for their guests.
Lin Jin was quite curious as to what kind of guest would show up. Being a man of caliber, no one else but him was brazen enough to sit here in such a grandiose manner.
Lin Jin was quite confident in his Camouflage spell.
He managed to pick up this skill by combining the information he gathered from several books as well as the spell-casting of the old Taoist from Cloud Sect. No average person could see through his disguise. Forget common folk, even for some skillful experts, so long as they didn’t have pet beasts with uniquely acute senses, they wouldn’t detect Lin Jin either.
Of course, certainty was impossible in this world. Experts in spell-casting or those who also mastered Camouflage would probably notice him right off the bat.
As the saying went, ‘If you know, you’ll know’.
Before long, Lin Jin could hear footsteps heading upstairs. There were multiple individuals heading their way.
Lin Jin concealed his aura and focused.
Cautiously, the bald shopkeeper parted the curtains to invite the newcomers inside.
“Boss, everything is ready to go,” the bald shopkeeper said to the young master coming inside. This young man was none other than the androgynous young master Lin Jin had bumped into this morning.
The young master nodded before leading a few people inside.
“Senior Zhou, Elder Ye, please come in. Incense Master Chu as well, it’s been so many years since we last met and you still look debonair as always.” The young master was being courteous but due to his feminine looks, he seemed rather strange. If it weren’t for his Adam’s apple and flat chest, one might assume he was a cross-dressing woman.
“Hehe, Mr. Ji, don’t you look radiant as well? As for me, I was almost killed in that tiny little Jade Dragon Kingdom,” said Incense Master Chu, who came in last.
This person had average looks and his outfit wasn’t ostentatious. Despite looking like a regular street peddler, the ruthlessness and cunning in his eyes couldn’t have been any more apparent.
This man clearly wasn’t a nice guy.