Lin Jin smiled.
They were all clever people and Feng Zishan’s honest geniality was much welcomed.
That being the case, Lin Jin decided not to conceal his thoughts too. “Second Prince, I want to let you know that Third Prince shares a very close relationship with my teacher. However, Your Highness has been very sincere, so if you need help with anything and it does not clash with Third Prince’s interests, I am more than willing to provide my assistance.”
Lin Jin came clean too.
Feng Zishan chuckled. “Lecturer Lin is a straightforward man after all. Alright, I promise I won’t have Lecturer Lin do anything that clashes with my third brother’s interests. With this, will Lecturer Lin be able to rest easy? You know, I’ve had Daojun’s painting for a long time now, and I can’t seem to figure out what the words mean. If Lecturer Lin or Curator can decipher it, I’d love to hear what it says. You just have to explain the content of the painting to me, and that will be all.”
Since he had put it this way, there wasn’t much left for Lin Jin to say. Today, he found Feng Zishan to be broad-minded and suited for making decisions. Compared to Feng Ziqian, they both had their merits so Lin Jin didn’t know who’s stronger anymore.
Lin Jin wasn’t all that interested in the successor of the throne for Heavenly Spiral Kingdom. What’s more, he was a mere outsider, so it wasn’t like he could offer much help.
That being the case, why should he worry for troubles that may not come? Both princes just had to contend among themselves and whoever will succeed the throne would be decided by the Emperor of Heavenly Spiral Kingdom, not him.
If he adopted such an approach, there was nothing to stop Lin Jin from befriending Feng Zishan.
“Alright, let’s go with Second Prince’s suggestion. However, there is no need to gift us this painting. We’d just like to borrow it for a few days. I will inform Second Prince of the painting’s content after that.” Lin Jin stopped trying to be pretentious. Why should he decline something that had been deliberately brought to him?
Moreover, Lin Jin had just thought it through. He had no intentions of influencing their competition for the throne, nor did he have the means to do so. He just had to do his job.
As they continued their comfortable conversation, someone came in to report the third prince’s arrival.
Feng Ziqian was here too.
Things were getting lively.
Before Lin Jin could speak, Feng Zishan chuckled. “Third Brother is here too, this is wonderful.”
Lin Jin couldn’t sense any discomfort or awkwardness at all. Feng Zishan even went outside on his own to receive Feng Ziqian. Leaving aside the suspicions of whether his actions were sincere or fake, at least his attitude was appropriate.
Before long, Feng Zishan and Feng Ziqian entered the mansion together. Feng Ziqian was visibly confused but he said nothing.
“It’s such a coincidence that Third Brother is here too. Us brothers hadn’t been able to drink together for a while now so let’s enjoy ourselves today.” Once Feng Zishan was done speaking, fragrant dishes were brought over from the kitchen.
Feng Ziqian found an opportunity to secretly ask Lin Jin about his brother’s visit, to which Lin Jin answered with a smile and a wave. Feng Ziqian was no fool. Knowing his brother’s personality, he figured that his second brother must have been the one who decided to come here.
Since they were young, his second brother had always been good at dealing with people. This was one aspect in which Feng Ziqian failed to match his brother.
Soon, the table was filled and the three men drank to a toast. One couldn’t notice any discord in between them. Feng Ziqian wasn’t good at pretending so he reacted earnestly.
Feng Zishan’s behavior was flawless too.
While Lin Jin kept them both company, his mind was actually on the painting. He wondered what it might be about. Maybe, it was just a normal scenery painting.
Although anxious, he could only wait until the royal brothers were gone before he could study it.
Hence, Lin Jin’s mind was distracted as they drank.
Based on Lin Jin’s latest understanding, he could confirm that Daojun had been a transmigrator, just like him. This naturally made him feel a sense of connection with Daojun.
Simply put, while Lin Jin had tons of friends in this world, some were very dear to him. Even so, deep down, Lin Jin knew he didn’t belong in this world.
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This was why he couldn’t help but feel detached at times.
Daojun was different.
Since Daojun was also a transmigrator who came from the same world as he did, Lin Jin felt closer to this mysterious Daojun whom he had never met before.
It was because they were the same type of people.
Hence, Lin Jin wanted so much to see what Daojun left behind. Maybe it was a single phrase or a single sentence. There might be something useful too.
The drinking session lasted more than two hours before the princes bid Lin Jin farewell. During their time here, neither princes brought up awkward topics. Only at this moment, they were truly brothers, and they also knew that once the intoxication passed, they would resume their fight for the throne.
Such was the fate of royal descendants.
Meanwhile, Lin Jin had performed a simple exercise to remove his intoxication. He now felt refreshed and was ready to have a look at that painting.
Before he knew it, Shu Xiaolou was already sitting beside him.
Lin Jin ignored her.
He couldn’t control her anyway. She was already here a while ago but had merely remained hidden from plain sight.
“What’s this?” asked Shu Xiaolou as she stared curiously at the painting in Lin Jin’s hand. As a painting spirit, Shu Xiaolou had a strong interest in paintings.
Lin Jin didn’t answer her. Shu Xiaolou was asking the obvious. What else could Lin Jin possibly say besides ‘it’s a painting’?
That being the case, it was better not to speak.
As for what sort of painting it was, they would just have to see when he opened it.
And so, Lin Jin carefully unrolled the paper.
The instant he laid eyes on the painting, Lin Jin felt his scalp prickle. He almost tossed the painting away because it had frightened him so.
Shu Xiaolou’s eyes widened as well at the picture. “Th-this…What is it? Why is it so savage and domineering?”
Something that could startle even Shu Xiaolou definitely wasn’t normal.
Lin Jin was holding in his hand, an ink painting of a large beast.
The subject had to be put in scale, otherwise, no one would know how big it actually was. What they could use as references in the painting were the mountains behind the creature. Even the forest and rivers were painted vividly, but it was obvious they were created to emphasize the creature’s abnormal size.
The creature’s size exceeded Lin Jin’s imagination. Just one of its paws was the size of a mountain. If it crouched down, it could very well tower over multiple mountains.
Not a single creature in this world was that enormous.
Lin Jin’s fright obviously didn’t just come from how vividly the beast was depicted. In fact, it was because he had seen this massive beast before.
It was back at Daluo Temple. He had once witnessed this creature abruptly extend its gigantic paw down from the sky to capture Daluo Temple’s Buddha.
The Rank 9 immortal devouring beast!
Lin Jin hadn’t expected that Daojun’s painting, which Feng Zishan brought over, was depicting an immortal devouring beast. In the picture, the immortal devouring beast had revealed half of its body with the remaining lower half concealed in a dome of clouds.
Inside the cloud dome, Lin Jin could vaguely notice the shapes that made out the Nine Heaven Realm.