Chapter 153: Frightening Lin Jin
With a chief like Tan Lin to support them, Lin Jin could rest easy. That Wu Chenwei could cause all the trouble he wanted.
Lin Jin headed for Mount Zoroku a little later than usual that night. It was in the wee hours of the morning by the time he arrived at Shang’er’s place.
However, Lin Jin was frightened by the sight before him upon arriving at their den.
The little foxes came over cheerfully and began climbing all over him in a playful manner. Shang’er hurried over to greet him as well. None of these were problematic. Instead, Lin Jin’s surprise came from seeing a massive great white ape sitting on the grass, staring at him with a dopey look on its face.
Why was the great white ape here?
Lin Jin’s mind was filled with questions.
If he was not mistaken, this great white ape should be the one that escaped from Maple City yesterday. He heard how the City Lord Manor and Grassy Continent’s natives had been tracking it the entire night but failed to locate this guy.
“Master Lin, I was just about to tell you about this,” Shang’er said as she approached him.
After Shang’er’s explanation, Lin Jin understood the situation.
Last night when Shang’er was returning from Maple City, she found this great white ape in a valley on the way back. It didn’t require much for her to subdue this white ape. After all, one was just a smart beast while the other was a fox demon who knew spell-casting and possessed super-human intelligence.
When Shang’er was about to leave, the defeated great white ape did the unexpected. It decided to follow her.
Shang’er later realized that the ape harbored no ill-will and was sympathetic as it had nowhere to go so she brought it back here to stay with them.
Just then, Little Five leaped onto the ape’s head and crouched down, letting out a few cries.
Shang’er explained, “Little Five used dream invasion to communicate with the ape. This ape is very clever and understands that we’ve gained a master to learn cultivation. It also wants to stay and learn cultivation skills.”
Immediately after, the great white ape got up and knelt down like a human, prostrating before Lin Jin.
It was undoubtedly an intelligent being.
But that came as no surprise. When Lin Jin used the coiled-wire needle to appraise it yesterday, he knew that this great white ape was just as smart as Little Five. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been able to break free from that siege yesterday.
However, what Lin Jin didn’t expect from this ape was how it sought knowledge as a human would.
Shang’er and Little Five were currently vouching for it and the ape was even kneeling down.
Should Lin Jin take it in?
It was all up to him.
Lin Jin contemplated.
The great white ape itself was trouble. Maple City’s City Lord Manor and the Grassy Continent’s caravan were currently searching for it. Both parties probably won’t be giving up anytime soon.
Their search parties might even reach Mount Zoroku someday.
And that would be troublesome.
If they managed to locate any traces, even Shang’er and the others might get drawn in.
Lin Jin had to consider these risks.
Moreover, Lin Jin was still suspicious of this ape. Shang’er and the others were a different story because after getting along with them for a few days, they felt like family to Lin Jin. He even knew the fox cubs’ personalities well now.
Was the ape as pure as Shang’er and the others? Would it turn around and bite the hand that fed it after learning what it wanted?
Lin Jin couldn’t be blamed for over-thinking it as the safety of Shang’er and her litter was at stake.
According to Lin Jin, he rather not take on the trouble. Glancing at the white ape kneeling on the ground, Lin Jin didn’t decide immediately but called the fox cubs into the cave for their lesson.
He needed a little more time to think.
Several hours later, Lin Jin was done with his lecture about the essence of Beast Energy Formation and some spell incantations. Looking outside, he could see the white ape still kneeling there obediently. Although it would move its head or arms from time to time, the creature was obviously being respectful.
Intelligent as she was, Shang’er knew that she had said enough. It was up to Lin Jin to decide so she stopped pleading for the ape. Little Five did nothing either. Instead, it was the fox cubs who surrounded Lin Jin with pitiful looks, begging Lin Jin to take the ape as his student.
Lin Jin sighed.
“You can get up now,” he said.
The white ape actually understood Lin Jin’s language. It got up with anticipation sparkling in its eyes.
“You can train with the fox cubs for now. As for whether or not I’ll take you in as a student, let’s discuss it in a few days.”
Despite saying that, he just wanted to test the white ape for a few more days.
The white ape seemed delighted.
Its hometown was thousands of miles away, deep inside Grassy Continent. With the distance being so great, it couldn’t possibly return home. It was all alone here with no one to rely on.
Hence, now that such an opportunity appeared, the white ape wouldn’t let it slip by.
It kept bowing in gratitude like a human.
Lin Jin knew that the white ape was just trouble. Taking it under his care meant that Lin Jin had to clean up after it.
Come to think of it, the premium cultivation techniques Lin Jin got from the Museum of Deadly Beasts were all for beasts anyway. In other words, even if Lin Jin didn’t take the great white ape in today, he would still take in other beasts to teach them in the future.
Lin Jin was planning to nurture a group of strong beasts and monsters that could help him out someday if he ever ran into trouble. He also wanted to see how much the white ape could improve after cultivation.
And so, Lin Jin tried teaching the white ape Beast Energy Formation. To his surprise, the creature listened carefully and it was obvious the ape understood human language.
As cultivation couldn’t be completed in a day, after teaching the white ape a portion of the incantation, Lin Jin allowed it some time to digest the newly-learned information before leading the ape away.
Where to?
To clean up after it.
The City Lord Manor and Grassy Continent’s caravan couldn’t possibly give up the pursuit. They might have even found clues to the ape’s whereabouts. So to guarantee that this ape was never found, they were going to mislead the search parties.
Of course, the white ape had been doing a great job thus far thanks to its wits. Had it been another creature, it might have been captured long ago.
Being able to hide away for so long was already a great feat.
Lin Jin’s plan was simple. He would create an illusion that the ape had escaped into a different direction. With a little bit of time, Lin Jin could first teach the ape ‘transformation’ so it could turn smaller. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be easy for an ape of its size to hide.
Riding around the great ape’s neck, Lin Jin instructed it to head in a direction away from Mount Zoroku. When they arrived at a village, Lin Jin made it destroy a thatched hut used for storing crops so the villagers could see the ape before continuing its ‘escape’.
Finally, when they came to a river, Lin Jin told the ape to wash away its aura and traces before they made a U-turn back to Mount Zoroku.
If things went as planned, the City Lord Manor and Grassy Continent’s caravan would be misled into pursuing this false direction. This would give Lin Jin several days’ worth of time to teach them cultivation.
The sky was turning bright by the time they returned. Lin Jin instructed Shang’er not to let the white ape step outside during the daytime. It should stay hidden in the cave where Shang’er would teach it Beast Energy Formation and transformation skills.
That was all they could do for now.
It had been a hectic night and Lin Jin was exhausted. After returning to Maple City, instead of going to the Beast Appraisal Association, he headed straight for home to sleep.
At the association, Zhao Ying and Jia Qian stood in for their master. The former was skilled enough while the latter had sufficient practical experience that they made up for each other’s shortcomings.
After examining the creatures in the beast pen, Lin Jin dropped down onto his bed and fell asleep.
***
At the Southern Continent, inside the palace of a small country.
Black Crow sat brazenly on a throne supposedly belonging to the local king’s, devouring delicacies and drinking aged wine.
Royal members of the country were standing before him, all with apprehensive expressions.
There were three types of countries.
A small country ranked last and only had Rank 3 pet beasts to guard the lands; A medium country’s standard was to have a Rank 4 pet beast; Large countries obviously had Rank 5 pet beasts.
There were innumerable small countries in this world. With just one city and a pond, a country could be formed.
Just like this country Black Crow had just invaded. He didn’t even bother to remember the country’s name but it also had only one city and one pond. The number of citizens didn’t even exceed a thousand.
With Black Crow’s abilities, it was easy for him to subdue a country like this on his own.
“Sir, with our country being weak and insignificant, we really can’t gather the items you seek,” the small country’s king spoke up courageously.
Black Crow took a gulp of the specialty wine of this country. “Gather what you can, but you better not be lying to me. Otherwise, I’ll make you the king of a wasteland.”
The king trembled out of fright.
Despite his anger, he dared not speak a word.
He had no choice but to gather the country’s resources and collect the rare herbs this intruder requested for.
Half a day later, Black Crow left with those items, heading for another country.
After Black Crow had left, the small country’s king flared up in anger but he couldn’t do anything about it. The man’s pet beast was too strong. During their first encounter, the intruder’s pet beast simply beat up their country’s holy guardian so they had no choice but to surrender.
“Your Highness, it’s not your fault that our country is weak. You mustn’t blame yourself,” one of the ministers urged.
“It’s a pity that the pet beasts on sale in this world are only Rank 3 at best. Otherwise, we have to purchase a Rank 4 beast even if it means using the entire country’s resources so we can increase our country’s strength. That way, we’d never have to suffer such humiliation should such a situation arise in the future,” the king said through gritted teeth.
“Your Highness, I have a plan that might help us regain our lost pride,” the minister suddenly proposed. “That Black Crow has been wreaking havoc everywhere, going on killing sprees and destroying countless other smaller countries. He must have a lot of enemies, so why don’t we form an alliance in secret and hire a villainous expert to do away with him...”
The king’s eyes lit up.
This was a wonderful idea. Their micronation was too small, too insignificant to exact revenge. But reinforcements like an alliance of several other small countries might allow them to pull the plan off.
“Alright, let’s go with your plan. But this must be taken care of discreetly. Don’t let anyone else find out about it.”
***
At East Continent’s Flatwater Country.
This was also a small country. But among other small countries, this one was much more powerful. The country had more than ten Rank 3 beasts and multiple cities and ponds. Lately, they had been trying to search for beast appraisers from various countries that could provide them with a Rank 4 evolution method.
Inside the palace, Flatwater Country’s king was currently entertaining his guest at a banquet. This guest was a Rank 3 beast appraiser from an intermediate country and was being inquired about an evolution method.
That Rank 3 beast appraiser was dreadfully arrogant. He ate and drank his fill but gave the king no guidance thus far, causing the latter to grow weary.
Just then, there was a commotion outside with yells and screams of murder, startling everyone in the hall.
“What’s going on?” the king asked, feeling displeased. One of the guards quickly reported that a woman had forced her way into the palace and was about to reach their hall.
“This is outrageous. How can a mere woman barge into my heavily guarded country?” the king inquired with a deep frown.
The guest, a Rank 3 beast appraiser smiled. “It looks like you’ve come across some trouble, Your Highness. But don’t you worry. Since I’m here at Flatwater Country as a guest, I’ll resolve whatever problems you have.”
Upon hearing this, the king was delighted.
This Rank 3 beast appraiser brought along a Rank 3 pet beast and his companion was at the height of its rank, possessing great strength.
And so, the crowd got up, preparing to take a look outside.
The Rank 3 beast appraiser led the group, striding in a flamboyant manner in front. But when he pushed the door open, he was greeted by a charming young woman carrying a swaddle. The sight of her felt like he had been struck by a bolt of lightning out of the blue.