Chapter 525: The Truth Revealed

“Before I left the academy, a good friend of mine sent me something…”

Yang Ming explained that the people who ambushed him were aiming for Daojun’s wooden token and he was sure that was the case. After hearing about the wooden token, Lin Jin more or less figured out the situation.

This item again.

Because of that wooden plate, Reed City’s Qiao family was almost wiped out. If Lin Jin had not intervened back then, they would likely have died under the blade of the Demonic Appraiser Association.

Again, more trouble has been stirred up because of the token.

Lin Jin narrowed down his focus and asked, “Appraiser Yang, may I know if anyone else has learned about your possession of this wooden token?”

By ‘anyone’, Yang Ming was actually referring to Appraiser Yan.

Yang Ming already considered it so he smiled bitterly in response. “Yes. That night, I was in the midst of researching the token’s secret when Appraiser Yan and Appraiser Ouyang paid me a sudden visit. I had been careless and left the token on the table. They must have noticed it during that time, and it may be why trouble came my way.”

Appraiser Ouyang was here too. He searched his mind carefully but failed to remember seeing anything as described by Yang Ming and Lin Jin.

After all, even if he did see the wooden token, he would have forgotten about it after leaving Yang Ming’s residence.

The clues now pointed to Appraiser Yan again. Lin Jin asked, “Has the wooden token been taken away?”

“No.” Appraiser Yang shook his head. “When I was being tortured, I knew that if I ever handed the token to them, they’d kill me without hesitation. Also, the token wasn’t with me when I was ambushed. I left it in-”

“Oh no!” Lin Jin’s heart started racing. Likewise, Yang Ming arrived at the same thought when he said that.

‘In a residential home inside Heavenly Spiral City’, was what he wanted to say.

This family was from Great Deer Kingdom as well, and they made a living by selling noodles. Several years ago, Yang Ming was served a bowl of noodles that was native to his hometown. Finding its taste to be incredibly nostalgic, he became acquainted with the man of the house. After a long while, they grew closer and became good friends.

From time to time, Yang Ming would request the family to look after his belongings. As no one knew about this place, he assumed that it was safe.

As usual, before Yang Ming departed for Great Deer Kingdom, he left the wooden token with this family, telling them he would return to retrieve it later on.

At that moment, their home was eerily silent. All three members of the family were found lying dead inside..

Upon hearing this news, Yang Ming’s eyes turned bloodshot and he lamented out loud.

“Brother Zhi Yuan, it was I who brought tragedy upon your family!”

The depressed Yang Ming aside, Lin Jin knew that Appraiser Yan and the Demonic Appraisal Association must be behind this.

The enemy was clever but they were too ruthless.

Still, it was consistent with how the Demonic Appraisal Association usually operated. In a sense, the demonic appraisers had blended themselves far too well in Heavenly Spiral City. Otherwise, they couldn’t have found a family that seemed so inconspicuous.

Right now, they were one step behind the enemy. That placed them in a passive situation. On second thought, the Demonic Appraisal Association should have suffered quite a big loss too.

Surely, they did not anticipate Yang Ming being rescued by Shang’er. Appraiser Yan might be a pawn of the Demonic Appraisal Association, or he may even be the mysterious ‘Black Envoy’. In any case, all his effort in infiltrating the academy must have gone down the drain. If Lin Jin was in his shoes, he would be infuriated.

This was a good thing.

Given the current situation, Lin Jin knew that the Demonic Appraisal Association would come after them relentlessly. One mystery remained. Lin Jin had no idea why they were so intent on collecting visitor’s tokens.

What value could these tokens that were left outside the the Visitation Hall possibly possess?

Were they perhaps still useful in entering the Visitation Hall?

Lin Jin found it quite probable. Though, it could also have something to do with Daojun from five hundred years ago.

When Visitation Hall last opened, Lin Jin tried asking the villainous experts, Black Crow and Madam Ghost Child about the Blood Demon Twins whom he previously battled.

To his surprise, the Blood Demon Twins were ranked top 5 in their community. In terms of strength, the Blood Demon Twins overwhelmed both Black Crow and Madam Ghost Child.

Even they admitted to that fact, so when they received word of the Blood Demon Twins attacking Curator’s disciple, they were shocked.

After learning how Appraiser Lin had slaughtered the twins, they were shocked. Apart from that, they were delighted.

Lin Jin heard something else from them. The Blood Demon Twins’ master just happened to be the legendary ‘Ghost Taoist’.

Lin Jin recalled the name.

According to a legend, Daojun had a team of disciples called the ‘Six Best Taoists’ who inherited his teachings. Just like Insect Taoist who fought Lin Jin, Ghost Taoist was also one of his disciples.

This gave Lin Jin another hint. Not only did he have to be cautious of Black Envoy, but he also needed to be wary of the legendary Ghost Taoist. Although Black Crow and Madam Ghost Child claimed that Ghost Taoist might already be dead, exceptions were bound to occur, and Insect Taoist was a good example of that.

Cultivators like them who had lived for hundreds of years not only had powerful pet beasts but also access to amazing magic tools and treasures. Lin Jin was fortunate enough to obtain the Immortal Binding Rope from Insect Taoist.

Some of his previous confusions had been cleared and the truth had now been uncovered. Yang Ming had suffered the biggest blow from this incident. Not only was his family harmed, but even his friend’s family was dragged into the fray.

More importantly, Yang Ming himself had sustained heavy injuries. His pet beast was forcefully taken away by the demonic appraisers through sorcery, turning him into a cripple of sorts. It was ultimately why Yang Ming was so dispirited at the moment.

Fortunately, Mr. Zhong had hired the best physicians in town to treat him. Even so, this wasn’t enough for Yang Ming.

Later on, Yang Ming visited Lin Jin in private. His unannounced visit did not surprise Lin Jin.

“Appraiser Lin, I have come here to thank you and also thank Ms. Shang’er for saving my life,” Yang Ming said sincerely.

Lin Jin went over to help him inside before making some tea.

As they spoke, Shang’er and Shu Xiaolou emerged from one of the inner rooms. Shu Xiaolou was intrigued by a cultivated monster like Shang’er, so after getting acquainted with her, she dragged Shang’er into the back room for reasons she failed to provide. Lin Jin was completely fine with that since it meant that Shu Xiaolou would stop bugging him for now.

“Tsk tsk, how tragic!” Shu Xiaolou commented after studying Yang Ming’s appearance.

Yang Ming had heard about Shu Xiaolou. Without appearing overly melancholic, he bowed at her respectfully.

“Greetings, Senior Shu.”

“Forget it, forget it. With how you are now, it’s better that you just sit down and rest,” said Shu Xiaolou as she waved her hand dismissively. After that, she took a seat. Yang Ming insisted on finishing the bow. After all, part of the reason why he visited Lin Jin was to meet Shu Xiaolou.

Yang Ming carried feelings of deep hatred and revenge. Anyone else in his shoes would feel the same. Given Yang Ming’s character, he’d never let his enemies off the hook that easily.

He wanted to massacre the entire Demonic Appraisal Association, especially Appraiser Yan. He wanted to find that man and speak face-to-face with him. If that man truly was behind all this, Yang Ming would skin him alive.

However, strictly speaking, he wasn’t capable of doing that right now. If Appraiser Yan did show up, he’d be the one to die instead.

That was why he came to see Shu Xiaolou.