Chapter 324 - Shedding

Inside the tiny yard, Lin Jin stood before Zombie Cthulhu’s coffin. For the past two days, Zombie Cthulhu hadn’t moved but he didn’t feel lonely at all. There were beasts and monsters like the shadow wolf, Goldy, and White Ape in this yard where they all kept him company, especially the group of fox cubs.

The liveliest place in the entire house was this beast pen.

Lin Jin would check Zombie Cthulhu’s condition daily and his recovery had proven to be much faster than he had anticipated. Now that Lin Jin had a premium tomb moss with him, Zombie Cthulhu’s condition should improve noticeably in the next two days. A full recovery shouldn’t be too big of an obstacle.

To Lin Jin, this was an important task because he was bound by a promise to Coffin Man.

Zombie Cthulhu’s treatment had been a challenge for him. The museum provided Lin Jin with several treatment methods and Lin Jin applied what he had learned. Every day, he would perform acupuncture on Zombie Cthulhu to boost its recovery process, which was supplemented by Lin Jin’s specially-formulated medicine. Their chances of succeeding had gotten higher. Now that Lin Jin had the premium tomb moss, he was fairly confident that he’d be able to complete this mission.

“Scoot!” Lin Jin said to the fox cubs and White Ape. Then, he looked at Goldy who was perched on the coffin. “You too.”

Ever since Lin Jin planted Golden Crow’s feather on his back, he had grown noticeably hot-tempered. He didn’t know what was wrong either but he just wanted to hide in the coolest place he could find. And where was the coolest place in this yard?

Obviously, the cover of Zombie Cthulhu’s coffin.

This was definitely the darkest and coolest place. Had it been a regular person, they would have fallen ill the moment Yin energy permeated through their body, but Goldy was different.

He was part of the Golden Crow’s bloodline, and with an additional Golden Crow’s feather, the rooster was practically bursting with Yang energy. Hence, the Yin energy that would turn others ill became the best cooling system for him.

Goldy had grown to love this spot but Lin Jin was trying to take that away from him. Obviously, no chicken with dignity would ever do that, so Goldy stayed put. Lin Jin had no choice but to pick him up and place him elsewhere. It was then that he realized how hot Goldy’s body actually was.

Lin Jin pondered. That Golden Crow’s feather was probably a bit too much for Goldy. Like a powerful pill, anyone with a weak constitution probably couldn’t tolerate the medicine’s effects.

Goldy wasn’t weak but he wasn’t strong enough to contain the Golden Crow’s feather.

“Perch on me,” Lin Jin said, worried that Goldy might get sick. Fortunately for them, Xiao Huo had a Yin Yang Dharma body so he could produce ice and fire. If he let out some chilling air, Lin Jin’s body should feel just as nice as Zombie Cthulhu’s coffin.

Lin Jin also discovered that upon placing Goldy on his shoulder, it felt surprisingly comfortable despite him releasing the cold Yin energy. It was conveniently neutralized by Goldy’s overflowing Yang energy, forming a perfect equilibrium.

This struck Lin Jin dumb and he mumbled to himself, “Wouldn’t this be a Yin Yang refinement cultivation?”

The Yin Yang refinement cultivation was a variant of the techniques found in the vein strengthening series, which Lin Jin was practicing. However, due to the harsh requirements of performing the technique, Lin Jin had yet to try it.

If he hadn’t let Goldy perch on him while he used the cold air to resist Goldy’s heat, Lin Jin might have forgotten that technique.

Perhaps sensing it was Goldy, Xiao Huo’s Dharma body produced a tiny ice wolf from Lin Jin’s arm so he could play with Goldy.

Lin Jin knocked on the coffin cover and Zombie Cthulhu reciprocated by opening the coffin’s lid.

“You can’t stay there forever. Get up and move around.” Lin Jin patted Zombie Cthulhu’s head. The latter’s head was very similar to an octopus’ and made crisp slapping sounds when Lin Jin patted him.

Frankly speaking, both Shang’er and Little Five were frightened by Zombie Cthulhu’s appearance. Zombie Cthulhu had half of his body out and the scene was harrowing enough. Shang’er stayed in her room to cultivate the Beast Energy Formation while Little Five hid inside the house. She couldn’t stand looking at Zombie Cthulhu’s ugly appearance.

White Ape chose to stay put. Although he too frowned at the sight, he continued to sit aside obediently and watched as Lin Jin began the treatment.

Lin Jin took out the premium tomb moss and stuff it into Zombie Cthulhu’s fang-filled mouth.

“Hold it there, don’t chew it, and don’t swallow it.” Lin Jin reached in and positioned the herb nicely before patting Zombie Cthulhu’s head.

Zombie Cthulhu’s cracked mouth was now slightly open. He behaved well and didn’t dare to close it. His tentacles fell beside him and looked very stiff, which indicated that the creature was probably very nervous.

Next, it was time for acupuncture. Lin Jin required more time than usual now since the premium tomb moss was added. The medicinal effects needed to be cultivated slowly and drawn into Zombie Cthulhu’s body bit by bit with the needle.

The process ended up taking longer than Lin Jin expected.

This was because Lin Jin realized that the tomb moss had produced a unique effect on Zombie Cthulhu. But all in all, it was a good sign.

Since Lin Jin didn’t show up in the association, someone was dispatched to get him.

And that person was Lu Xiaoyun.

Unlike the level-headed Zhao Ying, Lu Xiaoyun’s lively personality made it impossible for her to stay put in the association so she offered to come and get Lin Jin.

Because they were very well acquainted, Lu Xiaoyun didn’t knock before coming. She just pushed the door and entered.

Then, she saw Zombie Cthulhu.

At that instant, Lu Xiaoyun felt her scalp prickle and she almost screamed at the top of her lungs. The intelligent White Ape realized what would happen and immediately raised a finger in front of his lips.

After Lu Xiaoyun’s shock subsided, it was replaced with curiosity. Fortunately, she had seen enough weird things in her life to keep herself composed, and especially since Lin Jin was here, she had nothing to worry about. Even if that monster-like creature looked scary, she was definitely safe.

With this, she calmed down and announced her arrival softly as she went over to take a closer look at the bizarre-looking creature.

Lin Jin was focused on administering the acupuncture so he didn’t have time for Lu Xiaoyun. He just let her watch silently next to him.

As she observed the process, Lu Xiaoyun was so absorbed by Lin Jin’s exceptional acupuncturing skill that she forgot about asking him to return to the association.

Coincidentally, other than Lu Xiaoyun, her brother Lu Yunhe came over as well.

Recently, Lu Yunhe’s pet beast Lu Ba had been facing a problem. He had started to shed fur.

It wasn’t the normal kind of shedding either. It became so serious that the mighty lion now looked like a mangy dog with bald spots all over his body. Lu Yunhe didn’t even want to talk about it to anyone else.

He felt so frustrated and helpless over this.

He didn’t dare to bring Lu Ba around for the past few days because it was too embarrassing to be out on the streets.

Lu Yunhe was a famous person in Maple City after all. He was ranked top four in the Friar Association and he had a Rank 3 pet beast.

He had taken Lu Ba to other beast appraisers before.

Back then, Lin Jin had yet to return and Lu Ba’s shedding wasn’t that serious yet so Lu Yunhe thought nothing of it.

But after a few treatments, instead of getting better, Lu Ba’s shedding problem worsened significantly. That was what made Lu Yunhe panic.

This time, he decided he would take Lu Ba to the Beast Appraisal Association so Lin Jin could treat him. To his surprise, Lin Jin didn’t show up today and impatient to wait any longer, he decided to head straight to Lin Jin’s house.

Upon reaching the entrance of his home, Lu Yunhe found the gates to Lin Jin’s yard to be slightly ajar. Out of curiosity, he poked his head inside to see his sister, Lu Xiaoyun, standing there.