Museum of Deadly Beasts

The days went by in a flash and now, it was the day of the product launch.

The Shi family’s largest medicine hall was packed with visitors who were primarily the invited dignitaries of Maple City.

Being the chief of Maple City’s Beast Appraisal Association, the Shi family made sure that Tan Lin wasn’t left out of this event too.

However, given how packed her schedule would usually be, Tan Lin usually would turn down invitations to such events. Thankfully, she had some spare time today, so she came over upon receiving the invitation.

Her attendance was also partly influenced by how the Shi family had been very mysterious about their agenda. On the invitation card, it stated that they would be launching very rare pill products.

As for what these products were, the Shi family never even gave a single hint, and that in turn intrigued the would-be visitors even more.

Tan Lin had heard about the two largest medicine halls in the city. In fact, she even knew that her predecessor, Chief Wang Ji, used to deal exclusively with the Chen family.

Back when she was investigating Wang Ji’s misdeeds, she didn’t find anything particularly unusual with the medicinal ingredients supply chain. She even carefully examined the stocks supplied by the Chen family and since they were all up to standard, Tan Lin felt there was no need to make any changes.

After all, the only suppliers who were capable of meeting the Beast Appraisal Association’s requirements were the Chen and Shi families. The other smaller stores couldn’t even compete.

Tan Lin had also heard about the recent business war between the two families. From her perspective, the Chen family was being overly merciless and had forced the Shi family into a corner. As a pioneer of the industry, if the Shi family fails to respond to these attacks, they would no doubt, go on a decline beyond salvation. Even if they didn’t close down completely, it would be impossible for them to regain their former glory. They might risk falling further from the position they were currently in right now.

Hence, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call the battle between these two families a duel to the death.

Tan Lin had exceptional taste in clothing. An aloof beauty paired with her official Rank 2 beast appraiser sleeve guards, made sure that she was immediately recognized upon arriving at the venue.

Shi Wenjun instantly went over to welcome her.

“Chief Tan, it is an honor for the Shi family to have you as our visitor today.” Shi Wenjun, who was already very courteous toward other guests, was even more so toward Tan Lin.

Tan Lin smiled and returned the grace. “Oh, you’re too kind, Lord Shi. I’ve come after receiving your invitation so I’ll be disturbing you for today.”

Shi Wenjun kept saying it wouldn’t be any trouble. She proceeded to invite Tan Lin inside to sit down before serving her tea.

“Chief Tan, while it’s the first time we’re meeting, I’ve long heard of your good name. I’m good friends with Appraiser Lin so I often hear about you from him,” Shi Wenjun said politely.

This was mainly said just to familiarize themselves with each other and most would just let such comments pass. But Tan Lin’s eyes lit up instead.

“Appraiser Lin? Are you perhaps referring to Lin Jin?”

“That’s right. Appraiser Lin Jin!”

After hearing Shi Wenjun’s affirmation, Tan Lin smiled and asked, “Lord Shi, you’re good friends with Appraiser Lin?”

Shi Wenjun nodded.

She and Lin Jin were indeed friends, but how deep their relationship went remains a question. Anyhow, the Shi family was now relying heavily on Lin Jin. The only reason why they were even able to fight back was thanks to Lin Jin’s prescriptions.

Hence, other than being a friend, Lin Jin was a great benefactor of Shi Wenjun’s.

“We’re not just friends. Appraiser Lin is also our Shi family’s precious benefactor,” Shi Wenjun declared earnestly. One could tell from her tone that she was being sincere.

This intrigued Tan Lin.

But she didn’t press the matter. If it was something that shouldn’t be known by outsiders and Tan Lin asked about it at the get-go, she would be embarrassed instead.

Even if she wanted to know, this would have to wait until they got better acquainted.

And so, Tan Lin asked about something else that she cared about. Or rather, it was something she found more intriguing than the last topic.

“Lord Shi, I wonder what Appraiser Lin said to you about me?”

Tan Lin seemed highly expectant as she stared at Shi Wenjun.

Shi Wenjun was inwardly startled, musing, ‘I was just being courteous. Appraiser Lin did show up a few times but he never mentioned you at all. How am I going to answer such a sudden question?’

But Shi Wenjun, being the head of the Shi family, found no issues with being caught off-guard by Tan Lin’s question. Had it been someone else, they might have been caught lying by the observant Tan Lin if they so much as flinched.

Without an ounce of hesitation, Shi Wenjun answered, “Appraiser Lin told me that Chief Tan Lin is a young and promising chief. Despite the fact that you’re a woman, you’re capable and responsible. The Beast Appraisal Association is much better now than it was back when it was run by the former chief, Wang Ji.”

Tan Lin flashed a smile, evidently pleased with this answer. “What else did he say?”

Shi Wenjun cursed herself for being such a chatterbox. Now that she was on board, she had no choice but to continue weaving stories.

Of course, she wasn’t doing it mindlessly. Her lies were based on her personal understanding of Lin Jin.

Shi Wenjun replied, “Appraiser Lin didn’t say much about anything else but he did say that Chief Tan is exceptionally beautiful and he admires you.”

‘This should be right,’ Shi Wenjun thought. Lin Jin is young, promising, and unmarried. Chief Tan is a gorgeous young lady, albeit several years older than Appraiser Lin. It wouldn’t be too surprising for him to have taken notice of her beauty, right?’

This answer was most probably an accurate one.

One could never go wrong when praising a woman for her beauty.

Tan Lin’s cheeks became tinted with a light shade of pink when she heard it before whispering to herself, “Why does that guy say this to someone else but not me? Whenever he sees me, it’s always only about work. Sometimes, I even start to wonder if he even cares about women. But come to think of it, Lin Jin must have a great relationship with this Shi Wenjun. Otherwise, why else would he tell her all this?”

In an instant, a thought came to Tan Lin. She studied Shi Wenjun closely.

Despite being older than she was, Shi Wenjun’s beauty didn’t pale much in comparison to her own. To top it all off, there was a sense of maturity that added to her allure as a woman.

No one knew what Tan Lin was thinking of but she actually clicked her tongue.

As Tan Lin and Shi Wenjun enjoyed their little conversation, more and more valuable guests showed up.

As lord of the household, Shi Wenjun had to personally greet and welcome them so she excused herself from the conversation with Tan Lin.

The Zu family’s representatives were present, and so was the Gao family’s. The City Lord Manor even sent their steward, Zuo Wentang over to show support for this event.

Practically all of Maple City’s influential figures were present now.

This was already a grand enough display.

At that moment, Chen Wenlin and Wu Chenwei showed up as well.

A rising star in recent years, the Chen family attracted quite a lot of attention to themselves. More importantly, those who paid a little more attention would know that the Chen and Shi family were in the midst of a competition that would ultimately decide their fate. Whoever won would be the biggest player in the medicine hall industry for the next decade.

Shi Wenjun’s expression faltered slightly when she saw both men enter the premises. She didn’t mind if Chen Wenlin showed up, but seeing Wu Chenwei made it hard for her to keep her composure no matter how hard she tried.

After all, Wu Chenwei had hurt her too badly and did something unforgivable to the Shi family.

She wanted to lash out at him but now was not the time.

Moreover, what happened has already happened. She couldn’t change the past no matter how much she dwelled on it. Now was the time for her Shi family to make a comeback so she had to endure her emotions.

With these thoughts in mind, Shi Wenjun went over and said, “Lord Chen, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend our Shi family’s new product launch. I warmly welcome you.”