Physician Chen was actually quite certain that if the Upper Steward really found that middle-aged man, even if he had nothing to do with Xuan Ju's disappearance, his chances of surviving would probably be slim.
For he also had a little black bird with him, a little black bird brimming with intelligence.
With the Upper Steward's discerning eye, how could he possibly fail to recognize such a strange beast?
The best outcome would be for the Upper Steward to take the little black bird and spare the middle-aged man's life, disdaining to kill him. The worst would be for him to lose his life.
But weighed against his own life and those of his family, he would choose to expose the middle-aged man's strange beast to preserve himself and his loved ones. He had no other choice; it was only human nature.
Thus, Physician Chen recounted what had happened to the Upper Steward.
"A strange beast brimming with intelligence? In your judgment, what grade was it?" the Upper Steward asked after hearing him out.
"Superior grade, at least," Physician Chen said, not daring to conceal it.
"A superior-grade strange beast at the very least? Then it has an excellent chance of breaking through to become a spirit beast. You discovered something so important and actually failed to report it?" the Upper Steward asked coldly.
"I acknowledge my fault. Please allow me to explain, my lord." Before the Upper Steward could speak, Physician Chen hurriedly continued, "At the time, our main experts were all gathered at the compound outside the city where the Beast Immortal Grass was stored. The man with the little black bird did not appear weak, either. My medicine shop normally has no experts, so even if I had any designs on it, there was nothing I could