Lin Mu kept on walking and got closer, yet no one seemed to have paid him any mind. They seemed to be more engrossed in their own conversations. Only when he got close enough to listen to them did he understand why.
"How are we to approach this now?" One of the men asked.
"Hmm, we definitely cannot take the same route we took before. We were too passive, we already know what happened back then." Another man spoke.
"Yes, the mayor has been unresponsive for a long time, but finally he's responding." A short man spoke while nodding.
"Don't forget that the only reason he responded is because the town head and the vice captain died. If this is his reactive level, then heavens know what else he lets go by." A brawny man spoke with a little anger on his face.
"I've always felt that the mayor of the Wu Lim city was strange. The current events have only proved it for me." The whip wielding woman replied.
Hong Luo, who had been silent all this while finally spoke,
"Comrades, I know it has been tough for us, but now that you all are finally here, I believe we can get through this tribulation together."
The serious looking mercenary who was sitting at the head of the group looked up at Hong Luo after he finished speaking.
"You are right up to a certain point, but we still need to look out. If they can take away cultivators without anyone noticing then the culprits are very strong and no doubt are cultivators themselves." The serious looking man spoke.
The people that were in his group all nodded in approval. One could tell from seeing this that this man commanded great respect and prestige in his companions.
"You don't need to worry leader Teng, I sought out help from a cultivator from the town as well." Hong Luo spoke.
The gazes of everyone in the group turned a little sharp after hearing Hong Luo's words as they all turned to look at him. The Leader of the group Teng also did the same and looked at Hong Luo with an inquisitive look.
"And what kind of cultivator is this person that you've asked? Are you sure that person is trustable?" Leader Teng questioned.
Hong Luo gulped after seeing the multiple pairs of eyes on his person and felt a little nervous. It was not just because these people were his colleagues, but rather the difference in their strengths and cultivation bases.
Even though Hong Luo himself was at the peak stage of the Qi refining realm, the cultivation technique that he used was rather inferior and could not compare these people. While there were only two people in this group that could match his cultivation base, the others were nothing to scoff at.
While out of five only two were at the peak stage of the Qi refining realm, the other three were at the late stage of the QI refining realm. Even if the two experts at the peak stage of the Qi refining realm did not fight with him, the other three were already enough to finish him off.
"You don't need to worry, the person I'm talking about is at the peak stage of the Qi refining realm as well." Hong Luo spoke.
The five people seemed unimpressed by Hong Luo's words and keep on staring at him.
"We already have two people, three including you, at the peak stage of the Qi refining realm here. What use would that new person be? And what kind of reward did you promise him, if it's too much then we will just be making losses." The short mercenary spoke.
"It's not like that, the person that I've sough help from is no common cultivator. While they are a cultivator in the peak stage of the Qi refining realm, they are also only fifteen years old and they also have refined their spirit sense." Hong Luo replied.
The change in the expressions of the mercenaries could be witnessed upon them hearing Hong Lou's words. Some of them had their jaws open in shock while the leader and the whip wielding woman had their eyes wide and their fingers clenched.
"What do you mean?" One of the mercenaries spoke in doubt of Hong Lou's words.
"Yes, are you even sure about what you are saying, right?" Another mercenary added.
"Yes, I'm sure. I witnessed his spirit sense first hand and have met him. As for the rewards, he was rather reserved and humble. He did not demand anything overt and only asked for a few healing and restorative pills in exchange for his help in watching over the camp." Hong Luo Explained.
The five mercenaries went silent for a minute after Herring Hong Lou's explanation.
The Whip wielding woman could not hold back her curiosity any longer and spoke.
"You do know that, if he is as you say he is, then we will have to bear responsibility. A cultivator of that age and talent is not found easily. There no chance that he's not the disciple of a top sect already or is under the tutelage of one of the aristocratic clans."
Hong Luo turned more serious upon hearing her words and thought over it for himself.
"It should be fine, I think. I mean, he approved it himself and I doubt he doesn't have a senior keeping a watch over him, if he's away from the sect. I think that's just an added advantage that we have. If he does end up in trouble because of this, at least we know that the culprit won't be able to get away scot-free because of the Senior that will be keeping the watch." Hong Luo hypothesized.
The leader who was in thought all this time finally roused from it and tuned to Hong Luo.
"Let's hope it is as you think. Otherwise… imagine a cultivator that has the same talent as the crown prince of the Great Zhou empire falling here in this small town." Leader Teng spoke and then interrupted himself in the middle of his own words.
If the five mercenaries were only shocked before then they were utterly terrified now. They had heard of the achievements of the crown prince of the Great Zhou Empire before. The crown prince was recently declared as the youngest person to have reached the Core formation realm at the age of twenty.
Though people knew that this was only applicable in terms of the aristocratic clans and not the top sects themselves. It was a well known yet unproven fact that the top sects had a small army of disciples who were at the same as the crown prince.
It was even said that all the core disciples of the top sects were actually much better than the crown prince and had better talent than him. There were even some hushed rumors that the actual record for the youngest cultivator was not even twenty years of age but rather actually seventeen. Still, it was unknown which cultivator or the disciple of a sect had the honor of bearing the said title.
While this would seem like a small three years of difference to most people, they would not be able to believe the resources and the guidance that's needed to raise a cultivator of that level. Even a mere difference of months would be earth shaking not to say about three entire years.
Lin Mu had long since halted in his steps upon hearing the words of these mercenaries. Their conversation was very informative and interesting to him, thus he chose not to interrupt and just watched from the distance.
Even when the conversation drifted to Lin Mu himself, he stayed silent and kept on listening. He knew that once he came into the picture, the candid talk that was going on right now would easily disappear.
Lin Mu stood there for an entire thirty minutes and within these thirty minutes, he got to hear more news about the world than he had in the past year. Some of the information widened his horizons while the others made him a little nervous and unsure.
After confirming that the majority of the conversation had ended and it was the right time, Lin Mu chose to enter into the fray. His appearance was a little surprising to the mercenaries, especially to the leader and the Whip wielding woman.
Lin Mu could instantly feel the spirit sense probes spreading over him. He quickly reacted with his own and stopped them before they could come near him. This was rather a friendly warning than an actual threat, thus Lin Mu did not go all out.
Yet even then, what Lin Mu did not know was that his little bout of enlightenment that he had gone through recently had changed his demeanor and aura. This reflected in his bearing and even in the temperance of his spirit qi.
When the mercenaries felt Lin Mu's spirit sense interacting with theirs, they felt chills going down their spines as cold sweat appeared on their faces.
Upon seeing that no one was speaking anything, Lin Mu decided to go ahead and introduce himself.
"Hello! I am Lin Mu."