A strange scene could be witnessed in the Northern town today. A cart seemed to be carrying what seemed like a large number of clothes. Two men were transporting it, with one pushing and the other pulling it. Just a little distance from the cart, a teenage boy was walking.
If it were not for it being winter and there being fewer people outside, there would have probably been a large crowd to witness this scene. The three people walked for a few minutes and soon reached the town center.
The three came to a stop in front of the town center and looked at the large number of people there. The two men who were transporting the cart were the clerks of the clothes shop from Lin Mu had bought the clothes, while he himself was walking in front of it.
The two clerks were rather shocked by the large number of people that were standing there in front of the town center. All of the people seemed to be armed and were mostly dressed in dark clothes. Some had their faces covered with large straw hats, while others had them revealed.
Most of them had average-looking faces and seemed to be commoners. But the unique aura that was arising from their group was anything but common. Even the two clerks who were not cultivators could feel the vibe in the air.
All the armed people also saw the three people approach the building and were staring at the large number of clothes. Some looked puzzled while others were indifferent. But soon their eyes went wide as they spotted the person that was walking in front of the cart.
Their gazes turned serious as they stared at them with intent. The clerks who noticed this became nervous and wondered what was happening.
"Hey, do you think we made a mistake coming here?" One of the clerks spoke.
"I don't know, but I certainly don't like their gazes." The other responded.
"Me too. It's as if they're going to cut us up." The first man spoke, feeling a little afraid.
Suddenly they saw the armed people approaching them at a quick pace. They became even more nervous and were now holding their breaths. For commoners such as them, even normal warriors were too much to handle and they would not offend them.
The people came to a halt in front of Lin Mu and looked at him.
"Look, I think they're offended by him." The clerk spoke.
"Maybe he did something wrong." The other clerk replied.
But just as he spoke this, the armed people suddenly shouted out in unison.
"Greetings, senior Lin Mu."
Upon hearing the greeting, Lin Mu was once again stuck in an awkward situation. He didn't know how to respond, so just spoke whatever that came to his mind.
"Greetings." He spoke, eliciting silence from them.
"What did they say? Senior?" The clerk spoke, feeling confused.
"Yeah, it seems like it. But why would they do so?" The other clerk responded.
The armed people were none other than the reinforcements of the Hei Corps that had pointed their weapons at Lin Mu yesterday morning. They had turned even more zealous now and had responded more enthusiastically.
"That was a little too much, don't you think senior?" Lin Mu spoke in his mind.
"It does indeed. But I can't really tell much about the human's habits or etiquettes. They vary a lot." Xukong spoke in an unsure tone.
It was at this moment that one of the people came forward to Lin Mu.
"Do you need help in taking this in senior?" The man respectfully spoke.
Lin Mu snapped out of his thoughts as he spoke, "Ah yes! Please do take them inside."
"You all heard what senior ordered! Now get on it." The man shouted.
"YES!" Everyone in the group shouted.
The clerks could only watch as the large entourage of people that were armed like a battalion of soldiers listen to Lin Mu's words and react fast. Within a minute, the entire cart was emptied, as all of the clothes were transported inside the town center.
"It is done, senior." The man who had talked with Lin Mu spoke.
"Oh, thank you for your help." Lin Mu spoke and turned around.
"Thank you for carrying them here." Lin Mu spoke to the two clerks and handed them a silver each.
The clerks simply nodded their heads, unable to speak due to being overwhelmed by the events that had just happened in front of them. They then turned around and walked away.
Lin Mu looked at the reinforcements one more time before walking into the town center. The man who seemed to be leading the reinforcements walked with Lin Mu and accompanied him.
"We placed the clothes in a separate room here." The man spoke as he led him there.
He brought him to the room that was on the ground floor and left him there, knowing not to interfere anymore. After the man was gone, Lin Mu stored all of the newly bought clothes in his ring and felt satisfied.
'I should now go check up on Hei Wan.' Lin Mu thought as he looked around for the man.
He didn't have to look far as he was standing near the entrance.
"Do you know where Hei Wan is?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Ah yes, senior. She's upstairs in the office. Let me escort you." The man replied.
"No, it's fine. I'll go on my own." Lin Mu said, rejecting his offer.
The man cupped his hands in farewell as Lin Mu went up the stairs. He soon reached the door of the office and found it to be open. There he saw Hei Wan and Hei Yingjie standing.
"You're just in time. I was about to send a messenger to call for you." Hei Wan spoke upon seeing Lin Mu enter.
"It's fine, I had some small tasks to take care of on the way." Lin Mu replied.
"I guess we can start now. Hei Bao has already gone to talk with the mercenaries, and the reinforcements are ready downstairs." Hei Wan spoke.
"So how are we going to proceed?" Lin Mu questioned.
"We've talked with the hunter Zhou Ye and have gathered some more information. From this, we have an idea of the location of the cave where the culprits are hidden. Still, they may be moving around, so we are going to split into teams of ten people each. Each team will be assigned an area that they must search." Hei Yingjie explained.
Lin Mu nodded in acknowledgments and tough for a bit before speaking.
"What will I be doing then?"
"You will be accompanying me along with a few other members." Hei Yingjie answered.
"That will be good. Though I also want to hunt some spirit beasts on the way, will that be fine?" Lin Mu replied.
"It's no problem. We will have to kill some anyway, as it's likely we'll be attacked." Hei Yingjie replied.
Lin Mu nodded in acknowledgment and then looked at Hei Wan.
"Alright then, we leave right away." She spoke and walked towards the door.
The three of them descended down the floors and exited the town center. The reinforcements were already ready, waiting for them. One of them called the carriage and the three of them entered it.
While they traveled in the carriage, the others proceeded on foot. Though in a small surprise to Lin Mu, instead of going towards the western entrance, they were instead going towards the northern entrance.
"Why are we going this way?" Lin Mu questioned.
"We will be going in from the northern part of the forest, Hei Bao and the mercenaries will be going from the North-Western part. That way we can meet in the middle and cover a wider distance." Hei Wan answered.
"I see." Lin Mu spoke and went silent.
"They seem wary," Xukong spoke in Lin Mu's mind.
"You think so, senior?" Lin Mu replied.
"Yes, the obvious choice would be to go to the northwestern part directly, but they seem to want to avoid it for some reason, I can't tell why," Xukong spoke
Lin Mu thought over senior Xukong's words but didn't speak anything. He stayed in silence until they reached the edge of the forest. It only took them fifteen minutes to reach it, and not long after the reinforcements had reached there as well.
The trio left the carriage and looked at the reinforcements.
Hei Wan came forwards and cleared her throat before speaking.
"You all have already been informed. Split into your teams and proceed."
"YES LEADER!" They shouted in unison before rapidly rearranging themselves into multiple teams.
A few minutes later everyone had left except for eight people. Lin Mu guessed that these were the other eight members of his team.
Hei Wan then turned to Hei Yingjie and Lin Mu.
"I'll leave this up to you all now. Be safe and avoid any unnecessary danger." Hei Wan spoke with concern.
Her eyes lingered on Lin Mu for a little longer than normal, which he sensed. He felt that it was a little strange, but didn't mind it too much.
"Don't worry, I'll ensure that we are safe." Hei Yingjie responded.
Hei Wan cupped her hands in respect before entering the carriage and returning to the town. Lin Mu was a little surprised by her gesture, but not that she had left so quick. They had already known that Hei Wan will be taking care of the town while the rest were out investigating.
One of the eight members of Hei corps came forward and spoke, "Should we leave now, Seniors?"
"Yes, it is time. Let's embark." Hei Yingjie declared.
——————End Of Volume 1——————