Lin Mu had not expected to find a letter in the teleportation channel. He had heard from senior Xukong that using a teleportation formation required spirit stones and sending even a small item required a sizable sum of spirit stones.
He determined that the letter was definitely valuable, as the sender considered it worthy enough to be sent by the teleportation channel. Lin Mu looked at the wax seal on the letter and found it to be familiar.
The wax seal on the letter depicted three cauldrons with a peony flower placed above it.
"The Tri-cauldron Peony sect?" Lin Mu muttered.
Suddenly something clicked in Lin Mu's mind, and he linked the events together. The four vessels restoration pill and the spirit stones, both of them were sent by the Tri-cauldron Peony sect. The only question left was why? Which would be answered once he opened the letter.
Lin Mu was about to break the wax seal and open the letter when the voice of senior Xukong rang in his head.
"Don't open the seal, it has an identification formation placed on it which would alert the sender and perhaps even the receiver. Place it in the ring, I'll open it." Xukong spoke.
Lin Mu instantly stopped and heeded senior Xukong's words. He stored the letter in the ring and waited for senior Xukong to reply, and a minute later he got it.
"You can take it now." Xukong spoke.
Lin Mu saw that the wax seal had been broken, and the letter could now be unrolled. He opened the letter and started reading it. The letter was addressed to the mayor of Wu Lim city, Wu Xun.
It read,
"Mayor Wu Xun, despite your incessant reports about the missing four vessels restoration pills, the peak master has rejected your demand for replacement. He is completely sure that the pills were sent and there is no conspiracy against you.
As for your report that we sent a stone instead of the pills, they are completely false and baseless. The peak master has warned that this is the last time he will tolerate this insolence, any further and the cooperation between us shall end forever.
The Tri-cauldron peony sect has been true to its words and has always provided the best quality pills. Your accusations paint us in a bad light and are unacceptable.
Since you have been doubtful about our services, we have decided to terminate our previous contract. We have returned the spirit stones you had remaining with us, as you should have noticed.
The peak master has instructed that you should cease your incessant messages. If any more messengers are found to have contacted the sect with the same reports, they shall be executed and our cooperation shall directly end.
Only contact us if you want to commission more pills or other services from the sect."
Lin Mu was a little dumbfounded after reading the entire letter. He knew that only a very rich person would be able to buy the four vessels restoration pills, but he had not expected for that person to be the mayor of Wu Lim City.
Lin Mu had also unknowingly created a conflict between the mayor and the Tri-cauldron peony sect. The result of this conflict also did not seem well to him. He could not imagine what would happen next. He had taken the one thing that would have prevented it from happening, the letter in his hands.
Seemingly in a dilemma, Lin Mu asked senior Xukong for advice. Who ended up giving him a rather quick and short answer.
"Don't bother." Xukong said.
"It is not your place to interfere. Let their destinies progress as it is, besides you don't have the capabilities to do so right now anyway, and if you do end up coming in contact with them, it won't bid well for you." Xukong further explained.
Lin Mu thought over his words and found them to be true. There was no chance that he will contact them, and if he does, it will probably end up harming him instead. He had unknowingly stolen two precious items from the mayor, so he should be hiding instead.
Lin Mu then thought about the reason for which the mayor could have bought the Four vessels restoration pills for. The obvious reason would be to heal someone, but the question was who?
From what he knew, the mayor did not have a big family, he only had a wife and two sons. This was something everyone knew and was common knowledge. If he bought such an expensive alchemical pill, then it should be for someone he cares about.
If anyone from his family was injured it would be public news and there would have been an uproar. But still, Lin Mu had his doubts. There could be a chance that someone from his family was injured, and this information was deliberately hidden.
The most likely person would be the eldest son of the mayor. Lin Mu did not know his name, but knew that he was part of the kingdom's army. If he got injured on a mission, perhaps that's why the mayor chose to hide it as it could be detrimental to him.
He also thought if it could be the second son, but doubted it, as there was not much known about the second son, except that he was a reclusive scholar who stayed cooped up at his own manor. People also did not know why he chose to live away from the mayor's manor instead of living together.
Unknowingly Lin Mu had reached the forest while he was lost in his thoughts. Putting his thoughts to rest, Lin Mu started his cultivation session. He cultivated for four hours, after which he observed his dantian and found that his maximum capacity of spirit qi had reached 750 wisps.
After this Lin Mu cooked some lunch and ate it. He then refined his spirit sense in an effort to increase its range. When it was night Lin Mu returned to the town and slept. While he was in the Sleepscape, he plucked the spirit apple that had matured. He had three spirit apples in his storage for emergencies now.
Lin Mu practiced according to the Thousand Armament Blades scripture and woke up in the morning. After eating his breakfast, Lin Mu decided to check out Jing Wei's emporium. But when he reached there, he found out that the alley it was located in was not there.
"Senior Xukong is the alley still hidden by the concealing formation." Lin Mu asked.
"No, it seems the protections have been increased. There seems to be a sealing formation placed on it as well now." Xukong spoke.
Unable to find the shop, Lin Mu returned to his routine.
Two weeks passed by in a flash, the temperature had fallen even more and light snowfall had also occurred. In these two weeks, Lin Mu would wake up in the morning, eat, cultivate, refine his spirit sense, and train with the weapons manual.
Occasionally he would go out to hunt if he got bored. He had also encountered two spirit beasts during his hunts, one of which he was able to hunt while the other he could not as there was a mercenary team already after it.
Overnight, the town would be covered in a thin layer of snow, while in the afternoon it would melt and vanish. People were wondering when the first wave of frost will start, for they were thinking of the preparations needed before it.
As soon as the frost wave hits, the entire demographic of the town changes. The hunters retreat to the town and the forest becomes a forbidden area. The rivers and streams freeze overnight, while the animals and beast of the forest retreat to the depths.
Only the strongest of fierce beasts and spirit beasts wander in the forest during this season, making it an extremely dangerous place. Lin Mu saw that while the hunters had stopped going to the forest, the mercenaries were the same and were still hunting with no rest.
Another week passed and the frost wave finally hit. The town was covered in ankle-deep snow and chilling winds blew. The people had stocked up on food and necessities, while the town head had officially designated the Northern forest as a forbidden area.
It was on this day that tragedy struck. Lin Mu had just woken up and had come down to eat breakfast in the hall when he saw the solemn faces of the mercenaries sitting within.
He saw the mercenary he was acquainted with, Yan Zhong, and approached him to inquire.
"Brother Yan Zhong, what happened, why does everyone seem so tense?" Lin Mu asked.
Yan Zhong who was lost in his thoughts looked up from his rice bowl and saw Lin Mu standing there.
"Something terrible has happened, a truly fearsome spirit beast has appeared." Yan Zhong spoke.
"But that's nothing new, spirit beasts become rather active during the winter and often wander around." Lin Mu replied.
"This was much worse. Yesterday an Elite Team of mercenaries composed entirely of cultivators disappeared. It belonged to the Ashen cloak mercenary company, which is considered as the strongest mercenary company in this region." Yan Zhong spoke and took a pause as if it was hard for him to speak.
Lin Mu felt a little lost seeing Yan Zhong like this. He wondered why the mercenaries would be so depressed at this because this was something that often occurred in their line of business. It was only when Yan Zhong resumed speaking that he understood why.