Longevity starts from having a daughter in old age - Chapter 423

Chapter 423: Chapter 392: Desolate Martial Artist_1

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“Excellent!”

Xu Mu nodded, admitting it was he who had dealt with the Black Bear Spirit.

“Thank you, my lord, for saving our lives! Thank you for your mercy! Kneel down, everyone!”

With the old man’s prestige, the villagers knelt down one by one, thanking Xu Mu loudly.

With so many people kneeling, and Xu Mu having no mana to help them up, all he could do was let them continue to kowtow in thanks.

From the boy, Xu Mu learned that the old man was the village chief and also the most respected elder in the village.

Once the crowd had calmed down, Xu Mu pulled the village chief aside, and asked about the Black Bear Spirit and the Wilderness Martial Artists.

Compared to the boy, the village chief naturally knew much more.

According to him, the so-called Wilderness Martial Artists referred to cultivators who used monster beast blood to cultivate, which gave them strength far beyond that of ordinary people.

And a monster beast was a type of powerful beast, most of which lived in the wilderness.

Only city dwellers had the resources to cultivate martial arts, which is why the boy had said it was the city people who had changed.

Using monster beast blood for cultivation was likely the primary cultivation system in this world, which greatly piqued Xu Mu’s interest.

Unfortunately, the village chief didn’t know much about the monster beasts and the wilderness. Even though he had lived for decades, the furthest he had ever gone was a nearby town. Everything he knew was hearsay.

He knew even less about the Black Bear Spirit.

He only knew that it had suddenly appeared a year before, continuously attacking nearby villages.

At first, the villagers gathered hunters, hoping to kill it using traps and arrows. However, they suffered heavy casualties without injuring the beast in the slightest.

The woman’s husband had died during one of these attempts.

Latterly, a few villages collected money to hire another Wilderness Martial Artist. However, after receiving the payment, he disappeared without a trace, leaving it unclear whether he was killed or had simply run off.

It was from this Wilderness Martial Artist that they got some information on the Black Bear Spirit.

According to him, the Black Bear Spirit was a martial artist who had been driven mad through cultivation.

As for how he went mad, what changes occurred after that, and why he started to kill and eat people, the Wilderness Martial Artist didn’t go into detail.

They had also reported it to the county office, but all the official had said was, “We know,” and there was no follow-up.

Besides this information, Xu Mu also learned about the nearby areas from the village chief.

He learned that he was in the territory of Larnhill County, Buck Nation, and that their closest county seat was LeFeng City.

As the time unknowingly passed, when Xu Mu was satisfied with his inquiries, the sky had completely brightened.

“I need to head to the county seat, so I’ll take my leave.”

Seeing as it was already daylight and he had acquired the information he needed, Xu Mu decided to leave without delay.

“You have slain the monster that haunted our village. You are a great benefactor to us, and we haven’t had a chance to thank you properly. You can’t just leave!”

The village’s chief, naturally not willing to see Xu Mu leave, insisted that he stay to show their gratitude.

Xu Mu was unable to refuse, especially when the woman added her voice to the request. So, he agreed to have a meal before leaving.

During the meal, the villagers came to offer gifts as their way of showing gratitude.

However, due to the havoc wreaked by the Black Bear Spirit, the village had become extremely impoverished and they didn’t have any money to offer. In the end, they were only able to offer a few local specialities and a couple hundred copper coins.

“Why are you going to the county seat?” The village chief asked during the meal.

“I happened to arrive here from a distant place. I wish to inquire about the way at the county seat,” Xu Mu responded with a rather clumsy excuse. However, the villagers, being simple folk, didn’t question it.

“It’ll take a good deal of money to live in the city. Our able-bodied men have gone out to earn a living to avoid the beast and also, our year’s crop yield has been poor. I feel embarrassed that we can’t help you more,” the village chief said apologetically.

“Old man, you are too kind. Your village has provided me shelter and food. I’m already deeply grateful.”

To him, killing the Black Bear Spirit was a simple task and he had never expected anything in return.

“Although I can’t repay your kindness with money, there is still a way you earn yourself some, if you’re interested.”

“What way is that?”

Even though Xu Mu had the means to make money, he was naturally not averse to a legitimate method and had no wish to resort to dubious means.

The village chief pointed at the Black Bear Spirit and said, “When I was in the county seat, I heard that there are often bounties for such beasts at the county office. Lord, you can take the Beast Spirit there to claim a reward.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, that will save me a lot of trouble,” Xu Mu said, smiling.

Since he was heading to the county seat anyway, it was a convenient matter that would save him a lot of trouble.

“My lord, how about waiting until tomorrow to leave? I will notify the nearby villages and arrange for a bullock cart in the morning, along with a few strong men to escort you there.”

“There’s no need for such formalities. There won’t be any problems with my capabilities, old man,” Xu Mu shook his head in refusal.

“My lord, since you are new here, you might not have… ”

The village chief then whispered a few words in his ear, after which Xu Mu quickly changed his attitude.

“I hadn’t considered that. You have a point, old man. Perhaps it would be best to leave tomorrow.”

“I’ll go notify the chiefs of the other villages right away!”

With that, the village head rushed off. This was an excellent opportunity for their village to gain recognition. This event could even possibly benefit their villagers in some way.

The reason for Xu Mu’s change of attitude was simple. The village chief had agreed to help him resolve the issue of his household registration.

Indeed, the household registration! Xu Mu wasn’t from this world, so naturally, he didn’t have a household registration identification and was essentially an undocumented resident.

There was more than one country in this world. To prevent the infiltration of spies from other countries, the management of household registrations was rather strict.

Without a proper identification, regardless of whether he could claim the reward for the Black Bear Spirit, even entering the city could be problematic.

Due to the Black Bear Spirit, the village had lost many people, with many disappearing over the years. The village chief had a plan to allow him to adopt one of those identities. In turn, Xu Mu would not only have a legitimate identity, but he would also become a part of their village.

Having a villager that had slain such a terrible monster would certainly enhance their reputation and deter other villages. Naturally, the village chief was very willing.

The next day arrived quickly, and by pooling resources, several villages managed to organize a team of twenty young and strong men. Additionally, hundreds of people followed them as Xu Mu led the procession, dragging the Black Bear Spirit’s corpse towards Yuefeng County.

The reason for the large crowd was not to thank Xu Mu, but rather because these people planned to go to the city and nearby towns to locate their relatives who had fled. It happened to be on their way, so they decided to set off together.

The group set off at dawn, making several stops along the way, and as the night fell, they finally saw the city gates.

“The city gate is closed for the day. Come back tomorrow if you wish to enter.”

Upon reaching the city gates, the group was unexpectedly stopped by the city guards.