Chapter 295 - Marriage Alliance?

Please read the author note at end.

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Now that Lin Mu had figured out a method to alleviate some of the flaws of the fourth skill 'Fade' he felt a lot better. He then thought of what to do next, as there were quite a few things on his list. 

He had nearly fulfilled the conditions he needed in order to be able to assimilate the bloodline of the great slumber bear, and the only thing left was the nameless technique of the lost immortal. For that technique, the main problem Lin Mu was having was actually seeing his progress.

He couldn't tell if it was good or bad and whether it would be enough for him to counter the effects of the bloodline ability 'Well of slumber'. The consequences of the ability could be fatal, thus Lin Mu wanted to be extremely sure of it before he attempted it.

Lin Mu already knew that he could possibly be asleep for about a year if he assimilated the bloodline. Thus, by taking that time period as a rule of thumb, he estimated that he would have reached the necessary level in the nameless technique if he was able to eat a year's worth of food. 

Lin Mu could already eat a week's worth of food in one day which was around two beasts, which meant he needed eight beasts for a month and eighty four beasts for a year. And since he didn't know if his requirements may change, he just decided to increase the number to about one hundred beasts.

The day he was able to eat the meat of about one hundred beasts would be the day he was ready. But even now Lin Mu didn't know his current limit. Even if he felt satiated, he realized that he could still keep on eating more and more.

'I need to check my current limit for eating. But for that I'll need to hunt again I'm about to run out of the meat again.' Lin Mu thought to himself.

Another thing he had on his list was to check what was going on with the visit of the lieutenant Wu Teng. Lin Mu was a bit suspicious about it, thus wanted to know more.

"Hmm… I can do this right now and visit the Hei corps. Hei Bao should be at the town center hopefully, and I'm already out of the house, anyway." Lin Mu decided.

He then changed his path and walked towards the town center. While on his way Lin Mu realized that the number of people had reduced for some reason, it was almost the same as back when winter was here. About a day had passed since he had come from Jing Wei's emporium and had learned about the arrival of the Teng Battalion.

But in just twenty four hours, the look of the town had changed. This was also the reason why Lin Mu was able to practice the fourth skill 'Fade' without much problem. There simply wasn't anyone nearby, and even in the houses in his neighborhood, there was barely anyone.

'Are they out working or something else?' Lin Mu wondered.

He soon reached the town center and was greeted by the guards at the entrance.

"Is Hei Bao here?" Lin Mu inquired.

"No, Senior Lin Mu. Caption Hei Bao has gone out on a task and is currently not in the town, but leader Hei Wen herself is there in the office." The guard who was also a member of the Hei Corps answered.

"Ah, that's even better." Lin Mu replied before entering the building and walking up to the office.

Upon reaching there, he saw that the doors of the office were closed, thus he knocked on it.

"Who is it… oh it is you Lin Mu. Come in," Hei Wen said, changing her question in the middle.

It was evident that she had used her spirit sense to check who was behind the door, and Lin Mu had felt it as well. He opened the door and found Hei Wen standing on the balcony looking over the town. She was in a long blue dress and had her signature veil covering her face.

"Greeting! I haven't seen you for a while," Lin Mu said in a friendly manner.

"Indeed, I've been… occupied with certain matters." Hei Wen replied.

"When did you come back? I head Hei Bao is out on a mission?" Lin Mu asked curiously.

"I just returned a day back and Hei Bao left that time too. I came to replace him for the time being." Hei Wen answered.

"I see…" Lin Mu spoke before walking to the chair and sitting down on it.

Hei Wen took walked to the table and sat at the opposite side.

"So what are you here for?" Hei Wen questioned.

"I heard the mayor's son, lieutenant Wu Teng, is coming soon." Lin Mu spoke.

"Ahh, so you heard. Yes, he is coming here this week at the very least." Hei Wen answered with a slightly unnerved tone.

Lin Mu sensed the difference in her voice and curiously observed the fluctuations of her vital energy and spirit qi. 

'Is she troubled by something?' Lin Mu wondered as he sensed the irregular waves.

He could now tell that her heart was beating in a slightly higher speed and even the waves of qi coming off of her body were sporadic. Lin Mu's progress in cultivation had also enhanced his sensitivity to these characteristics.

"You don't seem to be liking it. Is there more to it than people know?" Lin Mu questioned in a slightly more serious tone.

~Sigh~

"Yes… there is something more to it." Hei Wen answered reluctantly.

"Of course there should be more, or it wouldn't make sense for Wu Teng to bring his entire battalion here. That would be too inefficient and also a waste of resources." Lin Mu added.

"The mayor Wu Xun apparently struck a deal with the disciples of the Tri cauldron peony sect. The exact details of it are unknown, but one of the conditions is a marriage alliance."