Chapter 3933: Long Lived Prisoner

Lin Mu remained standing before the village chief, his gaze lingering on the crest displayed upon the scroll.

The reaction from everyone present had already answered several of his questions. None of them had looked frightened and none had tried to hide the symbol. Instead their expressions had been filled with surprise and something else.

Respect mixed with gratitude.

That alone completely differed from what Lin Mu had expected. After a brief silence, he carefully rolled the scroll back together before looking directly at the burly man.

"I believe an explanation is in order."

The village chief remained silent for several breaths. The large man’s eyes continued drifting toward the scroll as though trying to convince himself he had truly seen it. Finally, he spoke.

"Before I explain anything..." His voice remained calm, though traces of curiosity could still be heard. "...tell me how you obtained that crest."

Several of the elders standing nearby immediately focused upon Lin Mu.

This question clearly mattered greatly to them. Lin Mu had already anticipated something like this. He certainly wasn’t about to reveal the true reason. He wasn’t gonna mention the Virtuous Calamity Daoist, or his hidden vault and the inheritance.

Any of those subjects would only complicate matters. Instead he answered with a mixture of truth and concealment.

"I’ve been investigating the history behind this symbol and I found traces connected to it. They eventually led me here."

The chief carefully observed Lin Mu’s expression. "You don’t know who left it?"

"I know fragments." Lin Mu answered honestly. "That is why I’m searching. I hope to uncover the complete history."

The chief slowly lowered his head and his expression became conflicted. Several emotions passed across his weathered face like suspicion and hesitation. And under that was uncertainty.

It was obvious he possessed information.

Whether he wished to reveal it remained another matter entirely. Silence settled inside the village square as neither side attempted to pressure the other. Eventually one of the elderly villagers slowly stepped forward.

His beard had long since turned silver and countless wrinkles covered his face, though his eyes remained remarkably sharp.

He respectfully addressed the chief. "Chief."

The burly man looked toward him.

The elder folded his hands behind his back. "I believe we should speak with him."

Several nearby warriors looked surprised.

The elder calmly continued. "We’ve wondered about our benefactor for generations."

"If this young man truly searches for the same history..." His gaze shifted toward Lin Mu. "...then perhaps he possesses answers we’ve lacked."

The chief remained thoughtful when the elder added one final sentence. "Sometimes information only becomes complete when two people each carry half of it."

Lin Mu quietly memorized those words and his thoughts immediately became active.

’Benefactor...’ The title itself proved interesting.

Even more interestingly none of them had spoken the Virtuous Calamity Daoist’s name. They referred only to a benefactor.

’They don’t know.’ Lin Mu quietly reached his conclusion. ’They know the symbol and they know someone helped them. But they don’t know that that person was the Virtuous Calamity Daoist.’

That realization significantly changed his understanding of the situation.

Whatever connection existed between this village and the Daoist, only part of the history had survived.

The chief finally exhaled as his decision had been made.

"Come with me." Without another word, he turned toward the center of the village.

Lin Mu followed and the surrounding villagers respectfully stepped aside, creating a clear path. As they walked, many curious eyes continued following Lin Mu. Children peeked from behind doorways while hunters quietly whispered among themselves.

Several elderly women also watched him with thoughtful expressions.

Eventually the two arrived before the largest building in the village. Unlike the surrounding homes, this structure possessed a proper stone foundation supporting thick wooden walls.

Several enormous pillars reinforced the roof, animal skulls decorated the entrance and carved wooden symbols hung beside the doorway. The building clearly belonged to the village chief.

The chief pushed open the heavy wooden doors. "Come."

Lin Mu stepped inside and saw that the interior proved surprisingly spacious. Several large wooden tables occupied one side, weapon racks lined another wall, and animal pelts covered portions of the floor while a broad stone hearth occupied the center of the hall.

Then Lin Mu’s eyes stopped moving and even his breathing paused for the briefest instant.

’That...’ There hanging upon the wall directly behind the chief’s seat was the symbol he had spent so long searching for.

A massive stone mural occupied nearly the entire wall. It clearly hadn’t been carved inside this building. Instead, it looked as though an enormous section of an ancient wall had been carefully removed from somewhere else before being transported here.

Time had weathered its surface as cracks spread across portions of the stone and several corners had broken away. The carved words surrounding the center had faded almost beyond recognition.

Centuries of erosion had erased most of the writing.

Yet the central emblem remained unmistakable. The faceted gemstone and the elegant curved horns, every line matched the crest upon Lin Mu’s scroll perfectly.

His eyes remained fixed upon it. ’Impossible...’

For several moments, he simply stared while his thoughts raced rapidly.

If such a mural existed... Then where had it originally come from?

The hidden vault?

Some forgotten temple?

A sanctuary established by the Virtuous Calamity Daoist?

Or... Had the vault itself once existed beneath this village?

The possibilities rapidly multiplied as Lin Mu slowly approached the mural. He carefully examined every visible mark and his fingers stopped just short of touching the ancient stone. He could still faintly make out traces of old inscriptions surrounding the symbol.

Unfortunately most of the characters had weathered away and only isolated fragments remained. Far too little to reconstruct their original meaning. After studying it for several breaths, Lin Mu finally looked toward the chief.

"Where did you obtain this mural?"

The chief followed his gaze toward the stone. "We found it here."

Lin Mu raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Here?"