Chapter 268: Jingming Shang's Debt

Lin Mu didn't know what Duan Ke was talking about, thus he looked at her in confusion. It seemed like there was some past relationship between the two of them and the merchant Jingming Shang. He wondered what it could be as right now it definitely did not seem like Duan Ke liked the man.

Jing Wei noticed Lin Mu's inquiring look and knew that it didn't matter if he spoke about it. They had already been together in this for a while now and it seemed to him that it would be fine, revealing it to Lin Mu.

~Sigh~

"You know why I had to save him back then. We were in need and at that time he seemed to be the only choice. Plus, with us having saved him made Jingming Shang in our debt. Otherwise, our whereabouts would have long since been leaked if we dealt with any other merchants like him.

Although the man is a shrewd businessman, he still has a sense of honor and will follow through with his promise." Jing Wei said in a calm tone.

"If you say so, grandfather." Duan Ke said unwittingly.

Jing Wei looked at Lin Mu and spoke, "I know you want to ask something, go ahead it's fine." 

"I just wanted to ask about Jingming Shang. From your words, it seemed like you saved him?" Lin Mu questioned.

"I did indeed. It was a few years ago, and we had been lacking a channel to sell and buy goods through. We couldn't use anything openly, as that would lead to our identity and location being leaked.

Back then we were traveling through the empire and encountered a group of people chasing a man who was none other than Jingming Shang.

He had apparently angered the wrong kind of people by taking over their profits, which led to them targeting him and hunting him down. We decided to lend him a helping hand and repelled his attackers. This led to him promising us a life debt.

Upon finding that he was a merchant, we decided on a deal. He will trade with us while keeping our identity secret. While he does not know who we really are, he still doesn't reveal our location to others." Jing Wei answered.

"I see…" Lin Mu nodded in response.

'Seems like I wasn't the first person they've helped until now.' Lin Mu thought to himself.

~Ahem~

Duan Ke lightly coughed, bringing their attention back to the matter on hand.

"It does not seem like we have anything concrete yet, in terms of a suspect. Although the most likely one is probably a wandering cultivator like we previously thought." Duan Ke spoke.

"Wait a minute, wasn't the elder from the Sky precepts sect also injured. Can it be possible that it was them?" Lin Mu interrupted.

"No, that elder was from the Star catching peak, so it is not possible." Jing Wei replied.

"Why is it impossible? What's the thing with the Start Catching peak?" Lin Mu questioned.

~Huu~

Jing Wei took a deep breath before speaking.

"The Star catching peak is a special existence in the Sky precepts sect. Even in the other top sects, its reputation is known.

They are unlike the other peaks and divisions of the sect. All they deal with is the Star catching formation array. This is a special formation that can monitor and interact with the World's barrier. It can also sense spatial disturbances and fluctuations that happen all around the Great Zhou continent.

All the members of that peak are involved in this and seldom leave the peak, not to mention the sect. There is no chance that they fought with the dead cultivator. Besides, their specialization is in formations and not in combat." Jing Wei explained.

Lin Mu was intrigued by this information, but not for long since Xukong suddenly spoke up in Lin Mu's mind.

"The Star Catching formation array!? What? In a world such as this too…" Xukong uttered with surprise.

"What's the problem senior?" Lin Mu asked with concern.

"I'll explain to you later, after you leave this place. But know this, we may have to do some changes soon." Xukong said mysteriously.

Lin Mu silently hummed in response and did not probe further. He knew that if Senior Xukong had acted like this, there was bound to be something very important that should not be discussed here.

"Alright then, seeing that we can't come to a conclusion right now, I guess it's better to leave it. Perhaps you can find out more about it later on?" Lin Mu spoke, wanting to end the conversation.

"Yes, we will do that. As for the damaged ring, you can leave it with me. I'll inform you on the communication jade, if anything comes up, or if the ring is repaired." Jing Wei replied.

Lin Mu cupped his hand to thank them before leaving the shop and heading towards his house.

Once Lin Mu was gone, Duan Ke looked at her grandfather with a slightly confused look.

"Is it just me or does it seem like he wanted to leave rather urgently? He would usually ask a few more questions considering his past behavior." Duan Ke said.

"Hmm, it does seem like it. But still, we could be wrong. That boy is progressing fast and I do not know how far he can go. There is certainly a great drive in him, and he's bound to have goals of his own. After all, the world's will would not just ordain anyone average." Jing Wei replied in a calm voice.

***

Back at the house, Lin Mu had just entered the bedroom and was immediately greeted by the Brown Shrubby Forest Cat.

~Nyaa~

Lin Mu kneeled down and petted the head of the beast gently.

"Are you hungry?" Lin Mu asked.

"Hungry" Lin Mu felt in his mind.

"Alright, let's go make something. It will be time for dinner soon, anyway." Lin Mu replied before going towards the kitchen.

There he set up some meat to cook while he looked at the Brown Shrubby Forest Cat.

"Hmm, I should give you a name now, shouldn't I?"