Lin Mu's spirit sense was spread around in the area as he checked the houses for the villagers. Most of them were sleeping by now while some were still awake and doing miscellaneous tasks.
Overall, Lin Mu couldn't find anything strange here, just an average village. He looked around the village and came upon the notice board that was located at the center of the village.
This was where the notices, decrees, and such kind of information was posted. Most of the people in villages were taught to read at the very least and thus it wasn't much of a problem for them to see it.
It was here that Lin Mu saw something that confirmed his conjecture.
"So they have still been looking for me huh…" Lin Mu muttered to himself.
On the notice board, an old and faded poster could be seen. The poster had the portrait of Lin Mu drawn on it and his name was also written below it.
The poster read: 'Lin Mu, wanted dead or alive. Anyone that has information on his location will be heavily rewarded.
-by the order of his majesty, King Shuang'
There was also a date of issue on the poster and it was about a week from the day he fought with Gu Yao. But this still didn't tell him how long it exactly had been. But from the state of the poster, he guessed that it should have easily been more than two years.
"The poster is here, but we don't know if they are actively searching for you. Unless you encounter someone who has seen you before, I doubt they will recognize you. Look at the portrait, that is not you anymore." Xukong spoke.
"Hmm… indeed senior. I will wait till the morning before speaking with the villagers. Approaching like this at night will be suspicious." Lin Mu said.
"That would be wise." Xukong agreed.
Lin Mu nodded and went back to little Shrubby. The beast was lying at the side of a large tree cultivating. Lin Mu could feel the faint waves of spirit Qi coming from his body and knew that the beast was only getting more stronger.
Little Shrubby woke up and saw Lin Mu approach.
"Shall we eat?" He asked.
"Yes, let's go a bit further though." Lin Mu replied.
The night passed and morning came, Lin Mu could even hear the cry of a rooster from afar.
He wondered what persona would be the best to present to the villagers. He deliberated on a cultivator at first but then decided to go as a commoner. He knew that the appearance of cultivators would be recorded and he would likely be investigated even if he was not suspected.
Lin Mu thus changed into some plain looking robes and stored his short sword into the ring. Instead of that, he withdrew a staff from it. This was just a common bamboo staff and there was nothing special about it, it would suit well to his narrative as a traversal.
He then took out a large cloth and put some random things in it to make it seem like he was a common traveler going on his journey.
~huu~
"This should be decent enough…" Lin Mu muttered to himself before going to the village.
This time he had to walk there, so as to not arise suspicion and it took him five minutes to reach there. He could see some peasants working in the fields and some guards that patrolled along the paths.
The peasants quickly spotted him and spoke up.
"Who is that?" one of them asked.
"Seems like a traveler, I've never seen him in our village before." Another one answered.
The guards had heard the small commotion by now and went to intercept Lin Mu.
"Who are you?" The guards asked without showing much hostility.
"Greetings, I'm Little Ma." Lin Mu replied, making up a random common name.
"What are you here?" The guard questioned further.
"Aah, I'm just looking for a job in the city and am on the way there. I've been traveling for a few hours and wanted to rest and eat for a bit." Lin Mu answered with a genial smile.
The guard was not a cultivator and was only at the fifth stage of the Body tempering realm. Lin Mu didn't even have to actively sense him to be able to tell this, but he still spread his spirit sense around and observed the people here to see if there was anyone hiding their strength.
He had only done this as a precaution but didn't expect that one of the peasants here was at the eighth stage of the body tempering realm. Lin Mu casually glanced at the old man, who looked to be in his sixties. He was hale and hearty looking, and even his muscles could be seen faintly beneath his clothes that were patched in many places.
"I see. Well if it's food you want, there is a small restaurant if you go straight from here. On another thought, if you're going to the city, how did you come here?" The guard replied.
"What do you mean?" Lin Mu asked, feeling a bit confused.
"You came from the southern route, right?" The guard said, seeing the path Lin Mu had taken. "There is a blockade set up by the army at the start of the southern route. How did you pass?" The guard questioned.
Now Lin Mu was caught off guard, as he had not expected something like this to have happened.
"What are you even asking Old Bu, there is still the small path through the forest. Second Nie's cousin arrive through that path last week, did you forget?" A farmer who was working at the side spoke.
Lin Mu secretly took a breath of relief and thanked the simple attitudes of the villagers in his mind.
"Yes, yes! I came from that path." Lin Mu replied.
"Alright then." The guard spoke and let Lin Mu passed.
"If you're going to the restaurant, make sure you try the buckwheat noodles, they are the best." The farmer suggested.
Lin Mu nodded his head and continued onward.