Some Loose Ends

After settling the matter of the prisoners' disposal, the so-called Hun Yuan Pi Li Wei Da Wang was swiftly dragged out and beheaded.

Among the clan elders and clan chiefs of Hui Ping Town, some who hated him to the bone followed along to watch the bandit leader's execution.

As for Lin Lin, he had never once entertained the thought of seeing the man.

He was merely a weak, ignorant pest, one that was widespread across the Divine Continent today.

If this Era of Upheaval could not be brought to an end, Lin Lin would likely encounter many more such pests in the years ahead.

The banquet began soon afterward.

Mutton, pork, and dog meat, along with wild game such as Mountain Chicken, Wild Rabbit, and Roe Deer that had been caught during the previous mountain search, were all cooked with spices until they looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful.

There were also unlimited supplies of staple foods such as steamed buns, stuffed buns, noodles, rice, and rice cakes.

These people who had suffered so much finally enjoyed a full meal. Laughter and cheerful voices rang out in this place that had been a bandits' den not long ago, soothing the killing intent, anger, panic, and other negative emotions that had lingered in everyone's hearts and allowing them all to relax.

As the central figure of the banquet, Lin Lin received the warmest treatment.

Many clan chiefs and clan elders raised cups to Lin Lin, while the common townsfolk and local militia did the same. Lin Lin refused no one.

He ate meat in great mouthfuls and drank wine in deep draughts. Surrounded by people who respected and adored him, Lin Lin felt more relaxed and at ease than ever before.

Ever since awakening his Past Life Wisdom, his body had remained tense, but it now seemed to loosen considerably.

After eating and drinking his fill, Lin Lin had a good night's sleep.

The others from Hui Ping Town left some local militia behind to guard the prisoners and patrol the area, then went to rest as well.

He slept for a long time. By the time he woke, it was already the following morning.

Lin Lin put away the small warning mechanisms he had set up around the room. When traveling outside, it was always best to remain vigilant.

When he stepped outside, Lin Lin found that everyone had already packed up all the supplies.

The moment they saw him awake, someone hurriedly brought him hot water and a towel. Once Lin Lin had washed up and gotten ready, the group set off with the supplies, heading back out of Lianyun Mountain.

Lin Lin rode ahead while using Dual-Mindedness to circulate his qi and cultivate his Inner Power Cultivation Method.

This was how he had spent the past few days. Though he had not had time to devote himself fully to cultivation, Dual-Mindedness ensured that his inner power cultivation had not fallen behind.

However, without the supporting cultivation of external techniques, his overall combat strength was not growing as quickly as it had when he had focused entirely on cultivation in the sect.

The journey here had taken nearly two days.

On the way back, there was no need to search around, and everyone traveled with a clear destination in mind.

They set out in the morning and reached Hui Ping Town by dusk. News that the Mountain Bandits who had been abducting people had been suppressed spread from there.

In recent days, the people living around Hui Ping Town had been anxiously awaiting news. Upon hearing such wonderful tidings, the panic in their hearts was soothed, and many of them burst into cheers.

Stories of Lin Lin spread throughout the area around Hui Ping Town. Tales of how he had analyzed the origins of those Mountain Bandits on the spot after reading the intelligence, then charged into the enemy den with a Single-Handed Sword to sweep aside the bandits before leading everyone in quelling the bandit scourge, were adapted into vivid storytellers' tales and legends.

Thus, Lin Lin's image grew lofty in the areas surrounding Hui Ping Town.

As time passed, his deeds would gradually spread farther with the coming and going of merchants and travelers.

This was how one's reputation in the martial world accumulated, bit by bit.

Still, it was impossible to say how long it would take before Lin Lin's reputation rose alongside the spread of his deeds.

After returning to Hui Ping Town, Lin Lin stayed there for two days.

First, he wrote to Zhenyuan County, the closest county seat to Hui Ping Town, inviting the steward of a merchant association affiliated with Hundred Flowers Valley to bring people to Hui Ping Town and take over the many supplies Lin Lin had seized from the Mountain Stronghold.

Then, he personally led a group of Hui Ping Town local militia in escorting more than three hundred Mountain Bandit prisoners across the border between FuLiu Province and Heyun Province to a mine operated by the family of a Hundred Flowers Valley disciple, where he sold all the prisoners at a reasonable price.

The fate awaiting those prisoners was a lifetime of hard labor in the mines, until their lives came to an end.

All the prisoners were able-bodied young men and fetched a high price. There were three hundred and forty-three in total, selling for an average of more than ten taels of silver each, bringing in a full five thousand two hundred taels.

The entire transaction went extremely smoothly, without the slightest hitch. It had to be said that Lin Lin's status as an Official Disciple of Hundred Flowers Valley had played a crucial role.

After receiving the money, Lin Lin divided this silver, along with the rice, flour, meat, livestock, and other goods seized earlier, into many portions and distributed them to help those harmed by the bandit scourge settle down again and rebuild their homes.

Perhaps some people coveted those supplies, but with Lin Lin present, no one dared reach for them.

Moreover, while distributing the supplies, Lin Lin specifically told all those receiving them that if anyone dared oppress them, they should ask Xia Da to uphold justice. If even Xia Da could not uphold justice, then Lin Lin would not mind leaving Hundred Flowers Valley and making a personal trip to Hui Ping Town.

Lin Lin could not manage affairs elsewhere, but in Hui Ping Town, his abilities could ensure that these people who had just endured such suffering would enjoy a period of peace in the days to come.

Once these matters had been dealt with, the merchant association steward from Zhenyuan County finally arrived in Hui Ping Town with his people.

After taking inventory of the Armor and Weapons Lin Lin intended to sell, the steward surnamed Cui said with a smile, "Young Master Lin, while most of these Armor and Weapons have sustained some damage, it does not affect their normal use. Some are even completely intact. In particular, these Tiger Head Sabers and Scale Armor are of exceptional quality.

"For the slightly damaged Armor and Weapons, I will offer eleven taels of silver per set. Intact ones will be fourteen taels per set. As for these few sets of superior weapons and armor, I will value them at five hundred taels each. How about a total of twenty-four thousand taels of silver?"

This price was even slightly higher than Lin Lin's own previous estimate.

In this era, hard commodities such as weapons, armor, and grain truly carried a premium.

Lin Lin believed that even if Steward Cui purchased them at this price, he would still make considerable profits after deducting transportation costs.

But one had to give something to gain something. If Lin Lin handled the sale of this batch of Armor and Weapons himself, it would consume a great deal of time and energy. Quickly converting them into cash and saving that time and energy was acceptable to him, especially now that his martial arts were advancing by leaps and bounds.

"Then let us do that. Also, exchange all these jewels and silver for Silver Notes."

Lin Lin nodded in agreement with Steward Cui's offer and asked him to convert the jewels and silver he had seized earlier into portable Silver Notes as well.

Carrying more than twenty thousand taels of silver on the road would be burdensome for Lin Lin, whereas converting it all into Silver Notes would make it convenient to carry.

In fact, the bank was also operated by Hundred Flowers Valley, and Lin Lin himself was a Hundred Flowers Valley disciple.

Otherwise, in this chaotic world, Lin Lin would rather go through the trouble of transporting the money himself than use Silver Notes.

If he carelessly deposited his money in just any bank, who knew whether that bank might disappear the next moment, turning the Silver Notes in his hands into worthless paper?