Half a year later.
In the courtyard of Chen Hongguang's home in Chen Village. He was Chen Mu's eldest uncle.
Bright red decorations hung all around the courtyard, and the doors and windows were plastered with the character for double happiness.
The courtyard was packed with tables, but there still weren't enough, so they had to set up more than a hundred extra tables outside to host the guests who had come to the wedding feast.
"Haha... congratulations, Uncle! Brother Hu is getting married so soon. I thought he'd wait at least another two years."
Today was Chen Zihu's wedding day, and as his cousin, Chen Mu naturally had to attend.
"It's not early! Not early at all! Little Mu, your cousin is already nineteen this year. He can't put off marriage any longer!"
Chen Hongguang's face glowed as he looked at Chen Mu with a smile.
Compared with Chen Mu's third uncle, Chen Hongjie, and his father, Chen Haoran, Chen Hongguang's talent for cultivation was undoubtedly far inferior. Despite the vast resources poured into him over the past few years, he was still only at the Martial Warrior Third Stage.
But his eldest uncle was an easygoing, down-to-earth man who cared little about his cultivation, so he was the one who lived most freely among the brothers.
Hearing his uncle's words, Chen Mu hurriedly smiled and agreed.
He had nearly forgotten that life in the Wilderness was harsh, and many people started marrying and having children at thirteen or fourteen. Someone like Chen Zihu, who was only getting married at nineteen, could indeed be considered a late groom.
Still, he guessed that if his uncle hadn't pressed him, Chen Zihu might not have married at all. After all, he was a cultivation fanatic like Third Uncle Chen Hongjie. Both felt a deep sense of responsibility toward Chen Village and disliked wasting time on matters of love.
After he entered the courtyard, his older cousin Chen Zishan came to receive him and led him to a seat at the main table.
"I've long admired your name, Master Mu! My daughter is marrying into your village today, so our families are joined by marriage now. Haha..."
A lean, composed middle-aged man greeted Chen Mu with a smile.
Chen Mu knew that Chen Zihu's bride was from Ironwood Village. This middle-aged man was probably Chen Zihu's father-in-law, Tie Qianren, an older cousin of the Ironwood Village chief and a person of some standing in the village.
Perhaps because they were both clans that had migrated in from outside the Wilderness, Ironwood Village had remained neutral through the several disasters Chen Village had faced. That had left Chen Mu with a fairly favorable impression of them.
"Yes, yes! We're family now, so there's no need to stand on ceremony. You must come visit us more often from now on..."
Chen Mu chatted politely with the people from Ironwood Village, though Ironwood Village's strength no longer amounted to much compared with Chen Village's.
But he had never been a snob. As long as they didn't harm his own people, he treated everyone kindly.
Before long, the bridal sedan chair arrived. Chen Zihu got up to welcome it, pulling a face at Chen Mu as he passed by.
Chen Mu gave Chen Zihu a thumbs-up, grinning happily.
At that moment, A Huo came in from outside and leaned close to Chen Mu's ear.
"A Mu, I noticed that a lot of people who came today have been acting suspiciously. Someone even tried to enter the talisman-making room just now, but I chased them away."
Chen Mu took a sip of tea, keeping a smile on his face.
"It's fine. Our village is growing stronger and stronger, so there are bound to be forces interested in intelligence about us. Third Uncle and the others can worry about that. We'll just watch and see."
As the saying went, the poor could live in a bustling marketplace and no one would ask after them, while the rich could live deep in the mountains and find distant relatives.
Chen Village had stood at Black Rock Mountain for many years and had ties of marriage with many nearby villages. In the past, few people had come to visit their relatives, but starting this year, more and more had come to Chen Village.
Needless to say, everyone in Chen Village knew that some among them must have ulterior motives.
For the past half year, the Wumeng Tribe had made no move at all, as if it didn't know its puppet force had been wiped out in Chen Village.
That worried Chen Mu a little. He had no idea what the Wumeng Tribe was planning.
He kept Landuo in the talisman-making room, and even when Landuo came out, he covered his face. Chen Mu simply didn't want the Wumeng Tribe to confirm that Landuo was here in Chen Village.
After a while, Chen Mu thought Chen Zihu was taking a little long to receive the bridal sedan chair. He was about to get up and take a look when he saw Chen Shanxiong come running over.
"Little Mu, the Rock Peace Tribe sent someone with wedding gifts.
"The chief said the man who brought the gifts is a Martial Master. He wants you to come out and take a look too."
Chen Mu was a little startled. He nodded, got up, and followed him.
The Rock Peace Tribe was the mid-sized tribe that ruled the territory around Chen Village. Other than receiving Chen Village's annual tribute of spirit stones, they had never had any dealings with the village. He hadn't expected them to take the initiative to send someone today.
At the entrance to Chen Village, the gates had already been opened.
A middle-aged man dressed in white rode in on a magnificent leopard-like demonic beast.
Behind him, eight men clad in animal skins followed closely, riding demonic beasts of the same type.
"I never expected you to come in person, Mr. Nan. Your presence truly brings glory to our humble Chen Village!"
Chen Hongjie laughed heartily, with more than a dozen people behind him to welcome the visitors.
Nan Huaiyuan jumped down from his demonic beast and cupped his hands with a smile.
"You're too kind, Chief Chen! Our leader heard that your nephew was getting married today, but he was tied up with affairs and had to send me to offer his congratulations. I hope you won't take offense."
"Not at all! We're already fortunate that you could come, Mr. Nan."
Chen Hongjie cupped his hands in return, then turned to lead the way.
"Please follow me, Mr. Nan. I've already prepared a feast. This is a poor and remote place, so we may not have anything good to serve you. I hope you won't mind."
Nan Huaiyuan laughed. "Why do you say that, Chief of the Chen Clan? I hear your tribe has a talisman master standing guard, and last year you captured a large number of mechanical puppets from the Wumeng Tribe. As for wealth, I'm afraid our Rock Peace Tribe isn't much better off than you!"
The Rock Peace Tribe was only in the lower middle ranks among mid-sized tribes, far weaker than the Wumeng Tribe. It had no talisman master of its own, and years of constant friction with nearby mid-sized tribes had consumed a great deal of its supplies, so it really wasn't wealthy.
But the Rock Peace Tribe had more than eight thousand people, and feeding them and seeing to all their daily needs cost money. His words were mostly a courtesy; he didn't believe a single talisman master could create wealth equal to that of a mid-sized tribe.
Just then, Chen Mu came out of Chen Zihu's house and met Chen Hongjie and the others head-on.
"Haha, allow me to introduce him. This is Chen Mu, our Chen Village's talisman master."
Chen Hongjie made the introduction to Nan Huaiyuan.
"Oh? I heard long ago that a talisman-making genius had appeared in Chen Village. Now that I've met you, I can see you truly have an extraordinary bearing. Heroes do arise young! Haha..."
Unlike many people of the Wilderness, Nan Huaiyuan was not rough and rugged. Instead, he had a refined, scholarly air and treated everyone politely.
"A Mu, you don't go out much, so you may not have heard Mr. Nan's illustrious name.
"Let me introduce him. Mr. Nan is not only a Martial Master, but also has profound attainments in the art of formations. He is one of the foremost formation masters in our Wuyan Mountain Range."
Chen Hongjie also introduced Nan Huaiyuan to Chen Mu.
"Greetings, Mr. Nan!"
Chen Mu smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.