96: Chapter 96 Mr. Zhang Mu, though I am humble, I am not an idiot.

Watching him return to his original form, Lia's eyes sparkled with little stars.

Mr. Zhang Mu knows such amazing magic!

On this side, Zhang Mu gave a gentle smile and asked the little boy, "Do you still remember me?"

The boy was dazed for a moment, then looked a bit happy. "I remember. You are that very kind Mage Lord."

Zhang Mu didn't reveal his name. It wasn't that he was worried about exposing himself, but rather he feared involving the boy. "It's the same trouble as last time; I wanted to ask you for directions."

"Mage Lord, where are you going?"

"Have you heard of the Silent Forest?"

The little boy held a bamboo basket in his arms, frowning in thought for a long while before shaking his head. "It's not somewhere near Bala City, is it?"

Seeing that he didn't know, Zhang Mu felt a bit disappointed. "Thank you for your answer. I'll find another way."

"By the way, you left in such a hurry last time that I didn't have a chance to give you the reward for your help." He pulled ten copper coins from his Storage Pouch and held them out. "This is what you deserve."

The boy took a few steps back. "Mage Lord, it was just a small favor. Ten copper coins is too much."

"Besides, Uncle Domit might be able to help you."

Domit?

Just as he was about to forcefully press the ten copper coins into the boy's hand, Zhang Mu instinctively stopped at the sound of the familiar name.

Was it a coincidental same name, or was it that Resistance Army member he met the day before yesterday?

Recalling the middle-aged man who had called the boy away last time, Zhang Mu asked nonchalantly, "Is it the one from that day..."

"No." The boy lowered his head. "Uncle Kia has already passed away. Uncle Domit only just came to the village the day before yesterday."

Zhang Mu didn't say he was sorry. On the Saul Continent, death was the norm; fragile people could not survive, and there was no need for him to put on a display of false sentiment.

"Can you take me to find him?"

"Of course, Mage Lord. Uncle Domit is also a very good person; you two will definitely get along." The little boy turned around and began walking back the way he came along the winding mud path through the grassland.

It really is him.

Why didn't he return to his organization or look for other dungeons? What was he doing running off to a strange little town?

Zhang Mu didn't say anything more. He glanced at the bamboo basket the boy was carrying, which seemed to contain flatbread.

He mused to himself that the boy was likely coming to the city to sell them.

The village where he lived probably wasn't close to Bala City, and it would take him quite a bit of time to make the trip. He decided he would buy all of them later as a reward for the help.

Zhang Mu led Lia and followed.

The journey was indeed quite long. They followed the boy from evening until the bright moon hung in the sky, and waited until the horizon turned the color of a fish's belly. Finally, they stepped off the narrow, muddy path and out of a forest, seeing a village nestled at the foot of a mountain in the distance.

According to the boy, the village had no name, so when others asked, he would say he was from the nearest town—Umut Town.

After walking for so long, Lia's eyelids were fighting to stay open. Zhang Mu held her in his arms while she slept, following the boy across winding ridges between fields, then over a small river via a wooden bridge, and into the village.

The little boy led Zhang Mu past several low houses built of irregular stones to the gate of a stone house with a courtyard.

"Uncle Domit lives here. He gets up every morning to help everyone in the fields.

After lunch, he spends the whole afternoon teaching us how to make iron farming tools.

Also, Uncle Domit's swordsmanship is superb. At night, he goes into the back mountains to hunt the beasts that often break into the village to kill our cattle and sheep."

Zhang Mu looked at the fence made of bamboo slats, his expression becoming strange. "Thank you. I'll go find him myself."

With that, he pulled a handful of copper coins—about a hundred—from his Storage Pouch and stuffed them into the boy's pocket. "I'll buy the bamboo basket too; just leave it here."

"But this is too much, Mage Lord."

"The rest is for your help that day and this time."

The little boy didn't refuse again. He placed the bamboo basket by the courtyard gate and ran off happily toward the distance, presumably heading home.

Holding Lia, Zhang Mu stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Sorry, I came back late from the mountains last night. I'm coming."

Domit's voice came from inside the house as he pushed the door open and stepped out.

Through the wide gaps between the door planks, Zhang Mu caught sight of him.

Compared to the day before yesterday, he had changed quite a bit.

The exquisite light armor that had protected his whole body had been replaced by crude linen short sleeves and shorts like the villagers, and the longsword at his waist was replaced by a hoe over his shoulder.

His rough-skinned arms and legs were covered in dried yellow mud and grass clippings. His feet were in straw sandals, his toes exposed, with damp black mud packed under his nails.

He must have gone straight to bed when he got back last night.

He crossed the small courtyard and opened the gate. Seeing Zhang Mu standing there holding Lia, he was visibly stunned.

Recovering his senses, he hurriedly stepped aside. "Mr. Zhang Mu, why would you come here?"

Zhang Mu stepped over the threshold and scanned the courtyard. On the right was a low stone table with four low stone stools. In the corner were piles of various farming tools and worn-out straw sandals that were about to fall apart.

"And you? What are you doing here?"

After closing the gate, Domit turned and walked over. "I wanted to know if the commoners can save the Lake Kingdom, and if they can save the Saul Continent."

"Not counting today, you've been here for two days, right? Do you have an answer?"

Nodding, he smiled. "There are over thirty households in the village, more than eighty villagers, yet they can't even deal with a single powerful beast.

I've judged that even if all the commoners of the Saul Continent were gathered together and equipped with the finest iron weapons and armor,

they would eventually be wiped out by a single High-level Knight. It's just a matter of time.

And above a High-level Knight, there are Great Knights, and above them, even higher ranks."

"So..." Domit sat on a stone stool and motioned for Zhang Mu to sit as well. "My answer is that forget the Saul Continent and the Lake Kingdom,

they can't even save their own village."

Zhang Mu sat on the opposite stone stool, shifting Lia into a more comfortable position in his arms. "Then why not leave?"

"Because I can make their lives a little bit better."

"There are at least ten thousand villages like this in the Lake Kingdom. You can't help them all, and no one will care," Zhang Mu said in a flat tone, his inner thoughts unreadable.

Domit suddenly stood up and knelt on one knee before Zhang Mu, solemnly performing a knight's salute. "Mr. Zhang Mu, I know you are testing me.

I may be humble, but I am not an idiot. I have grasped your deep meaning."

Lifting a finger to point outside the courtyard, Domit said earnestly, "They care."

"Heh." Zhang Mu laughed. "I take back what I said that day."

Domit looked up in pleasant surprise. "You are willing to..."

"I'm sorry. I greatly admire your will and your ideals, but I have my own things to do, and I have no interest in your ideals.

I am very selfish."

His head drooped slightly in disappointment. "Mr. Zhang Mu... if you were truly selfish, you wouldn't have come here to visit me..."

"I have another purpose. Do you know of the Silent Forest?"

Standing up abruptly, Domit's excitement almost burst from his chest. "You're going to the Silent Forest?!"

"What's wrong?"

He was as happy as a child, hopping and jumping on the spot. "Gods above, it doesn't matter even if all of Domit's lifelong luck is used up today!"

Zhang Mu looked bewildered. "What madness has taken you?"

"Mr. Zhang Mu, the Resistance Army is in the Silent Forest!"