For an entire month, the news of Lin Yun obtaining the Thunder God Hall’s inheritance caused a massive uproar. But no matter what bounties the two countries posted or how many people they dispatched, they couldn’t find a single clue about his whereabouts.

The bounty of Primordial Stones grew larger and larger. It started with Gold Coins, then a single Broken Primordial Stone, and now it had reached hundreds of thousands of Low Grade Primordial Stones. A reward of this magnitude was the highest seen in several centuries.

Hundreds of thousands of Low Grade Primordial Stones... To put it in perspective, as one of the three Grand Generals of the Yanhuang Country, Lin Xiaotian only received a monthly stipend of one hundred thousand Low Grade Primordial Stones.

Ordinary Opening Realm Martial Artists could never hope to possess Low Grade Spirit Stones; even getting their hands on a single Broken Primordial Stone was extremely difficult.

In terms of manpower, resources, and wealth, the two countries mounted the grandest effort in centuries, all for the sake of finding Lin Yun. Yet, after a month, it was as if Lin Yun had vanished from the face of the earth, leaving not a single trace behind.

The Yunlu Mountain Range had been searched over and over again. And yet, right at the foot of these very mountains, there was an inconspicuous little village. Although it was located within the borders of the Yanhuang Country, it was likely that no one from the outside world even knew of its existence.

The small mountain village wasn’t large, with only a few dozen households. The villagers were mostly hunters who rarely had contact with the outside world.

As the sun set in the west, a young man carrying a sturdy wild boar slowly walked into the small village. The boar, weighing hundreds of pounds, seemed to be weightless on his shoulder, as the young man’s steps remained light and nimble.

"Ah Shan, nice haul today!" As he entered the village, many people greeted the young man, and he responded to each of them with a smile. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Carrying the boar all the way to the village chief’s house, Ah Shan took only one of its legs for himself, leaving the rest for the chief.

Looking at the white-haired village chief, Ah Shan smiled with simple honesty. "Village Chief, please distribute this among the villagers."

The village chief and the other villagers knew very little about Ah Shan. They only knew his name was Lin Shan and that he had arrived in the village a month ago. Because Ah Shan was sincere and often helped the villagers hunt, they had gradually come to accept him.

"Ah Shan, thank you so much. Now, every household in the village can eat meat every day. This is all thanks to you," the village chief said gratefully.

Before Ah Shan’s arrival, it had been very difficult for the villagers to hunt beasts. They had to organize parties each time, and even then, their success rate was low. But ever since Ah Shan came, he would go out to hunt every morning, and without fail, he would return with a kill every evening.

Heh. With another honest smile, Ah Shan didn’t linger at the village chief’s house. After saying his farewells, he walked toward a dilapidated thatched hut at the far end of the village.

The house was extremely run-down. Inside, there was only a bed that looked ready to fall apart and nothing else. Sitting outside the hut, Ah Shan started a fire and began to roast the boar’s thigh. He sneered, his thoughts cold. ’Yanhuang Academy, Wind Forest Sect... The day will come when I make you pay for this.’

That’s right—Ah Shan was none other than Lin Yun, who had disappeared a month ago. After escaping the encirclement of the two major powers, he had stumbled upon this village by a stroke of luck.

Since the place was isolated from the rest of the world and Lin Yun wanted to find a place to focus on his cultivation, he chose to stay. He hadn’t wasted the past month, either; his cultivation had successfully broken through to the Second Layer of Opening Realm.

Lin Yun was very fond of this small mountain village. The people here were poor, but they were simple, innocent, and happy. They worked from sunrise to sunset, and everything about the village brought Lin Yun a sense of peace.

*Sigh...* ’If only I could forget the past, living here would actually be a good choice.’ He let out a soft sigh. Lin Yun knew that this kind of peace didn’t belong to him. He still had too much to do and couldn’t possibly stay in a small mountain village forever.

Deciding not to dwell on it, he resolved to enjoy things one day at a time. With a sense of calm, Lin Yun picked up the roasted boar leg and began to gnaw on it.

"Ah Shan, I knew it! You’re eating roasted meat again! I invite you to my house for dinner all the time, but you never come. You just have to eat this roasted meat. Do you hate me?" Just as Lin Yun was eating the roasted boar leg, a young woman in a floral-print dress ran over.

Although the young woman had a certain rustic air about her, there was no denying she was a beauty—one whose looks were in no way inferior to Lu Bingning’s.

Right now, however, her lovely face wore an expression of hurt and reproach.

Seeing her run over, Lin Yun gave his usual honest smile. The young woman’s name was Lan Xi, and she was born and raised in this village. Because of her good looks, Lan Xi had always been the village’s "little princess," and many of the local young men had secret crushes on her.

But ever since Lin Yun had come to the village, Lan Xi seemed to have taken a special liking to pestering him, asking him to tell her stories about the outside world and to roast meat for her.

In fact, the reason Lin Yun was able to come to the small village in the first place was that Lan Xi had snuck up the mountain, encountered a Tier One Demon Beast, and been saved by him. Afterward, she had brought Lin Yun to the village. Ever since that day, Lan Xi had loved to stick to Lin Yun’s side at all times. Many people in the village could see that the young lady had developed a crush.

Trotting right up to Lin Yun, Lan Xi pouted. "All you know how to do all day is eat roasted meat! Is my house that awful? Or is it... you hate me?"

Hearing this, Lin Yun gave a helpless smile. ’This girl, Lan Xi, is so innocent, having never been exposed to the outside world. Maybe she thinks she likes me now, but I know this isn’t real love.’

’Besides, my situation is very dangerous right now, and I can’t stay in this village for long. I certainly don’t want to get involved in any romantic entanglements.’

"Lan Xi, haven’t I told you many times? I’ve loved eating roasted meat since I was a kid. Besides, if I go to your house, it’ll be too much trouble for your parents," Lin Yun said with a smile.

Listening to Lin Yun’s explanation, one look at Lan Xi’s expression was enough to know that the young lady hadn’t bought a word of it. She continued to pout, her face a mask of grievance.

"Ah Shan, do you hate me?"

"No, how could I ever hate a girl as cute as Lan Xi? Anyone in the world who hated you would have to be the world’s biggest fool."

After putting in a Herculean effort, Lin Yun finally managed to placate Lan Xi. In the end, however, she still made him promise to come to her house for dinner tomorrow.

He had no choice. Faced with Lan Xi’s combination of hard and soft tactics, Lin Yun finally relented and agreed.

After some playful banter and sealing the deal with a pinky swear, Lan Xi finally left Lin Yun’s thatched hut, albeit reluctantly. By now, darkness had fallen over the mountain village, and the villagers had all drifted off to sleep.

Standing alone outside his hut, Lin Yun’s only worry now was for his father and mother. He knew he couldn’t hide his identity for long, and once it was exposed, his parents would be the first to suffer.

"Father, Mother, you have to be safe," Lin Yun prayed softly, looking up at the sky.