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Chapter 642 Mu Family Village

"You..." Zhu Yu was a little surprised by his question, "Have you been hiding here for so long? So long that you can't even remember how much time has passed?"

The white-bearded man seemed quite cautious, refusing to utter a word about his specifics until he had confirmed what he wanted to know.

When Zhu Yu asked him this, he sighed and pointed to the door: "When I hid just now, the tree outside the door was only as thick as a wrist, but now it's thicker than a bowl."

I reckon they've been hiding for a long time, but I can't quite figure out exactly how long.

His words elicited a slight look of surprise even from Lu Qing.

If the tree at the entrance were only about the thickness of a wrist, it would have taken at least twenty years to grow to be much thicker than a bowl.

What could be the reason that allowed him to hide here for twenty years?
The environment here is hardly even suitable for seclusion.

Zhu Yu didn't consider herself a spoiled person, nor did she have high demands for her living environment. But if she were to live like this, neither human nor ghost, enduring hunger and thirst, hiding in an underground tomb for twenty years...

She felt she might have already taken her own life...

"Who exactly are you? Why have you been hiding for so long?" she asked suspiciously. "We don't know when you hid here, but if we think about it roughly, it must have been more than twenty years."

"More than twenty years?!" The white-bearded man was surprised to hear that so much time had passed. After a brief moment of astonishment, he quickly recovered and asked with some disbelief, "Now... who is the king of Lan Kingdom? And who is the emperor of Jin Kingdom?"

“It is not appropriate to mention His Majesty’s name casually, but His Majesty has been on the throne for more than 20 years and is in the prime of his life,” Lu Qing said. “As for Prince Lan, Chang Ye, he is related to His Majesty by blood and is even a little senior in terms of seniority.”

I wonder if this is the same as what you hid in here.

"It really has been more than twenty years..." the white-bearded man murmured, "I never imagined that so much time had passed..."

When I hid inside... it seemed like the Emperor of Jin Kingdom hadn't even warmed his seat yet..."

Thinking of this, he was suddenly overcome with sorrow, as if he realized that he had spent so long in such darkness, and felt sad. At the same time, he was also overjoyed to think that he had successfully hidden for so long, and that the crisis he had been living in fear of had been resolved.

In short, he was filled with complex emotions, tears streaming down his face, laughing and crying at the same time, as if he had gone mad.

After struggling for a while, he finally got tired and stopped, panting heavily. After a brief silence, he suddenly asked, "Is the Lan Kingdom outside... in complete chaos right now?"

Lu Qing nodded to him.

From their previous encounters with Fairy Castle and Small Mountain Building, to the things they learned during their two days of chatting with the owners in the town, it's no exaggeration to say that Lan Kingdom is currently in complete chaos.

It's even worse than "a complete mess".

The ability to create chaos, regardless of whether it's good or bad, at least indicates a sense of drive and vitality. Lan Di now can basically be described as stagnant – the people here have accepted the reality of displacement and the loss of their homes, and have resigned themselves to the fact that they are powerless to change it.

This passive resignation is even more terrifying than "utter chaos," indicating that they are utterly disappointed in King Lan and do not believe there is any room for maneuver.

"So now can you tell us? Who are you? Why are you hiding here?" Lu Qing asked again, while also stating his position, "We are not from Lan Kingdom, and we have no connection with the King of Lan. We came to Lan this time for other reasons."

We won't harm you, we just need to ask you about some things.

His white beard twitched. More than twenty years had passed, and this matter seemed to be a reassurance, making him much calmer than before. When Lu Qing asked him again, he sighed and said, "My name is Mu Hong. I originally lived in Mu Family Village, which is only half a day away from the capital."

Our Mu Family Village was originally the best spice merchant in the entire Lan region, or even the whole world. My great-grandfather's generation made a living by growing various spices, and our reputation spread far and wide.

By my grandfather's generation, our Mu family was no longer content with simply cultivating spices that could grow in Landi. We also began to collect raw materials from other places, expanding our family business from planting to perfumery.

By the time my father took over the family business, our Mu family was already well-known. Every year, the tributes sent by the Prince of Lan included various incense products made by our family. I heard that the palace in Jin Kingdom liked them very much, which made our family even more prestigious.

I had a talent for perfumery when I was a child. I could remember all kinds of fragrances after smelling them only once. So my father valued me very much and took me with him every day when I was four or five years old, so that I could learn perfumery from him.

By the time I was ten, I had a thorough understanding of how various spices complement each other, and I was able to create many different combinations that made the spices work together perfectly.

By the time I was thirteen or fourteen, I was able to formulate incense with different effects based on the properties of different spices and herbs.

If the world is at peace, I can smoothly take over my father's business. Perhaps by this age, I can also expand the family business and make the Mu family's spices famous throughout the world...

Unfortunately, when I was twenty, the world fell into chaos.

First, the Jin Kingdom fought over the throne, and war broke out.

Afterwards, all the vassal states were drawn in, and everywhere was in complete chaos, like a pot of porridge. One day one state attacked, the next another retaliated. Finally, after several years, peace was restored. But we hadn't even had a few days of peace when Prince Lan suddenly summoned my father to his palace. After a private meeting, not long after, many soldiers arrived and moved into our Mu Family Manor, ostensibly to assist my father and the people of the manor in preparing the incense Prince Lan desired.

"To call it a fancy name?" Zhu Yu noticed this word Mu Hong used. "So in reality...?"

Mu Hong looked up at her and nodded: "Yes, that's what they call it."

In fact, those officers and soldiers were there to guard us.

Ever since the Prince of Lan arranged for the Mu Family Village to prepare the incense he wanted, the people in our village have been surrounded by those soldiers. They are stationed outside the village and do not allow any of us to leave at will. Even if we need something, we can only tell them and they will go and buy it.

We are not allowed to leave Mu Family Village even a step, let alone have any contact with outsiders.