Legendary Son-in-Law: The Man with Poison Talismans

Chapter 58 Civilized Society Saved You

Lin Mu's heart skipped a beat, and his hand holding the teacup paused slightly. He realized that he was now a person of some importance. He needed to be more careful when going out; he'd have to buy a straw hat and a face mask, at least to cover his face.

But he can't act rashly right now. If he gets up and is suspected by someone who stops him, thinking he's a master in plain clothes, and then shouts a few times and gets surrounded by fans, that would be troublesome.

Lin Mu subtly pursed his lips, turned his face to the side, tucked his chin slightly in, and stared blankly, deliberately maintaining a dazed expression. He then quietly reached under the table, smeared some dust on the sole of his shoe, and discreetly rubbed it onto his face, leaving a faint dusty trail from his cheekbone to the corner of his mouth. His simple makeup was complete.

Sure enough, the other person glanced at Lin Mu, then turned back and sneered, "What kind of eyes do you have? That little punk looks so dull. A master in plain clothes? A real master is definitely majestic and imposing, unlike him who looks like this."

Lin Mu's lips twitched; he really wanted to slap him. But after thinking about it, he held back. Didn't that guy praise the commoner master? Well, that counts as me too. One praise, one slap—let's just pretend he didn't insult me. He couldn't very well fight over this, could he? Getting caught by the patrolling guards wouldn't be worth it.

He picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and suppressed his anger.

He thought to himself, "Keep spouting nonsense, you'll get yourself into trouble sooner or later. As for now, humph! Civilized society saved you. Her Majesty the Empress saved you."

The man who had just recognized Lin Mu turned to look at him again, rubbed his eyes, and looked once more. It wasn't him after all. He muttered to himself, "How come it looked so similar just now?" He shook his head, picked up his glass, took a swig, and stopped looking.

Just then, a clear shout came from downstairs: "Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale! Beechcraft tabloids, two coppers a copy!"

A newsboy, barely ten years old, ran into the lobby, waving a stack of newspapers in his hand. His voice was so loud it could be heard throughout the street: "We have the latest poems! 'Spring River Flower Moon Night' and 'Bring in the Wine'! Even Her Majesty the Empress praised them! Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale!"

Lin Mu paused, his teacup still in his hand.

Gu An's speed is astounding. Could it be true, as the newspaper boy said, that the poem has already been shown to the Empress? He recalled Gu An's earnest expression on the boat when she said, "I will definitely let everyone see your talent," and then he thought of the warm jade pendant and her refined manner of speaking. Gu An's identity is probably not simple.

"One order, please." Lin Mu called downstairs.

The newsboy came running upstairs and handed Lin Mu a newspaper. Lin Mu took it, pulled out two copper coins, and stuffed them into his hand. The newsboy then ran back downstairs to continue hawking his wares.

Lin Mu unfolded the newspaper. The front page prominently featured "A Moonlit Night on the Spring River," taking up most of the page. Next to it was "Drinking Alone Under the Moon," written in neat handwriting, clearly the work of Gu An. He glanced at it, then flipped through the rest of the pages. Besides his two pieces, there were some anecdotes from the martial arts world, celebrity gossip, and a few doggerel poems—all unremarkable and uninteresting.

As he was watching, the people at the next table huddled together again, lowering their voices, but Lin Mu still heard them.

"I'll show you something good." One of them pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, spread it on the table, and said mysteriously, "Masters are hard to find, but I know some of their friends."

Several other people also gathered around and stared at the piece of paper.

"Look, this is what they look like. I heard that the three of them had some exchanges with a master at the tree root market in the Woma Forest. If you want to find a master, you can't go wrong by going to the three of them."

Lin Mu glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, and his heart sank. There were three figures drawn on the paper, the lines were rough, and the faces were not clear. But Lin Mu had already guessed that it must be the likeness of Shi Tou, A Mu, and A Shui.

As Lin Mu listened to their conversation, he began to make his own plans.

Could it be that Stone and his friends have been targeted? But judging from their tone, they don't seem to be looking for trouble; their tone is filled with curiosity and longing.

Come to think of it, I'm quite famous now. Most of those who want to find a "master in plain clothes" are just hoping to be mentored or guided. They're all unfortunate people struggling to climb up the social ladder in this world.

Just then, the waiter came up with a big smile: "Sir, your food is ready."

Lin Mu was taken aback: "So fast?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

The waiter was quick-witted; seeing his expression, he immediately understood. Customers from small towns always ask this question on their first visit, and this guy was clearly a first-timer at Zuixianlou.

He explained with a smile, "Don't worry, sir, all the dishes at Zuixianlou are made to order, they're definitely not pre-made."

After saying that, he muttered something to himself.

Even if it's prefabricated, so what? It can be put in a storage bag, who knows when it will be made. Of course, he didn't dare say this aloud.

Hearing this, Lin Mu felt slightly relieved, but not much. He folded the newspaper, put it into his Qiankun bag, and got up to go downstairs.

As Lin Mu passed by those people, they were still whispering to each other about the portrait. He maintained his previous expression and walked past them, unrecognized by anyone.

But Lin Mu glanced at the portrait and it did indeed resemble the three people, including Shi Tou.

After going downstairs, the innkeeper stood behind the counter, smiling as he greeted us: "Sir, all the dishes are ready. Would you like to order?"

Lin Mu glanced at the neatly stacked food boxes on the counter, more than twenty of various sizes, piled up in two stacks. Each food box contained four or five dishes. Braised venison, venison in soy sauce, braised chicken leg, four-happiness meatballs, sweet and sour carp, braised sea cucumber with scallions, steamed sea bass, braised prawns, deep-fried lamb tenderloin, stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, Mapo tofu, hot and sour shredded potatoes, West Lake beef soup... He scanned each dish and nodded.

"how much is it?"

The shopkeeper frantically tapped away on his abacus for a while, then said with a smile, "Thank you, 2 gold coins."

Lin Mu frowned. He did the math: roughly 100 dishes, averaging 200 copper coins per dish—a bit expensive. "Isn't it a bit pricey?"

The innkeeper smiled and explained, "Sir, this venison and chicken are from monsters, so they're very precious. And this mutton is transported from Mengzhong Province; the shipping costs alone are high. And these food boxes also add up to the cost."

Lin Mu thought about it and agreed. He didn't say anything more, paid the money, and with a wave of his hand, put all the food boxes into his Qiankun bag. He then turned and left Zuixianlou. He stood at the door.

By then, the sun was already starting to set in the west.

After leaving Zuixianlou, Lin Mu found a clothing shop, bought a straw hat and a face mask, disguised himself, and then turned into the skill bookstore on that street.

Lin Mu stood in front of the counter: "Summon skeletons, do you have that?"

An old man wearing reading glasses behind the counter glanced at him over his glasses, turned around, pulled a thin booklet from the shelf, and placed it on the counter.

"Ten gold coins."

Lin Mu's lips twitched, but he didn't haggle. He asked again, "What about invisibility?"

The old man pulled out another book, also containing ten gold coins.

Lin Mu cursed inwardly, but the price was the same at several other stores he'd visited before, so he figured he could take it or leave it. He took out twenty gold coins and placed them on the counter, then put the two books into his Qiankun bag.

Just as I was about to leave, I caught a glimpse of several old books in the corner, covered in a layer of dust.

He flipped through it casually; most of it was miscellaneous notes and musings, of little value. At the very bottom was a thin booklet with the words "On Talent" written on the cover, the author unknown.

Lin Mu glanced at it and it said that the leveling speed of an Awakened is related to their innate talent. Some people are exceptionally talented and can gain more experience from the same monsters than others, so they level up faster.

He recalled Qin Yumo's words that day, "I'm level 18 now, and with my talent, I can train to summon skeletons next year." He had always thought that talent was just an excuse, but he didn't expect that there was such a thing.

Chapter 59 Dockside Dialogue and the Theory of Talent

He always thought it was the same as in the game, where you gain experience by fighting monsters and it should be about who is more diligent. How could there be such a thing as talent?

How much is this book?

"Twenty silver coins."

Lin Mu paid and put the book into his Qiankun bag. He'd have to take a good look at it when he had time to figure out what this talent was all about.

After buying his things, he found a letter-writing stall on the street, spent thirty copper coins, and asked someone to deliver a letter back to Chunxing at the Qin residence. The letter only contained a few words: Go out to level up, don't worry.

He still had funds at this time.

16 gold coins, 78 silver coins, and 2 copper coins.

Then he rode his horse toward the dock. Yes, he still needed to go to the Woma Temple; after all, the teleportation ring was his Achilles' heel, and he had to get it.

This time, he didn't take one of those slow, large ships; instead, he specifically chose a fast boat. The boat wasn't large, with only a few cabins, and the fare was 50 silver coins. Lin Mu paid the money and was about to board when he overheard several people waiting for their boats chatting idly nearby.

"Have you heard? Woma Guardians have appeared on the first floor of the Woma Temple again."

"Oh? Really?"

“It’s absolutely true. A friend of mine even saw the body.”

"Could someone have fought their way up from the second floor?"

"Nobody's that bored. They say the Woma Guardian on the first floor only appears once every five years, and it's guaranteed to drop top-tier items. I wonder who's so lucky."

At this moment, another person scoffed: "Good luck? There were no Woma Guardians on the first level in ancient times. Then they appeared once every fifty years, then every twenty years, then every ten years, and now it's been five years. In a few more years, will the monsters on the first level also run to the Woma Forest? And in a few more years? Good luck?"

After saying that, the man boarded the ship without looking back.

The group of people who had been chatting watched his retreating figure and whispered among themselves. One of them said in a low voice, "That guy is obviously jealous, just envious of others getting top-tier Woma equipment."

The other nodded in agreement: "Exactly, just ignore him."

The group started chatting enthusiastically again, speculating about what good stuff the Woma Guardian had dropped.

Lin Mu paused for a moment, watching the person's figure disappear into the cabin, lost in thought, "I thought I was just lucky, but it turns out it was a guaranteed drop of a top-tier item."

He shook his head. He'd already done the fighting; as for whether the Woma monster would appear in the Woma Forest, who cared? If the sky fell, someone taller would hold it up. Having figured it out, he crawled into his cabin. The room wasn't large, but it was clean and tidy, with a low table, a pot of tea, and a small window overlooking the river. No one disturbed him.

Sitting at the low table, Lin Mu took out two dishes from his Qiankun bag, then took out a flatbread made by Chunxing, and opened the book "On Talent" while eating.

[Those endowed with natural talent, whose day of awakening is predetermined, cannot be changed throughout their lives.]

I observe that those who have awakened in the world can be categorized into four classes—A, B, C, and D—based on their level of aptitude.

[Let's take the example of killing a scarecrow at level seven:]

Those who achieve Grade A will gain thirteen to sixteen points of experience.

Those in Grade B receive nine to twelve points of experience.

Those in Grade C receive five to eight points of experience.

Those in Class D receive one to four points of experience.

[Those in Class A and Class D each comprise 10% of the awakened individuals, Class B comprises 30%, and Class C comprises 50%. Among them, those in Class A who have scored thirteen points or higher are less than one in a hundred.]

Lin Mu munched on a sesame seed cake, recalling the scarecrows he fought when he first reached level 7, each one giving thirteen experience points. He was just on the verge of reaching Grade A, already surpassing ninety percent of Awakened Ones. Not bad.

However, the book contained many ambiguous terms. He flipped through it and found some contradictions; even the author himself couldn't explain them clearly. Lin Mu shook his head and closed the book. This stuff should only be taken as a reference; it shouldn't be taken entirely at face value.

After finishing his meal, he collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

-

As he boarded the ship, some people on the dock stared at his back for a while before turning around and heading towards the palace.

Late at night, in the palace, in the Empress's bedchamber.

Most of the candles had gone out, leaving only two palace lanterns by the bedside, their dim yellow light casting shadows on the gauze curtains. The Empress leaned against the soft couch, her outer robe removed, leaving only a pale purple undergarment. Her black hair fell loose over her shoulders, and she held a scroll in her hand.

Gu Qingyi sat beside her, also dressed in an undergarment that accentuated her graceful curves. Her skirt was spread out on the couch as she chatted idly with the Empress. The two sisters rarely had such a moment of leisure and prepared to rest.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from outside the hall and stopped at the door.

"Your Majesty," the palace maid said in a low voice, but with a hint of urgency, "Miss Cailing, who serves the princess, requests an audience. She says she has important matters to report, and that... it was personally ordered by the princess."

Gu Qingyi's fingers paused for a moment, a glint of light flashed in her eyes, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, as if she had expected it to happen.

The Empress looked at her with a puzzled expression. But she didn't ask any questions. She simply stood up and opened her arms. The palace maids on both sides immediately stepped forward, draped her outer robe over her shoulders, and fastened her belt.

The Empress nodded slightly, and the palace maid beside her then called out towards the door, "Come in."

The door was pushed open, and Cai Ling walked in with her head down, taking small steps. She knelt on the ground and performed a grand salute: "This servant greets Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty!"

The Empress waved her hand: "Stand up and speak."