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

Lin Mu was leaning against the pool, resting with his eyes closed, his mind still racing with various thoughts. Suddenly, he felt the point of light in his mind flash.

He opened his eyes and looked at the skeleton.

Within the skull's empty eye sockets, something flickered. It was small and weak, like a candle flame in the wind, blinking intermittently. Lin Mu thought it was the medicinal mist obscuring his vision and rubbed his eyes. But the flame didn't disappear; instead, it slowly stabilized, glowing eerily deep within the eye sockets, splitting into two pale blue clusters, one on the left and one on the right.

The skeleton stood up. Water gushed down its bones. It lowered its head, looked at its hands, then at Lin Mu. The flames in its eye sockets were fixed on him.

Lin Mu's heart raced, and he quickly checked its attributes.

[Skeleton state]

HP: 3000

Attack: 20-92

[Defense: 30-30]

[Magic Control: 30-30]

[Health Regeneration: 2 points per second]

He was stunned. Was this still the same dusty, fragile skeleton that had been there before?

Previously, he probably couldn't even beat a scarecrow, but now he can easily take on an orc warrior one-on-one.

What amazed Lin Mu the most was the two points of health regeneration per second, which was equivalent to an unlimited supply of healing potions and an unlimited healing spell. If he added another healing spell, that would be three points of health regeneration per second—it was incredible.

Lin Mu excitedly stood up from the pool, stepped barefoot onto the stone slabs, and with a thought, walked forward.

The skeleton strode out of the pool, its movements fluid and without a moment's hesitation. Unlike before, when it wobbled like a toddler learning to walk, its steps were now steady and powerful, each step making a thud on the stone slabs, and its speed was comparable to a normal person jogging.

Lin Mu made another thought: swing the axe.

The skeleton raised its axe, now much larger, and swung it down at the air in front of it. The axe blade whistled through the air, then suddenly changed direction halfway through the swing, sweeping horizontally. The change of attack was fluid and natural, without the slightest stiffness. Moreover, it adjusted the angle and force of the attack according to Lin Mu's will.

Lin Mu's eyes lit up. Before, when he commanded the skeletons, there would always be a pause before they responded, as if the signal was bad. Now, he could do as he was told, without any blockage, as smoothly as if he were controlling his own body.

Lin Mu crouched down and reached out to touch the skeleton's leg bone. The bone was no longer cold; it was slightly warm, as if something was alive inside. The gold and emerald green on the bone surface shimmered in the firelight, like the light of life coursing through the bone.

He tried lifting the skeleton's arm, but it didn't budge. He then bent down, grabbed its waist, and tried with all his might to lift it, but the skeleton still wouldn't budge. He was so frustrated that his face turned red. The skeleton was many times heavier than he thought.

Lin Mu took a breath, thinking to himself, "Being steady is good. People say that being steady is key; only by being steady can you stay stable and avoid being jostled around by monsters."

He closed his eyes and sensed that the skeleton possessed something indescribable; it felt like a part of his own body, or a silent companion beside him.

Lin Mu patted its arm, tilting his head back to see its eyes. "Brother, you've finally grown up."

The skeleton lowered its head, the flames in its eye sockets flickering towards him. It didn't answer, of course it wouldn't answer. But Lin Mu felt as if it were listening.

Lin Mu glanced at the skeleton's monstrous attributes and felt a pang of envy. If he had those attributes, he'd dare to take a few blows from the Woma Cult Leader himself.

But envy is one thing, but it's another. After eighty-one days confined in the medicinal pool, the food they brought was long gone.

It's strange, I don't know why, but when people have nothing to do, they start thinking about food. It seems like he can eat more than when he's fighting monsters all day. He originally brought a lot of supplies, but they were all eaten a few days ago. He then took out some hard rations he bought at the Tree Root Market and ate them for two days. He needs to resupply quickly.

Lin Mu got up, dressed, pulled his straw hat down low, covered his face with a towel, and pushed open the door of the medicinal bath stone chamber. He walked through the corridor and arrived at the pharmacy lobby. The fat shopkeeper was behind the counter using an abacus. When he saw Lin Mu come out, his eyes lit up, and he greeted him with a smile: "Sir, are you done with your medicinal bath? How was it…?" He stopped mid-sentence when he saw the skeleton following behind Lin Mu, his mouth agape, unable to close for a long time.

Then, the fat shopkeeper swallowed hard, his voice changing: "You skeleton... I've been running this shop for twenty years and I've never seen such a tall and strong skeleton."

Lin Mu nodded, didn't chat much, and said directly, "Buy medicine. Three packets each of gray and yellow medicine powder. Five hundred bottles of magic potions, if they're good."

"Alright." The plump shopkeeper turned around and took six packets of powder from the shelf, then gestured for his assistant to bring out the liquid medicine from the back. Boxes of medicine were stacked on the counter, piled higher than a person. The plump shopkeeper fiddled with the abacus for a while, then looked up and said, "Three packets of gray powder, three packets of yellow powder, a total of 30 gold coins. Medium magic potion, one bottle for 6 silver coins, 500 bottles for 30 gold coins. A total of 60 gold coins."

Chapter 88: The Demon Sealing Era Brings Hardship to the People (Bonus Chapter)

Lin Mu paid and put all the powder and potion into his Qiankun bag. Looking down, he saw that he only had 8 gold coins left out of the 68 he had spent. The gold coins he had painstakingly obtained by stealing from the cult leader were gone in an instant.

He sighed, not because he was annoyed that the money was being spent too quickly, but because he regretted that his father-in-law had arrived so early. If he had been a minute later, he could have picked up everything off the ground, especially the gold coins.

Seeing him sigh, the portly shopkeeper assumed he was hurting his wallet from spending money. While tidying up the counter, he smiled and comforted him, "Sir, you've come at a good time. Before, Fengmo Valley was a remote place, and medicine was 30% more expensive than in Bichon. Awakened adventurers who came here to hunt for treasure thought it was too costly and dangerous, so they weren't very willing to come."

"As a result, the demons in the valley were not cleared out, the demonic energy became stronger and stronger, and the monsters became more and more ferocious. Later, in order to encourage awakened people to come here to slay demons, the imperial court subsidized the items used by awakened people. The price of medicine came down, more people came, and the demonic energy was relieved a little."

The shopkeeper sighed and said, "However, most people only fight on the outskirts, hoping to get rich by killing the Corpse King and getting skill books, so the relief is relatively limited."

Lin Mu nodded, understanding. He packed his things, turned, and left the pharmacy.

After leaving the pharmacy, he went to the general store to get more torches and ropes.

Then I wandered around several streets, trying to find something to eat. Fengmo Valley was truly desolate. After walking for a long time, I couldn't even find a decent restaurant. There were only a few small taverns, with shabby facades and unappetizing smells wafting from them.

Lin Mu chose a small, reasonably clean-looking tavern and ordered two dishes and a pot of tea. The dishes were served, but their presentation was mediocre, the taste was equally so, and the prices were exorbitant—a full 30% more expensive than in Bicky. Lin Mu ate while cursing, "This lousy place is a total rip-off!"

He chewed on the expensive and unpalatable dish, suddenly realizing that the imperial court only subsidized items for the awakened; ordinary people received no subsidies whatsoever for daily necessities or food. What kind of lives did those ordinary people lead here? He shook his head, not wanting to think about it any further.

After finishing his meal, he was still wondering whether he should buy some more dry food to take with him when he suddenly heard a voice from the street corner: "Sesame seed cakes...sells sesame seed cakes..."

The voice wasn't loud, and it was a little hoarse, clearly belonging to an older woman. Lin Mu looked in the direction of the voice and saw a person squatting on the street corner, completely covered up, with only her eyes showing through her headscarf. She was wearing tattered coarse cloth clothes and had a bamboo basket covered with a blue cloth in front of her.

Her attire was strikingly similar to that of women from Middle Eastern countries in my previous life.

Lin Mu walked over, lifted the blue cloth, and inside the basket lay dozens of sesame seed cakes, golden and crispy, still steaming hot. "How much is one?"

“Three…three copper coins.” The woman’s voice trembled slightly, as if she were nervous or afraid of being chased away.

Lin Mu picked up a piece and took a bite. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a rich wheat aroma. Although it wasn't as delicious as the ones Chunxing made, it wasn't bad either, much better than the lousy dishes in the tavern earlier.

He chewed on a sesame seed cake and mumbled, "I'll take them all."

The woman paused, blinking through the gap in her headscarf: "All...all of it?"

"I'll take them all." Lin Mu took out two silver coins and handed them over. The woman hurriedly took the money, then looked down to count the sesame cakes in the basket, muttering, "Three copper coins for each cake, fifty in total... one silver coin for fifty copper coins, I'll give you fifty copper coins in change." As she spoke, she reached into her pocket, turning it left and right, back and forth, only to find a few copper coins. Her movements became slower and her voice grew softer.

Lin Mu watched her rummage through her pockets and understood. This woman probably couldn't even produce fifty copper coins. He had originally thought that giving her two silver coins was to save her the trouble of counting the money; he should have just honestly counted out one silver coin and fifty copper coins. Oh well, he'd consider it a good deed, after all, the cakes did taste quite good.

"No need to look anymore," Lin Mu waved his hand.

The woman paused for a moment, then looked up, her eyes instantly reddening. She thanked him repeatedly, her voice trembling with tears, and carefully wrapped each sesame seed cake in oil paper before stuffing them into Lin Mu's hands.

Lin Mu took the sesame seed cake, said nothing more, turned and left, thinking of the poor souls and considering it an act of charity. A short while later, Lin Mu disappeared around the street corner.

Just then, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old ran up to the stall carrying a basket. Her hair was tied in a bun, her face was flushed, and she was panting: "Mom, I made twenty more pancakes, but we're out of flour at home..."

The woman quickly went to greet him, her voice tinged with laughter: "It's alright, all the pancakes are sold out today. That gentleman bought them all. Look, two silver coins, and he gave me fifty extra copper coins." She took the money out of her bosom and counted it in her palm. "I'll go buy some flour now. You watch the stall."

The little girl listened with bright eyes, thinking to herself that she had met a kind person today.

Lin Mu ate his sesame seed cake as he walked, his eyes scanning his surroundings. He noticed there were significantly more people on the street than when he first arrived, and everyone looked on cautiously, as if afraid of offending someone—even the woman selling sesame seed cakes from earlier seemed to be doing so. He shook his head, not giving it much thought, and continued walking.

After walking a few steps, I went into a shop that bought and sold equipment. I took out a few pieces of junk equipment from my storage bag, dumped them all out, and sold them for more than sixty silver coins.

As for those top-tier equipment, he didn't sell them. After all, several of them were dropped by the Woma Cult Leader. If he suddenly put them out to sell, he was afraid that someone with ulterior motives would find out where they came from and he wouldn't be able to explain them. So he simply didn't sell any of them and kept them for later.

Then he went to the general store and bought some dry food, pickled vegetables, torches and other supplies, stuffing the whole bag full.

He didn't buy the subsequent skill books because they were too expensive, and he didn't have enough money. Besides, there was a Corpse King in the mining area, along with White Boars and Evil Vipers, which he should be able to defeat. Even if he couldn't, it wouldn't affect Lin Mu much now, because he had already learned the crucial survival skill, Invisibility, and mastered Skeleton.

Having bought all his supplies, Lin Mu stood by the street, swallowed the last bite of his sesame seed cake, and dusted the crumbs off his hands. It was time to give it a shot. He'd been wanting to try his luck with the skeletons on the outskirts of Fengmo Valley for a long time.

Lin Mu left the city through the west gate of Fengmo City, leaving the official road and heading straight into the wilderness.

The sky over Fengmo Valley was still gray and gloomy, with the sun hanging in the sky like a dark blood moon, its light dim yet dazzling.

He hadn't gone far when he saw a tall figure swaying in front of him.

[Skeleton Warrior, HP 1600, Defense 4-8, Magic Defense 2-6]

The Skeleton Warrior is a head taller than an ordinary skeleton, with thick bones covered in dark red blood vessels from demonic energy. He is covered in a thin layer of silver armor, the plates of which cling tightly to his skeleton and gleam with a cold metallic luster, looking like a thin sheet of stainless steel. He holds a huge scythe of death in his hand.

Chapter 89 Flying Axe Technique

Lin Mu didn't rush in; he first observed from a distance. The skeleton warrior was moving quite fast, much faster than the monsters of the Woma Forest.

He took out the powder and unleashed a combination of green and red poison.

Two handfuls of powder were sprinkled over, and the skeleton warrior's body glowed green and then red. -31, -31, -31 jumped out from above its head and charged towards him with a howl.

至于为什么是31，因为20级拿上了道术1-5的降魔，道术成了31点。

Lin Mu calmly used an invisibility spell, making himself semi-transparent. The skeleton warrior, halfway through its charge, saw its target disappear, paused, and a yellow light darted around in its eye sockets as it looked around.

But Lin Mu's mutated skeleton stepped forward from behind and quickly reached the skeleton warrior's side, swinging its large axe to chop.

-135, -157.

After being hit by two axes, the skeleton warrior finally reacted, turned around and pounced on the mutated skeleton, the scythe scraping sparks from the skeleton's skeleton.

But the mutated skeleton neither dodged nor evaded, taking the hit head-on. Lin Mu glanced at the displayed number: -1. He took another hit, miss. Another hit, -1. The skeleton warrior's attacks were like tickles to him.

The mutated skeleton's axe swung down relentlessly, dealing an average of about 140 damage. The skeleton warrior, with only 1,600 health points, was quickly shattered into pieces.

Experience gained: 120

Lin Mu grumbled, "His experience is so low." He went over to check and found only 34 copper coins. Just as he was about to move forward, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a dark shadow flying out of the bushes and heading straight for the mutated skeleton.

clang!

A large axe slammed into the mutated skeleton's breastbone, sending sparks flying. But the mutated skeleton remained unmoved; not even a number appeared above its head. Such an attack couldn't break its defenses at all.

Lin Mu looked in the direction the axe had come from, and in the grass not far away, a gray-white figure was crouching behind a head tall withered grass. Points of light rose from its feet, and an axe materialized in its hand. It was the Axe-Throwing Skeleton.

His eyes lit up. He couldn't miss such a good teacher who could throw axes. Just as he was about to give the mutated skeleton instructions to observe and learn, he found that it was already standing still, with the flames in its two eye sockets staring straight at the axe-throwing skeleton.

Lin Mu thought that it seemed his skeleton had developed a strong sense of self after 81 days of medicinal baths.

Then the axe-throwing skeleton threw another axe.

clang!

The mutated skeleton remained motionless, its defenses still unbroken. Another axe blow.

clang!

The mutated skeleton remained motionless, its eyes fixed on the axe-throwing skeleton's hand, watching how it gripped the axe, swung its arm, exerted force, released the axe, and then reassembled it in its hand.

Another axe flew in, and Lin Mu's mutated skeleton suddenly stretched out its empty left hand and, with a snap, firmly caught the flying axe.

The axe struggled in its hand for a moment, then seemed to lose its strength. The entire axe transformed into specks of silvery-gray, tinged with blood, sand-like light, flowing through the gaps in the mutated skeleton's claws and finally drifting back into the axe-throwing skeleton's hand, reforming into an axe. That silvery sand resembled the one he used when summoning skeletons.

However, the light spots were too dim. Lin Mu didn't even notice when those axe blows turned into light spots and returned from the dense grass on the ground.

Before he could think any further, the axe-throwing skeleton hurled another axe at him.

The mutated skeleton also swung its axe, and with a clang, cleaved the flying axe away.