Chapter 7: The Merchant of Fate

After reviewing the territory's attributes, Lin Mu had a general idea of his situation. He arranged for Chang Yin to manage the refugees and reorganize the overall situation, while Feng Zhong was tasked with patrolling the area around the territory first. As a village-level territory, it only had a crude fence with low defense and durability; if wild beasts were to attack, there would be essentially no effective means of defense. Furthermore, there were currently almost no soldiers, and public order was extremely poor.

Additionally, Lin Mu was quite clueless about many aspects of a village established by the God-tier Village Creation Token, the [Yellow Dragon Token]. Much of his experience from his past life might not be applicable here.

The territory was located in this isolated wilderness, so there would certainly be many wild beasts attacking the village; he could not afford to be unprepared.

In his past life, many players built their territories in the wilderness, which attracted many ferocious beasts that ravaged their lands. This prevented the people from working in peace and led to the soldiers being wiped out—a tragic outcome. Lin Mu knew of such disasters and had to take precautions to ensure his own territory did not suffer the same fate.

With the god-like general Feng Zhong guarding the place, Lin Mu felt quite at ease. Although Feng Zhong only possessed the strength of a junior general at this moment, it was still a stable situation.

After arranging everything, Lin Mu went to another building in the territory.

After the successful use of the God-tier Village Creation Token [Yellow Dragon Token], five types of buildings appeared in the territory: the village council hall, a residential house, a primary mining site, a primary refugee camp, and finally, the place where Lin Mu was currently standing—the [Dragon Temple].

The primary mining site was likely an additional product resulting from the system rewarding a special mineral vein.

As for this [Dragon Temple], Lin Mu guessed it was a special product resulting from the successful use of the [Yellow Dragon Token]. Otherwise, given his many years of experience, he would not have been completely unaware of it. Lin Mu realized he was truly ignorant and secretly reminded himself not to be arrogant or complacent, and to act with caution.

Lin Mu looked at the [Dragon Temple] and was incredibly shocked. The [Dragon Temple] did not occupy much space, only about half a mu, but one of the door panels on the main entrance was about a meter wider than a standard door. The overall width was about four meters, and the height was also about four meters.

The door was large yet extremely exquisite, carved with many dragons. Some were ferocious and menacing, some were riding the clouds and mist in a mysterious and profound manner, some were soaring through the nine heavens, dominating the world, and some looked as if they were sleeping, yet they were still majestic and auspicious... there was an endless variety of forms.

The lintel was also intricately carved and filled with auspicious beasts, leaving Lin Mu dazzled.

The most astonishing thing was that one could not see the top of the [Dragon Temple]. Countless yellow clouds swirled above it, appearing exceptionally mysterious, as if a heaven-reaching giant beast lived there, which was chilling. Lin Mu looked up, and it was as if he could hear the roar of a dragon from the nine heavens, echoing incessantly. He could even hear the sound in the depths of his soul, leaving him deeply shaken.

In his past life, Lin Mu had never seen such a sight, not even in the Divine Capital of Luoyang!

The overall impression the [Dragon Temple] gave Lin Mu was that it was extremely luxurious, auspicious, and mysterious, while the atmosphere was solemn and majestic, as if a giant beast were coiled within.

Lin Mu slightly composed himself. No matter how mysterious it was, since it appeared in his territory, it was his. He would have plenty of time to explore its mysteries, Lin Mu thought to himself.

He pushed open the heavy doors, which creaked and echoed within. Lin Mu stepped inside, fearless and filled with anticipation.

What met his eyes were two rows of yellow wooden chairs arranged neatly. In the center at the front was a sacrificial altar covered in red wooden tablets, arranged in orderly rows. There seemed to be characters written on the tablets, but Lin Mu could not see them clearly, as if he were not yet qualified to behold their mysteries. Lin Mu did not mind.

What surprised Lin Mu the most was that someone was sitting peacefully at the very end of the right row of chairs. In such a solemn place, the person appearing there must be extraordinary. Lin Mu glanced at the surroundings briefly and immediately walked toward the person.

Seeing Lin Mu approach, the man stood up to greet him.

Lin Mu bowed slightly and spoke politely first: "I am Lin Mu, the lord of this village. May I ask who you are, sir?"

"Greetings, Lord. I am but a humble merchant and do not deserve such a title. You may call me Number 9527, or Yuan Zhi."

9527? Lin Mu inwardly scoffed; he might as well have called himself Tang Bohu, he thought, recalling a classic movie from the old era he had watched long ago.

"—System Notification: Lord Lin Mu, congratulations on being the first in the world to encounter a Fate Merchant. Your fortune is boundless. You are rewarded with 10,000 Reputation points and have unlocked the trading authority for Fate Merchants."

It was actually a Fate Merchant!!!~~

A Fate Merchant, as the name suggests, is a merchant who appears like fate itself. They are very special merchants in the world who buy and sell everything, provided certain conditions are met.

To be rewarded with 10,000 Reputation was an unexpected joy! When he established the second village in the world, the reward was a mere 200 Reputation; now it was 50 times that. Haha, the feeling was so satisfying that Lin Mu’s face beamed with joy.

It seemed this hidden achievement was extremely precious to players, truly as elusive as fate.

Lin Mu had seen Fate Merchants in his past life, but he didn't know how many people had encountered them before him; naturally, there was no such reward. Thinking back, he had missed out on many things, but he would make up for it all in this lifetime.

The Fate Merchant Yuan Zhi saw Lin Mu suddenly beaming and found it a bit strange.

"May I ask if you are the legendary Fate Merchant?" Although he had heard the system notification, Lin Mu asked anyway, just to make conversation and build a rapport.

"Oh? The Lord has heard of us?" The Fate Merchant Yuan Zhi was also surprised. After all, his group were special merchants whom the Great Goddess [Nuwa] had ordered to descend upon the Divine Land only after the world was opened—even later than the arrival of the 'Outsiders' (players). For this Lord to already know of them was truly extraordinary. Moreover, this person had managed to obtain a divine object like the [Yellow Dragon Token], which was truly a feat beyond mortal reach. His potential and insight were both remarkable. It seemed he would have to rely on this person a lot in the future, Yuan Zhi thought.

Yuan Zhi also smiled broadly and praised: "I never expected the Lord to be so knowledgeable, so well-read, so blessed by heaven, so strategically brilliant, so brave and valiant, so wise and mighty... you are loved by all, admired by all, dashing and charming, a friend to women, a friend to wives..." He rambled on for several minutes, a non-stop stream of flattery that made him a god of sycophancy.

The endless stream of praise left Lin Mu with black lines on his forehead. The later parts were so outrageous that he was moved to tears; he was such a top-tier character that Lin Mu wanted to retort to his face: "Where is your integrity? Where is your immortal aura!"

In truth, one couldn't blame Yuan Zhi. After all, Lin Mu had such a miraculous encounter, obtaining the divine [Yellow Dragon Token] shortly after "Mythical Three Kingdoms" opened, making him a remarkable person in Yuan Zhi's eyes. Furthermore, Yuan Zhi knew his own place—he was merely a merchant under the Saints, and he would need Lin Mu's support in the future. The more extraordinary Lin Mu's abilities were, the more outstanding his own performance would be, and the more rewards he would receive from the Great Goddess [Nuwa].

Regardless of what Yuan Zhi was thinking, in Lin Mu's eyes, for such a high-and-mighty group as the Fate Merchants to be fawning over him and showering him with endless flattery was truly laughable.

In his past life, when Lin Mu met a Fate Merchant, he was merely a low-ranking general, and later a county magistrate. In the vast Divine Land, there were countless talented people, and he was not significant enough. To players, the Fate Merchants, who were so noble, were basically high and mighty, and extremely arrogant. However, no matter how arrogant they were, they were meticulous and dutiful when it came to players' business.

Fate Merchants were a very special type of merchant; they sold everything, even divine artifacts. However, the currency they used for transactions was incredibly mystical—it was Reputation and Feudal Luck, not mundane things like gold or silver coins.

They were high-class and sophisticated. Even if players had to debase themselves, for the sake of divine artifacts and the like, countless players would fawn over them. Of course, Lin Mu was one of them. Haha, for the sake of divine artifacts, what did losing a little integrity matter!

Lin Mu thought of the contrast between the past and the present and couldn't help but smile bitterly...

"You don't have to be like this. Since you call me Lord, I'll just call you Yuan Zhi. There's no need for such formality between us!"

"Very well, very well! From now on, I shall be relying on the Lord for my meals!" Yuan Zhi was very pleased with the Lord's courtesy. Since they would be spending a long time together in the future, having this person be amiable and calm would be very beneficial for his work.

"I wonder what you have for sale now, Yuan Zhi? Do you have any divine artifacts?" Lin Mu immediately got to the point.

"Uh, I am currently at the primary merchant stage and do not yet have the authority to sell divine artifacts. However, as the Lord's territory develops rapidly and grows stronger, and the transaction volume with me increases, I will also level up. Once I reach a higher rank, I will have the authority to sell divine artifacts. I hope the Lord will take care of my business." Yuan Zhi explained with a bitter smile. Being asked if he had divine artifacts the moment they met, he really didn't know how to answer.

"Haha, I was just joking!" Lin Mu was too excited and had forgotten that Fate Merchants also had ranks. He chuckled sheepishly.

Fate Merchants were indeed divided into ranks, from high to low: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow. Lin Mu had never heard of anything higher.

From the Earth rank and above, they began to sell divine artifacts. However, even when he was a county magistrate in his past life, he never had enough currency or Reputation to purchase them, which showed how difficult it was to buy them.

Lin Mu and Yuan Zhi chatted while opening the trading panel. As he had guessed, there were six options: [Lifespan], [Weapons], [Equipment], [Items], [Supplies], and [Others].

Among them, [Items] and [Supplies] were extremely complex, containing so many things that Lin Mu couldn't remember all the information.

But as for the first option, the moment Lin Mu saw it, he couldn't forget it—he would never be able to forget it for the rest of his life.

[Lifespan] was the ultimate goal that all players desperately pursued and yearned for.

All ranks of Fate Merchants had this display

[Lifespan]

One unit of Origin Luck can be exchanged for 100 years of lifespan * Soul, stackable. (Requires a foundation of Luck; if Luck is exhausted, it cannot be exchanged).

One unit of Dragon Kingdom Luck can be exchanged for 1 year of lifespan * Soul, stackable. (Requires a foundation of Luck; if Luck is exhausted, it cannot be exchanged).

...

Anything followed by "Soul" meant it could take effect in the real world. That is, if one exchanged for 100 years of lifespan in the game, one would also gain 100 years of lifespan in the real world, which drove countless people crazy.

It was truly insane. Once players exposed this information, countless people scrambled to enter the game, leveling up frantically and investing crazily. Many large financial groups, big merchants, politicians, national elites, social elites, and others had long received secret information and continuously poured capital into "Mythical Three Kingdoms." The development of "Mythical Three Kingdoms" also flourished.

"Mythical Three Kingdoms" had become a massive arena of interests!

The world bustles for profit, and the world hustles for profit!