Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3055: Returning To The Courtyard With Elyon

Lin Mu and the group had returned to the courtyard after having dealt with the matters at the Smoldering Rock Merchant Union.

The overseer had asked them to stay back, offering their own courtyard and even inviting them over to a special banquet they were willing to set up, but Lin Mu politely declined.

As much as Lady Kang had said that it would be fine for him to use the Smoldering Rock Merchant Union’s facilities, Lin Mu didn’t wish to impose too much on them.

Taking undue advantage was not something Lin Mu endorsed, even if the other party insisted. As long as they were doing what he had asked—retrieving the courier shipment—it was sufficient. If there was another matter that couldn’t be resolved on his own, and truly required their assistance, only then would he consider turning to them.

"Man, that took a lot of convincing," Meng Bai sighed, stretching as he stepped back into the courtyard. "I didn’t think they’d be this insistent."

"What can you expect?" Daoist Chu responded with a small chuckle. "It was an order from the Great Kang Auction House’s owner herself. If anything, they were probably terrified of giving anything less than perfection."

"I’ve never seen something like that before," Elyon said, his amber eyes narrowing as they settled on Lin Mu. "Just what kind of people are you even friends with that they go this far for you? I think only someone with a life debt would go to such lengths over a mere favor."

Lin Mu glanced at him with a casual expression, as if the answer was obvious.

"It is a life debt," he said simply.

"Huh?" Elyon blinked, his mind momentarily blank from confusion.

"Yeah, it’s a life debt," Daoist Chu repeated. "I think several of us owe our lives to Lin Mu."

"Mine too!" Meng Bai added with a grin.

While it wasn’t exactly a life debt in the literal sense for Meng Bai, Lin Mu had undoubtedly transformed his life. The youth who once roamed the alleys of Ram Orchard City as a starving pickpocket was now a proper cultivator and disciple of Lin Mu who himself was a disciple of the great Void Weaver Spider Xukong.

His fate had been rewritten entirely the day Lin Mu had taken him in.

"The owner of the Great Kang Auction House... Lady Kang owes you a life debt?" Elyon asked, still in disbelief. He had been joking, but hearing it confirmed left him speechless.

Though he had never seen Lady Kang in person or set foot inside the Great Kang Auction House, Elyon was well aware of its reputation. The Great Kang Clan was a powerhouse in the Immortal Realm, their name respected and feared across courts.

They were so powerful and influential that even someone like Elyon—who thrived in secrecy, treaded the fringes of legality, and lived by instinct—knew better than to ever provoke them.

He had received missions in the past that involved tracking or even assassinating individuals affiliated with the Great Kang Clan. No matter the payment offered, even when the bounty tempted fate itself, Elyon had refused those jobs without hesitation.

To go against the Great Kang Clan was to declare one’s own death warrant. And not just one’s own—your family, friends, and even acquaintances might suffer. The clan’s reach was that vast, its reputation that merciless.

Elyon wasn’t foolish. He had survived as a bounty hunter and tracker because he knew when to take a job and when to flee.

Even if the clan never directly acted against someone, others—eager to earn favor—would do the job for them. He had no doubt that if he had ever accepted such a contract, he would’ve been hunted down to the very edges of the Immortal Realm... or worse, added to the Immortal Court’s wanted list.

So to stand here, now, in the presence of a man who not only knew Lady Kang but had saved her life?

Elyon’s mind reeled.

He looked at Lin Mu anew, the weight of that knowledge altering his perspective. This wasn’t just a powerful cultivator. This was someone whose influence extended into places even he didn’t dare enter.

And yet, Lin Mu stood there—calm, unassuming, his demeanor that of a person who never thought himself greater than those around him.

"I... don’t even know what to say," Elyon admitted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Don’t worry, you’ll understand it all once you stick around a bit longer," Daoist Chu said with a laugh.

"Yeah! We’ll talk over food and drinks!" Meng Bai added, clapping Elyon on the shoulder.

"Indeed," Lin Mu agreed with a soft smile.

HISSHISS

The twins hissed in approval, their tiny serpentine heads rising from Meng Bai’s sleeves, while Ashy chirped from Lin Mu’s shoulder.

"Show us more of your darkness skills too!" Ashy asked excitedly, her beady eyes gleaming.

"You want to see my skills?" Elyon raised an eyebrow, amused. He looked over at the small bird. "Now that I think about it... you seem to have the Shadow Element, don’t you?"

He had sensed it earlier, but now with a focused inspection, he could confirm it.

"I do!" Ashy nodded proudly.

"And not just you... that black snake too." Elyon turned to the small head peeking from Meng Bai’s sleeve.

"Sister Yin?" Ashy tilted his head. "She doesn’t have the Shadow or Darkness element, silly."

HISS~

Xiao Yin nodded her agreement, the faint shimmer of her aura confirming Ashy’s words.

"She doesn’t? I swear I saw her absorb my darkness attack before," Elyon said, genuinely confused.

"She’s not of the Darkness element," Lin Mu clarified. "She’s of the Yin Element."

SSSSSS~

In response, Xiao Yin slithered up onto Meng Bai’s shoulder. Her white-scaled brother did the same, the two snakes revealing their slender but majestic forms.

"The Yin Element!?" Elyon exclaimed, his voice barely suppressing the awe.

As a darkness-element beastkin, he was naturally attuned to such affinities, and the Yin Element was far superior to his own. It was a primordial force from which negative elements like shadow, darkness, and death could be born.