Lin Mo found the map to Chuxin Village and set off. Fortunately, it was not too far away. Otherwise, without any carriages or horses, who knew how long it would take for him to walk out of this forest with his level one strength.
The sky looked like the color of a fish's belly. There were small houses scattered all around like mushrooms growing out of flat grounds. As the sun had just risen, countless rays of light shone down on the planet and coated the eaves of the houses with a layer of golden light.
These low houses were surrounded by endless fields. A gentle breeze blew, causing countless waves of wheat to roll one after another. This made the place seem even more spacious.
Lin Mo finally spotted people in front of him. He could not help but quicken his pace. After walking for an entire night, he could barely feel his feet. Luckily, nothing happened during the journey and he did not encounter any danger.
After much difficulty, Lin Mo arrived at the entrance of the village. There was a sign hanging nearby. Due to the wind and sunlight, the original color of the sign had long faded.
Some of the words were already mottled and disconnected. Lin Mo could barely make out the original sentences. Everything was so crooked. In fact, it looked like a child's graffiti.
There was also a big tree beside Lin Mo. He did not know how long it had been rooted here, but the tree was thick and had a sturdy trunk. Clearly, it was very old. Even if a few people combined their strength, it would be difficult for them to uproot it. The rings on the tree were proof that it had been alive for countless years.
The branches of the tree were lush and the canopy was very tall. When a person walked under it, they could feel a chill. It was simply a good cooling place during the warm summer. Many red silks were tied to the tree and there seemed to be written words on them. However, Lin Mo could not see them clearly.
"Young man, why are you here?" said an old voice.
This almost scared Lin Mo.
An old man wearing a straw hat appeared from behind the tree trunk. He had simple clothing on and his pants were half rolled up. His shoes were made of cloth and he looked just like any ordinary person.
Lin Mo and the old man were sizing each other up. Since Lin Mo was dressed well, it was obvious that he came from a large town. The old man could not help but be filled with doubt and surprise. He sighed, "Other than mercenaries, it's been a long time since anyone has come here."
"My name is Lin Mo. I'm here to manage the auction."
The old man looked at Lin Mo from head to toe again. Originally, his eyes were half-closed but now, they were completely opened. At the same time, it revealed a sharp glint.
"You're from the Lin family?"
Lin Mo nodded and took out the clan leader's documents. He handed them to the old man. After taking a long look, the old man said, "It's the chief's seal."
Just like tree barks, his hands were full of wrinkles. He flipped through the documents and touched the seal as if he was touching something rare. If Lin Mo did not say anything, he might have kept touching it for the whole day.
"May I know who exactly you are?"
The old man waved his hand, indicating for Lin Mo to follow him.
"I'm the chief of this village. The people here call me Old Lin or Old Man Lin. You can call me whatever you want."
Lin Mo did not expect the old man to be the chief of Chuxin Village. After all, he was so down-to-earth. The old man could see the astonishment in Lin Mo's eyes and explained, "We're in a poor and remote village. We don't have to follow those stupid rules. It doesn't matter what we do. You're so young. Why are you here? Well, since it's the clan leader's order, we'll just go with the flow."
Old Lin nagged as he brought Lin Mo into the village. There were only about a dozen households. They were scattered around the village. Obviously, not many people reside in this village.
Chuxin Village was not considered prosperous. It was said to be one of the branches of the Lin family, but most of the people were merely from the countryside. Nonetheless, there were also other factions.
Most of the young people who had the ability or talent were aiming for bigger cities. They wanted to go and expand their horizons, achieving something impressive. Those who stayed in the village were mostly old, weak, or sick.
"You've seen the situation of our village. The population is sparse and the place's structure is simple. There aren't many young people like you."
Soon, the two of them arrived at the village. No one really paid any attention to them.
"Uncle Wang, meet someone from my family."
An old man was taking a nap at the main entrance. When he heard Old Lin's voice, he immediately opened his eyes. When he saw Lin Mo, his eyes immediately lit up. He was so excited that tears began filling his eyes.
"You're Lin Mo? I haven't seen you in so many years. You've grown up."
Based on Lin Mo's memories, this old man was Butler Wang. Everyone called him Uncle Wang. He treated the original host very well during his younger days. For some reason, he was sent to this village.
Seeing that Lin Mo and Uncle Wang knew each other, Old Lin did not say anything more. Once he introduced them, he left so they could catch up.
"Where are the rest of the people in Uncle Wang's auction house?"
Uncle Wang laughed bitterly.
"There aren't any other people. I'm the only one here."
For a moment, Lin Mo did not know what to say. He knew that there was nothing in the auction house right now. Otherwise, they would not have fallen into such a state.
Although all of Lin Mo's valuables had been stolen by the robbers, the interspatial ring had already recognized its owner. Ordinary people would not be able to access it, so he still had it.
After all, he was once a genius. Even if he was down and out, he should still have some good items. However, most of them had been used up by the original host. There were not many items left. If only these few items were enough to set up the auction house well. Anyway, that was simply a fantasy.
Just as Lin Mo was at a loss, a mechanical voice sounded in his mind. He thought that he was hallucinating.
Ding!
[ The auction rebate system has been initiated! ]
A huge screen appeared in front of Lin Mo. It was similar to those in online games. A few rows of words appeared.
Lin Mo finally realized that the so-called auction rebate system could directly provide direct multiplier rebates. Furthermore, it had the basic ability to identify items. However, the rebates were random. For the time being, they could range from a few times to ten thousand times.
The higher the multiple, the stronger one's own strength would be. There was also a limit to the quality of the items and rebate. Additionally, one could not auction off items that had rebates.
Lin Mo's spirit was instantly roused.
This rebate system was tailor-made for him. He could use it to improve the auction house. Who knows, he might even be able to use this opportunity to obtain rebate items to train his divine body. It was like killing two birds with one stone.
Despite that, he did not have many things in his hands right now. He only had the most basic body-refining technique, [ Long Fist ]. It had nothing to do with cultivation and Lin Mo only wanted to strengthen his body.
There was also the ordinary [ Iron Sword ] and some body-refining pills that would delay his illness.