Having adapted to the back pain, Linde leaned on the crutch made by old Bain two days ago and walked out of the room where he had lain for over a month. Although the injuries on his body would need at least another half month to fully heal, they no longer hindered his normal walking.
However, his current priority was to quickly familiarize himself with the people and affairs of Bai Village to avoid giving himself away and being detected for any discrepancies.
After all, the memories he inherited were not extensive. Besides knowing that he was now called Linde, a hunter, the rest were fragmented memories that provided little information. He didn't even know why he was so severely injured.
Walking in Bai Village, he quickly discerned from the surrounding houses that the place was very backward, possibly somewhere in ancient Western times.
Although he had already guessed this from the attire of old Bain and some of the furnishings in his room, he still harbored a bit of hope.
"Bear Hunter?" When Linde had walked a distance on the village's only street, he finally encountered the first villager. However, upon seeing Linde, the villager uttered a nickname and showed a clear expression of fear before quickly passing by Linde with his head down, as if Linde was some kind of disaster.
Linde was curious about why the person reacted so strangely and why he was called the Bear Hunter, but he didn't stop to ask. He needed to speak and act as little as possible, observing and listening more to avoid revealing that he and Linde were entirely different people.
As he walked further down the street, he met more people. Some called him by his name, others the Bear Hunter, and each showed either respect or fear on their faces, differing only in the intensity of the emotion.
Although the village was not large, Linde, feeling unwell, took a long time to reach the small tavern at the village entrance.
He also learned why he was so severely injured and had been lying in bed for over a month. Why were the villagers calling him the Bear Hunter and showing him such reverence?
The Klenian family, though ancient, had fallen into decline, struggling to maintain rule over Red Lake City and having to ally with the noble family of Floren by marriage to prevent their family's decline.
His hunting in the Red Lake Forest without the permission of its owners, the Klenian family, was tantamount to stealing their property. The Klenian family could execute him according to the law.
Linde explained with a smile, "Having lain down for over a month, walking around a bit helps with recovery."
During this month and a half, he learned that old Bain had opened a small tavern in the village. Although the village was completely unfamiliar to him, he still managed to find the tavern accurately, as it was the only one in the village.
Moreover, Linde learned that the village he was in was called Bai Village, located on the edge of the Red Lake Forest in the Riverbend area, belonging to the territory of the Klenian family, and not far from their Red Lake City.
Indeed, as everyone thought, Linde's father died in the forest, his body torn to pieces by a bear. When the hunters of Bai Village found him, only half of his skull and some incomplete remains were left.
After hearing his explanation, old Bain didn't say much, just patted his arm and then signaled him to sit inside the tavern.
In the following year, he repeatedly entered the forest to track the bear and spent a considerable amount of money making traps with sufficient lethality. Finally, he completed his preparations over a month ago and then entered the Red Lake Forest with the traps.
Such an ancient family tradition also meant adherence to old systems, where bloodline was the only standard to judge a person's status, regardless of a few exceptions, unable to shake this conservative tower.
During his recovery, he had repeatedly guessed where he had been reborn. He thought of every ancient Western kingdom, but he could never have imagined that he was reborn in the world of Ice and Fire created by George R. R. Martin.
Moreover, as he understood, the systems in place on the continent of Westeros were incredibly rigid, making it difficult for commoners to rise above their station. Bloodline and heritage were the foundations of power for the nobility in this world, and now he had been reborn into the body of a commoner, which was even worse since he found himself in the Riverlands.
The nobility of the Riverlands was known for its ancient lineage, with any given lord's family heritage spanning thousands of years. The Tyrell family, guardians of the South, couldn't even rank in the top three in terms of family heritage, highlighting the ancient stature of the Riverlands' nobility.
The reason the place was called White Village was that after the houses were built, the locals had a tradition of plastering the walls with a type of white lime found nearby, making the entire village white.
In the past, more than one group of knights who attempted to boast of their bravery by hunting bears in the mountains died under bear attacks. It's worth noting that knights were not solitary figures; they were accompanied by squires, guards, and hired warriors.
The atmosphere in the tavern didn't change with Linde's arrival, but the topics of conversation seemed to gradually shift, with more content related to Linde.
Therefore, when Linde's father entered the Red Lake Forest, no one believed he could successfully hunt a bear.
The Klenian family had already declined, and the precious treasures in their family heritage had mostly been sold off in the past. The remaining items, which bore the distinct family insignia, could not be sold without becoming a laughingstock among the Riverlands' nobility. Thus, they had to collect valuable treasures through other means.
The bears of the Red Lake Forest were unlike ordinary bears; they were twice the size, with strength several times greater, and their bodies were covered in a layer of brown-red fur as tough as armor, making them nearly invincible within the Red Lake Forest.
Besides his injuries, the bear he hunted brought him no benefits, only troubles.
Linde's father was the best hunter in White Village. He was enticed by the bounty offered by the Klenian family, and with the permission of the family's steward, he entered the Red Lake Forest to hunt bears.
For a commoner to make something of themselves here, there were only two options: one was to go to the Oldtown to become a maester, and the other was to stand out in the martial competitions held by various lords in the Riverlands, to be taken as a squire by a knight or directly favored by a knight and knighted, much like the former Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Duncan the Tall.
The situation also related to last year's War of the Usurper. The Tyrell family, guardians of the South, chose the wrong side in the war. Although King Robert, who became the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, didn't punish them afterward, the Tyrells were always uneasy. So, they sought to collect various rare treasures in the Riverlands to present to King Robert, hoping to improve their relationship with him.
Even as a mere spectator, television series and forum posts provided him with a wealth of useful information.
By gathering information from conversations in the tavern, Linde quickly understood where he was, what had happened to him, and although he tried to control his emotions, his face inevitably showed some surprise.
Although the Red Lake Forest surrounding Red Lake was not the largest forest in the Riverlands, it was home to the largest herds of deer, bears, and other animals in the area. So, every autumn, the Klenian family invited nobles from the Riverlands for hunting parties as a way to bond. White Village was established by the Klenian family specifically for these annual autumn hunts.
He sat down at a table by the window. Old Bain brought him a cup of wine and then went about his business.
"How come you're out with your injuries not yet healed?" Old Bain, having heard the noise outside, came out of the tavern and asked with concern upon seeing Linde.
Had it not been for Old Bain, a close friend of his predecessor's father, who risked entering the forest to find him and carried him back from the forest, caring for him over a month, he might have died in the forest. This was also the origin of his nickname, the Bear Hunter.
In this vengeful hunt, Linde's predecessor both succeeded and failed: he succeeded in single-handedly hunting a bear, but the bear was not the one that killed his father. Moreover, he was severely injured by the bear's counterattack, leaving almost no intact skin on his back, and his spine was nearly broken by a bear's paw.
"Hey, Bear Hunter!" The moment he entered the tavern, the people inside simultaneously raised their glasses and shouted towards Linde. Although their shouts carried awe, they were much more enthusiastic and less fearful than the villagers he had encountered before.
The reaction of Linde did not evoke displeasure among the people; instead, they seemed to find it normal, indicating to Linde that his body's previous owner might have been a loner.
Under such circumstances, the Klenian family naturally hoped for additional support, so upon learning that the Tyrell family was collecting rare treasures in the Riverlands, they also sought to improve their relationship with the Tyrells.
Old Bain had distinctive thick brown hair, was overweight, resembling a large barrel. He had lost his left foot, replaced by a wooden stick, and was missing three fingers on his right hand, likely cut off by a sharp weapon.
Perhaps because the subject of their conversation was present, they lowered their voices significantly. It would be difficult for an ordinary person to hear their conversation in such a noisy environment, but Linde was different. After more than a month of integration, his body might not have grown stronger, but his senses became extraordinarily sensitive. He spent a long time adapting to this, which now proved to be useful.
For Linde, Old Bain was undeniably a benefactor, as he was the only one who took care of him during the month he was bedridden and unable to move. This almost made him mistake Old Bain for his body's father.
Although he had not read the novels written by that author, he had watched the television series adapted from them. After all, the world of Ice and Fire was too famous to be ignored at the time. He even visited several forums discussing the series due to questions some episodes raised.
Linde knew nothing about these people and did not know how to respond without giving himself away, so he simply nodded to them.
Fortunately, their territory had the richest animal resources in the Riverlands, including some extremely rare animals. They therefore issued targeted large bounties.
For instance, most people in the tavern discussed the War of the Usurper that ended last year, which must have been the war that brought Robert Baratheon to the throne. This realization helped him pinpoint the time frame he was in, which was before the start of the television series.
Linde took a sip from his glass. The wine, with its vinegary taste, was hard to swallow, but he forced himself to drink it without showing any improper emotions.
This village was a direct territory of the Klenian family, belonging to Red Lake City. Most of the villagers were hunters, but they differed from those who hunted for a living. The hunters of White Village primarily served as guides for the autumn hunts for the nobility of Red Lake City or other Riverlands nobles.
After dealing with his father's body, the original owner of Linde's body did not give up bear hunting but intended to fulfill his father's wish and avenge him.
This was definitely not good news for him because the various pieces of information provided by the television series and forum posts were now useless to him.
However, whether it was because he had obtained a bear or because Linde was near death, making further punishment unnecessary, the steward of the Klenian family decided not to pursue his unauthorized hunting. They even left five gold dragons as a reward for hunting the bear.
Compared to the five hundred gold dragons offered by Klenian a year ago, these five gold dragons were pitifully small. However, five gold dragons were considered a fortune to ordinary people. The owner of this fortune was a bedridden, dying injured man, so the villagers began to covet the five gold dragons.
Yet, these villagers, blinded by greed, had to abandon their covetousness due to the strong intervention of Old Bain. This explains the expressions on the villagers Linde had seen; clearly, they were afraid of Linde, who had almost fully recovered, seeking revenge.