Lin Mu watched on as the Elder welcomed him.
"I am Lin Mu." He introduced himself.
"Ah, so the noble is named Lin Mu. How marvelous!" The elder spoke. "I am Elder Niji."
Hearing this only made Lin Mu feel strange since he didn't think there was a reason to go this far to praise him when they barely knew each other.
'Maybe it's the tradition for this tribe?' Lin Mu wondered.
"Come in. We can talk in comfort. I'll let the children take care of the rest." The elder said and gestured for Lin Mu to follow him.
"Alright." Lin Mu followed the old elder into the house he had walked out from.
~CREAK~
The door creaked loudly once more, as the two entered the building. In there, Lin Mu saw a relatively plain looking room with a low table and stone seats in the center. There were stairs to the side as well that went upstairs.
Taking a seat at the table, Lin Mu looked at the Elder intently.
"I reckon you have some questions to ask? I'd recognize that look anywhere. " The elder said, seeing Lin Mu's expression. "Don't worry, this is usual for people that come here for the first time." He added.
"What place is this, exactly?" Lin Mu asked, seeing that the elder was open to questions.
"This place is the Land of Exile. Though this is just the general term that is used for it. There are more areas within the Land of Exile, such as the Rust Hail Mountains, the Barren Plains and finally the Broken Chasm." The elder answered.
Lin Mu narrowed his eyes and guessed that the Mountains in the distance he saw were the Rust Hail Mountains as for the valley he came from was the Broken Chasm.
"Then this tribe is located within the Barren Plains?" Lin Mu spoke.
"Precisely." The Elder nodded his head before stroking his beard.
A thought came to him after listening to Lin Mu speak, and he questioned something.
"Nobel Lin Mu, are you perchance not from this world?" Elder Niji questioned.
"Oh? How did you figure that out?" Lin Mu asked in turn.
"At first I thought that you were simply a noble that knew about this place, but simply didn't recognize it. That is something that is usual, since no one would come to the Land of Exile of their own volition.
But seeing that you don't even know about the Land of Exile itself, there is a great chance you are not from this world." Elder Niji explained.
"You are correct. I am indeed not from this world." Lin Mu admitted. "Which brings me to wonder why you call me a noble? If I'm not of this world, how am I still a noble?" he asked next.
"You are a noble, since you speak the tongue of the nobles." Elder Niji answered.
"But aren't you speaking it too?" Lin Mu replied.
"I am indeed… but mine is merely an imitation. I speak the tongue but I have not comprehended it. Besides, only the humans are deemed to be nobles, unlike us of the Haima tribe." Elder Niji explained further.
This was interesting information for Lin Mu, as he had not expected there to be something like this. Especially since the Elder was speaking basically the same as what Dao Script was supposed to be like.
"You have not comprehended the Dao Script?" Lin Mu said in slight confusion before talking out a sheet of paper with a few sentences written on it. "So you can't read this?"
"Yes, I cannot. I was merely taught to speak the words. But this was simply memorization." The elder elaborated.
"I see… but still, why is it that only humans are deemed nobles?" Lin Mu questioned. "Can you or your people not get the same status?" he wondered.
"Well… one does not give the rank of a noble to a slave, do they? Our Haima tribe is inferior to that of the humans and we have been servants for many generations." Elder Niji said before his expression fell. "Or we were… once upon a time. Now we are merely exiles banished and forgotten…" he added, his tone forlorn.
Lin Mu raised his brows, finding it strange. As far as he could tell, the Haima Tribe didn't really seem to be inferior to humans. At least not from the strength they had shown him already.
'No… this world is different. The standard for humans might be far greater than the Xiaofan world.' Lin Mu reckoned.
Thinking over this, he felt curious about the Haima tribe as well as the Land of exile. After all he had been here for over a month now… though most of it was spent in the dark valley.
"Can you tell me more about the Land of Exile and the places within?" Lin Mu inquired.
"Of course. We almost never get visitors and this is the first time in my life that I'm actually getting to talk to someone in noble tongue. This was one of the wishes that I've had for a long time, so feel free to ask as much as you want." Elder Niji spoke.
His tone was filled with excitement, just like old people would show when they found someone new to talk to after a long time.
"The Land of Exile, just like its name states, is meant for people who had been exiled. Either as a punishment, or refuge. While most that are sent here are criminals, there are still some that come here to hide.
Unfortunately, this isn't a place of peace and safety. There is danger aplenty. The worst of which is the Broken Chasm." Elder Niji explained.
"The Broken Chasm is the dark valley, right?" Lin Mu asked, feeling a little confused about the elder's words.
"Yes. Though calling it a valley isn't really correct." Elder Niji replied.
"What's the danger there, though? I've been there for over a month and didn't even see any beasts there." Lin Mu finally asked.
"YOU, WHAT?!" Elder Niji suddenly exclaimed.
