The streets were clean and paved. They were filled with pedestrians going about their own lives. Many glanced at Jin strangely and quite a few jokes or laughed about him. After all, he looked like a freak and was grinning foolishly. He was not even aware of it.

As he walked, he admired the houses made from mixes of wood, cover tiles and stone bricks. There were few ornaments on the average houses but the shops always had to put up some little things to make themselves unique and distinguishable. As he moved around searching for an inn, he enjoyed the rudimentary scenery. It reminded him of one of his trips back in the days. It had been a slightly cold country with hills as far as the eyes could see and the villages there were very similar to this. The noises from the shopkeepers and pedestrians were the same too when it came to volume. They were certainly not whispering. Such things that he might have found disturbing were delightful at the moment. After remaining for years in your own silence, hearing sounds felt good.

At last, he found an inn. It was called "The Roasted Beef" which was not that creative or unique. But who cared about that? What mattered was the inside!

He pushed open the door and was flooded by attracting smells of food. It made him salivate instantly. He nearly lost control of the corruption and let dozens of jaws out.

The place was cozy and as you would expect a rural tavern to be like. Wooden tables and chairs, a dim yet warm hall filled with raucous talks. A few waiters walked around picking orders while you could see the chefs preparing the food behind the bar where there was the usual middle-aged stoic man wiping a glass.

A waiter welcomed Jin in while keeping a business smile. Jin approved. Regardless of anything else, they were at least professional at the entrance. It was probably the first human that did not look at him strangely.

He was led to a table to the side, quite away from others and close to a chimney. Jin was more than happy to be put there as he would be guaranteed some peace.

He was given the menu and a few minutes later, he ordered: "Three servings of roasted beef and two bottles of Frone"

The waiter finally looked at him strangely. Jin expected that much but he really was angry for some meat. Cooked meat. He could endure the stare for it.

The waiter asked him to repeat the order to make sure and, then, even asked him to pay upfront. He did not mind any of this as he remained patient. After spending years isolated, wouldn't he be a fool if he could not wait for a few minutes more? At the very least, he learnt how to wait within those years.

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Anyways, after the bill was preemptively settled, the waiter was very straightforward in bringing him the grub.

Jin went at it without the slightest decorum. As a famished man, he even had the occasional tears rolling down his cheeks as he ate. After some time, a few closer guests noticed him and whispered about him. He heard them loud and clear but could not care less.

Being low key was a goal and being known and noticed as a weird dude wouldn't be detrimental to the goal. It was only his identity as 'Jin' that was sensible after all. It might even serve as a distraction, who knows? All this was no more than hypothesis he made himself after all. There was nothing certain about anything. Not yet, at least.

So, he enjoyed his feast.

He even ordered two more bottles of Frone after finishing the first ones. Finished with the meal, he went up to the counter and asked for a room for the night. The barman, and owner, was slightly surprised as it was still only the beginning of the afternoon. But then again, as long as the money came in...

And so, Jin got himself a room at the inn-tavern. He asked a few questions to the barman while he was at it about the shops close-by and went out. He was not going to sleep right away. He had some more things to do.

First, he went to a blacksmith shop. He only had three weapons on him: the spear, the sword and the gourd. He could use neither of those. Two of them were obviously impossible to take out of the ring. As for the spear, until he found out the current situation within the cultivation world, he would keep it hidden too. It was quite a give-away to his identity after all...

And so, he needed a weapon. Or maybe a few.

He entered the hot smithy, not even feeling any heat. The bellows were certainly on and flapping but his body was just not going to be affected by such little heat. He walked to the counter were an apprentice sat half awake.

He greeted him and scared him.

Jin hurriedly checked himself and did not notice anything out of place. Everything was well-hidden... After an instant, the youth apologized profusely. It was because he had been dozing off...

Jin went straight to the point and paid for one spear and one sword. There were only iron gradeless weapons here but it was better than nothing and it would help him disguise himself along the way. He wanted more but it wouldn't have taken too long to craft. He planned to stay only a night here.

After exiting the smithy with a sword at the waist and a spear strapped in his back, he went to a general shop. He asked for maps there. He knew about the time and now, he needed to find his location.

He bought one of the world and one of the continent he was in. For good measure, he also picked a few dedicated to this country in particular.

He went back to the inn and walked straight to his room. Once inside, he unfurled the maps and began to ponder

Now, all he needed to do was to pick a new direction.