Chapter 32 Ves Village

"Clip-Clop! Clip-Clop! Clip-Clop!" A jet black horse barreled through the path. Atop it sat a young boy 14 years of age, along with a giant of a man who laid down asleep on the horse. 'We should be nearing the village soon.' The boy thought to himself holding the reigns of the horse.

Naturally this was Mo Xiaowen, Old Ox and Black Flash. Right now they were travelling towards Ves Village one of many small villages situated within the expansive Verdant Forest.

While there were only 16 Cities and 20 Strongholds in the entirety of the Flood Dragon Kingdom, many small villages dotted the rest of the landscape, Ves Village being one of them. Unlike the Cities they had no means of protecting themselves, because of this if bandits were to rob anywhere it would be these villages.

The villages in the Verdant Forest had it especially bad since bandits could easily set up camp within the cover of the trees, making it much harder for any of the Kingdom Guard to catch them.

Taking a sharp right turn the trio came upon a small clearing in which a wooden fence surrounded a number of wooden huts. This was Ves Village, a hunting village with a population of about 200 or so.

As they approached the village Black Flash trotted slowly towards it rather than running so as to not alarm the villagers.

"H-Halt who goes there!" A teenage boy about 16 years of age asked nervously, pointing his spear towards Black Flash. Seeing the spear the horse looked at the teenager in disdain, but Mo Xiaowen quickly quieted him down.

"We're disciples of the Demonic Cliff Sect. I am not sure if your village has been informed yet, but due to the rise in Bandit Activity we've been sent to quell any bandits that may appear." Mo Xiaowen explained, dismounting Black Flash in the process.

"Ah! Great, the visitors from the Demonic Cliff Sect have arrived!" The teenager shouted as he ran into the village. Leaving Mo Xiaowen there, absolutely confused. This boy didn't seem to be a very reliable guard.

In fact a few minutes later he reappeared, his face bruised, along with 5 sturdy looking men. "Sorry about this guy, he's still a relatively new guard. We of Ves Village greet the visitors from the Demonic Cliff Sect." The men greeted.

"Its fine, I also have to apologise for my Senior Brother here...he didn't get much sleep last night." Mo Xiaowen replied making up an excuse for Old Ox. "Besides that don't you need to check our identification."

Hearing this the men were confused. "Identification? We don't dare ask for identification from a disciple such as yourself. After all who dares impersonate the Demonic Cliff Sect within the Flood Dragon kingdom." One of them replied resolutely.

Mo Xiaowen didn't know how to reply to this, so he simply asked if they could be provided a place to stay. 'Are they dumb or just too trusting?' He couldn't wrap his head around it but it wasn't all that important anyway.

At first Mo Xiaowen thought he'd have to jump through a lot of hurdles upon arriving at the village. From identifying themselves to proving that he had viable strength despite his age, but all in all the villagers were very accommodating.

Resting on the makeshift bed the villagers provided him Mo Xiaowen began to go over their next moves. 'Now either we search for any bandits and preemptively take them out, or wait for them here. I am more inclined for the former, but if they attack and we're not present it could end badly.' He thought to himself before retrieving a dagger.

"What are you thinking about?" Old Ox's voice sounded from the side. Due to being asleep Old Ox had been placed on a bed next to Mo Xiaowen's.

"....This is going to be to the death right?" The boy asked his eyes focused on the dagger in his hand.

"Yes, capturing the bandits is much harder than killing them, for our safety and the safety of the villagers we can't show mercy." Old Ox answered bluntly, before showing a smile and continuing.

"But don't worry, trust this Old Ox, I may not be worth much but my strength is limitless! In my glory days I could topple mountains with a swing, and cleave the sky in two. When this Old Ox is present who dares make a sound?" He tried to sound as grand as possible, but instead it only made Mo Xiaowen look at him as if he was stupid.

"...I'd like to see you topple a mountain." The boy remarked sarcastically as he unconsciously put away the dagger.

"As I said I could do that in my glory days, alas I've now grown old and unable to perform such acts." Old Ox sighed, sounding almost defeated.

This began series of back and forth arguments between the two. Ranging from Old Ox being 21 and still in his prime, to what food was better a pork dumpling or crispy chicken. It seemed as though they'd go on forever if given the chance, but eventually a noise sounded from outside.

"Dinner is ready."

Immediately the two rose from their beds and headed out of the hut. It was already dark out and the villagers were gathered around a large bonfire at the center of the town. A number of the older villagers were handling various tools, carving out and roasting a number of dead animals which they had hunted earlier that day.

To Mo Xiaowen this was quite the gruesome sight, on the other hand Old Ox looked at it with a bit of melancholy, but soon after his eyes lit up as did Mo Xiaowen's.

"This smells amazing." They muttered simultaneously, just as they were wondering where the smell was coming from, the teenager, who was guarding the gate earlier, waved over at them.

Seeing this the two made their way towards him. "Here you go these dishes were made with special care. When visiting Ves Village every visitor is given our specialty, roasted deer liver. I hope you enjoy it." The teenager said as he handed the two their dinner.

Without a care in the world, the two began munching down on the food. "Ah, its still hot!" Mo Xiaowen exclaimed, the surrounding villagers chuckling at his reaction. Regardless of the temperature he still found it to be delicious.

Not even 10 minutes later, Mo Xiaowen along with Old Ox had stuffed themselves. "Seems you guys enjoyed the food." A woman in her mid twenties remarked.

"It was great."

"Yes, I haven't eaten like that in a long time."

After the meal the two then headed back to their hut. When Mo Xiaowen landed into bed he instantly fell asleep, he was especially tired.