Towards Hefei 3

Still during that training, as she had said, both of them helped a lot each other, it was true even for him as when they started he was fearfull of the bow of hers.

This would make him sometimes hesitate to make a move, as he feared that it would just make him fall deeper into her trap. During their training, he got much more confident in doing something when under a bow.

Seen as at the end of their training, he had managed to deflect arrow hits, and even if they were done so that he moved to intercept them with no actual need to do so, every time he managed to redirect an arrow with his sword, it felt great.

Training done they got back to their usual activities for a week or so before the snake's carcass had rotten and their source for cultivation improvement source gone with that.

For a week, they had been living in this small town, using anything they found, not caring about repercussions of this. Their next step would be to catch up with the caravan and tell them the good news.

Surely they wouldn't be angry about them using some of their stuff.

Even if they had used and taken something small from them, they would understand that they still got a good deal out of this, and so unlike the monkeys who couldn't see it would be grateful.

These things in mind they left the town through the same gate they had come here that was missing one of its doors now. When they got to the part where field became forest Xiao Fan looked back at the place for a moment.

Coming here, he had felt terrible, as even before they had walked inside, he could smell what had happened, and when they had come inside the site had been what one should expect.

First, when he had seen this, he had almost wanted to puke and even now remembering those sight still made his stomach curl. But talking to Du Lan about the thing so many times, he now felt that next time he would fair much better with that.

Du Lan herself coming here was only a thing to become stronger and to craft a bow. For her there was nothing wrong with seeing a slaughter, he didn't ask, but it might relate to Greenwood town looking like a newly built city.

Moreover, she had also mentioned about seeing a lot of slaughter before but didn't talk more, so most likely there was something there.

Meanwhile, for him coming here, there was no real reason except to help her, but he gradually had gained some guts and improved his cultivation. Unexpected gains were always good.

Now back on the road two rucksacks full of valuables looted from the town and a few bows richer, they swiftly started to gain on the caravan that for them was only moving at crawling speeds.

However, the more they went over the point where they had seen them last, there started to appear corpses, and some of them did hold their towns militia insignia.

This was to be expected and the caravan, when they had left, knew this far too well. They knew that they were slow-moving targets for any other tribe of humans or mutants living in these forests.

And when they had to protect the villagers, who weren't of military value, their lines that were already stretched to the limits might have already broken or vanished altogether.

It hadn't even taken them a full day to catch them since before nightfall they could see something burning in front of them through the trees that might block something, but a cultivator could easily perceive a cart burning.

When they saw this, they in unison jumped into the forest as they had planned before and then carefully approached this burning wreck from which from they soon heard sounds of a battle.

The sounds of steel clanking and animals screaming were overlapping with villagers crying in the night.

Coming closer they saw the same figures they had met before, it was the people from the caravan, but four-legged reptiles were attacking them.

Those reptiles walked stealthily in the ground for mortal animals while they attacked only with their frighteningly effective mouths.

Those mouths could easily take a limb or wrap around their targets abdomen, meaning that if a militiaman got bit, he was good as dead.

Though using such crude tactics made both of them still lurking in the shadows see that all these animals were still animals and no mutants were insight, but it was also evident that there were no cultivators amongst the human defenders either.

This was a melee of only mortals, where both sides were losing men more due to awful cooperation or recklessness than the enemies moves. And for the two of them watching this melee was pretty funny since for them this melee looked much more children fighting with sticks than an actual battle.

However, Xiao Fan didn't laugh much as after knowing that there was no danger for them he leapt out of the forest surprising some of the lizards.

With on swift motion, a few of the lizards had already been cut in half by his sheer power and a sharp blade, leaving Du Lan in the bush to see what would have awaited her if she would have fought him.

She watched how for every step Xiao Fan took multiple reptiles who had begun to resist him were slain; it was as if he was cutting grass.

Seeing this, she didn't wait longer, she drew her sword and ran into the melee, her silver hair fluttering behind her as she jumped around in the melee.

With two cultivators now taking the same side, all the lizards took a moment to think what was happening, and soon the smartest ones, who were the first to get an answer, fleed into the forest.

Meanwhile, as the lizards started to flee, the few surviving militiamen wondered what was happening because suddenly the enemies that had been overwhelming them were letting them go for some reason.

But before they got to think that had something worse had come to take the final bite, they saw two figures spinning around the group of lizards cutting them down while encountering zero resistance.

It was finally over they thought and let out a collective sigh of relief as even the lizards who had just been fighting them now ran back into the forest-

Not having more stamina to chase them they watched as some of them got into the woods while most got to be practise dummies for the newcomers' swords.

When the lizards got into the woods they didn't stop even if nothing was following them, as loitering around wouldn't do anything well, and it might make the cultivators angry, so not to anger them they decided to forget about their meal.

Xiao Fan and Du Lan ending their live drill, started to clean their blades that were now the colour of red while most of the militiamen got back to their families.

But a few of them came towards them.

The first thing they noticed about these newcomers was how the two of them looked awfully like the people they had met a week ago, but they were cultivators?

Because they were so young and were travelling alone, they had, of course, thought them as wanderers, who were looking for something they either might not know.

No one had thought them as cultivators. Them being cultivators made no sense, but it was so, and so they now had to respect them accordingly.

¨Thank the two masters for your help. We were saved, yet we don't have anything to repay the masters¨ The person who was the middle one of three other militiamen wich had come to greet them spoke wit the utmost respect.

¨No need, no need. We have already taken what we wanted from you anyway, so you don't need to pay anything more¨ He said in a friendly way trying to make a good impression on them.

The man frowned a bit. Had they taken something from us already? Of course, they had some gold and silver with them, but they were all in the trunks so how could have they taken it already? Did they know that he was lying about not having anything?

¨We came from your town. After we heard about the snake, we decided to stop by there on our way to Hefei City. There we slew the mutant snake that had pillaged your town and slaughtered your people. So as payment, we took some of the valuables we found¨

He spoke in a way that Du Lan had been teaching him, one that would be friendly and gregarious as possible while the teacher herself showed a bow that looked like it was crafted from a snake.

Their words as cultivators were already enough for any mortal to believe them without question.

Yet, they wanted to seem as kind and humble that was possible so they would have a good background of two honest youths, who help peasants in need, going so far out of their way to combat beast stronger than themselves.

A good story, no?

At least it hit these militiamen, who had been fleeing for a week and now suddenly were hearing that their town had been cleared by these youths.

¨Y-You have killed the snake? Thank you. Thank you so much we didn't know what to do anymore. We were going to Hefei thinking that we could never get back, but you have so graciously helped us again¨ The other two men with him also took a hopeful look at each other.

¨It's wasn't a real problem. My heart ached so much after hearing your situation that it felt like my duty to go and try to slay the beast even if it wouldn't work out¨

¨And right now we just happened to be travelling this way when we noticed a fire. It was our duty, and moreover, if we helped to clean your town, how couldn't we help with some wild animals? Wouldn't have our first deed be useless then?¨ He spoke righteously.

The militiaman still couldn't help but to thank him more, and then, even more, when he told that they would guard them until patrols from Hefei City would have started to protect them.

And so after more exchange of words, they and the caravan, took what they could be from the lizards and then took off towards Hefei City.

It took them only two or so days before a patrol from Hefei City saw the caravan incoming and had come to talk to them.

When they took them under their protection, Xiao Fan and Du Lan left the caravan since the caravans speed was way too slow for them, and Du Lan didn't want to wait for any longer.

She was so as, during those two days, nothing more than waiting and training had been done. Though there had been a hint of overt flirting; however, that hadn't come from Du Lan, but the lady Xiao Fan had spoken to when they had first met the caravan.

Xiao Fan might have a few weeks ago let these things go unnoticed, yet now he did spot them every time as there wasn't much to guess anyway with her.

Tempted he was, but dare not to do anything other than a few smiles with the lady as Du Lan is always next to him maybe just there hanging out, or perhaps guarding him against something.

So with some regrets, he needed to leave the fully matured woman behind, for now, as he sped towards Hefei City that they could now already see.