Chapter 3 - The Village of Hay

The days passed swiftly, and the farm life seemed more fitting by the hour. The day finally arrived to head to the village. Tom stayed behind to take care of the farm and entrusted Terry and Tinna to Alexander's care.

They departed on a wooden cart guided by a donkey on a muddy road. The kids seemed anxious to introduce each nook and cranny of the road and outskirts of the village to Alexander.

"Mister Felix, the gates are just ahead of these hills." Said Tinna joyfully.

"Alright, do you remember what we are here to do?"

"To sell cheese and milk to the villagers and wheat to the village's reserves for winter." Said both the kids at the same time.

"That's right, so let's make your father proud!" Alexander cheered.

"Yes, sir!" The kids rejoiced.

On the city gates, two guards stopped them by crossing their lances. They looked with an amused face to the travelers in the cart—a lazy smile on their lips when they said.

"Halt! State the purpose of your trip." Said the chubby guard on the right.

"We are here to sell the products of our farm."

The thin, tall man on the left smiled craftily while saying.

"There's a fee of four coppers to enter the village. You can either pay it or leave."

"Wait, aren't they Tom's children? What are they doing with this guy?" Said the chubby guard.

Noticing that Tom wasn't nearby, the tall guard corrected himself deviously.

"Oh, since it's for Tom's kids, we can give you a discount, and it will be three coppers instead of four. What do you think, kids?"

Alexander looked happy for the "discount" and advanced a step while heading for the purse that Tom had entrusted him when Terry snarled.

"There's no such a fee. You should be the ones to leave!"

"Oy, you brat, are you suggesting that we are lying?" The thin guard asked, visibly angry.

"If the shoe fits!" Terry rebuked.

"You will learn some manners right now, kid!" The obese guard retorted.

The two guards advanced in a rushed way, aiming the sticks of the spears on Terry's arm and head to hurt but not kill the child.

Terry nimbly dodged both attacks and distributed a kick and a punch on each attacker, throwing them back towards the village.

The guardsman stood up with difficulty, cursing when they heard a booming voice.

"Who dares to make trouble on Hay village?" A male voice said, full of pride, coming from further down the road.

A man in a leather robe, which resembled a crudely made armor, asked furiously.

Both guards rejoiced to hear their boss joining the commotion and hastily said.

"Sir, these brats refused to pay the toll and attacked us. They are in the wrong!"

The newcomer's eyes showed first anger than astonishment when he saw the kids, and then he directed his anger towards his men.

"Are you two idiots trying to extort two Ninth-level Cultivators? Are you stupid?"

Hearing this, the color on the faces of the guards seemed to run away from them. They immediately pushed their heads on the ground and pleaded.

"Please forgive us, young lords... No, young masters! We could not recognize Mount Tai." It was rare to find first or second-level cultivators in this faraway village, and they immediately became guards. Their boss was only a sixth-level cultivator and was the stronger person in the small town, acting as a local tyrant. And he told them that they were the ninth and last level as kids? And there were two of them? What lousy luck they had!

"I don't care. We simply want to enter the village and sell our products." Said Terry, uninterested."

"Young master, my name is Joseph, and I am the chief of the guard of this village. What do you think if we purchased your cheese, milk, and wheat for the normal price? It just happens that our guard posts need commodities."

Terry was going to tell them to piss off, but Tinna intersected.

"If it will not be too much trouble." Hearing that, the guards relaxed, and Terry looked at his sister, confused. Tinna told him in a volume that only the three of them could listen. "It is best not cause more problems, and we do need to sell our products."

"She is right. This way, we can go back home will the maximum profit." Added Alexander.

"Sure, let's discuss this transaction inside, shall we?" Said Joseph hurriedly, looking at them with a smile.

It took some time, but they managed to get a good amount of profit from the haggles with the old guard. In total, including all the money that Tom gave them, they had Sixty Eight copper coins, which was more than they usually got, thanks to Alexander's help and a good harvest, along with selling every single product.

They headed back home when the sun started setting and arrived home at night. An orange glow painted the farm, which prompted Terry to ask.

"Is father making a congratulation party for us?"