Chapter 35 Tang Yifei

With a swing of his mighty axe, Old Ox deflected the arrows with wind pressure alone. Seeing this the large group of men were shocked. "We can't let them go!" One of them roared another rain of arrows shooting towards the trio.

But they underestimated Black Flash's speed. Black Flash had become an 8th Stage Wild Beast some time ago, meaning his speed wasn't something any riff-raff could keep up with.

The horse darted away, leaving the group of men stunned, even if they wanted to they couldn't catch the trio. "...Our Grey Rabbit Village is screwed." A man muttered in shock and defeat. Being labelled as defectors would be a death sentence.

"No! We still have a chance, we just need to contact the Dark Wind Bandits, they'll clean up the mess." Another suggested, to which the rest of them agreed. While they were scared of those Bandits they had already thrown their lot in with them, and now it was do or die.

Black Flash had now ran a good few kilometers away, allowing the group to breathe a sigh of relief. "Now that we've confirmed it, we need to inform the others." Mo Xiaowen said before retrieving the map.

When they called the Verdant Forest large, it was no exaggeration. It hosted over 100 villages and countless animals, informing everyone would be an impossible and pointless task, but informing one or two groups of other disciples would help spread the word.

"Hmm, I agree lets head to Red Apple Village. There should be a group or two there." Old Ox suggested. Mo Xiaowen agreed, and the group headed to Red Apple Village.

Compared to most other villages it was quite prosperous, and as their name suggested they made their money off selling apples. 'I still remember that apple, it was quite good.....I wonder if it came from that Village.' Mo Xiaowen thought as they rode on to Red Apple Village.

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"Grandpa Tang will those guys be leaving soon?" A boy asked an old man in front of him. The boy was quite nervous at the moment.

"I am not sure, they've already been here over a week but they show no signs of leaving." The old man sighed, before looking towards the girl sitting to the side. "And you Yifei, don't cause anymore trouble, its been very dangerous lately I don't want you or Zemin to get hurt." The old man continued.

In response the girl simply stuck out her tongue in disregard. "Don't worry Grandpa Tang, I won't let anything happen to her." The boy declared, standing up resolutely.

These three were Chen Zemin, his Grandpa Tang, and Tang Yifei, Grandpa Tang's granddaughter. After meeting Grandpa Tang almost a year ago, Zemin had headed back to the village along with Grandpa Tang and had been living there with them.

"Big Brother Zemin I don't need your protection, I can protect myself!" Tang Yifei protested trying to look strong, but failing miserably.

"Stop fooling around Yifei, you're not a child anymore next year you'll be considered an adult." Grandpa Tang admonished which caused Tang Yifei to pout. Off to the side Chen Zemin could only chuckle, this wasn't a rare sight at all.

"Anyway you two stay put, I need to tend to the orchard." Grandpa Tang said before leaving the hut. Now alone in the hut Tang Yifei looked towards Chen Zemin with a mischievous gaze.

"....What's that look for, I've already told you I am not sneaking out. If I get caught it won't just be a scolding from Grandpa Tang, but I'll be captured and sent back." Chen Zemin shook his head at Tang Yifei.

Although she was quite a beautiful girl and Chen Zemin got along with her well, he still couldn't handle her mischievousness. "Come on Big Brother Zemin, just for 2 hours, no an hour! I promise we won't get caught." Tang Yifei pleaded, bringing out the puppy eyes.

Seeing this Chen Zemin couldn't resist. "Fine, but only an hour, anymore and I am telling Grandpa Tang." He complied, but made his stance clear. Although he was willing to take a small risk if they stayed out for too long he'd definitely get caught.

The two then snuck out of the hut and into the nearby forest, luckily no one noticed them. 'Whenever we sneak out we're never caught, she really has weirdly good luck.' Chen Zemin thought resting his back on a tree.

"I told you we wouldn't get caught." Tang Yifei's voice sounded from the side.

"Just cause you've never been caught before doesn't mean you won't get caught in the future. This is the last time we're sneaking out until the situation's calmed down." Chen Zemin replied seriously.

"Hmph! You're no fun......fine I promise this is the last time." Tang Yifei sighed in a defeated tone. She didn't want to force Chen Zemin too much, after all she understood his situation.

The two then stayed in the forest for some time. Chatting together, running around, or even climbing trees. They didn't act their age at all, but that didn't matter much to them. As fellow outcasts they got along well together.

Unlike the rest of the people in the village, Tang Yifei and Chen Zemin were not born there. Tang Yifei was picked up by Grandpa Tang when she was a baby, while Chen Zemin had obviously only been living there for a bit under a year.

Since she was a child Tang Yifei had always been ostracized, to Grandpa Tang's dismay, as was Chen Zemin throughout the majority of his life.

"Tang Yifei we should head back now." Chen Zemin said motioning towards the village.

"How many times have I told you, just call me Yifei. I am not going back until you do." Tang Yifei replied in annoyance.

"Fine, Yifei lets head back." Chen Zemin complied, to which Tang Yifei smiled brightly. The two then made their way back to the village. But before they could even get close, they witnessed a shocking sight.

".....What the fuck." Chen Zemin muttered, Red Apple Village was up in flames.