CHAPTER 13: THE VILLAGE'S PLIGHT

As Ray watched the departure of the villagers, the chief who had sent them away walked near him and once again invited him into his house.

Ray Accepted the village chief invitation and entered the house.

Upon entering the house, Ray noticed that the first floor was vacant, with only a large hall area present. At the back, there were stairs leading to the upper floor.

As Ray stood stunned by the empty house, the guard accompanying the chief explained that the first floor serves as the village council, while the chief and his family reside on the top floor.

While Ray listened to the Guard's explanation, a group of ladies brought two chairs and a wooden table and arranged them in the council hall.

Later they brought fruits and various food and started arranging them on the table.

As the food was being placed, the guard began to drool, and the aroma of the food made Ray hungry as well.

The chief who went to the second floor slowly came back with a bottle and placed it on the table.

Village chief: "I apologize for the delay. If you haven't had your lunch yet, why don't you join me?" inquired the chief.

Ray consented and took a seat after washing his hands in the nearby sink.

Village chief: "What are you looking for, go and get another chair and sit with us." commanded the chief to the guard.

To which the guard was stunned and replied loudly.

Guard: "Yes father." and ran into the house to get another chair.

Village Chief: "He is my third and youngest son. I have two more sons and a daughter. The eldest and the second son have gone fishing and will return in the evening."

Upon hearing this, Ray recalled the two individuals who had stopped him on the lake before he reached the island.

Upon closer observation, Ray noticed that they resembled the Village Chief.

Ray: "Yes, I may have encountered them. Two individuals halted my boat and requested my details before permitting my vessel to approach the island."

Village Chief: "Yes, I sent them to guard the villagers while they were fishing." answered the chief.

Village chief: "The recent earthquake has devastated the crops on this island. The villagers hoped to sustain themselves through fishing this year, but a group of monstrous fish has emerged from an unknown origin. They have begun overturning boats in the lake and injuring the villagers." explained the chief in distress.

While the chief was speaking, the youngest son, who had gone inside, returned with a chair and sat beside Ray.

As they were all seated, an older lady emerged from inside and began serving the meals.

Village chief: "She is my wife." while showing the lady the chief introduced.

The lady smiled while serving, then returned inside after completing her task.

Village chief: "The youngest has only entered the organ refining stage, so he was tasked with guarding the village entrance. Meanwhile, the eldest and the second, already first-tier martial artists, were sent to protect the villagers."

While with the talk with the chief, Ray got to know about the martial arts and the levels in it.

First, the martial arts apprentices are divided into the bone refining stage, the muscle and skin refining stage, and then the last stage organ refining stage.

After the apprentice stage, the third-class martial artist develops inner qi, followed by the second- and first-class martial artists, who are the elite of top-level mercenaries in this world.

By the time the talk had ended all the food served was completed and Ray had learned the geography from the old chief.

There are four empires and 10 big and small countries that were known to the chief.

Blue Dragon Empire, Red Phoenix Empire, White Elephant Empire, and Black Tortoise Empire were the four grand empires.

Magic Beast Kingdom, Red Dragon Kingdom, Sky Eagle Kingdom, Heavens Sword Kingdom, Heavenly Spear Kingdom, Sea Dragon Kingdom, White Whale Kingdom, Swordfish Kingdom, Divine Alchemy Kingdom, and Divine Tree Kingdom are the ten great kingdoms. The rest consist of first-tier, second-tier, and third-tier great cities spread across the banks of the Great River in the wilderness.

After all the talk only, the old man started asking about the sale of the spirit fruits. 

Village chief: "I apologize, it has been some time since an outsider visited my home and I couldn't help but boast about myself. I hope my conversation was not tedious."

"Now, shall we discuss the sale of the fruits?" asked the old gentleman seriously.

Ray straightened his back and replied,

"I am indifferent to the price of the fruits, as they will spoil in a few days under my care; therefore, I might as well sell them to you," Ray stated.

"If you can meet my demands, then I can sell these fruits to you," said Ray to the village chief.

The chief pondered for a moment and inquired about Ray's condition.

Ray hesitantly asked if they could pay the money in all the country's denominations, with at least one coin of each denomination for every coin, he would gladly part ways with the fruits.

The chief was astonished by the unusual conditions and became perplexed.

Observing the chief's perplexed expression, Ray considered the request to be excessive and proceeded to speak.

"If you are unable to pay such a large amount of money, you may pay whatever you have. Ray conceded.

The chief was pulled back by Ray's weak answer and spoke.

"No, no, I am completely fine with paying you in every country's denomination."

"From bronze to white gold coins, which represent every country and empire in this world," answered the chief hastily.

"Although I am unaware of your plans, are you certain you are comfortable with one coin of bronze to one coin of white gold from every country?" asked the chief for the last time.

"If you sell these at any large city auction you can obtain a price 100 times greater than what I am offering now," informed the chief.

"No, I'm sure," confirmed Ray