Walking closer to the village chief, Xiao Musheng asked.

"Why are you waiting here, village chief? You can just call me if you need to talk. Come in, it's cold here." (XM)

The village chief, Zhang Wen, was not a cultivator, he was a normal old man. Wearing old clothes and a walking stick in his hand, the long-bearded old man was sitting on top of a rock.

"Ohh. I'm not so old that I can't walk anymore and it's not that cold." (ZW)

Xiao Musheng helped the old man up and led him inside the hunter HQ. Inside a room, they sat facing each other. Xiao Musheng made tea for the old man and himself. As he served the tea, he asked the old man.

"So, what is it?" (XM)

Zhang Wen took a sip of the tea.

"Nothing important, just want to tell you the cooks for the feast are already decided. The ingredients for the feast are already prepared, right?" (ZW)

"Of course. Please tell them to pick it up from the Lu." (XM)

"I'll tell them." (ZW)

The old man took another sip of the tea with no signs of standing up.

"Is there anything else, chief?" (XM)

"Actually, yes." (ZW)

Zhang Wen stopped drinking and straightened up, his face serious. Xiao Musheng also grew serious.

"I'm sure you know that there is a disciple recruiting event in two months from now at the Firehowl city, right?" (ZW)

Hearing what Zhang Wen said, Xiao Musheng's expression hardened. Of course, he knew. How could he not know?

"I'm planning to send children from the village to participate in the event. I hope you will accompany them on the trip, can you do it?" (ZW)

"Chief… I…" (XM)

Zhang Wen put his hand up to stop Xiao Musheng.

"Child, I know and feel sorry for what happened to you in the past. But I'm sure you understand, what happened to you in the past will not necessarily happen to the children if they enter a sect.

You were clueless and did not know any better in the past, but I hope you will use your knowledge and experience to guide the children. So that they will not go through what happened to you. Entering a sect will give the children a better future and resources than staying in the village.

I know I ask something hard from you, so you don't need to answer me right now. Just think about it and tell me your answer later. Well, I'll excuse myself. Thanks for the tea and don't need to see me off." (ZW)

The old man stood and went away. Xiao Musheng was still sitting on his chair, thinking about the things the old man said. A piece of memory he thought he had forgotten flashed in his mind, Xiao Musheng frowned and reached for his stomach. The concealed wound on his stomach and back felt hot. His heart beat faster and cold sweat drenched his back and forehead.

He forcefully suppressed the memory and calmed himself. His heart calmed down and he wiped the cold sweat with his sleeve. He leaned back on the chair and gazed at his spear on the wall. Hand on his forehead, Xiao Musheng sighed. There was a struggle in his eyes.

@@@

At night, the world dyed black as the moon hung in the sky. Yan Xiu slowly raised his body and sat on the bed. He scratched his head and yawned, his heavy eyelids opened and saw the dark sky. Grumbling sound came from his stomach, rubbing his empty stomach, Yan Xiu came down from the bed. He washed his face and changed his clothes before heading to the kitchen.

He wanted something filling but easy to make. He checked the ingredients and saw some Yellow Potatoes, there were also some eggs and sausages. He knew what to make now.

Yan Xiu grabbed some eggs, put it into a pot with water and set the fire to high while waiting for the water to boil. In the meantime, he peeled the potatoes, he peeled a lot since he needed to make his and Bai Yuan's portion. Neither of them is a light eater. He then cut them into four pieces before boiling them.

When he heard the boiling sound from the egg pot, he put out the fire and set the pot aside. He drained the hot water and poured in cold water to quickly cool the eggs. After peeling them, Yan Xiu cut the eggs into two and put it in a bowl. He took out another pan and fried ten sausages.

When the sausages were done, Yan Xiu checked on the potatoes. He poked the potatoes and felt the softness was just right. He put out the fire and drained the water. Yan Xiu poured out the potatoes into a bowl after dicing them. He then quickly melted some butter with milk and stirred until the butter melted. Pouring the butter and milk into the diced potatoes, he took out a cooking utensil his mama called potato masher. His mama told him that if he made mashed potato, he needed to use the potato masher to mash and mix the potato with the milk and butter. After mixing, Yan Xiu added salt and pepper to adjust the taste.

He put the mashed potatoes and sliced hard-boiled eggs onto the table with the sausages. Bai Yuan was already waiting on the table, he already smelled the fragrance of the food a long time ago and waited expectantly for the food. Yan Xiu chuckled.

"Let's eat." (YX)

The mashed potato was creamy and filling, the eggs and sausages complement nicely with the mashed potato. The two of them eat with relish. After cleaning, Bai Yuan went out and lazed around in his bed. Yan Xiu trained and cultivated before going to sleep again.