"We're here! Those three are the huts you can stay in. You three can choose any of them. There are beds in all three of those huts, but there is no blanket. So I hope that you will adjust" The man said as he stopped in front of three huts. All those huts were near each other.
"Alright, thanks." Long Chen thanked Mu Gan.
Mu Gan turned back and left, leaving Long Chen and the others back to select their places.
"Mingyu and Zhiqing… I hope that both of you will stay together for the night. This place isn't entirely safe and there might be dangers, so it would be better if you stay together. I'll stay in the same hut, but I'll be on the ground and cultivate all night long. We shouldn't take the risk of separating tonight." Long Chen said as he gazed at the both of them in full seriousness.
"That sounds like a good idea." Zhiqing immediately voiced her agreement and mingyu simply nodded her head.
"Let's stay in this one then." Long Chen said as he pointed towards a nearby hut. It was the one that was closest to them.
He entered the hut with Mingyu and Zhiqing.
Long Chen sat on the ground in a meditative position and began cultivating while Zhiqing and Mingyu sat on the bed.
Half an hour passed away in complete silence.
"Master Chen?" Zhiqing called out to Long Chen but received no response.
"He's in deep cultivation, so we can talk freely. It's a good time to talk about what happened before." Zhiqing turned her head and looked at Mingyu as she said.
"Are you angry with him?" Zhiqing asked Mingyu with a curious look on her face.
Mingyu didn't say anything and just shook her head in denial.
"Then are you angry at me?" She asked again with a slight smile.
"No." Mingyu let out as she shook her head again.
"Then why haven't you said a single word since the moment you saw us like that? What do you think about it?" Zhiqing asked as she tried to understand Mingyu's thoughts.
"I... I always knew that he would have more women. In fact, he even told me that he has two girls. I realized that he wasn't lying, but I acted as if it was a joke. There was only one reason behind it... it was because I wanted to be close to him without making him uncomfortable. I wanted him to not worry about other girls when he was with me." Mingyu said softly as she looked down.
"In fact, I knew that he liked you. It was clear from the way he looked at you. So what happened before was clearly a part of my expectations, but it's just really strange and painful watching it actually happen in front of me." She continued.
"Mingyu, Are you serious about the way he looks at me? I, on the other hand, feel completely opposite. I think that the way he looks at you is a much more loving gaze. I don't know what your people went through, but it can't be more clear about it. He likes you a lot. I've seen him looking down the whole journey... he was most probably worried about losing you. I'm sure you don't want to leave him either, so there's no benefit in punishing him."Zhiqing said as she gazed at Mingyu in full seriousness.
"Life is too unpredictable to worry about such things. Think about what I told you.' Zhiqing said before she lay down on the bed.
"Thank you for everything," Mingyu told Zhiqing before she fell into deep thought.
Night passed away silently and it was already morning.
Zhiqing and Mingyu had woken up and were waiting for Long Chen to finish his cultivation.
It was around 7 am in the morning when Long Chen opened his eyes.
He stretched his arms as he yawned. Just as he was about to stand up, he heard some noises coming from the outside.
"Is the sacrifice prepared? " Someone said as a loud laughter was heard.
Long Chen stood up and walked towards the door with a frown. Mingyu and Zhiqing followed him as they got off the bed.
"Ah… yes, envoy. The sacrifice is ready, but can I request you one thing?" Long Chen left the hut and saw the village chief talking to someone.
The person in front of him was... It looked like a human who covered his face with a mask. The person had a black robe that covered his entire body, thus it was difficult to know if the person was a male or a female, but Long Chen had a guess that it was a male from his voice and laughter.
"Do you think you have any right to request anything from me? But since I'm feeling good today, I'll hear your request." The black-robed man said as he walked closer to the village chief.
"I...I... If it's possible, I would request you to not take the kids. We can give you double the meat and gold, but please don't take the kids." Village Chief looked quite scared, but he still stood tall in his place without taking a step back as he said to the masked man
"Hmm...? Have you prepared double the meat and double gold?" The masked man asked with an interested tone.
"Ah, Yes! Yes! We will give you all that if you don't take the kids." The Village Chief said as a hope was ignited in his heart.
"Good, good! The master would be happy to hear that I got him double the sacrifice." The man started laughing like a mad man as he heard the Chief's words.
"Good! Give me double meat, double gold, and three kids! You have done well this month." The black-robed man said with a burst of loud laughter.
"Three kids?... Why the kids? Aren't you freeing them in exchange for the extra gold and meat?" The Village chief asked with a perplexed look on his face.