By the time the three little children finished eating, most of the bandits in the courtyard had collapsed.
The burly man was used to it; the village chief was extremely strict with them.
The life of a bandit wasn't for everyone. They all came from humble backgrounds, not professional thieves, and lacked formidable martial arts skills.
To be able to kill the wealthy merchants and officials they robbed as quickly as possible, they spent their days in rigorous training from dawn, except for those brothers who were tasked with ambushing on the road.
Only on days of celebration in the village would they leave two or three brothers on patrol, while the rest would drink to their heart's content.
They would drink until they were completely inebriated, not waking up until the next day.
Wen Jue softly called out, "Uncle, could you help us pack some of the food we brought into the carriage we'll be sleeping in? We'll get hungry at night."
The carriage, brought to the mountain stronghold, hadn't even had its horses unhitched due to the string of events; the horses were merely tied to trees.
The burly man looked at these three trouble-making, food-guzzling future leaders. He deeply believed that what their future leader said was not without reason.
If the three of them got hungry tonight, looking at the scene in the courtyard, he would be the one to deal with it in the end.
He didn't want to be woken up in the middle of the night, fighting off sleep, to find food and drinks in the kitchen.
These things should be handled before going to sleep.
The burly man went to the kitchen with Wen Jue. He packed a lot of the food Wen Jue asked for, even drinks, and loaded them all onto the carriage.
After Wen Jue finished packing, he turned to ask the young leader, Wen Jue, who was standing by the carriage shaft.
"Is this enough?"
Wen Jue said softly, "Perhaps not quite enough. Xing Chen eats a lot, so it would be even better if there were a bit more."
Without a word, the burly man went back to the kitchen to get more food.
After a few more trips back and forth, with everything taken care of, he brought Wen Jue back to the table.
However, upon their return, the entire village, including the cooks, was drunk.
The burly man lifted Wen Jue onto a high stool. He had expended some energy with his repeated trips and hadn't eaten much earlier, so he was truly hungry now.
As he busied himself with the food, Wen Jue, dangling his short legs, picked up a bowl, poured wine into it, and declared he was going to give it to the patrolling bandits.
The burly man glanced at Mo Xing Chen, who was expressionlessly eating his meal and porridge.
He then looked at Wen Jue, who was holding a bowl of wine with both hands, standing on tiptoe to hand it to a patrolling brother.
He felt immensely gratified. He had only just been recognized as an adopted son by the village chief, and he was already trying to build connections.
He wasn't even as tall as his leg yet! This young leader had a promising future!
After his sigh of admiration, the burly man continued to eat, taking a large gulp of water along with it.
Hmm? Why did the water in this teacup taste like wine?
…
He had only eaten half his meal.
Mo Xing Chen, still feeling weak from his stomach issues, sat foolishly on his stool after drinking his porridge, not daring to eat anything else.
He was surprised to see the burly man, who had been watching them without drinking, suddenly slump onto the table with a loud thud.
Mo Xing Chen reached out his chubby hand and poked the man hesitantly. There was no reaction.
Then, Mo Xing Chen asked Wen Bai and Wen Jue in shock, "What… what happened to him?"
Wen Jue, who had already returned, sat calmly on his high stool, took a sip of plain water, and said nonchalantly, "He's been watching us all day. He's probably too tired and fell asleep."
Mo Xing Chen found this reasoning sound and withdrew his hand, deciding not to disturb the man.
However, he felt something was still not quite right, though he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
Wen Bai swallowed the meat in his mouth, picked up a huge chicken leg, and surveyed the surroundings.
Even the patrolling bandits had collapsed on the ground, leaning against the fence and snoring.
Were they all drunk?
Excellent, if not now, then when?
System 001 reminded, "Host, something is not right here. Many of them don't seem drunk, but rather drugged."
System 001 proudly added, "But Host, don't worry, I have removed all harmful factors from the food you three ate. Male lead Mo Xing Chen will no longer have stomach aches and diarrhea. I added something to the porridge I gave him to cure his stomach issues."
Wen Bai nodded.
Then, Wen Bai hopped off his high stool and led the other two little children towards the carriage.
However, as they passed by the village chief, Han Hu, who was lying on the ground, Mo Xing Chen glanced at the backs of Wen Bai and Wen Jue. He hesitated for a moment, then quietly stopped.
The bandits in the courtyard now looked exceptionally wild and unrestrained, using the ground as their bed and the sky as their blanket, lying in a vast, drunken heap.
Han Hu was also lying on the ground, seemingly very drunk, even snoring loudly enough to shake the heavens.
Mo Xing Chen squatted beside Han Hu's head, looking down at the fierce man.
He hadn't forgotten that this man had said he would sell him.
-
Wen Bai walked halfway before System 001 reminded him that no one had followed him.
Wen Jue lagged a short distance behind Wen Bai. He was the first to notice that Mo Xing Chen hadn't followed. He stood between the already distant Wen Bai and the squatting Mo Xing Chen.
Wen Bai turned his head and saw from afar that Mo Xing Chen first tentatively poked the village chief's face. Upon realizing there was no reaction, he landed a punch with all his might directly on the man's eye.
Children their age, though not strong, had small fists.
The same force applied to a large fist and a small fist made a fundamental difference.
Furthermore, children their age didn't know how to control their strength; they only used brute force without reservation.
Mo Xing Chen, without holding back, landed a blow that blackened the eye of the drunk Han Hu.
Instantly, Han Hu's eyes turned bruised.
Han Hu, in his dazed state, seemed to be in great pain and tried to shield himself, but he couldn't wake up.
Seeing this, Wen Bai didn't urge him and walked directly to the carriage.
If they were going to leave, he naturally had to confirm the items they needed to take.
Otherwise, the three of them, leaving empty-handed, even though they had a carriage, wouldn't be able to travel far.
System 001 displayed a holographic virtual map in front of Wen Bai: "Host, to return to the Wen family, you will need to cross four mountains and pass through six cities and seven villages..."
System 001 marked on the virtual map: "These few villages are very backward and barren, not suitable for stopping. And in this city and this city, there have been reports of missing children, which would be unsafe for the three of you, so you need to avoid them. You three humans are truly too young, so to be safe, it's best to pack enough food and avoid stopping as much as possible on the way."
Having experienced these successive events, Wen Bai also realized this, so his opinion was highly consistent with System 001's.