"I hope we can hunt down a few demons!"
Mo Yun withdrew his gaze and led Zhao Gang and Huang Shan toward the Medicinal Fields' outpost.
Though called an outpost, it was really more like a village.
The night was thick and dark. A bitter wind swept down from the distant hills, carrying scraps of dried grass and stinging their cheeks.
Occasional barks drifted from deep within the village, startling a few babies into crying, only to be swallowed by the cold wind moments later.
The three led their horses inward along the rutted dirt road.
Mo Yun carefully surveyed their surroundings.
There were at least a hundred earthen houses, scattered across a relatively flat stretch beside the Medicinal Fields.
Stacks of firewood, farming tools, and battered household odds and ends of uncertain purpose cluttered the spaces in front of and behind the houses.
Soon, Mo Yun spotted several figures standing nearby and quickened his pace toward them.
Though it was already late at night and the cold wind blew bleakly, the outpost's steward knew the three of them were coming and was still waiting at the village entrance.
Seeing them approach from afar, a wiry little old man hurried forward with two young men in tow.
"Lord Mo, you've finally arrived! I'm Liu Youquan, the steward here..."
Mo Yun looked at Liu Youquan.
He was a wiry little old man who appeared to be in his fifties.
He wore a gray padded jacket covered in patches and a battered leather cap, and had the air of a farmer who had spent years working the soil.
Now his face was wreathed in smiles as he gazed at the three of them with a touch of obsequiousness.
"This way, please, this way! I've prepared fine wine and good food to welcome