This is not a cultivator sect it's a den of filthy hobos knifing each other in their sleep for a pair of spare socks. Too bad I'm nowhere near a phone to call for help. Joe just smiled through the explanation.
"So who's up for a game of dice?" Soup Bone asked as he was getting back into his overalls and boots.
"What stakes Soup Bone?" Young Three asked.
"That little piggy against a second hand syrup cauldron."
"How did you get your hands on a syrup cauldron?"
"Brothers Scar and Johnny Cake were at the Sisters of Mercy Convent mending their fences. The Sisters had some scrap steel they wanted to dispose of so our brothers took that as payment they dumped most of it off at the Junk Hall however they had to leave the cauldron behind because it was too large to easily carry back."
"What's to keep me from just going over to the nunnery and stealing it for myself?"
"Hmmmm.... The 50 or so nuns that hate your guts completely might be a turn off. It's one thing to stealthily raid their winter stores in a blizzard and another to try to abscond with a 600lb piece of cast iron from behind their rectory."
"They make the best sauerkraut for almost 1000 miles. The nuns should have had better security on the pantry. How am I supposed to collect my winnings? The nuns had a deal with Scar and Johnny Cakes. The Elder is pretty hard edged on deals. It seems to me that you are offering a coat that is not yours."
"An alternative I propose is to help you and Grubworm with this chore that you are working on then we take the pig back to Freedom Town and we have a bbq. That will probably put the Brothers in a good enough mood for a trade."
"This recruit is naked. The recruit is not fit to be amongst civilized folk First Sergeant."
"At ease recruit you won't be the only one naked at Freedom Town and none of the Brothers are civilized. It's a deal Soup Bone. Elder Bi said 100 acres cleared no time limit. That doesn't mean we should drag ass on it either so get back at it Grubworm."
Soup Bone had grabbed a stalk and was wiggling back and forth until he finally managed to break it off at the ground. He threw it into the pile. Young Three was snatching them up out of the ground as she had done before both were working at a much faster pace than Joe and the pile was growing ever higher. He had managed to cut down another but that was it for him. He fell down backwards and lay on the forest floor unmoving.
"Grubworm if you don't get up the bamboo flies are going to crawl into your holes and lay eggs. Those eggs are going to hatch and eat you from the inside out. You are going to die."
"First Sergeant this recruit cannot die unless he has dug his own grave first. I can't dig a hole yet. Do we have any more pig blood?"
"Chew on this."
Joe felt something touch his lips so he did as he was told. He could tell it was raw flesh so he figured that it was a piece of pig meat. It tasted sweeter than the blood he had before. It filled him with the same burning energy. He sat up.
"You enjoy that slice of oyster Grubworm? Nice sweet flavor delicate texture. I like the oysters myself." Soup Bone told him with envy.
"Where did we get oysters?... I just ate a testicle didn't I?"
An open palm turned his face 90 degrees.
"Correction the recruit dined on oysters."
An hour passed before Young Three said sufficient progress was made and that it was time to go.
"Soup Bone do you want to carry the pig or Grubworm?"
"I'll take the either but I think I'd catch flak later for carrying a naked guy on my back from the others so yeah I'll carry the pig."
"Ok that's settled climb on Grubworm."
She dropped to one knee on the ground. He mounted her back and could not resist giving her ass a smack. "Giddy up Gym Donkey."
Then he held on with all of his strength. But the expected pain did not follow.
Young Three laughed "Okay Grubworm I'll let that one slide it was appropriate. Next time I will make you piss blood."
"Pain is weakness leaving the body. You must first piss blood to piss excellence.Thirst is a distraction. A distracted mind cannot conquer the body." Joe chanted the Soul Cleansing Sutra loudly.
" The Soul Cleansing Sutra honestly hehehe you are a loon." Soup Bone said with mirth
"Race you to Freedom Town Young Three."
Soup Bone left in a sprint. Young Three stayed in place.
"I thought this was a race First Sergeant."
"I'm giving him a head start before I crush him."
She waited another moment.
"Don't squeeze my tits too hard Grubworm. I know you are going to get scared but remember to hold on tight."
She leaned forward then kicked off the ground. Her first stride was long. The next was longer and faster. Her arms swinging and stretching further with each step. Her gait was choppy. This is almost as fast as the bike. The ride might actually be a little smoother Joe thought.
She slowed down after she caught up to Soup Bone.
"Soup Bone don't even dream about running off with the meat I decided that we should arrive together That way there is no misunderstandings."
The two runners slowed to a steady lope.
Soup Bone was breathing really hard.
"Are you a mind reader Young Three?" Soup Bone asked sheepishly.
"No I'm not you are just too simple to read."
The journey to Freedom Town passed quickly.
The sight that greeted Joe was par for the course from everything else he had seen at the sect. A lone stone well with a thatch roof and scattered pieces of tin around it in a disorderly fashion. There was a barn like structure made from stone also thatched further away from the well. The barn had a log fenced pen behind it.
"Welcome to Fox Hole village." Young Three told Joe "time to meet more of your new family."
"Johnny Cakes, Scar, Hare Lip, and Audi. I brought guests and meat." Soup Bone shouted.
After he said meat the tin exploded off of the ground and a group of dirty men crawled out from underneath.
Each one of them were filthy covered in dirt with scraggly beards and long dirty hair. One had a wooden leg, another was carrying a plastic baby doll, and one walked out of his hole drinking from a silver hip flask.