It was the end of summer in the mortal plane. To survive the stringency of the winter, people living in villages could only collect enough resources throughout the summer to somehow survive the bitterness of the cold.
It was no different for the villagers living in Mistwood Village. It was a small village with less than three hundred people living here peacefully. It was a remote village located at the very end of the mortal plane.
The harshness of winter was more terrifying to this region. Because Mistwood Village was positioned near the Forest of thousand trees. It was a forest that was said to have a thousand different and unique trees. That was why the name. And for generations, the people of the village relied on the forest to gather daily necessities because the forest was rich with resources.
But it was also the main reason why many inhabitants had lost their lives while wandering in the forest to search for resources because of demonic beasts that resided in-depth of the forest.
Because of some unknown explanation, all around the winter the village was covered in a misty cold atmosphere that lowered the temperature further. It was harder for the normal people of the village to see through the thick fog in the winter and the demonic beasts took advantage of this situation to kill inhabitants.
And that was why it was forbidden to wander in the forest in winter to decrease the misfortunes from happening. But to survive the acrimony of chilly weather, they would need firewood, so the village was very enthusiastic at this point.
Mistwood Village was under the regulation of Ironforge Town which was a little less than one hundred kilometers distance away.
At the very end of the village near the woods, a brokedown cottage was situated. One could easily see the small holes in the wall of the house making the cold air of dawn pass through without any resistance.
Inside the tiny house, one short bed was placed along with some aged essential utensils to cook enough food for a single person.
A body of a boy could be seen sleeping on the bed. The boy seemed to be in the adolescent phase. His facial and physical descriptions could not be more unordinary. Wearing some tattered garments, the body of the boy was malnourished.
His eyes were black and with long uncared black hair that appeared too long. His height was short for his age. His skin was fair but scars could be seen that suggested the harshness he was suffering to survive.
The fire that was burning inside the house to provide warmth throughout the gloaming night was extinguished because of cold air passing through the small holes in the wall.
Because of the morning coldness, the boy seemed to slowly open his eyes. After getting adjusted to the morning light he went out of bed, he proceeded to go out of the house.
His eyes were devoid of any emotions that seemed to have witnessed the end of the world. For someone at his age, it was frightening that seemed to complement the chilly weather outside.
There was a small stream flowing near his house where he washed his face off and took some fruits available from nearby trees along the way to reach his shack.
After forcefully eating some sour and unripe fruits, he locked his house and began to proceed to reach his workplace which was the house of the village chief.
The house of village chief was located at the very center of the village. It was a two-story house with beautiful decorations with few guards patrolling it.
The village chief, Lin Dong, was the only cultivator in the village. He was like an unreachable person in the eyes of the local residents.
Lin Dong was in the third stage of the Qi Awakening realm. He had two wives and three children. He was a kind hearted man who took pity on Ren and gave him a job to earn money when his parents died because of demonic beasts.
He was a person Ren could only revere. He always wanted to be a strong person like Lin Dong but without proper resources, he could only dream.
However, today would be different that would change his life forever.
~~~
"Hey Ren, my father just brought me a sword from Ironforge town. From now on I'll also participate in the hunting." said a young boy proudly who seemed to be a little older than Ren but with better physical characteristics.
He was Wei Chen. He and his father, Lian Chen also worked in the village chief workplace. Most people in the village worked there. All they had to do was collect herbs and firewood that were sent to Ironforge Town.
As the name signified, Ironforge Town was a small town that was famous for weapon forging. And because it would need a lot of quantity of firewood while forging daily necessities as well as weapons, people from nearby villages like Mistwood Village provided the required quantity of firewood. And in return, they earned enough money to live in.
When Ren and Wei Chen reached the workplace while chatting, they could sense something was wrong cause Lin Dong was present today. Most of the time only the guards were present to oversee the workplace and handle if something went wrong. But today seemed to be different.
Another ten minutes passed and when all the workers had arrived, Lin Dong started to speak with a worried expression.
"I had received news from the other villages. It seemed bandits attacked them and took all of their belongings."
Hearing this, laborers became fearful. A deadly silence took hold of the place.
Lin Dong contained, " But worry not. The mayor of Ironforge Town has promised to send powerful cultivators to eliminate the bandits. So from today onwards, do not venture deep into the forest and stay close to each other. Return before dusk. Continue with this routine and wait for further instructions."
Listening to this, the fearful expressions vanished from the faces of workers, and after thanking Lin Dong they proceeded to enter the forest to do their daily work.
Ren also went with them but an uneasiness took hold of his heart that he could not seem to take off.