Chapter 10: Diligent Yan Qiu

In the early morning, the sun had just risen over the Eastern Mountain, Li Bucai stepped out of the tent, took his war spear and went into the forest to practice spear techniques. The Lulu Beast is not impervious to blades and spears; judging from the two that fought yesterday, if one can easily pierce a large tree, one should be able to pierce its scales.

He felt that during yesterday's dragging of the Lulu Beast back, the Martial God Mantra had a slight increase, and there were only two spear techniques: "Plum Blossom Snack" and "Qinglong Tail Sweep". "Plum Blossom Snack" first confuses the enemy with a spray of spear blossoms; while the enemy is dazzled and cannot tell real from fake, he strikes the vital point with lightning speed. "Qinglong Tail Sweep" is a half‑offensive, half‑defensive set: when the war spear is swung diagonally, its shadow shields the body as defense; when swung horizontally, it creates a flower‑like pattern as attack, capable of killing all enemies within spear range.

After an hour, the two moves were fairly good: "Plum Blossom Snack" could drive most of the spear tip into a tree trunk, and "Qinglong Tail Sweep" could cut down a sapling as thick as a drinking cup. The Lord's Token displayed: Martial God Mantra level 5, "Plum Blossom Snack" level 3, "Qinglong Tail Sweep" level 3, "Piercing Cloud Leap" level 4, "Swinging Sword Form" level 1, "Hidden Sword Form" level 1, "Straight Sword Form" level 1. Because there is no sword, a wooden stick is used as a substitute, which cannot fully replicate a sword's effect, so sword techniques train more slowly.

"So the Lord is here; after a day's toil yesterday, you should rest a while, right?" Xianghong walked over with a sweet smile.

Li Bucai sheathed his spear and returned a smile.

After practicing for an hour without a break, Xianghong saw his sweaty face, quickly took out a pristine handkerchief to wipe his sweat, moving with extreme gentleness.

The handkerchief emitted a faint fragrance, and her concerned expression intoxicated Li Bucai; unable to resist, he placed his hand on her pink face and gently caressed it.

This sudden action made Xianghong's delicate body tremble slightly, she stepped back a little to dodge, but immediately pressed her face back into his palm, letting his warm large hand wander between her cheek and neck, eyes half‑closed, looking very comfortable.

Seeing her enchanting demeanor made him want to go further, but in broad daylight, being seen by others might be problematic, and more importantly a plan had to be carried out today, so he withdrew his hand.

Xianghong's face was already flushed; she lowered her head, eyes shy, and said, "Lord, it's time for breakfast."

……

Back at the camp, breakfast was ready, and everyone else was there waiting for the Lord, but Yan Qiu was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Yan Qiu?" Li Bucai asked.

"She went to the riverbank, said she'd eat later."

"Oh? The sun is so fine today, I was planning to go out with you all."

Being able to accompany the Lord on a camp inspection is an honor for the guard‑trained girls; Rui Tong hurriedly said, "Really? I'll go fetch her right away."

Li Bucai replied, "I'll go instead."

At the riverbank, Yan Qiu was fishing.

"My beauty, is there fish for breakfast?"

Yan Qiu, fully focused on the fish, recognized the Lord's voice, hurriedly set down her rod and bowed, "Greetings, Lord." Then, embarrassed, she shook her head, "I haven't caught any yet…"

"I guessed it already; those fish just don't have the will to bite Yan Qiu's hook. Do you know why you can't catch them?"

Yan Qiu shook her head again.

Li Bucai said, "There are two kinds of people who can't catch fish: people like you, and people like me."

"W‑why…"

"When I stand by the river, the fish flee at the sight of me; but you, the fish are so busy admiring your looks that they forget to swim. Fish that stop swimming sink, so you can't catch any."

Yan Qiu realized he was praising her beauty and shyly said, "How could the Lord scare the fish away? Even the sisters say the Lord's appearance is outstanding. I can't catch fish because I'm too clumsy; I think… I think once I'm practiced enough, I'll definitely be able to catch them…"

"So that means I'm too stupid…" Li Bucai knew she didn't mean it that way, but Yan Qiu was the kind of girl who made those around her feel very MAN, teasing then comforting, comforting then teasing.

"No… no… The Lord is the greatest hero Yan Qiu has ever seen; even the terrifying Lulu Beast can be captured. If the Lord were stupid, there would be no clever people left under the heavens…"

"If I could have a cup of your fragrant tea every day, I'd be content." Li Bucai blushed at her words, surprised to have become a hero here. He chuckled, "It's getting late, time for breakfast."

When breakfast was mentioned, Yan Qiu suddenly drooped her head and whispered, "I… I've already eaten…" As the Lord's sole first‑rank manpower, she felt she couldn't fulfill her duty to the Lord, only to waste less food for him and save time, hoping to catch more fish.

The meat had just been roasted; unless they ate raw meat first, Li Bucai felt something was off. She must feel guilty for not providing food, so he said, "Everyone's waiting for you; they said if you don't eat, they'll just wait there. After breakfast, we plan to go out together."

"Really…" Lords rarely take first‑rank manpower into the wild; she didn't expect to be invited the next day. Yan Qiu was excited, but then frowned slightly and whispered, "I… I still don't want to go…"

"Why?"

"Hmm…" Yan Qiu hesitated a moment, then said, "I… I'm a bit reluctant to obey."

"I see… then, alright, let's go back to eat; everyone's waiting." Her face indeed stayed flushed.

Yan Qiu shyly nodded.

Li Bucai planned to go capture a Lulu Beast, feeling uneasy leaving her in the camp. She was naturally frail; catching a Lulu Beast required traveling over ten li. Since she felt unwell, a long trek would only worsen her condition, so he left her in the camp.

After breakfast, Li Bucai dragged all the tree crowns he had cut while building the tents yesterday and placed them around the camp perimeter. According to earthly logic, although they can't stop a giant like a Lulu Beast, they can at least block smaller ferocious beasts. He also left scout Rui Tong to look after Yan Qiu.

Once everything was ready, he led a few other girls out of the camp. Li Bucai rarely acted as the Lord, preferring to be their big brother. The girls gradually talked more, chatting and laughing along the 'highway' heading north.

The mountains on the west bank of the White Horse River resembled a massive dragon lying down, stretching in undulating peaks, steep and picturesque. Li Bucai named it "Wolong Ridge". Among these ranges, the mountain near the confluence of the White Horse River and Shalanjiang, a hundred meters offshore, was even more treacherous: its summit tilted at a 45‑degree angle, featuring a hundred‑meter‑high cliff that looked like a knife‑carved blade, resembling a dragon's dorsal fin from afar. Below the cliff lay numerous large stones.

When Li Bucai and the others reached the foot of the cliff, it was already noon. They chose a flat spot, gathered dry branches to light a campfire, boiled water and roasted meat while chatting merrily.

After they had enough water and food, Li Bucai approached a stone about half a person's height, pushed it forcefully with both arms; the boulder rolled swiftly down the slope. The trees on the flat ground at the foot had already been flattened by Lulu Beasts. The boulder whooshed across the plain without obstruction, and with a "splash" it rolled into the river.

Li Bucai said, "Sisters, do you want to meet that herd of Lulu Beasts?"

When the girls heard they were to meet the Lulu Beasts, three different expressions appeared. The usually expressionless Wu Zhuoran remained expressionless, giving a faint "hm."

The girls behind her simultaneously showed a slightly startled expression: "Ah?"

Only Zhuoyue, beaming, nodded vigorously and said, "Alright."

The girls, knowing the Lord was present, didn't panic. Remembering the stone the Lord had pushed, they understood his intention and in unison said, "Where the Lord goes, we'll follow; whatever the Lord does, we'll do. We are willing to go with the Lord to meet those Lulu Beasts."

"In a moment a herd of Lulu Beasts will pass here; you can stay put, but I'll need a favor. When the herd reaches the foot of the mountain, you all combine, use these wooden levers to push the largest movable stone down." Li Bucai said, pulling several pre‑prepared long sticks from his pack and placing them beside the boulder.

Li Bucai struggled to restrain the girls who wanted to accompany him in luring the beasts, and then descended the mountain alone.

Since yesterday Li Bucai had guided the herd to the Shalanjiang basin, they had been grazing there, only wandering a few li westward. When Li Bucai appeared before the herd, they seemed to recall yesterday's grievance, instantly stirred, and charged at him. Li Bucai turned and ran, leading the herd toward the foot of Longfin Mountain.

Now Li Bucai's stamina was ample; compared with yesterday, he leapt and bounded easily, covering the nearly hundred‑meter gap to the herd, occasionally looking back as the herd followed.

The girls, positioned high on the mountain, waited for the Lord to reach a safe spot, then together tipped the massive stone. The stone, taller than a person, creaked several times and rolled down the slope like an avalanche.

When the herd passed this point and the huge stone came into view, they were thrown into chaos; the boulder crashed down at waist height like a bowling ball, toppling five or six beasts and rolling several Lulu Beast corpses into the rapid river; a second boulder then rolled down from the mountain.

The Lulu Beasts were ferocious; although a few were knocked down, they were unafraid and kept charging forward.

Li Bucai led the herd into an open area, fearing they might breach the camp, then turned toward the riverbank and jumped into the water, guiding the Lulu Beasts back. The large movable stones on the mountain were gone; the girls pushed down a few smaller stones, toppling only a few Lulu Beasts, insufficient for lethal damage. When the herd reached the Three‑Water Pass, they seemed to realize they couldn't catch up, and after losing a few, under the lead beast they migrated toward the upstream of Shalanjiang.

Li Bucai reached the shore and collected the spoils; the Lulu Beasts carried by the boulder into the river had already drifted out of sight downstream of Shalanjiang, likely unrecoverable for the rest of the day, and it was someone else's territory, so he only cleaned up the shore, counting five beasts.

……