Chapter 119: Arrogant Demeanor

The atmosphere at the scene was so quiet it made one's heart crawl, as if an invisible giant hand were tightly gripping everyone's heart.

In everyone's mind, the same terrifying thought surfaced involuntarily: Could it be that Liu Tianhong and the others had met with misfortune?

No, absolutely not! Lu Guohao desperately denied this thought in his heart, yet he did not even realize that his face had already turned as pale as a sheet of paper.

"Xiao Yu," he swallowed with difficulty, his voice trembling uncontrollably, and asked, "Did you not look carefully? Could you look again, properly?"

"That's right, every time we've come out hunting in the past, haven't Tiangong and the others always been with Li Laosan's group? Surely this time would be no exception, right?" Zhao Shan licked his lips nervously.

"We even saw them last time."

"They must be in the group, there's no mistake." The others chimed in one after another, trying to find some comfort for themselves and their companions.

"Sun Gang, did you see them?"

"No, I didn't see them!" Sun Gang was so anxious that sweat was pouring down his forehead. "I've checked over and over again. Tiangong and the others really don't seem to be in there, they really aren't!"

At this moment, everyone's heart felt as if it had fallen into an endless abyss, turning completely cold.

Since Sun Gang had said so, it seemed highly probable that Liu Tianhong and the others were truly not in the group before them.

This left only two possibilities. One was that Liu Tianhong and the others had not come out with the Hunting Team, but had stayed behind at Li Family Fort.

The other was that something had happened to them; to put it mildly, they might be injured, and to think of the worst... Zhao Shan and the others dared not think further, yet their intuition told them that the latter possibility was perhaps the greatest.

When they met at Zhou Family Fort last time, they had sensed that Liu Tianhong and the others must have been ostracized at Li Family Fort, otherwise that group would not have been so mocking and sarcastic.

Thinking back to the usual conduct of the Li Family Three Brothers... Lu Guohao's body could not help but tremble. He looked at Lu Yu and asked with a final shred of hope, "Xiao Yu, are you sure your Uncle Liu and the others are not in the group?"

Lu Yu slowly shook his head, his expression as cold as ice. Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

"Guohao, could it be that we are overthinking it?" Gu Jianghai could not bear to see everyone so desperate and comforted them, "Perhaps Liu Tianhong and the others are fine, and just didn't come out with Li Laosan and the others for some other reason?"

"That's right, Liu Tianhong and the others are all Martial Artists. Even if Li Laosan wanted to do them harm, he would have to weigh what the other Martial Artists might think, right?"

"I also think so, there's no need for Li Laosan and the others to lay a hand on Tiangong and the others, right?" The remaining few also tried to persuade, yet these words had minimal effect.

The expressions on the faces of Lu Guohao, Zhao Shan, Sun Gang, and the others were extremely ugly. They had originally been glad that Zhao Laosan's group had not caught up, avoiding a bloody conflict, but as it turned out, something perhaps even worse had happened.

"I'll go ask." At this moment, a firm voice broke the silence.

In an instant, everyone's gaze focused on him.

"Rather than guessing blindly here, it's better to go directly and ask them for the truth." Lu Yu put down the Telescope and said with a resolute expression.

Lu Guohao and the others were startled. Go ask? Given the character of Li Laosan's group, how could they possibly cooperate obediently and reveal the whereabouts of Liu Tianhong and the others?

It was unthinkable; it was simply impossible. But as Lu Yu said, without asking that group for the truth, guessing wildly here was completely meaningless.

"Xiao Yu, how about we go with you?" Zhao Shan shook the Rifle in his hand.

The other two men holding guns also hurriedly chimed in.

In the past, whenever they saw Li Laosan's group, they could only hide far away.

But now, their former companions' lives were uncertain, and they had guns in their hands; if they continued to swallow their pride, they might as well find a block of tofu and bash their heads in.

Li Yang and the others were also extremely nervous, their palms sweating as they gripped their guns.

Everyone had seen how good Uncle Liu and the others were to the Zhai. Now that something might have happened to them, what should they do?

Should they sit by and watch, or face it bravely? If they chose the former, their conscience would not allow it; if they chose the latter, they might lose their own lives.

"No need," Lu Yu shook his head, "I'm just going to ask for the truth, I expect I'll be back before long. Dad, you all take the prey back to the Zhai first."

Once the words were out, everyone looked at each other. They weren't stupid; the events of last time were still fresh in their memories, so how could this be as simple and easy as Lu Yu said?

Zhao Shan wanted to say something more, but Lu Guohao waved his hand.

"Alright, Xiao Yu, take care of yourself." He looked at Lu Yu and urged him earnestly.

Everyone knew Lu Yu's strength. Their original intention in wanting to follow was to help, but it might end up making them a burden to Lu Yu.

Since Lu Yu said so, it meant he must have a way to handle it.

They just needed to be able to bring the prey back to the Zhai safely.

"Mm, I will be careful." Lu Yu nodded, his gaze sweeping over everyone, "Everyone go back, and be careful on the road."

Having said that, he turned and walked with long strides in the direction of Li Laosan's group.

I hope Uncle Liu and the others are safe and sound; otherwise, anyone involved in this will not escape punishment!

"Let's go back too." Lu Guohao turned around and said with a soft sigh.

"Tiangong and the others will definitely be fine."

"That's right, they are all good people. Good people surely get good rewards, how could something happen to them?"

"If only they had left a day or two later," someone could not help but say, and the entire group instantly fell into dead silence again.

Indeed, if only they could have left a day or two later. Unfortunately, there are no "ifs" in this world.

Lu Yu's speed was very fast; he appeared to be walking, but his speed was about the same as an ordinary person running at full tilt. In a few minutes, he saw that group of people.

Of course, someone on the other side saw him too.

"What is the situation?" Chen Hongyu stopped in his tracks, his face full of confusion.

"What's wrong?" Everyone, including Li Laosan, stopped and looked in the direction Chen Hongyu was pointing.

"There's a young kid walking toward us with a bow. It looks like he's coming for us."

"What?" Everyone could hardly believe their ears, as if they had heard something absurd.

However, what surprised them even more was yet to come.

They heard Chen Hongyu continue: "That kid seems to be one of Lu Guohao's people; I've seen him before."

Li Laosan could not help it and hurriedly picked up the Telescope to look.

In the lens, a sturdy young man was walking with long, vigorous strides. His eyes were cold, staring straight ahead, as if he had already sensed they were observing him.

In reality, by this point, there was no need for the Telescope, because the others had also seen Lu Yu.

"Is someone really walking toward us?"

"What is this situation? What does this guy want?"

"Didn't Brother Chen say this kid is from Lu Family Stockade? Does he actually think he can deal with all of us by himself? Isn't that just looking for death?"

The twenty or thirty people discussed it among themselves while subconsciously gripping the weapons in their hands. However, this was merely a subconscious action; they weren't truly feeling that nervous inside.

"Right, Brother San?" Chen Hongyu saw Lu Yu's appearance clearly and turned his head to ask Li Laosan.

"Hmph." Li Laosan let out a cold laugh. "It looks like he really is coming for us; this brat certainly has guts."

"What does he want to do?" someone couldn't help but ask.

As the distance between the two sides grew shorter, seeing that it was just a young kid coming, most people breathed a sigh of relief and even started chatting and laughing.

However, a small number of people saw the Long Bow in Lu Yu's hand, which was nearly two meters long, and couldn't help but frown.

Someone muttered in a low voice: "Did you notice, this bow looks just like the one hanging in the weapon shop at Zhou Family Fort, the Five Hundred Catty Draw Weight Bow?"

Once he said this, many people reacted.

"It really does!"

"I was just about to say that."

"What does this kid want, bringing this bow over?" Everyone looked at each other, unable to figure it out.

Li Laosan was also a bit confused; if someone told him the kid walking over could draw that Five Hundred Catty Draw Weight Bow, he wouldn't believe it even if it killed him.

"Brother San, I know!" the crooked-mouthed man suddenly shouted excitedly. "Those people at Lu Family Stockade must have known we saw they had mounts and were afraid we'd cause them trouble, so they specifically sent a greenhorn to deliver this bow to curry favor with Brother San!"

"Hiss..." A sound of gasping in surprise rose from the surroundings.

Thinking about it carefully, this explanation actually seemed to make some sense.

A Five Hundred Catty Draw Weight Bow was worth over two thousand pieces; it was enough to equal an adult wild Horned Horse.

If an adult had sent it over, they definitely would have had to be on guard; perhaps Lu Guohao considered this point and sent a young kid instead.

Last time, didn't they ask Brother San how they could let Liu Tianhong and the others go?

Sending someone to deliver a bow this time, perhaps it had the intention of currying favor, and also contained that meaning, right?

Hearing this, the wariness on Li Laosan's face gradually dissipated, revealing a smug smile.

That's right, he felt this was the most likely possibility. But this Lu Guohao thought he could buy him off by sending a bow? It was simply daydreaming!

"Rustle..." Lu Yu had already walked in front of Li Laosan and the others, with only twenty meters separating the two sides.

On one side was only Lu Yu alone, while on the other side, there were over twenty, nearly thirty people.

"Kid, you're from Lu Family Stockade, right?" The crooked-mouthed man was the first to jump out, his face full of mockery.

"Did Lu Guohao send you over? He's quite sensible, knowing to send someone to deliver things. But to send such a measly item, aren't you looking down on people too much? Send over all your mounts and spears, that would be more like it."

The group spoke one after another, scrambling to get a word in.

Li Laosan, on the other hand, had a high-and-mighty air, his nostrils pointed at the sky, completely disdainful.

In his view, given his status, talking to a greenhorn was simply too demeaning; even if Lu Guohao came in person, he wouldn't be qualified to sit on equal footing with him.

"What kind of nonsense are you all spouting?" Lu Yu's voice turned abruptly cold, his gaze shooting toward Li Laosan like lightning. "You must be Li Laosan, right? I'm asking you, where are Liu Shu and the others? What did you do to them?"

Instantly, the atmosphere became tense. The group from Li Family Fort widened their eyes, unable to believe their ears.

They didn't even bother to think about what Lu Yu had said; they only knew that this greenhorn from Lu Family Stockade had an impossibly arrogant tone, actually daring to speak to Brother San in such a manner?

Li Laosan was also stunned for a moment, and immediately after, a surge of anger flared up from the bottom of his heart. He stared fixedly at Lu Yu and barked, "Who the fuck do you think you are? Daring to speak to me in that tone? Huh?"

"I'll ask you one last time." A flash of Ruthless appeared in Lu Yu's eyes as he said word by word: "Where are Liu Shu and the others? Why didn't they come out hunting with you?"