Chapter 14: Simply Bandits

Inside the house, Mother's face was full of indignation, while Lu Guohao sat to the side, his brows tightly locked and his face full of worry.

The younger brother looked at all this, at a loss for what to do. Just then, Lu Yu's figure appeared at the doorway. The younger brother's eyes lit up instantly, and he ran over excitedly, grabbing Lu Yu's leg.

"Brother, you're finally back."

"Mm." Lu Yu smiled and patted his younger brother's head, then looked at his parents in the room and asked, full of confusion: "Dad, Mom, what's wrong? I heard you talking about Wang Family Zhai from outside. Did people from our Zhai get into a conflict with them? Is anyone hurt?"

"Don't worry, no one is hurt." Lu Guohao shook his head.

"How could it be fine?" Mother couldn't help but say, "The prey was snatched away by them; these people are simply bandits!"

"Alright, let's not talk about the past." Lu Guohao frowned and signaled to Mother with his eyes. The younger brother was still young and didn't understand, but Lu Yu was different; letting him hear these things would only add to his worries.

Mother opened her mouth, but finally said: "Let's eat first."

Lu Yu frowned. Who could stand it when someone only says half the story? Besides, this matter sounded quite serious.

"Dad, Mom, what exactly happened? I'm a member of the Zhai too. Besides, Mom, you already know, so surely many others know as well. If I go ask someone else later, won't I find out anyway?"

Mother looked at Lu Guohao with some helplessness. Lu Guohao hesitated for a few seconds, then finally sighed: "Fine, I'll tell you, but don't be impulsive after hearing it."

After listening to Lu Guohao's account, Lu Yu finally understood the ins and outs of the matter.

It turned out that after Lu Guohao left the Zhai with the Hunting Team, they first went to check various traps, but ended up with nothing. Just as they were checking the last trap, a Giant-Horned Rhino that looked startled came charging toward them.

This Giant-Horned Rhino was extremely massive, standing about two and a half meters tall. It was named for the single giant horn growing on its head and was considered the largest in size among Low-level Fierce Beasts.

The group was surprised and happy at first, but soon lost heart, because they had no long-range attack methods to deal with a Giant-Horned Rhino in its prime state.

When the Giant-Horned Rhino saw them, it was also very terrified and turned to flee in another direction, only to fall into the trap they had dug.

This was truly a pie falling from the sky; everyone was so happy they couldn't close their mouths.

However, Lu Guohao had a faint, ominous premonition.

This Giant-Horned Rhino was clearly being chased by someone, and those people might be right behind it, just temporarily left behind because they were slower.

They had to get the prey out of the trap and leave as quickly as possible, otherwise, there would likely be trouble.

Unfortunately, just as they were halfway through their work, people from Wang Family Zhai appeared, and a dispute immediately broke out between the two sides.

The people from Wang Family Zhai insisted that they had set their sights on this Giant-Horned Rhino first and demanded to split it. The people from the Zhai naturally did not agree.

The people from Wang Family Zhai gradually realized that the other side had fewer people, and it seemed the Liu Jia Xiong Di were not there.

There were sixteen of them, while the other side only had eight; the number of people was almost double.

Consequently, the people from Wang Family Zhai wanted to take all the prey directly, leaving nothing behind.

In the past, when the two sides were equal in strength and neither would give way, this Giant-Horned Rhino might have been split in half.

But now that the Liu Jia Xiong Di were absent and their own side had fewer people, if a fight really broke out, the other side also had archers, and their own Zhai would definitely be the ones to suffer.

By then, not only would they fail to get the prey, but people would also be injured. In this world, everyone knew exactly what it meant to be injured.

Therefore, the people from the Zhai could only watch helplessly as the other side destroyed the trap and took the prey away. Before leaving, they were also mocked and ridiculed by the other side.

"That's how it happened, it's my fault." Lu Guohao sighed. He hadn't wanted to talk about this when he returned, fearing it would dampen everyone's morale.

As it turned out, on the way back, someone in the team couldn't swallow their anger and spoke about it, so many people found out. He could understand that everyone had anger in their hearts that needed to be vented.

"Dad, I think you did the right thing." Lu Yu nodded. "If you had clashed with them at the time, the best outcome would have been both sides suffering, and if things went poorly, our side might have been wiped out. If we lost you all, the remaining people in the Zhai wouldn't be able to survive."

Lu Yu sighed inwardly. In this world, one must not only fight against Fierce Beasts but also against people; sometimes, people are more terrifying than Fierce Beasts.

Lu Guohao looked at him with some surprise. He had expected Lu Yu to be very agitated and clamor to go find those people for revenge.

Mother, who was to the side, also fell silent. She understood this logic too, but she just couldn't swallow her anger and was scolding them to vent, even though it was useless.

"Alright, sit down and eat first. You're tired after practicing all day."

Lu Yu nodded and sat down at the dining table with his younger brother. Dinner was the same as yesterday: a bowl of thin porridge and a plate of meat slices.

"Xiao Yu, eat more." Lu Guohao picked up a few pieces of meat, wanting to put them into Lu Yu's bowl, but was blocked by Lu Yu's chopsticks. "Dad, you eat. I'll have one or two pieces, that's enough. Also, there's something I want to tell you."

Lu Guohao was startled. This was the first time he had seen such a serious expression on his son's face, and he subconsciously withdrew his chopsticks. "What is it?"

"I want to go out hunting with the Hunting Team tomorrow."

"What?"

Lu Guohao and Mother exclaimed almost at the same time.

Then, Mother said decisively: "No! How old are you? Do you know how dangerous it is? What if something happens?"

Lu Guohao looked at Mother and also nodded. "Xiao Yu, I know you want to contribute to the Zhai, practicing archery day and night these past two days. But it's only been a few days, right? How about this: you practice for another month or two, then come out with us."

Mother moved her lips, swallowing the words that had reached them.

"Brother, don't go, okay? It's dangerous outside." The younger brother looked at Lu Yu with a worried face; even such a small child knew what going out to hunt meant.

Lu Yu, however, shook his head firmly. "Dad, I say this because I naturally have confidence. After we finish eating, come with me to the Warehouse; you'll understand then."

Wait another month or two?

He was truly worried the Zhai wouldn't last that long.

Lu Guohao and Mother looked at each other.

Where did Lu Yu get the confidence to say such things? Could it be that in just two or three days, he had learned archery? Even if he had learned it, it would only be at the Entry level, right?

In the end, Lu Guohao nodded. Whether to agree or not could wait until after he had seen it.

After the family finished dinner, Lu Yu led Lu Guohao toward the Warehouse. Mother was worried, so she brought the younger brother along too; the whole family of four set out.

Wang Bo was stunned when he saw this scene.

What was going on?

Wasn't it archery practice?

Why bring so many people?

Lu Yu smiled slightly at him and picked up the sixty-jin Long Bow from the side.

At this moment, Lu Guohao's eyes narrowed slightly, and a solemn expression appeared on his face.

He remembered very clearly that the bow Lu Yu used for practice yesterday was still a thirty-jin bow; when did he change to a sixty-jin one?

If using a thirty-catty bow to hunt a Low-level Fierce Beast was still a bit of a stretch, a sixty-catty bow was enough to shoot and kill the vast majority of Low-level Fierce Beasts, and even some Intermediate-level Fierce Beasts could be slowly worn to death.

He admitted that Lu Yu had brought him some surprises, but this was not enough.