Chapter 57: Eat Your Fill and Practice Martial Arts

I don't know who it was that shouted at the top of their lungs, but the crowd, which had just been noisy and clamorous, instantly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Nearly a hundred pairs of eyes fell in unison upon the returning Hunting Team—or, to be precise, upon the prey they were carrying.

One, two, three, four—four heads. No, there was also the one Lu Yu was dragging; a full five heads of prey!

Heavens, when had the Zhai ever had such a bountiful harvest?

With a "gulp," Li Yang swallowed hard, his voice trembling: "Am I... am I not dreaming?"

"I... I don't think so." Liu Kai looked dazed, shaking his head mechanically.

He knew in his heart that everything before his eyes was absolutely true, and by no means a dream.

Beside him, Wang Liang's eyes were also full of shock. Could it be that this was Lu Yu's doing again? It had to be; apart from him, he really couldn't think of anyone else who could do it.

The Hunting Team drew closer and closer, every person's face wearing a radiant smile.

The team crossed the suspension bridge, walked into the Zhai, and under the astonished and joyful gazes of the crowd, placed the prey steadily on the ground.

"The harvest today is really good, all thanks to little Yu," Zhao Shan laughed heartily.

In an instant, hundreds of gazes "whooshed" and focused on Lu Yu.

"Wow! Brother Lu Yu is so amazing!" More than a dozen children had eyes sparkling with admiration.

Ji Bingyu was also mixed in with the group of children at this moment, looking at Lu Yu with a face full of reverence.

"Last time he brought back a lot of prey, but this time it's even more—it's increased several times over!"

"He really is the great savior of our Zhai." The elderly were so moved that their eyes filled with tears.

Geng Lian, in the crowd, was also smiling exceptionally brightly.

"Uncle Zhao, don't say that." Lu Yu was caught between laughter and tears, "Everyone deserves credit for such a big harvest today."

Zhao Shan and the others were stunned for a moment, then followed suit and laughed.

When they hunted the Spirit-horned Deer, they had indeed put in the effort, but later when they ran into the Wang Family, if it hadn't been for Lu Yu taking action, it would have been hard to say if they could have returned safely, let alone bringing back the prey—they would have been lucky to have half left.

However, it was better not to let everyone know about the things that happened later; there was no benefit in it.

"We plan to take this prey to Zhou Family Fort to trade for grain and salt, and after we trade for it, we will distribute it to everyone," Lu Guohao said with a smile.

The crowd nodded one after another, naturally having no objections; some of them had already run out of salt days ago.

"In addition, I have an important matter to tell everyone." Lu Guohao explained the matter of the Qin Family Stronghold joining them, telling them everything exactly as it happened.

Once these words were out, it was like a giant rock thrown into a previously calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves.

"What? The people from the Qin Family Stronghold are moving here?"

"Is this for real? This is too sudden."

"Moving here is a good thing; there is strength in numbers, and it will be safer for the Hunting Team to go out hunting in the future."

"That's right, and it can strengthen the Zhai's defense against those with malicious intentions."

In this apocalyptic world, it isn't just fierce beasts that attack small camps; some daring people will also engage in such business—after all, there is nothing faster than robbing supplies.

Over the past few years, many Zhais have been wiped out because of this; this situation has lessened in the last two or three years, but it still exists, especially in winter when prey is scarce.

However, there were also those who were full of worry.

"But, there are quite a few people in the Qin Family Stronghold, right?"

"I heard it's about the same number of people as our Zhai, no, it seems like a little less, but with so many people coming all at once, will there be enough grain to eat?"

Li Yang and the others looked at each other; having newcomers join was of course a good thing. Once upon a time, there were three or four hundred people in the Zhai, but unfortunately, later on, some left and some scattered, and now only the old, weak, women, and children remained.

But could the Zhai afford to take in so many people at once?

"Everyone, quiet down." Lu Guohao clapped his hands, and after the discussion gradually subsided, he said decisively: "I have already promised them. If nothing goes wrong, they will all move over tomorrow. I hope everyone will cooperate; from tomorrow on, we will be one family."

The crowd widened their eyes; some were full of excitement, while others silently closed their mouths, showing expressions of worry.

"As for food, don't worry. Everyone has seen Yu's archery with their own eyes. Over at the Qin Family Stronghold, there is someone whose strength is on par with little Yu's, who can pull an eighty-pound bow; his archery is quite formidable," Lu Guohao said, looking at Lu Yu.

"That's right." Lu Yu nodded, "His name is Qin Hai; he is about my age and is very outstanding."

Upon hearing this, the scene instantly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Li Yang and the others didn't even dare to breathe loudly, and even Wang Liang showed a look of shock.

They knew Lu Yu's talent all too well; to be able to receive such high praise from him, that Qin Hai must certainly not be simple.

"Yes, everyone don't worry. Once the people from the Qin Family Stronghold come, our Zhai's days ahead will definitely get better and better."

"That's right, everyone rest assured." Zhao Shan and the others also chimed in.

They weren't saying this on purpose, but truly believed it from the bottom of their hearts—Qin Ze was an Awakened!

Hearing this, some of those who were originally worried gradually set their hearts at ease.

If Lu Yu said that person was about as capable as him, wouldn't that mean the Hunting Team would bring back even more prey in the future than today? Then what was there to worry about?

Lu Guohao and the others looked at each other and smiled. This matter was settled; they were just waiting for Qin Lianjun and the others to come tomorrow.

As for the houses in the Zhai, they were perfectly sufficient. One must know that in the Zhai's most prosperous days, it had accommodated three or four hundred people.

It was just that by now, some had left and some had died, leaving only about a hundred people.

Before long, night fell, and the Zhai was filled with an enticing aroma, with laughter and chatter heard from time to time.

Everyone was full of anticipation for their future life, and at the thought of many new faces arriving tomorrow, everyone was incredibly excited.

Lu Yu had long been starving; he had eaten nearly three or four pounds of meat by himself. After breaking through to the Body Tempering Third Layer, he clearly felt his appetite had increased significantly.

But this was a good thing. After all, there were currently only two ways to increase Potential Points: one was the system accumulating them automatically, adding a few points at a fixed rate every day, which could still play a role in the early stages.

Now it could only be considered better than nothing; the other was through eating—currently, it seemed to be eating Fierce Beast Meat. The more he ate, the more Potential Points he gained, provided he didn't stuff himself sick.

Nearly four pounds of Fierce Beast Meat had added 40 Potential Points for him.

"You're not full yet, are you?" Geng Lian watched this scene and said with a smile she couldn't suppress, "If you're not full, I'll go cook some more."

Although she felt a bit of heartache that they had eaten over ten pounds of meat in this one dinner, if they didn't eat their fill, where would they get the strength to practice martial arts and go hunting?

"Mom, I'm full." Lu Yu let out a loud, satisfied burp; if he could have kept eating, he certainly wouldn't have refused.

Geng Lian smiled and looked at Lu Jun.

"Dad, Mom, I'm full too." Lu Jun rubbed his round belly, his little face full of satisfaction.

"Dad, how about you?" Lu Yu looked at Lu Guohao.

The latter nodded.

"Then let's rest for a while, and then come practice martial arts with us," Lu Yu said with a smile.

"Practice martial arts?" Geng Lian looked at Lu Yu in surprise, then at Lu Guohao.

Lu Guohao was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh: "Xiao Yu, if you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten. Alright, I'll go learn martial arts with you in a bit. By the way, I'll go call Zhao Shu and the others."

"Good." Lu Yu readily agreed.

The members of the Hunting Team go out to hunt during the day; if they can return in the afternoon, that's fine, but if they are unlucky and only return at night, they can only practice martial arts at night.

Start with the Hunting Team, then the children, and finally the women, proceeding step by step; it would be best to let the vast majority of people in the Zhai become Martial Artists. Although, this will make things hard for a certain someone.