Chapter 95: Discovered?

You must know, these are all mounts! Once we possess them, everyone's trips out of the Zhai for hunting will be greatly improved, whether in terms of convenience or safety.

Just think about it, the time saved on the road can be used for practicing martial arts and cultivation—how cost-effective is that!

"Lu Yu, let's do as you say. We can take this opportunity to load these goods onto them as well."

"That's right, with so many Horned Horse Beasts, it's no problem for everyone in our Zhai to have one."

"But will they cooperate with us obediently?" Just as everyone was in high spirits, this "untimely" remark suddenly came out, and the previously joyful atmosphere instantly turned quiet.

Lu Yu was actually worried about this too. Although those Horned Horse Beasts were staying in place and looked quite quiet, they were, after all, unfamiliar with this group of people.

If they didn't cooperate, each Horned Horse Beast weighed three or four hundred jin; ordinary people wouldn't be able to pull them at all. If they were provoked, one kick would mean death or injury.

"Don't worry." At this moment, a round-faced man said with a smile, "I've raised horses for over ten years and know the temperament of these guys like the back of my hand. I'll go test them out in a moment; if it works, everyone can do as I say."

"Wu Yuan!" Sun Gang slapped his thigh hard and said excitedly, "How could I have forgotten about that? You used to run a horse farm, and you even ran it on a rooftop, right?"

Hearing this, the others also showed excited expressions on their faces. Hey, it turns out there was an expert right by their side!

"That's right." Wu Yuan gave a bitter smile, his tone tinged with a hint of sadness, "That's all in the past; there's no point in bringing it up again."

The smiles on everyone's faces instantly froze. Yes, everything had already become the past.

"Uncle Wu, then I'll have to trouble you." Lu Yu said with a smile.

"What's this? It's only right." Wu Yuan waved his hand and walked toward the herd of horses. Sure enough, as soon as he approached, many Horned Horse Beasts became nervous, snorting and restlessly scraping their hooves on the ground.

Everyone watched from afar, sweating for him in their hearts.

"Don't be afraid, I mean no harm." Wu Yuan raised both hands, a smile on his face.

He really had some skills; touching here and patting there, it didn't take long before he had calmed the entire herd.

"Everyone come over in pairs." Wu Yuan shouted loudly.

Lu Guohao and Qin Lianjun looked at each other and stepped forward.

Following the method Wu Yuan taught, the two successfully led away two Horned Horse Beasts. The others followed suit.

According to Wu Yuan, there were a few mares among this group of Horned Horse Beasts with more docile temperaments, so the goods could be placed on them.

And by letting these few mares walk at the very front, the remaining stallions would follow behind.

Everyone led the horses, their moods both excited and nervous, with a touch of apprehension.

After all, this was a huge fortune. Once brought back to the Zhai, life would surely be much more comfortable. But if they were seen by others on the road, it might invite trouble.

"Let's go, we're heading back." Lu Guohao walked in front, turned around, and said to everyone with a smile. This trip had been safe despite the risks; the people in the Zhai would surely be very happy when they found out, right?

With enough manpower, Lu Yu didn't go to lead a horse. He raised his Telescope and observed the surroundings.

Perhaps because it was the afternoon, there were significantly fewer people on the road, which made him heave a sigh of relief.

But when his gaze landed on the city walls of Zhou Family Fort in the distance, his expression suddenly changed.

Through the lens of the Telescope, he saw someone else holding a Telescope, looking right toward them!

By the time he looked more closely, the person holding the Telescope had already disappeared.

In an instant, Lu Yu's expression became extremely ugly.

"What's wrong?" Qin Hai, who was next to him, asked curiously upon seeing his strange behavior.

The people in front were all immersed in the joy of being about to return fully loaded and hadn't heard the conversation between the two in the back at all.

"Oh, it's nothing." Lu Yu lowered the Telescope and shook his head.

"?" Qin Hai looked at him suspiciously. His intuition told him that Lu Yu must have seen something, but he just didn't want to say.

Lu Yu's expression was grave. He didn't know when the person on the city wall had noticed their group.

Was the other party observing when he was fighting the horse bandits alone?

Or did they notice only when he was scavenging for spoils? Or perhaps they only discovered them when the people from the Zhai arrived one after another?

But no matter the situation, it was not a good sign.

As the saying goes, wealth should not be flaunted. If it had been seen by an ordinary person, that would be one thing, but that person was clearly from the Zhou Family Fort Guard Team, and their status was not ordinary.

If they harbored ill intentions and leaked this news to others, would someone catch up soon? When that time came, how would he deal with it?

Lu Yu frowned deeply. If not many people came in pursuit, they could still put up a fight; if there were many, they would have to abandon some things.

He naturally couldn't bear to part with so many Horned Horse Beasts, but the strength of Zhou Family Fort was truly too great; they each had a Rifle, and perhaps even Sniper Rifles and Machine Guns.

Even he, in the face of such firepower, would have to obediently submit.

"Even if no one pursues us, I can't come to Zhou Family Fort often in the future." Thinking of this, his heart was filled with reluctance.

He had previously agreed with the old man who sold the Cultivation Method to come again next time; he hadn't expected this kind of thing to happen.

No, it wasn't that he couldn't come at all. Everyone had their faces covered, so that person shouldn't know what they looked like; even if he walked right up to him, he might not necessarily recognize him.

But if such a group of people appeared in front of him, it would certainly arouse his suspicion. Therefore, in the future, he could only exchange supplies elsewhere.

As for himself, he could still come alone to find the old man to buy a Martial Arts Manual, though of course, he would have to be extra careful. After all, acting alone was relatively safer.

"I hope no one pursues us." Lu Yu sighed silently in his heart. Hopefully, this was just a small episode and nothing else would come of it.

Thinking this, he looked toward the city walls of Zhou Family Fort again; this time, he still didn't see that figure.

Time returned to a few minutes ago, on the city walls of Zhou Family Fort.

A man holding a Telescope, as if startled by something, suddenly turned around and hid behind the city wall, his heart pounding wildly.

"That guy saw me! He definitely saw me!"

"Su Chungui? What's wrong with you?" A man with a sharp chin holding a Rifle next to him asked suspiciously upon seeing him like this.

"Yeah, what's wrong with you? Your face is so pale."

"Did you see something you shouldn't have?"

Suddenly, the people around all gathered over, asking with concern.

"No, nothing." Su Chungui said stutteringly.

"Your face is so pale, and you still say nothing's wrong?" The man who had been concerned about him earlier frowned, "Tell us, what exactly did you see that scared you like this?"

"I, I saw the horse bandits killing people." Su Chungui swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said in terror.

"Damn it, those animals!"

"I really want to rush out and blow them away with a shot!"

"It's useless. That group of people is very cunning. They also have a Telescope in their hands. Once they discover us approaching, they run faster than a vehicle!"

Several people said indignantly.

"Is that so?" The man holding a Rifle patted his shoulder, "You've seen it before, why are you so scared this time?"

"They, their methods are too cruel," Su Chungui said, trembling.

Seeing this, the others comforted him a few more times, then each returned to their posts.

Only the man with the pointed chin had a flash of suspicion in his eyes. Is this kid hiding something?

……

"Could it be that I'm overthinking it?" Seeing the Zhai just ahead, Lu Yu muttered to himself.

Along the way, he did not dare to relax his vigilance at all, checking the movement two or three kilometers behind him with a Telescope from time to time, fearing that a large group of armed pursuers might suddenly appear.

The result was clear: no pursuers appeared.

"Lu Yu, are you worried that someone is following us?" Qin Hai asked.

Throughout the journey, he saw Lu Yu constantly looking back, and he himself became a bit panicked, also using a Telescope to check behind from time to time.

Lu Yu smiled at him, "Yeah, it's good that there are no pursuers."

Qin Hai nodded, thinking to himself that this was for the best. He looked at this large group of Horned Horse Beasts, worry appearing in his eyes as well.

Not to mention anyone far away, if the people from Li Family Fort nearby discovered them, there would likely be trouble. He still had to act carefully.

Lu Yu looked ahead, thinking that while it was certainly a good thing they could safely bring the Horned Horse Beasts back to the Zhai, they could not let their guard down.

Without a doubt, someone in the Zhou Family Fort Guard Team must have seen them. The question was, did the other party know their identities?

Logically, they shouldn't know, but don't forget, when they first entered Zhou Family Fort, their identities were See Through by Li Laosan and others, and many people heard it at the time.

If the person using the Telescope also heard it, things might be a bit tricky.

"If it really comes to it, I'll go back and ask Ji Bingyu to help predict it. If she can predict it, that would naturally be best; if she can't, then I'll just have to take it one step at a time. In any case, my strength must become stronger." Lu Yu clenched his fists tightly.

On the Watchtower, a man caught a glimpse of a horse troop marching toward this side in a grand manner, and his heart immediately became uneasy. Could it be that the horse bandits had come to attack the Zhai?

If that were the case, it would be terrible! The main force of the Zhai was not here; with just him and young people like Wang Liang and Li Yang, could they stop this group of vicious horse bandits?

But as he watched, he felt something was wrong, because those people seemed to be leading the horses and walking slowly; horse bandits were always in a hurry, how could they be so leisurely?

"Wait!" He raised his hand to his forehead, squinted his eyes hard, and then, as if struck by lightning, he froze in place instantly.

It is unknown how much time passed before he came back to his senses and hurriedly rang the Alarm Bell.

"Clang—clang—"

The melodious and ethereal bell sound spread far away.

In an instant, the children playing, the elderly chatting, and the young people practicing martial arts all stopped what they were doing and looked toward the direction of the Zhai gate.

"Is that the bell?"

"Could it be that the Hunting Team is back?"

"So fast? It's only a little past four."

"Never mind, let's go over and see."

The crowd walked toward the Zhai gate one after another.

A strange scene appeared: more and more people gathered at the Zhai gate, but the atmosphere was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

"Why are so many people standing here without saying a word?"

Li Yang and the others were the last to arrive, accompanied by Wang Liang.

"Yeah, what's going on?"

"Let's go see if Brother Yu and the others are back?"

As they spoke, they squeezed through the crowd and looked in the direction everyone was staring; suddenly, their mouths hung open in shock, enough to fit an egg.

Thus, they joined the ranks of the dumbstruck.

"?" Wang Liang frowned, thinking to himself, what is wrong with these guys? They were just talking about others, and now they are like this themselves.

He limped over, his gaze finally piercing through the crowd, and then his eyes widened sharply, his pupils fixed as if frozen, motionless.

At this moment, the entire Zhai seemed to have been cast with a spell, falling into a state of stillness.