Chapter 871: 871.Chapter 869: Crisis Upon Crisis

871. Chapter 869: Crisis Upon Crisis

"Senior Brother Lu, wait a moment." Just then, Li Xiaohu's shout came from behind.

"What's up, Brother Li?" Lu Yuan stopped, turned, and asked, glancing at Liu Heng and the other.

"You're injured; you must heal quickly. The Heavenly Cloud Mountains are fraught with danger—don't waste time." Li Xiaohu advised.

"Thank you." Lu Yuan clasped his fists.

"Let's go; I'll see you home." Li Xiaohu said with a grin.

"Li Xiaohu, thank you; I'll treat you to drinks another day." Lu Yuan said happily, then followed Li Xiaohu away.

"Lu Yuan, that kid is pretty formidable—even Huang Yan and his group are afraid." Just as Lu Yuan left, Liu Heng couldn't help muttering.

"Senior Brother Lu is not simple." Huang Yan's deep pupils flashed a glint as he said, "Brother Liu, you can't afford to provoke him for now—don't get involved."

"Huang Yan, what do you mean?" Liu Heng flared up instantly.

Huang Yan shook his head and said, "Forget it, I won't say more."

The more Huang Yan acted this way, the angrier Liu Heng became.

"You brat, are you deliberately laughing at me?" Liu Heng asked in a low voice.

"It's not that I'm laughing at you; it's that Senior Brother Lu doesn't want to deal with you." Huang Yan shrugged and spread his hands.

"What do you mean?" Liu Heng was completely bewildered.

Huang Yan curled his lips and said, "Senior Brother Lu not only has the expertise of an Alchemy Grandmaster, but is also a master at crafting spirit talismans, and his strength is terrifying—do you think you're stronger than him?"

Upon hearing that, Liu Heng was dumbfounded.

An Alchemy Grandmaster, and he also crafts spirit talismans?

Hearing Huang Yan's words, Liu Heng rolled his eyes, thinking the guy was pretending to be weak to eat the strong.

Thinking this, Liu Heng's face instantly turned ferocious; he gritted his teeth and snarled, "Damn it! How dare you play me—I'll definitely kill you!"

"Brother Liu, don't act rashly!" Huang Yan hurriedly interjected.

"Don't forget what happened to Zhao Changfeng and his crew; if we move against Lu Yuan, we'll surely come to no good end." Huang Yan warned solemnly.

"Hmph!" Liu Heng let out an angry snort; though unwilling, he could only swallow his resentment.

……

"Phew~ Finally shook off those annoying flies."

After leaving the Heavenly Cloud Mountains, Lu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, Li Xiaohu helped, otherwise tonight would have been dangerous.

"How did your parents die? Where is your family from?" Li Xiaohu asked curiously.

"Ah, it's a long story." Lu Yuan sighed and related the whole ordeal.

"What? Your parents were killed by someone?"

After hearing Lu Yuan's account, Li Xiaohu was greatly shocked.

"Senior Brother Lu, my condolences." Li Xiaohu patted Lu Yuan's shoulder and comforted him.

Lu Yuan sighed sorrowfully, his eyes reddening.

"Lu Yuan, no matter what happened, remember that you still have us." Li Xiaohu said solemnly.

"Mm!" Lu Yuan nodded.

After a moment, Lu Yuan calmed his emotions and said, "Xiaohu, how did you know I was injured? And you helped me in time—how did you know I was going to the Heavenly Cloud Mountains for training?"

"Haha! This is fate; we're meant to meet. I just happened to be passing near the Heavenly Cloud Mountains, so I ran into you by chance." Li Xiaohu laughed heartily and explained.

"Oh? Really? I doubt it; maybe you've been watching me all along." Lu Yuan said skeptically.

"Hehe! You guessed right—actually, from the first time I saw you, I knew you were a good person, and your cultivation shouldn't be weak." Li Xiaohu gave an embarrassed laugh.

Lu Yuan then gave a wry smile: "Too bad my cultivation is too poor—I can't help you at all."

"Senior Brother Lu, you're too modest; with your talent, becoming an expert will be easy." Li Xiaohu said with a smile.

Upon hearing Li Xiaohu's praise, Lu Yuan momentarily froze, then gave a bitter smile: "You're wrong—I'm not suited for cultivation."

"Why? You're still young; by normal standards, you're already quite excellent. Why belittle yourself? I think it's pointless and unnecessary, so you don't need to say or do that." Li Xiaohu said.

"I have no talent." Lu Yuan shook his head, his expression dim, filled with sorrow.

"Is it because you lack talent that you refused to enter the Profound Sword Academy?"

"Yes!"

Lu Yuan nodded and sighed: "At the Profound Sword Academy, I can't learn any cultivation techniques at all—just waste time and money—so I'd rather stay in the mountains hunting demon beasts to earn points to exchange for techniques."

"I see. By the way, I've heard the Evil Devil Sect has been outrageous lately; we should be careful, as the saying goes, 'a cautious sailor sails for ten thousand years'—being careful is never wrong." Li Xiaohu reminded.

"Evil Devil Sect?" Upon hearing that, Lu Yuan's expression tightened, he nodded solemnly, and said.

"Don't worry, I'll pay attention; the Evil Devil Sect is truly hateful, and I will eradicate them sooner or later."

"By the way, I brought you some healing medicine; you'll need it on the road."

While speaking, Li Xiaohu took three bottles of pills from his storage ring and handed them to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan took the pills, looked at them, his face full of surprise, and said, "These pills are all sixth-grade healing medicines."

"I got lucky this time and bought plenty; seeing your serious injury, I'll give you a few." Li Xiaohu said lightly.

Upon hearing Li Xiaohu's words, Lu Yuan felt utterly ashamed, and a strong sense of guilt welled up in his heart.

"Senior Brother Lu, I still have to rush on; I'll take my leave now." After putting away the pills, Li Xiaohu cupped his fists.

"Mm, be careful on the road." Lu Yuan nodded and said.

Moments later, Li Xiaohu galloped away on horseback.

Watching Li Xiaohu's receding figure, Lu Yuan's eyes grew moist, and he whispered, "Xiaohu, thank you so much."

……

Heavenly Cloud Town is five hundred kilometers from the Profound Sword Academy.

Because the Mysterious Iron Mine had shown anomalies recently, the whole Heavenly Cloud Mountain Range was leveled; within a radius of several dozen li, no grass grew, no soil bore life.

Li Xiaohu galloped on horseback at breakneck speed, leading the charge like a wild horse freed from its reins, incredibly swift.

About half a day later, Li Xiaohu arrived outside Heavenly Cloud Town.

Upon entering the city gate, Li Xiaohu did not head straight to the Martial Hall but went to buy some provisions and meat in preparation for any need.

"Xiaohu, why did you come back?"

Just as he was about to enter the City Lord's Mansion, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.

Immediately afterward, Wang Erniu came running over from the side.

"Wang Erniu, what are you doing here?" Seeing Wang Erniu, Li Xiaohu blinked in surprise, then smiled and said.

"I've been waiting for you here." Wang Erniu said with a simple, honest smile.

"What for?"

Wang Erniu scratched his head and said, "I heard you've been training at the Martial Hall for two months, your strength has improved greatly, and you've also made some formidable friends; so I came especially to treat you to a meal."

"You sure care about me a lot."

Wang Erniu scratched his head and said, "I heard you've been training at the Martial Hall for two months, your strength has improved greatly, and you've also made some formidable friends; so I came especially to treat you to a meal." Wang Erniu laughed honestly. (End of chapter)