Chapter 566: This Is My Ox

Inside the Shou Cang Shi, the light gradually dimmed.

Li Er didn't know how long they had been standing here.

An afternoon? Perhaps longer.

The wooden racks around were piled with Bamboo Slips, bone fragments, and mud tablets, and the characters that bore millennia of history, like living beings, kept streaming toward them.

It wasn't they who were looking at them; it was they who were telling them.

It wasn't they who recognized them, but they who revealed themselves to them.

Each Turtle Shell, each mud tablet, each Bamboo Slip—when they reached out to touch it, the ancient characters automatically manifested their meanings in their mind.

Shang dynasty oracle bone script, Xia dynasty mud tablet writing, and even those ancient characters carved on bark that had long been lost all turned into knowledge the moment they touched them.

It was as if they had waited a long time, finally finding someone who could hear their voice!

Only, the classics here were simply too many.

An afternoon passed, and what they had seen was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Goo—

A sound came from the belly.

Li Er froze for a moment, looked down at their stomach, and realized that from Cheng Zhou until now they had never eaten anything.

They set the bone fragment down, stretched lazily, and loosened their stiff shoulders.

Just as they were thinking of finding something to eat—

Footsteps sounded hurriedly.

A historian rushed in from the doorway, face flustered and panting.

"Bo Yang! Bo Yang!" they shouted.

Li Er looked toward them.

"What is it?"

The historian swallowed and said urgently:

"That... that green ox, is it Lord Li's?"

Li Er's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"It's mine, what's the matter?"

The historian quickly replied:

"Bo Yu's son Bo Qing has taken a liking to your green ox, wants to take it for a few days' sacrificial offering! Bo Yang, go take a look quickly!"

Li Er's eyebrows furrowed even tighter.

Bo Yu.

They knew this person.

A few years ago, Bo Yu and Wang Shu Chen Sheng vied for the ruling seat; Zhou Ling Wang backed Bo Yu, and Wang Shu Chen Sheng fled in defeat.

Since then, the Bo clan's standing in Cheng Zhou rose dramatically, their prominence unrivaled.

But even so—

His ox wasn't something they could move!

Li Er lifted a foot and walked out.

"Show the way."

"Yes!"

The open ground was already surrounded by people.

A rough count gave at least forty to fifty.

There were robust men dressed as attendants, holding ropes, clubs, and even a few short knives.

There were onlookers standing far on the outer rim, craning their necks to watch.

A few well-dressed ones, looking like stewards from a noble household, huddled together whispering.

In the center of the crowd, the green ox stood quietly.

It neither called nor ran, not even bothering to flick its tail.

It only used its sleek black eyes, calmly watching the people before it.

It seemed as if it didn't care how many people were in front of it, or what weapons they held.

"Move! Why are you all standing still!"

A young voice came from the front of the crowd.

It was a youth in his early twenties, wearing a sumptuous brocade robe, a jade belt at his waist, and a Jade Crown on his head—clearly from a wealthy family.

He stood at the front, hands on his hips, his face full of impatience.

He was Bo Qing, Bo Yu's son.

Behind him stood four burly men, each broad‑shouldered and thick‑waisted, clearly martial practitioners.

These were his personal guards brought from home, specifically to deal with this "disobedient beast"!

"It's just a cow, isn't it?" Bo Qing pointed at the green ox, his voice loud:

"So many people can't take it down? If this spreads, where will Bo Qing's reputation go?"

The four guards exchanged glances; one bearded man stepped forward, speaking in a deep, resonant voice:

"Young master, this ox... is a bit formidable."

"Formidable?" Bo Qing glared at him, "How can a cow be that formidable?"

The bearded man swallowed:

"We just tried, sent two men up to rope it, and the result was..."

He hesitated, then pointed at the two retainers still lying on the ground, humming.

"In the end that bull just lowered its head a bit, gave a light tap, and the two men were flung away, about three zhang away."

"Yes, young master," the other guard also spoke, a trace of dread on his face:

"That bull didn't exert any force at all; if it really wanted to hurt someone, those two would have—"

He didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.

Bo Qing froze for a moment, then let out a cold laugh.

"No force? A beast can't understand what force or no force is?"

He pushed aside the few guards, took two steps forward, and stared at the blue bull.

The blue bull also stared at him.

Its gaze was calm, as if looking at a hopping clown.

Bo Qing felt a chill in his heart from that gaze, yet his face refused to concede defeat.

He waved his hand and shouted to those retainers:

"All attack! If the rope won't work, use a stick! If the stick won't work, use a knife!"

"Whoever can bring down this bull today, I'll reward him ten yi of copper!"

With such a reward, there must be brave men.

The retainers, who had been cowering, brightened, exchanged glances, tightened their grips on their weapons, and began to slowly encircle the blue bull.

One circle, two circles, three circles.

They surrounded the blue bull in the center, pressing closer and closer.

Someone raised a rope, preparing to loop it around its neck.

Someone lifted a stick, ready to strike its leg.

Someone even drew a short knife, intending to slash and let it bleed!

The blue bull still did not move.

It only lowered its head slightly.

In those slick black eyes, a hint of impatience flashed.

At that moment—

"Step aside, step aside! Everyone step aside!"

A rough voice came from behind the crowd.

The crowd automatically cleared a path; a nine‑foot‑tall giant stepped forward.

He was built with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, bare‑chested, his muscles a bronze‑colored mass of tendons.

He clasped a wooden stake about the thickness of a bowl's rim, and walked toward them step by step, each foot causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Bo Qing saw him, his eyes lit up.

"Da Li! You're here!"

"Quick, take it down!"

This Da Li, as his name suggests, was the strongest guard in Bo Residence; Bo Qing rarely called on him lightly, but today he was staking everything.

Da Li stepped in front of the blue bull, drove the wooden stake into the ground with a "dong" thud.

He looked down at the blue bull, which was a little shorter than him, grinned, showing a few yellowed teeth.

"Little thing, I advise you to obey, don't make me act."

"Otherwise............."

The blue bull stared at him.

Then—

It took a step forward.

Just that one step.

Da Li hadn't reacted when a massive force slammed into his chest, as if a wild horse had collided with him; he was hurled into the air and flew straight out!

"Ah—!"

A wail rang out; the iron bull crashed into the outer crowd, toppling a few onlookers, rolling several zhang away.

The wooden stake fell to the ground, rolling clumsily to one side.

The crowd erupted in a roar.

Everyone instinctively stepped back several paces.

The blue bull, however, remained where it stood, not even glancing at him again.

It simply lowered its head again, standing quietly.

As if the earlier tap had merely shooed away an annoying fly.

Bo Qing's complexion changed.

Yet he was not afraid; instead, he grew more excited.

"Good! Good!" he clapped his hands, eyes shining, "This bull is formidable, truly formidable! Such a bull, offered to the gods, the gods will surely like it!"

He waved his hand and shouted to the servants:

"Call more people! Bring everyone from the residence! I must catch it today!"

"Yes!"

Several servants responded and were about to run.

At that moment—

A hand landed on Bo Qing's shoulder.

Bo Qing suddenly turned his head.

A young man's face appeared before his eyes.

The youth wore coarse cloth clothing, his features delicate, just standing behind Bo Qing, not knowing when he had arrived, nor how long he had stood there.

Bo Qing staggered for a moment, instinctively wanting to shake off that hand.

But that hand, though lightly placed, rendered him unable to move.

"Who are you?" Bo Qing frowned, his tone unfriendly.

The youth looked at him, spoke, and his voice clearly entered his ears:

"This is my cow."