Chapter 32

Lu Yu and his companions hurried back to the village.

After a while on the road outside the stone city, Lu Yu stored the obsidian wood in his storage ring and took out his weapons and armor. It’s better to be cautious when traveling outside.

However, this time Lu Yu was moving quickly. After resisting for two days, he couldn’t hold on any longer and couldn’t help but ask for a rest.

Lu Yu sat down on the ground, leaning his arms behind him, panting heavily.

Shan Pu asked worriedly, “Witch, are you okay?” Shan Pu was still used to calling him Witch. As soon as they left the city and saw no one around, he immediately reverted back to it.

Lu Yu shook his head, “I’m fine.” He was too anxious. Tai Lie had asked several times if he needed to rest, but he had insisted on keeping up with them.

As it turned out, he was really just an ordinary person.

“Come up.” Tai Lie walked over, turned his back to him, and knelt down on one knee.

Lu Yu was stunned. Was he going to carry him?

Lu Yu quickly waved his hand, “No need, I’ll just rest for a while.”

Shan Pu jumped up and said excitedly, “Chief, how about I carry Witch? I run fast and steady…”

Tai Lie raised his head and glanced at him indifferently.

Shan Pu, still foolishly wanting to say something, was pulled away by Le Shui, who came over and pinched his neck, dragging away this perpetually clueless grown child.

Tai Lie didn’t look back, his voice slightly heavy, “Don’t you want to go back early? Or do you insist on being stubborn?”

Lu Yu was stunned. It was the first time he had heard Tai Lie speak to him in such a tone, with a hint of coercion.

Lu Yu felt inexplicably guilty…

“Alright then.”

Lu Yu let out a sigh of relief, sat up straight, leaned forward, and rested his arms on Tai Lie’s shoulders.

Tai Lie’s shoulders were broad, with tight muscles and warm skin, emitting a faint smell of sweat mixed with the scent of grass and wood, which was not unpleasant.

Because of their mission, Lu Yu and Tai Lie had done a lot of “intimate activities”, but this close skin contact was the first time, and they were both shirtless…

Lu Yu’s face was blushing uncontrollably.

If there was a tutorial in the training ground for sewing clothes, he would definitely go learn it right away!

Lu Yu climbed onto Tai Lie’s back, and they resumed their journey without stopping. Initially, the Matai didn’t feel tired.

When people run, there will inevitably be bumps.

With bumps, there will inevitably be friction, the most primitive flesh-to-flesh friction.

Lu Yu:…

Now he didn’t need to look in the mirror to know how red his face was.

Lu Yu supported Tai Lie’s shoulders, trying to sit up straight and minimize skin contact.

As a result, after finally creating a little distance, Tai Lie suddenly jumped up.

Lu Yu fell back with a slap, tightly holding onto his neck.

Lu Yu, frustrated, said, “You…”

“There’s a tree,” Tai Lie said calmly.

Lu Yu was stunned and turned to look. Sure enough, there was a large fallen tree where they had just been heading.

Lu Yu closed his mouth helplessly and stopped talking.

Forget it, since Tai Lie didn’t react much, why should he react so strongly?

Feeling the skin behind him coming back into contact, Tai Lie’s eyes darkened slightly.

This person didn’t know how much self-control he had used to suppress the blood rushing through his body.

—

When Lu Yu and the others went, it took them four days to travel. Now, they had shortened it to two and a half days, even with Lu Yu dragging behind for a day.

On the way back, Lu Yu and the others stopped by the Blackwater Tribe and relayed Mao Pu’s message to the people there. After walking for a while, they finally saw the shadow of the Matai village.

Unexpectedly, before they could walk in, someone came to greet them.

“Chief, Witch, you’re back!” Xia Cao and the others ran over with joy.

Shan Pu rushed over and shouted, “We’re back!!”

The crowd embraced each other with cheers.

Lu Yu couldn’t help but smile at the scene.

Xia Cao walked over, worried, and asked, “Witch, are you injured?”

Lu Yu was puzzled, “No…”

!!!

Right!

He was still on Tai Lie’s back!

Lu Yu quickly twisted and slid down from Tai Lie’s back, straightened his beast skin skirt, and dryly chuckled, “Haha, I was walking too slowly, and Chief kindly carried me for a while.”

Xia Cao smirked knowingly, “So that’s how it is.”

Lu Yu: …That’s really how it is!

Xia Cao asked, “Witch, did you collect the materials this time?”

Talking about this, Lu Yu’s mood brightened, nodding, “Yeah, all collected.” Only a few shell stones were left in his storage ring, which he could retrieve later and then upgrade the village.

Xia Cao opened his mouth to ask something more, but Tai Lie said indifferently, “Let’s talk about it later.”

“Okay.”

Lu Yu returned to the village he had left a few days ago, feeling like he had returned home, everything felt so familiar and warm, he almost wanted to roll on the wooden bed in the cabin right now.

However, there were still many things to do.

The people sat together and exchanged their experiences over the past few days.

On Lu Yu’s side, Shan Pu danced and gestured, narrating his experiences over the past few days.

On the village’s side, Xia Cao briefly described their situation.

“The village is fine, but we dare not go too far to hunt, so we haven’t stored any meat.”

Lu Yu asked about the basin area.

Xia Cao said, “It’s okay there too. They’re working hard to build and collect, occasionally going hunting with us, and no one has any strange behavior.” Before leaving, Lu Yu specifically instructed her to pay more attention to the situation in the basin area.

Xia Cao pondered for a moment and said seriously, “I think we can still communicate with them.”

Lu Yu nodded, looked around, and suddenly asked, “Where are Cha Zhe and Shi Tou?”

Xia Cao said, “It’s getting hotter, and these kids go to the river to play every day.”

Just as he was saying that, Lu Yu heard a child’s cry.

“Witch!!!” Shi Tou and a few other children rushed towards Lu Yu’s direction like little dogs seeing their master.

“Witch, you’re finally back, we missed you so much!” Shi Tou raised his little head, his eyes shining.

Lu Yu patted their heads one by one, then noticed Cha Zhe following behind them.

Cha Zhe stared at his face with dark eyes.

Lu Yu looked at Cha Zhe, gestured, and smiled, “It’s been a few days, you seem to have grown taller—eh!”

Just as Lu Yu reached out, his wrist was grabbed and pulled hard.

Tai Lie stood up suddenly, his momentum soaring, staring at that direction without blinking.

Cha Zhe held the person and threw a provocative look at him, then turned his head and whispered, “I think…”

Before he could finish his words, the person in his arms suddenly burst out like a needle had pricked him, forcefully pushing him away and jumping out of his arms.

Cha Zhe stiffly raised his arms.

Lu Yu dryly chuckled, “You kid, you’re so big now, and you still love hugs…”

As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced at Tai Lie and found that his face was indeed very ugly, instantly feeling a bit overwhelmed…

Wait, why was he feeling overwhelmed…

Cha Zhe let out a sigh, lowered his head slightly to cover up the slight dimming of his eyes, and whispered, “Witch, we’re both men, can’t I hug you?”

Lu Yu quickly brushed aside his jumbled thoughts and said with a stiff scalp, “I don’t really like physical contact with others…”

Cha Zhe lowered his head slightly, covering up the slight darkness in his eyes, and whispered, “Okay…”

Lu Yu felt a bit unbearable. Cha Zhe was just a child, and a child without family or relatives at that. Naturally, he needed a bit more care and closeness. It was just a hug, was it too much for him to say that?

But…

Lu Yu sighed and suggested, “I’ll make delicious food for you tonight!”

Since it was already late when they returned, Lu Yu didn’t go to the basin, nor did he ask anyone to notify them. They planned to go and check tomorrow.

Night gradually fell.

Lu Yu took out the last two shell stones from the ring and let the boss retrieve them for inspection.

[Material collection completed]

[Village upgrade completed]

Cheers erupted from the Matai people around.

Lu Yu looked up.

…Suddenly, he felt like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Last time they upgraded, they only added short stone walls and four watchtowers. This time, not only did the walls become taller and thicker, the area they enclosed expanded, and the watchtowers were upgraded to two-story arrow towers. Even the small wooden houses in the village became reinforced earth versions, with several more added. Moreover, in the middle and back of the village, there appeared a two-story large stone house.

The Matai people cheered routinely.

Lu Yu looked around with satisfaction.

Although not as vast as the Beast Plains, it was obviously more refined and upscale.

However…

Lu Yu remembered what Mao Pu said about the inner layer of the Beast Plains.

What they saw this time was always the outer layer, and they still didn’t know what the situation was inside.

Thinking of the tall black wooden walls, Lu Yu’s expression became somewhat solemn.

The three major tribes must be living in the inner layer. Based on the information they got from the old man last time, they would sooner or later have to investigate the three major tribes, so they definitely needed to find a way to get in.

“Witch, what do you think?” A voice suddenly sounded in Lu Yu’s ear.

Lu Yu came back to his senses, turned to look at Xia Cao, and said blankly, “What?”

Xia Cao smiled, “We were thinking, that stone house, should you and Chief live in it?”

Lu Yu’s eyes widened, and he instinctively declined, “That’s not appropriate, Chief should live alone.” Now that he understood Tai Lie’s thoughts, how could he dare to live in the same room with him.

“But, Witch…” Xia Cao wanted to persuade further but was interrupted by Tai Lie.

Tai Lie said indifferently, “Xia Cao, there’s no need to say more. He has the right to choose where to live.”

Xia Cao vaguely sensed something in her heart, looked at the two of them worriedly, and said, “Okay, I understand.”

After upgrading the village, Lu Yu prepared to try out the new feature—the training ground.

He had seen on the panel that it was possible to place a real training ground in the village, so Lu Yu clicked to give it a try.

A phantom iron gate appeared in the air.

[Please select the entrance position of the real training ground]

Lu Yu frowned. What did this mean, Doraemon’s Anywhere Door?

After some thought, he temporarily chose not to place it.

He then clicked on the Dreamland Training Ground in the combat training area.

[Please select participants for the Dreamland Training Ground]

After this sentence appeared on the panel, like a facial recognition system, transparent small frames appeared one by one, framing Shan Pu and the others’ faces.

Lu Yu was stunned.

At this moment, two more sentences appeared below the panel.

[The Dreamland Training Ground will automatically open after the participants fall asleep]

[Reminder: The low-level Dreamland Training Ground has only single-player mode, but the boss user can choose to join]

What does this mean? If he wants to participate in training, can he only join other people’s dreamlands?

Lu Yu felt a bit frustrated.

After some thought, he clicked on Tai Lie’s small frame and chose to join…