Chapter 61

As the man turned completely, the sunlight from outside illuminated half of his face.

Lu Yu recognized him, frowning. “Why is it you?”

The man walked out from the shadows, his entire face exposed to the light. It turned out to be Qiu Guang, the chief of the Gao Hui tribe, who had competed twice with Tai Lie in the arena.

Qiu Guang grinned, revealing his white teeth. “Why couldn’t it be me? Just now someone came up to report that someone from the Li Yu tribe came to inquire about news. I was thinking, maybe it’s a tribe with the same name. I didn’t expect it to be you guys!”

Lu Yu pursed his lips, not speaking, already having a bad feeling.

Qiu Guang continued, “Last time, you used despicable means to snatch the obsidian wood and wooden shed from our tribe. But in the end, you ran away, so we didn’t have a chance to settle the score with you. Now you have the audacity to come back. That’s great!”

Lu Yu said coldly, “Last time, we won fair and square in the arena against you. We didn’t use any despicable means, and the bets were overseen by the supervisors.”

“Hahaha,” Qiu Guang laughed loudly, clapping his hands. “Well said!”

He glanced at Tai Lie’s strong physique, a hint of inexplicable meaning flashing in his eyes. “Fair and square, is it?”

Lu Yu looked at him, feeling his gaze and tone were strange.

Last time, they did win fairly, and Tai Lie even spared his opponent. Although this man seemed unsatisfied at the time, he didn’t raise any objections. But now, he seemed to look at them as if they had done something shady.

Also, this man had previously sent archers to ambush them on their way back from the sea. They dealt with them, and at the gate of the stone city, Tai Lie even shot down a black hawk to warn him. At that time, he seemed genuinely scared, and until they left, he didn’t cause any more trouble. But now, his confidence had surged, and he was extremely arrogant.

Lu Yu’s face darkened slightly. “Are you the new supervisor?”

“Haha, you’re indeed smart. But also, I’m just standing here, it’s easy to guess. Yes, I am the new supervisor.”

Qiu Guang turned around lazily, sitting on a wooden stool, looking complacent. “Although you took our things, we still entered the inner layer of the Stone city, and became subordinate tribes of the three major tribes. So, I ended up in this supervisory position.”

Qiu Guang picked up a bamboo tube and took a sip of water, nonchalant, as if he had Lu Yu and the others in his grasp. “I heard you guys came—” He hadn’t finished his sentence when he was interrupted.

“In that case, we’re leaving.”

Lu Yu didn’t say another word, pulling Tai Lie along and gesturing to Mao Pu, then turning away directly.

Qiu Guang’s hand holding the bamboo tube stiffened, staring, “Hey! You guys…!”

Lu Yu and the others didn’t look back.

This guy was really stupid. Before they could say anything, he couldn’t wait to put on a “I’m up to no good, I just want to bully you” expression. If he had pretended a bit, Lu Yu might have considered the possibility of negotiation. But now, he didn’t even want to bother with him.

“Lu Yu, how come you guys came out so quickly?”

Shan Pu and the others waiting outside were very surprised.

Lu Yu hadn’t replied yet, but Mao Pu spoke first, “Hey, how did it turn out to be him? Lu Yu, it’s not that I deceived you. When I inquired before, it was indeed that old man.”

Lu Yu didn’t doubt him, “Hmm, I know.”

Shan Pu became anxious, “Who is it? Who is it? Isn’t it the same person as before? Can we still exchange the materials?”

Lu Yu replied, “It’s the chief of the tribe we fought against with Chief before.”

“Is it him?!”

Lu Yu’s expression soured a bit, “Since this person became the supervisor, we definitely can’t exchange the materials from him. He will definitely cause trouble. Forget it, let’s go back first and discuss. There are too many people here.”

The group returned empty-handed to the wooden shed.

Except for those who stayed behind to watch the shed and supplies, the others had not returned yet.

Lu Yu and the others entered the shed to discuss what to do next, and Lu Yu decided to keep Mao Pu there too.

Mao Pu had been quite grateful for Tai Lie and the others lending him the shed to stay in. In any case, this was a show of trust, and his subsequent victories in the arena were also closely related to them. So, he really wanted to do well for Lu Yu’s sake, but he didn’t expect to make such a big mistake.

Mao Pu wanted to make amends and pondered for a moment.

“Do you really need those specific materials? Can’t we use alternatives?”

Lu Yu replied, “No, only those few kinds will do.”

Mao Pu continued, “Then there are only two options now.”

Lu Yu also had some thoughts, but he decided to listen to Mao Pu’s opinion first, “Go ahead.”

Mao Pu said, “The first option is to find the supervisor. Actually, we wanted to exchange through him with the inner tribes. So, we can find other people related to the inner tribes, or directly approach the inner tribes’ people. The second option is to wait for the Great Drift and exchange then. These materials must be available in the exchange area of the Great Drift. Maybe by the time of the Great Drift, we could even get a little more.”

His thoughts were similar to what Lu Yu had in mind.

But Lu Yu’s original plan was to exchange the special materials here first, upgrade the village, then obtain information on the materials needed for the next upgrade of the tribe, and then exchange at the Great Drift, so the village could upgrade twice.

Now, if they chose to exchange the materials at the Great Drift, they wouldn’t know if they could make it back in time and return, as he still wanted to participate in the activities of the Great Drift.

After a moment of contemplation, Lu Yu raised his head and asked, “Mao Pu, do you know anyone from the inner tribes?”

Mao Pu smiled helplessly, “If I did, I would’ve said it earlier. Although I’ve been here for a while, I’ve only interacted with those people. Mainly because the inner tribes have their own activity spaces and rarely come to the outer layers, so it’s hard to get to know them.”

“Then let’s forget about it.”

Lu Yu didn’t have too much hope either. Seeing Mao Pu feeling guilty, he comforted him a few words.

Finally, Lu Yu said, “Let’s think of a solution ourselves. Mao Pu, thank you today.”

Lu Yu smiled sincerely.

Mao Pu was slightly dazzled by this smile.

The young man in front of him usually seemed gentle and approachable, but in fact, he was quite guarded. In front of others, even if he smiled, it was a polite and distant smile. This sincere smile made people feel comfortable and pleased to be recognized from the bottom of their hearts.

Mao Pu touched his nose, feeling a bit shy, “I didn’t do much, didn’t help much. Well, I’ll go back first. If you have anything later, just find me. We’re more familiar with each other here, so it’s better to help each other.”

Lu Yu affirmed, “Of course.”

After seeing Mao Pu off, Lu Yu and Tai Lie and the others sat down to continue discussing.

After discussing for a while, there wasn’t a better solution, so they could only check the exchange area for any exchanges happening and inquire around for news or see if there were any people from the inner tribes.

In the evening, everyone returned, bringing back some scattered news.

This Great Drift seemed different from the past ones, apparently particularly grand, so the news wasn’t very accurate, with all sorts of rumors.

Lu Yu organized the information, earnestly storing it in his mind.

After dinner, everyone prepared to go take a bath together.

Not far from the stone city, there was a river where the people of the stone city fetched their daily water. There were specific divisions; the water upstream was for drinking and fetching, while downstream was for bathing and washing.

Previously, Lu Yu had used clean water to wipe himself here, never having bathed in that river, after all, there were many outsiders there, which was inconvenient. And now… even if he wanted to go, someone wouldn’t agree.

Tai Lie looked at Shan Pu and the others, “The sooner you go, the sooner you’ll be back.”

“Yes!”

Shan Pu and a few others, carrying soft leaves and bath powder given by Lu Yu, went off together, arm in arm, laughing and joking. They didn’t walk properly, instead swaggering with a stride that seemed completely unfamiliar, known to those who knew they were going to bathe, but those who didn’t might think they were going for something else.

Lu Yu watched their backs, pursing his lips, “I also want to take a bath.”

On the way, they only did a simple clean-up. It had been a few days since they last bathed, and Lu Yu felt uncomfortable all over. Unfortunately, making a wooden tub seemed simple but was actually quite difficult. Otherwise, he would have asked the Valley people to help make a big wooden tub.

But compared to bathing in a lively water pool, it wasn’t very comfortable in a wooden tub.

Lu Yu always used a shower in modern times, feeling it was cleaner and more convenient.

Thinking of a shower, Lu Yu’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Tai Lie turned his head and saw his little witch looking at him with bright eyes.

Tai Lie furrowed his brows slightly, feeling an indescribable sensation in his heart.

“Tai Lie, could you help me with something?”

Lu Yu found a large leather bag and punched a few holes in it with a bone needle, hanging it on a wooden post in the small compartment. This small compartment was actually the bathroom, immediately containing a large stone basin with a wooden lid. Lu Yu endured the stench and moved the stone basin outside, then used a bamboo stick to poke a few holes in the mud floor of the small compartment. This work was mainly done by Tai Lie. With his strength, he easily poked the bamboo stick in, and very deeply. These holes were mainly for draining water, as the soil was very permeable to water naturally, so this was just to speed it up.

After completing all the preparations, Lu Yu clapped his hands, smiling, “Alright, that’s it. I’m going to take a bath now.”

Tai Lie frowned, “Are you going to bathe here?”

Lu Yu replied, “Hmm, don’t worry, the water flow is very small. It won’t flood the ground. By the way, after I finish, you should come in and wash too.”

Actually, this small compartment could accommodate two people, but…

Lu Yu suddenly paused.

Speaking of this, their intimacy hadn’t increased much since they kissed before. Should they try bathing together again? After all, Tai Lie didn’t know about those things between men.

He didn’t understand, and he didn’t know how!

So, apart from both feeling a little awkward being naked, there shouldn’t be anything else. At worst, they could help each other wash. He should be able to wash him…

Lu Yu thought of overhearing Tai Lie doing that thing once, and his face reddened a bit.

Should he suggest it and see?