Chapter 62

Lu Yu scratched his chin, turned his face away from the man in front of him, and whispered, “Um… how about we bathe together?”

Tai Lie seemed puzzled, “Huh?”

Lu Yu quickly added, “I was thinking Shan Pu and the others might return soon after bathing. It might get crowded later, and I’m afraid you might feel embarrassed bathing alone.”

Tai Lie remained silent, looking at him.

After a while without a response, Lu Yu felt a bit embarrassed and frustrated. “Forget it, I never said anything.”

He thought that if he said that, Tai Lie would at least react somehow. But the reaction he got wasn’t what he expected…

Tai Lie’s voice showed no emotion. “Let’s forget about it. You go wash, I’ll guard the door.”

With that, he walked out and even closed the wooden door of the small compartment behind him.

Lu Yu stood there dumbfounded for a while.

What’s with this guy? Didn’t he actively suggest bathing together last time? Why does he seem so standoffish now? Could it be because they’re outside, not in their own territory, so he’s feeling shy?

But Tai Lie’s not that kind of person…

Lu Yu thought for a moment. He had never seen Tai Lie act shy before. Even when they kissed for the first time, his face didn’t turn red. It was always him who ended up looking foolish.

Thinking of this, Lu Yu felt a bit uneasy.

Although Tai Lie said he liked him and would focus on him for a lifetime, and even made declarations of possessive love like never letting go, it seemed that he was always calm. Isn’t it said that emotions fluctuate greatly from liking someone to being together? How come this person…

Lu Yu felt slightly uncomfortable and uneasy in his heart, but he didn’t dwell on it. Bathing was still the priority now.

He took out a water jug from his ring, filled it, and shouted outside, “Tai Lie, can you pull this for me?”

Tai Lie outside pulled the rope tied to the wooden post, and the water bag on Lu Yu’s side slowly rose, while water flowed out from several small holes.

Feeling naked after taking off his clothes, Lu Yu put them in his ring, took out some soft leaves and bath powder, and started bathing.

It had been a long time since he showered. Lu Yu rubbed the bath powder on his body, and dense white foam was lathered up. He couldn’t help but hum a little tune, “All filled with foam~”

Tai Lie heard Lu Yu say it was done, so he tied the rope to the wooden pillar and then walked out.

He circled around to the back of the wooden shed, where their supplies were placed. Although Shan Pu and the others went to bathe in the river in groups, they left behind two unlucky ones to guard the supplies by drawing lots.

Seeing their Chief approaching, the two originally lazy guards immediately stood up straight and straightened their backs. “Chief, is there anything wrong?”

Tai Lie replied, “Nothing.”

He casually glanced towards the wooden shed.

There was only a wall separating it from the small compartment.

At this moment, Lu Yu was humming a tune in the small compartment. Although his humming wasn’t loud, there was only a thin wooden plank separating them, so both the two Matai and Tai Lie could hear it clearly.

The Matai were surprised, “The witch can sing too! But why is the witch in the urinating area… there seems to be the sound of water… what is the witch doing?”

Tai Lie’s face darkened, “You two go watch the front area, I’ll stay here.”

The two Matai were quite eager to hear the witch sing, but facing their Chief’s decisive words, they could only nod, “Got it.”

They shuffled away, unable to resist sneaking a peek back, only to receive a cold glance from Chief. They trembled and quickly slipped away.

The person inside the small compartment didn’t hear the commotion outside and continued humming contentedly.

Although Lu Yu wasn’t tone-deaf, he didn’t have much technique either. Occasionally, he’d even go off-key a bit, but his voice was clear and pure, without any impurities. Even his casual humming sounded quite pleasant.

Tai Lie leaned against the wooden wall of the shed, arms crossed, eyes slightly closed, silently listening to the sound coming from inside.

This sound made his heart feel peaceful for a moment…

The atmosphere was quite harmonious.

But unexpectedly, the person inside suddenly muttered to himself while humming, “Isn’t this grass garment supposed to repel mosquitoes? Why do I have a mosquito bite on my butt? Ah, it’s a bit painful. I’ll try washing it with some bath powder and see if it gets better…”

The sound of water, along with the slippery sound of rubbing skin with bath powder…

Tai Lie’s body suddenly stiffened, and a rush of heat surged in his chest.

His body reacted quickly, and there was a prominent bulge that couldn’t be concealed by either the fur skirt or the grass pants.

He had refused Lu Yu just now because he was afraid he couldn’t control himself. After all, during bathing, everything that shouldn’t be seen would be seen. But he didn’t expect that even though he didn’t see anything, just hearing the sound, he still…

He found it increasingly difficult to suppress.

Tai Lie frowned tightly.

The reason he didn’t dare to touch Lu Yu apart from waiting for their relationship to stabilize was also because Matai were quite adept at “that thing,” and he wasn’t sure if Lu Yu could handle it…

The next day, the batch of meat they helped process yesterday received enthusiastic feedback. The meat brought by those people was inexhaustible, but it didn’t stop them from continuing to come to Lu Yu. Not only did they come by themselves, but they also actively introduced him to acquaintances.

Lu Yu didn’t accept just any beast that came along. Some low-level weapons and armor dropped by beasts weren’t much better than those made by the Valley people, so Lu Yu simply refused to accept such trades. Although those rejected felt a bit unhappy, they didn’t say much, knowing that Lu Yu had already informed them beforehand that he wouldn’t help with every single beast.

Today, after making a round at the arena, Mao Pu came over to Lu Yu’s place to join in the fun.

Lu Yu paused and asked him, “Do any of these people have connections with the Inner Circle?”

Mao Pu carefully scanned the surroundings and shook his head, “I’m not sure, but these people’s tribes in the Outer Circle are considered ordinary tribes, so they shouldn’t have any connection with the Inner Circle tribes.”

Lu Yu nodded.

While the two were talking, a loud voice suddenly came from behind them.

“Hey, you, the one grilling meat!”

Lu Yu and Mao Pu turned around.

A person with crossed arms and an unpleasant expression stood there, accompanied by several muscular warriors carrying weapons behind him. They had a hostile demeanor.

Lu Yu frowned slightly.

This leader was the same person who had caused trouble with them the day before. It seemed his name was Zhou Lang, the son of the Chief of the Dao Ma Tribe.

Lu Yu didn’t know what he was up to today.

After hearing about the incident from the other day, Mao Pu’s heart jumped when he saw Zhou Lang’s dark expression. He leaned in close to Lu Yu and whispered, “Lu Yu, be careful, this person is probably here to cause trouble!”

Zhou Lang and his men approached.

The people waiting for Lu Yu to process their meat quickly dispersed.

They all recognized Zhou Lang.

Zhou Lang was not someone to be trifled with. It was said that the Chief of the Dao Ma Tribe doted on this only son. If his son was bullied, he wouldn’t ignore it. Looking at the armed warriors behind Zhou Lang, everyone became even more certain.

Although fighting was not allowed in Stone City, with the skills of the Dao Ma Tribe, it wasn’t impossible.

People kept their distance.

There might be a bloody and brutal fight here later, so it was better not to risk their lives for a mouthful of food.

Lu Yu said coldly, “Why are you here again?”

Before Zhou Lang could reply, Tai Lie and the others, who were handling the hunted animals behind, heard the report and rushed over.

Shan Pu, seeing their own witch facing the bad guys alone, felt something was wrong. He suddenly accelerated and ran over, standing in front of Lu Yu, glaring at Zhou Lang, “What are you up to?!”

Zhou Lang took a step forward, his face darkening, “I…”

Tai Lie walked over to Lu Yu with a stone axe in hand.

Although he didn’t speak, his imposing aura filled the space, and anyone who had ever fought beasts could feel an invisible pressure.

Other Matai people also came over, holding their belongings, and stood behind the two.

The people watching the commotion couldn’t help but murmur to each other.

“It looks like this side is stronger, with more people and stronger ones.”

“That’s true, but the Dao Ma Tribe isn’t just these few people. I guess the main force is still behind.”

“You’re right. The chief of the Dao Ma Tribe won’t let his son be in danger. Hey, let’s stand a bit farther away, so we don’t become in the most dangerous situation later.”

“Yeah, let’s stand farther away.”

The surrounding people knew the danger but didn’t want to leave, driven by the desire to watch the excitement.

Lu Yu didn’t want trouble, but trouble had come. He wouldn’t avoid it now; all he could do was think about what to do later. Zhou Lang probably wouldn’t be able to do much, but killing him was out of the question. If he did, it would surely lead to endless trouble…

As Lu Yu was considering how to handle Zhou Lang and make it look like no big deal, Zhou Lang, with a fierce and somewhat twisted expression, finally spoke up.

“Hey, you’re Lu Yu, right!”

Lu Yu lifted his head.

Zhou Lang looked fierce, yet also seemed a bit conflicted. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, “Could you… do me a favor?”

Lu Yu was stunned.

There was a collective expression of surprise around them, “Huh??!!”

Lu Yu asked, “What did you say?”

Zhou Lang squeezed out a few words from between his teeth, “I want to ask for your help.”

Shan Pu asked, “Aren’t you here to fight?”

Zhou Lang’s brow twitched, “…No.” In fact, these people were sent by his father to keep an eye on him, so as not to let him mess things up.

People around whispered to each other, pointing and gesturing towards Zhou Lang, who had come to pick a fight but was now asking for help.

Zhou Lang glanced around, then looked at Lu Yu, lowering his voice, “Can we talk inside the wooden shed?”

His expression was still grim, but his tone softened a bit.

Lu Yu thought for a moment and nodded, “Okay.”

He led Zhou Lang into the wooden shed. Tai Lie let Xia Cao and Le Shui in as well. Shan Pu stood guard outside with his people, while Mao Pu, aware of the situation, also stayed outside. On Zhou Lang’s side, he also left his people outside and brought only two people in.

The door of the wooden shed closed, cutting off the view and sound from the outside.

Lu Yu didn’t bother with pleasantries with Zhou Lang, the troublemaker. He asked directly, “What do you want?”

Zhou Lang paused for a moment and then said in a muffled voice, “The food you made last time was good.”

Lu Yu raised an eyebrow.

Zhou Lang felt a bit embarrassed, cleared his throat, and then stated his purpose.