Chapter 49

In the stone cave, a faint snore could be heard.

The silent night quietly slipped away, the hourglass sliding, nearing dawn.

The demonic fire in Zhou Lu's qi sea slowly circulated within his body, burning away all the alcohol. Zhou Lu woke up from his deep sleep, rubbed his drowsy eyes, and slightly raised his head, only to find that Xiao Luan was tightly hugging him, sleeping soundly.

Perhaps it was a bit cold, Xiao Luan's legs were curled up, hugging Zhou Lu even tighter. This fatty was warm, even warmer than a stove.

Zhou Lu was taken aback, carefully removing Xiao Luan's arm and leg from his body, and then pulled a thick animal skin over her.

Xiao Luan's soft body subconsciously turned over and fell back into a deep sleep.

Zhou Lu looked at the girl, who still had a slight frown on her face even in her sleep, and smiled bitterly. Last night, both of them had drunk a lot, and later, they didn't know what else they had said. Zhou Lu only remembered that they were angry at times, laughing loudly at others, competing to speak, and gesturing wildly. That kind of indulgence brought an indescribable pleasure, and his heart felt a sense of unprecedented relaxation.

Later, the two of them somehow embraced and fell asleep on a piece of animal skin, sleeping until now. Looking at the girl who still had a slight frown on her face in her sleep, Zhou Lu felt a deep pain in his heart. He gently stroked Xiao Luan's hair, knowing that from now on, he had one more person to protect with all his might.

Zhou Lu flipped and jumped up, quietly opened the cave door, and walked out, then tightly closed the door.

Let Xiao Luan continue to sleep, but Zhou Lu had to set out with Tie Mitao and the others.

The stars were still twinkling in the night sky, and a cool breeze blew over the wilderness. The weather was getting colder, and the tribespeople had already changed into thick fur robes. However, Zhou Lu, with his vigorous demonic fire, was not afraid of the cold and still wore his thin leather armor.

Zhou Lu leaped onto his chestnut horse, which galloped away with a light step, covering a great distance in a few bounds. As dawn approached, the chestnut horse was like a pale green lightning bolt, quietly rushing towards the assembly point.

The mountain pass where they were to meet was getting closer.

From a distance, Zhou Lu saw twelve figures sitting motionless on their horses in the mountain pass, like ancient standing green stones. Their solemn military appearance was deeply intimidating, and they were none other than Tie Mitao and the eleven iron guards.

All of them wore ghost masks, with soft leather armor inside and a set of bandit clothes from somewhere outside. This gave them a strange and eerie appearance.

Zhou Lu laughed and galloped quickly to the front, shouting, "Sorry, I'm late, I'm late..." The people looking at this rapidly approaching fatty all had a hint of oddness in their eyes behind their masks. One of the ghost-faced iron guards said nothing, coldly throwing a set of loose bandit clothes and a mask to Zhou Lu.

Zhou Lu caught them, sitting on the horse, clumsily putting on the bandit clothes, the back of the coat twisted to his waist, and the front buttons were misaligned. The whole outfit was worn in a messy way, but Zhou Lu didn't seem to notice. He casually put the ghost mask on his head, but it didn't fit. Taking it off, he found that he had put it on backwards. With a look of frustration, he put it on again.

From the group of ghost-faced iron guards, Tie Mitao's voice coldly came:

"Zhou Lu..."

"Hmm?"

Zhou Lu's actions suddenly stopped, and he slowly raised his head to look in that direction. He hadn't mentioned his name yesterday, but Tie Mitao called out his name today. Zhou Lu's eyes instinctively narrowed.

Tie Mitao, wearing a ghost mask, sat on his horse with a faint sense of arrogance.

Tie Mitao stared coldly at the fatty who had just arrived, and with a mocking tone, he calmly narrated:

"Zhou Lu, the orphan picked up by Hu Erle in the snowstorm at the Thirty-Seventh Hunting Ground, and recognized as his adopted grandson. This year, at the grand ceremony, he unexpectedly summoned a demonic fire war soul. Everyone thought he was just a spoiled brat, but who would have thought he was so hidden. When he joined the Eagle Wing Army, he defeated Hu Biao and Qian Ji, proving his prowess in riding and archery."

"Later, he joined the Sixth Squad of the Eagle Wing Army and was stationed in the western border of the tribe. With his fire control talent, he directly entered the Array Fire Pavilion to become a weapon master. In this bandit attack, he bravely rushed into the battlefield, killing forty-seven bandits and saving fifty-six tribespeople, earning great merit. The commendation order from the Elder Pavilion is still on its way..."

Tie Mitao's voice paused, and he coldly asked:

"Zhou Lu, is what I said correct?"

Zhou Lu's body trembled, and he frowned, looking at the opposite side. The lethargic and sloppy look in his eyes disappeared, and he sat up straight on the horse, pulling the front and back of the bandit clothes, exuding a fierce and brutal aura.

Zhou Lu didn't expect that the young master under the Grand Elder's group would investigate everything about him in just one night. Zhou Lu believed that Tie Mitao had the ability to do so, but he didn't expect that the young master would spend so much effort to understand someone like him, a minor interpreter.

However, Tie Mitao's condescending tone made Zhou Lu extremely uncomfortable.

Tie Mitao's voice had a tone of completely stripping away the opponent's privacy and then telling them in a naked and condescending manner: "Kid, everything about you is under my control, don't try to play any tricks."

Tie Mitao had been trained from a young age to have a sense of superiority, and controlling others had become his instinct. If he wanted to control someone, he would try to know all their secrets, privacy, and preferences, always maintaining a superior mindset in front of the opponent, making them feel helpless and gradually submit to him.

However, was Zhou Lu the kind of person who would submit to such things? This fatty was naturally rebellious against oppression. Zhou Lu's face slowly turned cold behind the mask.

Tie Mitao's voice was mocking and intimidating:

"Zhou Lu, I didn't expect you to be such a person. You pretended to be afraid of death yesterday, and you acted so cowardly. What was your intention in trying to join our team?"

Zhou Lu clenched his fingers until they turned white.

Without waiting for Zhou Lu to answer, Tie Mitao waved his hand and said coldly:

"I don't care about your intentions or your little schemes. I'm just telling you that if you join us, you'd better not play any tricks and follow my orders. If I find that you are delaying my mission, I have the right to execute you on the spot."

Tie Mitao's voice was extremely cold and ruthless, using the authority of life and death to make the fatty completely submit to him.

"Do you understand?"

Tie Mitao's voice was so stern that everyone around him shivered, even the iron guards felt uneasy.

Zhou Lu, who was silent, tightly squeezed his horse with his legs, eyes narrowed, and stared fiercely at the opposite side: "You're so full of yourself, what military rank do you have, and what right do you have to control me?"

Tie Mitao was the grandson of the Grand Elder, with outstanding talent, but that was all. He had always trained hard in the tribe and had never been on a real battlefield, with no military achievements or rank.

All his intimidating attitude was just based on his background.

"Execute on the spot? You're just using the authority of the Elder Pavilion, aren't you?"

Zhou Lu was extremely不服 (unconvinced), looking at the high and mighty young master, he secretly snorted and clenched his teeth. With a swift turn, he took off the longbow from his back, and an arrow shot out like a bolt of lightning towards Tie Mitao in the dark night.

"Let me show you my skills."

The silent wind in the dark night carried a sharp and terrifying killing intent, and the arrow reached in an instant.

The brave archer's arrow, Tie Mitao was taken aback, not expecting the fatty to suddenly attack. He forcefully turned his head, and the arrow shot past his neck.

The iron guards around him were all alarmed, drawing their cold hunting knives and preparing to charge at Zhou Lu to kill the rebellious fatty.

Everyone saw Zhou Lu, behind the ghost mask, reveal a very joyful smile, clapping his fat hands excitedly and shouting:

"Look, a night owl, I shot a night owl..."

With a "thud," a bird corpse fell behind Tie Mitao, a large and ugly night owl.

Everyone was stunned: shooting a bird?

Zhou Lu was overjoyed, like a child, shouting loudly: "You didn't know, right? In the western border, there's a legend that if a night owl flies over your head when you set out, you will die a tragic death on the journey. That was close, very close. Tie Mitao, the night owl almost flew over your head. How are you going to thank me? A hundred ox knives... What, too much? Then eighty ox knives, at least..."

Tie Mitao's face turned ashen.

He felt that all his methods of controlling others were like a heavy punch hitting a cotton ball, completely ineffective. He almost spat out blood because of the wrong force he used.

Who knew if the legend of the night owl was made up by that fat bastard.

"What a scoundrel!"

His attempt to intimidate the fatty failed, and he was even played by the fatty. Tie Mitao gritted his teeth, looking extremely displeased, and turned his horse to lead the way forward. Behind him, Zhou Lu was still not letting up, riding his horse and shouting exaggeratedly:

"Hey, you're just leaving like that? That's not fair, you haven't paid yet..."

Watching the iron guards follow Tie Mitao and ride away like a gust of wind, Zhou Lu was still shouting from a distance:

"Hmph, so stingy, if you don't want to pay, fine, but at least say thank you..."