Chapter 17

The barbecue gathering, if placed in the previous world on Earth, would have been a very insignificant event. However, in the Zenu village households of the Guojian Forest, it was undoubtedly the grandest celebration. The air was filled with the enticing aroma of fresh wolf and black deer meat sizzling over the fire, and the Zenu people laughed and danced, creating a harmonious and peaceful scene. Lu Qi and his family, along with Xitu and Dafeng, enjoyed the succulent meat of the violent bear.

Most of the Zenu people had simple minds. Even those like Dalin, who were killed by Lu Qi, were quite innocent. They only wanted to avoid being bullied and live a better life, which was understandable.

Lu Qi gnawed on a bear paw, thinking about his past life and this one. Gradually, as he gazed into the fire, the memories of his past life became increasingly vague, until only two faces remained clear: one was a sullen old face, and the other was a beautiful one.

That day, Lu Qi was actually quite happy. This winter hunt made him feel more and more that he had fully integrated into this world. The sensitivity and resilience of his heart from his past life, which was like that of a wild beast, had also been brought to this world. However, due to the different circumstances, there were some changes.

Lu Qi did not analyze whether these changes were good or bad. He only knew that he should follow his heart and go with his feelings, not leaving behind so many regrets as he did in his past life.

It was a pity there was no wine; otherwise, Lu Qi would have really wanted to have a drink with his past self. It wasn't about saying goodbye, just a feeling. He took a bite of the bear paw, his mouth full of oil, and said to himself, "Brother, let's leave it for next time!"

During this barbecue gathering, Lu Qi and Xitu talked a lot. There was a bit of vague hope for the future. Lu Qi also showed Xitu the jade he had obtained from the underground secret realm under the willow tree, but the latter merely commented that the jade was not of high quality and that it might fetch a good price if they had the opportunity to sell it.

As for the broken copper pot, Lu Qi had already moved it back home and placed it beside the wooden bed of Lu Kang and his wife. Before going to sleep, he could make some charcoal fire to keep them warm.

In the days that followed, not only did Lu Kang and his wife live well, but the Zenu people in the northwest households also enjoyed the happiest days of their lives. They wore deer skin boots, black deer skin pants, and wolf skin jackets. They could do some trivial tasks when they woke up and always had enough food to eat, a life that could be considered "semi-prosperous."

However, on this day, the Zenu people took off their new clothes and put on old rags, gathering at the eastern slope. It wasn't because someone was challenging something, but because the master's steward was coming!

In front of the master, one must never show that they are living well. Otherwise, the master would think that the tasks given were not heavy enough, and they would be in for a rough time. This was a lesson learned through blood and tears...

Lu Qi understood this principle, and after Xitu told him a story, he understood it even more. In the past, a village household had a powerful leader who reached the ninth level of martial strength and was a good person, making the Zenu people in the village live much better than in other households. He was proud of this, and when the master's steward came, the Zenu people in the village were all in high spirits, envied by others.

However, the next year, this powerful leader died during a hunt. It was said that he had taken a risk to complete the quota and encountered a spirit beast.

Xitu, the old household head, and Lu Qi still had to dress well, otherwise, it would be considered disrespectful to the master, a capital offense. Lu Qi couldn't help but sigh that living without human rights was truly oppressive...

"Here they come..." Xitu squinted and looked up at the sky, where a... plane suddenly appeared!

Yes, a plane! This was what Lu Qi called it. In the mouths of Xitu and others, this bird-like flying machine was called a divine kite machine, a product of high-level mechanical art. It was said that in the neighboring country of Gu Song, there was a sect that specialized in producing such flying machines.

To be honest, when Lu Qi first saw this thing, he was still in his swaddling clothes and was quite startled. In the ancient culture of China on Earth in his past life, there were mentions of such mechanical flying machines, but they were never truly developed even in the later technological era.

However, in this world, Lu Qi saw a real mechanical flying machine, which was quite a feast for the eyes. This divine kite machine was not very large; excluding the storage compartment, it could probably only seat about ten people. It also flew slowly, with Lu Qi estimating its speed to be around thirty to forty miles per hour.

As the divine kite machine's large wooden wings flapped, its thirty-meter-long body, with a wingspan of about ten meters when folded, landed steadily and slowly.

"Kneel to welcome the master's steward!" Xitu's voice dragged out, and he was the first to kneel, full of respect.

The crowd knelt down in a dense mass, and Lu Qi also knelt. He knew that a man's knees were worth their weight in gold, but if he didn't kneel, he would be killed outright, and even if his knees were made of diamonds, he would have no chance to enjoy them.

This was the oppression of being a slave. Lu Qi's expression remained unchanged, but he secretly vowed, "I don't aspire to become a king or a minister, but I will definitely get rid of this slave identity!"

The door of the divine kite machine opened, and a wooden ladder was lowered. Seven people gradually descended from the machine. What surprised Lu Qi was that the person leading them was not the familiar steward Wang Yingfu, but a young man with a rather effeminate air, about six feet tall, around fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a light golden brocade robe, holding a folding fan, and looking arrogant.

Following this young man, who almost had "rich kid" written on his forehead, was a pretty girl with a delicate face and clear eyes, wearing a floral dress. She held a rare blue-furred puppy, and both the girl and the puppy looked around curiously.

Behind them was Wang Yingfu, the direct leader of the Zenu village households in the Guojian Forest. He wore a light yellow robe, had short eyebrows, small eyes, a broad nose, and a round face. Although he didn't look good, he seemed amiable and didn't have the air of arrogance.

Following Wang Yingfu were four men in black, strong and powerful, with different appearances but the same aura—sharp eyes like eagles and a fierce presence like tigers.

These four men were not young, around the same age as Wang Yingfu, in their early forties, and seemed to be his loyal followers. They always accompanied him, and there was no doubt that they were experts. Each time Lu Qi saw them, he couldn't help but be amazed because they all seemed to be experts at the hidden strength level.

In the previous world of China, hidden strength-level martial arts experts, excluding those in government institutions, were definitely famous figures, not necessarily wealthy but at least considered elite. However, in this world, such experts were merely household guards.

"These four must be the Bone Resonance Realm experts that the old household head mentioned!" Lu Qi thought, "I wonder how many levels they have reached. I really want to spar with them."

Lu Qi was like this; as a martial arts enthusiast, seeing experts made him as eager as a pervert seeing a beautiful woman. Behind Lu Qi, Dafeng, Dashun, and the other perverts were secretly ogling the girl beside the young master, as they had never seen such a beautiful girl in their lives.

"Xitu, where is Anze?" Wang Yingfu's face was not very pleasant. He had come, and the powerful leader was not there, which was a breach of etiquette.

Xitu remained kneeling and replied, "Steward, Anze is dead."

"Dead? How did a healthy person die?" Anger turned to curiosity, and Wang Yingfu waved his sleeve. "All of you, get up!"

The crowd got up, and Xitu also stood, not bothering to brush the snow off his knees. "He was killed by a young man from our northwest household through a formal challenge!"

"Oh?" Wang Yingfu's short eyebrows raised, and the young man in the brocade robe also looked interested. "A challenge? Do you lowly slaves even know about duels?"

Xitu was slightly taken aback, but Wang Yingfu said, "Xitu, this is the sixth young master, Wang Bo. Answer his questions honestly."

Xitu was greatly alarmed. Anyone who could be called a young master in the Wang family was a big shot, likely a direct descendant and a future contender for power in the Wang family. Thinking of this, Xitu quickly bowed and said, "Young master, the rules of the duel were proposed by the master, and we only follow them."

"That's more like it!" Wang Bo seemed satisfied with this answer and sniffed at Xitu. "You can tell me about this duel. My young master and my cousin came out to see something new. We've been to a few Zenu village households, and they were all dead and boring."

Xitu quickly nodded, thinking that this was a stroke of luck for Hu Tou to meet a young master. He must say something good about him, and perhaps he could rise to prominence in a day.

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