Chapter 79: Beast Mastery
For Yu Luo’s family of three, escaping was less appealing than heading to the wilderness. They had enough supplies to last until the snow melted in two months, making survival less difficult.
Gradually, dawn broke. After being repelled, the bandits did not show up again.
However, Yu Zhengqing did not dare to let his guard down. It was impossible to get out of Jiuchong Mountain in less than seven or eight days.
So, encountering more bandit attacks in the mountains was inevitable!
Strangely, after a full day’s journey and reaching the third peak, no new bandits appeared.
“Sounds like there’s water ahead!”
Everyone was exhausted, but despite their fatigue, they gritted their teeth and pressed on.
Someone in the crowd shouted, and Yu Zhengqing, who was leading the group, stopped in his tracks, listening quietly to the sound of water in the night wind.
“I’ll go take a look. If there’s water, we’ll rest there for the night.”
With that, Yu Zhengqing lightly tapped his toes and disappeared from sight.
After a short while, he returned.
“About seven or eight hundred meters ahead, there’s a small waterfall and a pool. The water is fast and hasn’t frozen. We’ll rest there tonight, and everyone can wash up a bit.”
Hearing this, the crowd was delighted. For days, they had been surviving on snow water.
When they finally arrived at the pool, the torchlight revealed shimmering waves. The five-meter-high waterfall rushed down, and although the water was welcome, the sound was a bit too loud.
“I think it’s a bit dangerous to rest here by the pool. The noise will make it hard to sleep, and there seem to be a lot of animal tracks in the snow around here. Better to move a few hundred meters away and come back for water if needed. Better safe than sorry.”
Holding a torch, Yu Haojie had already inspected the surroundings. At his words, the initially excited crowd turned cautious, their expressions changing.
“I think Second Young Master Yu is right. It’s convenient to fetch water here, but it’s also risky. Better to move a bit farther. If wild beasts come at midnight, at least we’ll have some distance to react.”
Zhang Yuan, who had long wanted to get close to Yu Haojie, immediately chimed in. Like many others, he had noticed the unusual power of Yu Luo’s family’s crossbows and was impressed by Yu Haojie’s strength, carrying a heavy pack with ease.
“In that case, let’s move a bit further ahead.”
Despite their exhaustion, everyone understood the importance of unity at this point.
Finally, about 500 meters from the pool, they settled down. While the men set up tents, the women gathered firewood to prepare some hot water. Though tired, they couldn’t skip boiling a few pots.
But just as they were getting busy, people started collapsing one after another! Even Yu Luo’s family wasn’t spared.
When Yu Luo regained consciousness, she had no idea how much time had passed. The surroundings were pitch dark, except for faint voices and the clinking of cups, like people drinking and gambling.
As her head cleared, she realized she was bound tightly, unable to move an inch. Adjusting to the darkness, she noticed many others tied up nearby. The place seemed to be a cave.
“System, what’s going on? Did we fall into the bandits’ trap?”
Yu Luo was baffled by the lack of warning. Normally, the system would alert her to danger, but this time, she had blacked out without any forewarning!
[Ding! You’re finally awake, Host. As soon as you entered that part of the forest, you inhaled the knockout smoke released by the bandits. No one escaped. You’ve been unconscious for two hours now.]
Yu Luo’s face darkened at the explanation.
If they had taken the women and children captive, what about the men? Bandits might spare women to sell or exploit, but the men would be seen as a burden, a threat even.
“What about my parents? And the men who were with us?”
[Don’t worry, Host. The bandits captured everyone. The women are held here, and the men are in a cave next door. It seems these bandits have a private mine and need laborers. As for whether the mine belongs to the bandits, that’s unclear. Your father is unharmed for now, but your grandfather was left in the mountains. Whether he’s still breathing is uncertain.]
Hearing this, Yu Luo finally let out a breath of relief. As for her grandfather, she couldn’t care less. Blood ties or not, he had treated her father terribly, and she didn’t feel an ounce of concern.
Diving into her system space, Yu Luo quickly summoned the sleeping Armor-Clad Beast, pinning her hopes on it.
Feeling her call, the little beast opened its eyes drowsily, looking around in confusion.
“Listen, Armor-Clad Beast, I need you to gnaw through these ropes binding me. Understand?”
But the little beast, barely three months old, blinked sleepily. It wasn’t clear if it even understood human speech.
Seeing it curl back up to sleep, Yu Luo was exasperated.
[It’s useless, Host. The Armor-Clad Beast may be tamed, but it can’t communicate with you yet. However, you still have a bit of growth value left. You can invest it in Beast Mastery. Though just a bit, it will be enough to communicate with the Armor-Clad Beast. Later, if you let it drink your blood, it will be fully loyal to you.]
Yu Luo, “!!!”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?! Invest it in Beast Mastery right now!”
[Done, Host! Beast Mastery has been upgraded successfully!]
A wave of information flooded into Yu Luo’s mind, and she immediately tried communicating with the Armored Beast again, this time feeling a subtle connection.
