Wang Hu’s lips trembled as he hastily tried to explain himself, recounting his past origins.
Lu Ye, fearing that his own accent from another province would only further arouse the other party's suspicion, also hurriedly spoke up to assist him.
However, he noticed that Sun Tou'er was not listening to what the two were saying at all; he wore an expression like a cat playing with a mouse, a cold laugh hanging at the corner of his mouth.
A realization dawned on Lu Ye, and he felt a sense of despair.
This was truly an unprovoked disaster. This so-called Sun Tou'er did not care at all whether they were accomplices of the bandits; in fact, he knew clearly in his heart that the two were innocent.
But all Sun Tou'er needed was to grab two refugees from the surroundings to report for duty.
Were the two of them not just prey people placed right before his mouth?
Furthermore, if he feared that the two would give conflicting testimonies upon returning, he could simply behead them to claim merit, claiming that they resisted fiercely and he could not hold back his hand. Could the superiors really verify anything with dead men?
Having transmigrated here for only one night, having eaten two bowls of thin noodle porridge mixed with dirt, was he going to die already?
Lu Ye was full of unwillingness. Possessing a Divine Ability but having no chance to display it before being killed—how aggrieved he felt!
Zhang Er Ge reached out to stop them from the side. He glanced at Lu Ye and Wang Hu and smiled.
"Boss, these two refugees are so thin they’ve lost their human shape. If we take their heads back, the Magistrate won't believe it."
He pointed to the corpses of Pockmarked and his companion who had died on the ground.
"Which bandit scout would live so miserably? Having to boil prey people to eat?"
"In the bandit army, even a servant can at least eat something to fill their stomach."
"Why not wait? Perhaps the brothers have had a harvest in the surroundings, how about that?"
A hesitant expression appeared on Sun Tou'er's face, and he frowned.
"I fear there are no strong refugees left on the road. It would be better to just behead these two to start with..."
He had only spoken halfway when a whistling sound suddenly rang out in the air outside the ruined temple; it was the sound made by their fellow archers drawing their bows and firing.
The two looked at each other, joy appearing on their faces.
"There is movement!"
"There really are bandits coming to support."
"Hurry!"
They turned and left, their footsteps stirring up a breeze in the temple.
Zhang Er Ge walked out of the temple gate, looked back at Lu Ye and Wang Hu, sighed softly, and left!
The sound of clip-clop hoofbeats came from outside. Soon, the sound of hooves grew faint, gradually becoming inaudible, until only the sound of the wind whistling remained in the air.
Lu Ye and Wang Hu looked at each other, both collapsing to the ground almost simultaneously, sweat pouring from their bodies like rain.
Too dangerous!
If not for the kind intervention of the Military Officer Zhang Er Ge.
If not for that whistle in the air just now.
The two of them might have already been beheaded by now!
That Military Officer Sun Tou'er was too ferocious!
Or rather, the Government Soldiers were just that ferocious now!
He clearly knew that Lu Ye and the other were not subordinates of the bandit Chuang Potian, yet he did not care at all about killing the innocent to claim merit!
"Sun Tou'er" wanted to cut off their heads to report for duty, just to make the merit book look better.
"Zhang Er Ge" had intentionally tried to stop him from the side, but could only use the excuse that the two were too thin and did not look like fierce bandits!
How is one supposed to live in this Chaotic World!
The two gasped violently on the ground. After a long while, they finally recovered their strength, crawled up, and looked at each other in silence.
Wang Hu was just about to open his mouth to speak.
When he heard the sound of horse hooves outside the ruined temple, accompanied by the screaming sound of a person.
Terrified, the two quickly lay down again, carefully peering through a hole in the ruined wall.
They saw Sun Tou'er and his group passing by the ruined temple on the dirt road. He held his head high and chest out, whipping his horse at the very front of the group, looking triumphant.
The horse he was riding had several round cloth bags hanging under its neck. The bottom of the bags was dyed deep red, and fresh blood was still dripping down.
Behind him, Zhang Er Ge rode on a horse, and riding parallel to him was a green mule captured from the bandits who had been beheaded earlier.
On the mule's saddle was a sturdy refugee, his hands and feet bound, lying on the mule's back with his head hanging down, his face flushed red.
Several archers behind them urged their horses to follow.
The archer who had almost lost his life earlier had his hair tied up messily with a cloth, riding at the very back of the team.
He had a rope tied to the back of his saddle, and the other end of the rope was tied to a refugee who had already fallen to the ground, unable to stand, being dragged along by the horse.
His clothes had long since been ground into fragments, hanging on his blood-stained body. Wherever he passed on the dirt road, he left large bloodstains, and he was cursing at the top of his lungs.
"Dog officials, you will meet a bad end..."
The group passed by the ruined temple without stopping and left directly.
Only the decapitated corpses and the dead hunting dog were left on the dirt road, proving they had been there before.
And the intermittent bloodstains on the dirt road guided the direction in which they had left.
Phew!
Lu Ye and Wang Hu let out a long breath almost at the same time.
They had survived; they had finally survived again!
These Gods of Slaughter had finally left.
Lu Ye suppressed his excitement. He had seen too many tragedies in this Chaotic World, and having merged with the original owner's Memory, his ability to withstand pressure was much stronger than in his previous life.
He pointed to the dirt road outside the ruined temple.
"Hu Zi, what are your thoughts?"
"Eldest Brother, Master was right, there are still good people among the Government Soldiers," Wang Hu muttered.
Lu Ye was left speechless by the angle from which Hu Zi viewed the problem.
He pointed his Finger at the dead hunting dog on the dirt road and said.
"Hu Zi, look at that hunting dog, any thoughts?"
Wang Hu's eyes lit up.
"Meat?"
"That's right!"
With dog meat to eat, the two threw the word "fear" to the back of their minds.
What is there to fear about death?
Starving to death is what's scary.
The two rushed out of the ruined temple. Wang Hu carried the hunting dog, and Lu Ye also found a dagger dropped by the dead bandit on the ground.
This dagger was only one palm strike in length and was crafted quite crudely, with several rice-grain-sized nicks on it; no wonder it was abandoned by the Government Soldiers.
The two returned to the ruined temple, joyful and auspicious.
"Hu Zi, this is Heaven seeing us brothers become sworn brothers and giving us an extra meal."
"Eldest Brother is right, we must eat our fill this time."
The two set up firewood to start a fire, skinned and butchered the meat, busy and happy.
Several hours later, the two lay there happily with their bellies half-protruding.
Even though they knew that gorging themselves after long-term hunger could potentially kill them, once they started eating, they always felt like they would stop at the next bite.
Just now, the two brothers had almost fulfilled the vow of dying on the same year, same month, and same day.
After burping a few times and chatting casually, Lu Ye steered the topic back to Martial Dao—after experiencing all sorts of things today, the only thought in his mind was to practice martial arts, become stronger, and live well.
"Hu Zi, how does that spear-wielding Sun Tou'er compare to your Master?"
Wang Hu replied.
"Eldest Brother, that spear-wielding Military Officer today is still inferior to my Master. His Bronze Skin has only reached Minor Accomplishment, with a bronze color, while my Master has already reached the Realm where the color is like yellow brass."
"If one day it is practiced until the skin color is like white copper, just like an ordinary person, that is the sign of Great Accomplishment in Bronze Skin."
"Master also said that I have Innate Great Strength and my Comprehension is not bad. If I can enter the Bronze Skin Warrior Realm in three to five years, and then have ten years of slow and steady effort to reach Great Accomplishment, I might have a chance to impact the Steel Bone Martial Master Realm in the future."
"As for the Steel Bone Martial Master Realm, further up there are the Iron Viscera Great Martial Master and the Silver Marrow Grandmaster," Wang Hu said, infinite yearning and longing appearing in his eyes. "It is said that there is a path beyond the Grandmaster, but unfortunately, even my Master is not clear about that Realm."
"If I could see how a Grandmaster makes a move, I would have no regrets even if I were to die."
Lu Ye added a comment to Wang Hu's honest and simple nature in his heart—a martial madman.
He intended to guide the conversation to inquire about more news regarding Martial Dao, but unfortunately, Wang Hu's Master was only a Martial Scholar.
Wang Hu was merely an Outer Sect Disciple who paid fees, not a personal disciple, so he quickly emptied all the knowledge in his belly, and no matter how he turned it over, there was no more substantial information.
However, he patted his chest and promised that once the two brothers had eaten their fill and recovered their strength, he would pass on the Martial Arts he had learned from his sect.
Lu Ye nodded with a smile in response, and a thought stirred in his heart as the Fish Dragon Diagram emerged in his mind.
"Lu Ye, 17 years old.
Root Bone—Average aptitude, mediocre talent.
Condition—Moderately weak.
Lifespan: 17/49.
Vitality—20/100."
✦✦✦