Chapter 26: Metamorphosis
It was now noon, and the Cow Offal Shop was filled with customers.
They were all Garrison Soldiers and City Guard Army soldiers from nearby.
The moment Lu Yuan and his companions walked in, the noisy Cow Offal Shop instantly fell silent.
Many people even stood up and greeted them.
"Greetings, Centurion."
"Good day, Lord Centurion."
...
The chorus of greetings made Lu Yuan feel a little uncomfortable.
The people in the shop were also surprised. Since when did someone of a Centurion’s rank come to eat here?
"We’re all here to eat. There’s no need for this. Please, sit down," Lu Yuan said with a wave of his hand.
Only then did the people in the shop sit back down.
However, some people still stole glances at him from time to time.
At this moment, Lu Yuan also found a place to sit. The three of them had just taken their seats.
Widow Li was already waiting by their table. She looked at Lu Yuan’s rugged yet young face, then at the iron armor he wore.
The Fish Scale Armor plates gleamed with a cold light.
It was incomparably majestic. This time, she could no longer bring herself to compare him to Wei Yong.
The latter wasn’t even worthy of carrying the former’s shoes.
She wanted to slap herself twice. ’If only I had listened to Old Huang back then, maybe there would have been a sliver of hope.’
’At the very least, my daughter could have gotten familiar with Lu Yuan.’
’Now look at this mess. I can forget about everything.’
At this thought, her eyes couldn’t help but turn red.
"Proprietor, a pot of cow offal, five pounds of beef, and you can decide on the other dishes," Lu Yuan said after setting his clanking armor aside.
Widow Li quickly replied, "Yes, I’ll get it ready right away."
However, her voice sounded a little choked up.
Wu Han glanced at her, and after Widow Li left, he whispered, "What’s with the widow? She looks like she’s about to cry."
"Who knows? Don’t worry about her. Let’s just have our drinks." Zhou He went to the counter, grabbed a jar of wine, broke open the mud seal, and poured a bowl for each of them.
The strong liquor went down, and the three of them groaned in satisfaction.
Then, Zhou He turned to Lu Yuan and said, "Congratulations. We’ll toast to you. After this battle, you’ve finally established a firm foothold in Icefield City."
Hearing this, Wu Han also quickly raised his wine bowl.
He clinked it against Lu Yuan’s.
Then Zhou He turned to Wu Han and asked, "Have your transfer orders come through yet?"
The latter faltered, lowering his head. "No. The higher-ups are blocking it. They don’t want to let me go to the Supply Camp. They want silver, but I don’t have any to give."
"I say, you’re a grown man. How can you not stand up straight? If this continues, you’ll be ruined. Look at Lu Yuan. How long has he been here? A strong man won’t fare poorly no matter where he is."
"If you don’t change your temperament, it’ll be the same no matter where you go," Zhou He said, his voice laced with disappointment.
Wu Han just kept drinking without a word.
It seemed he was using it to numb himself.
A short while later, the three of them had already finished a jar of wine.
Seeing Wu Han was in a bad mood, Lu Yuan ordered another jar and said in a low voice, "How about you come out of the city with me for a patrol in a few days? It shouldn’t be too dangerous. We can get a few Northern Barbarian heads, trade them for some silver to grease the wheels, and maybe you’ll get transferred to the Supply Camp."
Zhou He immediately looked over, clearly very concerned about Wu Han’s situation.
He just had a sharp tongue.
But the other man just shook his head. He was dead set on not leaving the city.
At this point, Lu Yuan didn’t feel it was right to say anything more.
He wasn’t that close with Wu Han. He had only spoken up out of respect for Zhou He.
"You’re just so stubborn! When have you ever seen me, Zhou He, care about anyone else’s business? It’s only you! Why are you so damn difficult all the time?"
Having had too much to drink, Wu Han finally looked up. "Old Zhou, I know you care about me. You’ve helped me out of many jams and put in a lot of good words for me. But can we really be compared? My old mother is bedridden and has to take medicine every month. I have a younger brother whose legs have been weak since he was a child; even standing is a struggle for him."
"I just got married, and my whole family depends on me. If I die, they’ll starve. Do you think I dare take risks? All I want now is to live a stable life."
Zhou He pressed his lips together and said no more.
Wu Han had always been very responsible toward his family, which had led to his current predicament.
In fact, the reason Zhou He liked spending time with him was precisely because of that sense of responsibility.
"Alright, alright, enough. Your Centurion and I aren’t on the same path. I don’t have his ear. You’ll have to solve this yourself," Zhou He said, somewhat exasperated.
Having been here for some time, Lu Yuan had come to understand Icefield City a little better.
Although the Zhou Family controlled this Sai City, they didn’t have the final say in everything.
After all, the imperial court would never allow a single family to hold all the military and political power in one place.
The Zhou Family was a renowned Military Family. The Sun Family, while a step below, was still a local power.
They had lived here ever since Icefield City was established.
Their influence in the army might not match the Zhou Family’s.
Only a few of their family’s disciples served as Centurions.
However, their Patriarch served as an external inspector, a Junior Sixth Grade official position. It wasn’t very high-ranking, but it came with the duty of overseeing the local resident Captain.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, even Zhou Hongling would rather not provoke them.
Furthermore, the relationship between the two families had always been discordant.
This was a system of checks and balances employed by the imperial court. Even though the Zhou Family was powerful, they were still subject to many restrictions at the local level.
The Sun Family also knew their role. As long as it didn’t involve commanding troops, they would find small faults on a daily basis, making things endlessly annoying for others.
However, this was precisely what the imperial court was happy to see.
Seeing the two of them like this, Lu Yuan changed the subject and started talking about other things.
By the time they finished their meal, it was already afternoon.
After leaving the restaurant, the three of them went their separate ways home.
After returning to his room, Lu Yuan first took off his armor.
Then he began to practice his Arrow Skill. His Wolf-Chasing Arrow Skill was about to reach Great Success. If he practiced a little longer today, he should be able to break through.
His Python Sinew Longbow had a body made entirely from Thousand-Year-Old Ironwood, which had been soaked and sun-dried multiple times to make it incredibly tough. The bowstring was crafted from the tanned sinew of a giant python.
It was just right for the current Lu Yuan.
He drew the bowstring, which let out a CREAK.
TWANG!
The arrow shot through the air and embedded itself straight into the ironwood target.
It sank three inches deep. Such power was enough to pierce iron armor.
Lu Yuan held the bow and drew it again and again.
The system’s voice promptly sounded in his mind.
[Host has shot an arrow. Wolf-Chasing Arrow Skill, Skill Level +1]
...
After practicing for an hour,
Lu Yuan opened the Arrowhead Array Map and began to study it.
[Host has studied the Array Map once. Arrowhead Array, Skill Level +1]
...
By the time he finished with all this, the sky was nearly dark. Lu Yuan consumed a Tiger Soul Pill.
As the Elixir entered his stomach,
A searing energy spread throughout his body.
He began to cultivate, following the breathing method of the Lying Tiger Posture.
His chest and abdomen rose and fell, rumbling like thunder.
He could clearly feel his skin and muscles changing, becoming tighter and firmer.
HUMMM!
Following a humming sound,
Lu Yuan felt every inch of his skin begin to vibrate.
Moreover, it had become much more resilient.
His entire skin and flesh felt as if they were undergoing a metamorphosis.
This astonished him. After all, he had never heard of anyone in the Body Tempering Realm reaching this stage.
When he opened his eyes, he found that, sure enough, dead skin was flaking off his body.
The new skin underneath was countless times tougher than before.
Without hesitation, Lu Yuan directly opened his system data.