It was noon, and plenty of people were eating at the Beef Offal House.
They were all soldiers stationed nearby or members of the City Guard.
As soon as Lu Yuan and the others entered, the noisy eatery fell silent.
Quite a few people even got to their feet and greeted them.
"Greetings, Centurion."
"Good day, sir."
One greeting after another rang out, making Lu Yuan feel uncomfortable.
The people in the eatery were surprised, too. Since when did Centurions come here to eat?
"We're all here for a meal. There's no need for this. Sit down, everyone," Lu Yuan said, waving a hand.
Only then did the people in the eatery sit down.
Still, some of them kept sneaking glances over.
Lu Yuan found a place to sit. The three of them had only just taken their seats when Widow Li was already standing nearby. She looked at Lu Yuan's rugged, youthful face, then at the iron armor he wore.
The fish-scale plates gleamed with a cold light.
He looked so impressive that she could no longer bring herself to compare him with Wei Yong.
Wei Yong wasn't even fit to carry Lu Yuan's boots.
She wished she could slap herself twice. If only she'd listened to Old Huang back then, there might still have been a chance.
At the very least, she could have gotten her daughter acquainted with Lu Yuan.
Now, she could forget about all of it.
At the thought, her eyes reddened.
"Boss, bring us a pot of beef offal and five catties of beef. Pick the rest of the dishes yourself," Lu Yuan said after setting his gear down beside him with a clatter.
Widow Li hurriedly replied, "Right, I'll get it ready."
But her voice sounded choked with tears.
Wu Han glanced at her. After Widow Li left, he murmured, "What's with that widow? She looks like she's about to cry."
"Who knows? Leave her be. Let's drink," Zhou He said. He went to the counter, picked up a jar of wine, knocked off the clay seal, and poured a bowl for each of them.
The strong liquor went down, and the three of them groaned with satisfaction.
Then Zhou He turned to Lu Yuan. "Congratulations. We'll both drink to you. After this battle, you've truly made a place for yourself in Ice Plain City."
Hearing that, Wu Han hurriedly raised his cup, too.
He clinked it against Lu Yuan's.
Then Zhou He turned to Wu Han. "Has your transfer order come through?"
Wu Han paused, lowering his head. "No. The people above are blocking it. They don't want to let me transfer to the Logistics Battalion. They want silver, but I can't afford it."
"I'm saying, you're a grown man. Why can't you stand up straight? If you keep going like this, you'll be done for. Look at Lu Yuan. He hasn't been here long, but capable men can make their way anywhere.
"If you don't change your ways, it'll be the same wherever you go." Zhou He spoke with exasperation.
Wu Han just kept drinking.
It was as if he were trying to drown his troubles.
Before long, the three of them had finished a whole jar of wine.
Seeing that Wu Han was in low spirits, Lu Yuan ordered another jar, then lowered his voice. "How about coming out of the city with me in a few days? It shouldn't be too dangerous. We can take down a few Northern Barbarians and trade their heads for silver to grease the wheels. Maybe then you'll get transferred to the Logistics Battalion."
Zhou He immediately looked over, clearly concerned about Wu Han's situation.
He just wasn't good at showing it.
Wu Han shook his head. He was dead set against leaving the city.
Lu Yuan couldn't press the matter any further.
He wasn't close to Wu Han. He'd only spoken up because of Zhou He.
"You're so damn stubborn. When have you ever seen me, Zhou He, care about someone else's business? It's only because it's you. Why do you keep being so damn hardheaded?"
Wu Han, drunk at last, raised his head. "Old Zhou, I know you care about me. You've helped me out of trouble plenty of times and put in a good word for me, but we're not the same. My mother's bedridden and can't get up. She needs medicine every month. I've also got a younger brother who's had trouble with his legs since he was little. He can barely stand.
"I just got married, too. My whole family depends on me. Without me, they'd starve. How can I risk my life? All I want is a quiet, steady life."
Zhou He pressed his lips together and said nothing more.
Wu Han had always felt a strong sense of responsibility toward his family, and that was what had led him into this predicament.
Truthfully, that was also why Zhou He liked spending time with him.
"Fine, fine. Let's drop it. You're a Centurion, and I'm not on the same path as you. I can't speak for him, either. You'll have to figure it out yourself," Zhou He said helplessly.
After being here for so long, Lu Yuan had learned a fair bit about Ice Plain City.
The Zhou Family controlled this border city, but they weren't the only ones calling the shots.
After all, the imperial court would never allow one family to hold all the military and political power in a region.
The Zhou Family was a military clan. The Sun Family might not be as powerful, but it was still a local force to be reckoned with.
They had lived in Ice Plain City for as long as the city had existed.
Their influence in the army might not match the Zhou Family's.
Only a few of their family members served as Centurions.
But the head of the family held an outside supervisory post, a Subordinate Sixth Rank position. It wasn't especially high, but it gave him authority to oversee the local garrison Captain.
So under normal circumstances, Zhou Hongling didn't want to provoke him.
Besides, the two sides had always been at odds.
It was one of the imperial court's ways of keeping power in check. Even though the Zhou Family was powerful, it still faced plenty of constraints in the local area.
The Sun Family understood its role. As long as something didn't involve leading troops, they were always finding little faults to pick at, making everyone's lives miserable.
But that was exactly what the imperial court liked to see.
Seeing the two of them like this, Lu Yuan changed the subject and started chatting about other things.
By the time they finished eating, it was already afternoon.
After leaving the eatery, the three of them headed home separately.
When Lu Yuan got back to his room, he first took off his armor.
Then he began practicing archery. His Wolf-Chasing Archery was nearly at the Great Completion stage. If he practiced for a little longer today, he should be able to break through.
The Python Tendon Bow's body was made entirely from Millennium Ironwood. After being soaked and dried repeatedly, it was exceptionally resilient. Its bowstring had been made by tanning the great sinew of a giant python.
It suited Lu Yuan perfectly now.
The bowstring creaked as it was drawn.
Thwack!
The arrow tore through the air and sank straight into the ironwood.
It had penetrated three inches deep. That kind of force was enough to pierce iron armor.
Lu Yuan held the bow and kept drawing it.
The system's voice rang out in his mind.
[Host shoots an arrow once, Wolf-Chasing Archery proficiency +1]
After practicing for an hour, Lu Yuan opened the Arrowhead Formation diagram and began to study it.
[Host studies the formation diagram once, Arrowhead Formation proficiency +1]
By the time he finished, it was nearly dark. Lu Yuan swallowed a Tiger Soul Pill.
As the pill entered his stomach, a scorching heat spread through his body.
He began to cultivate using the breathing method of the Crouching Tiger Stance.
His chest and abdomen rose and fell, rumbling like thunder.
He could clearly feel his skin and flesh changing, growing denser and more solid.
Hum!
A deep vibration rang out.
Lu Yuan felt every inch of his skin trembling.
It had grown more powerful, too.
His whole body felt as if it were undergoing a transformation.
He was surprised. He had never heard of anyone reaching this stage in the Body Tempering Realm.
When he opened his eyes, he saw that dead skin had indeed peeled away.
The new skin underneath was many times stronger than before.
Without hesitation, Lu Yuan opened the system's status panel.