Speaking of which, although Tan Yuâs natural talent and strength canât match up to the official academy disciples, he definitely doesnât fall short when compared to the talented descendants of ordinary families. Plus, heâs good-looking, composed, and has the air of someone from a notable family. Since Gu Yushu and Gu Linfeng are able to associate with him, surely they wonât be too far off in comparison.
Of course, anyone chosen to serve Lord Gong Hongru canât possibly be inadequate.
Mu Hanyan, following Tan Yuâs standard, guessed about the duo Yu Shulin Feng and was quite expectant.
"Hmm, the names are indeed nice." Tan Yu showed a strange smile on his face.
"Ah, ah, ah..." Right at that moment, loud calls echoed throughout the valley. To put it mildly, it was shouting; truthfully, it sounded very much like ghostly wails and wolf howls.
A bamboo pole swiftly darted, flitting across the cliffs on one side of the valley.
Mu Hanyan and the others rubbed their eyes. Oh... wait, that fast runner wasnât a bamboo pole but a young man who looked like one.
This fellow was about twenty years old, incredibly tall, a full two heads taller than Tan Yu, yet he was nothing but skin and bones. To call him a bamboo pole was being generous.
That young man was skinny indeed, but his speed was astonishingly fast. In the blink of an eye, he ran along the other side of the valley cliffs and into the valley, leaving only a long, thin silhouette and the sound of his ah ah ah shouting.
"This must be Gu Yushu, right?" Mu Hanyan shook her head and asked Tan Yu. Actually, she thought he should be called Gu Yuzhu (Gu Bamboo), forget about any sort of lush tree, even poplars hadnât thinned to such an extent.
"Nope, thatâs Gu Linfeng, the one who could be blown away by a gust of wind." Tan Yu said, suppressing his laughter.
"Uh... whatâs he doing?" Mu Hanyan asked. Luckily, although heâs not truly the majestic âYu Shulin Feng,â being thin enough to be moved by a breeze is quite fitting.
"Weight loss." Tan Yu couldnât hold back the laughter anymore.
"Weight loss..." Mu Hanyan and the others were all dumbfounded, stunned that despite being this skinny, he was still intent on losing weight.
"Yeah, heâs always complained about being fat, so he insists on losing weight every day. Iâve told him many times that heâs not fat and is already as skinny as a reed, but he thinks heâs fat and insists on weight loss. He canât sleep without running a hundred or two hundred laps around the valley each day, and he shouts while running, saying it speeds up the process." Tan Yu rubbed his chin, utterly helpless against Gu Linfengâs obsessive behavior.
Mu Hanyan and the rest were a bit speechless, as if the legendary Long Yan Academy, the holy land in the minds of countless cultivators, wasnât quite as they imagined. There were such bizarre personalities here.
"Oh, smells so good." Ling Baobao forcefully sniffed and swallowed hard.
A tantalizing aroma of meat was wafting through the valley, mixed with the valleyâs unique exotic floral fragrance, which made them even more hungry.
"Gu Yushu, youâre stealing the lordâs exotic beasts again!" Smelling that fragrance, Tan Yuâs expression suddenly changed, as he shouted angrily.
A huge head poked out timidly from behind the mountain hollow, upon seeing Tan Yu, the chunks of meat on his face squeezed with a mighty effort, showing a look of delight... hmm, Mu Hanyan guessed it might be delight, but she had never seen anyone squish their face meat like that, squeezing it so much that the eyes nearly disappeared, so she couldnât be completely sure.
"Brother Tan, youâre back!" Judging by the voice, it was indeed delighted.
As soon as the words fell, a large water barrel, or should we say a large stone pillar, joyfully rushed towards Tan Yu, and his large barrel-like waist swayed up and down with his steps, even the earth beneath seemed to quiver.
"Stop, quickly stop!" Just as he was about to crash into them, Tan Yu cried out loudly.
"Boom!" The man abruptly stomped on the ground, accompanied by a loud boom, the earth trembled fiercely and he came to a halt.
Mu Hanyan and the others exchanged glances; each couldnât resist wiping sweat from their foreheads. Thankfully, Tan Yu shouted in time, or being crashed into by him would lead to displaced internal organs and broken bones, for sure.
"This must be Gu Yushu, right?" Mu Hanyan asked.
The short, chubby man in front was notably shorter than Mu Hanyan by a full head, but his stoutness was downright outrageous; his waist was at least four feet around, arms thicker than Mu Hanyanâs waist by a whole ring, and standing on the ground was reminiscent of those large stone pillars at Mu Family Mansion.
To call him Yu Shulin Fengâs âYu Shuâ (Yu Earth), yet Mu Hanyan couldnât help but be reminded of a large banyan tree with sturdy branches.
"Yes." Tan Yu nodded, appearing somewhat terrified as well.
"Yu Shu, come and see Young Master Mu." Tan Yu said to Gu Yushu.
Actually, Gu Linfeng should have come to greet them earlier, but that guy was focused solely on losing weight and ran too quickly, missing the chance.
"Young Master Mu, youâre the new disciple Lord Gong just accepted!" With those small eyes squished by fat into near invisibility, the chubby guy managed to open a slight gap, excitedly speaking to Mu Hanyan.
"Greetings, Brother Gu." Mu Hanyan replied politely.
"Young Master Mu is too kind, too kind. How could I deserve such courtesy? With your divine power shown during the admissions selection, defeating the swordsmen from Shangyue Country and boosting our Anyun Countryâs prestige, Iâve admired you for a long time. Seeing you today, you truly are a dragon among men, handsome and charming, elegant and noble..." The chubby guy seemed naturally sociable, speaking animatedly while spreading his arms wide, "charging" towards Mu Hanyan with great enthusiasm.
Huayue and the others felt a wave of revulsion; the flattery was overpowering, almost surpassing Zirong. Yet, cold sweat trickled down their eyes, fearing that such a tight embrace might snap the lordâs bones.
"Stop, quickly stop." Watching the earth sway again, Tan Yu urgently shouted.
"Sorry, I got too excited." Gu Yushu stomped hard on the ground once more, stopping in his tracks, rubbing his hands awkwardly.
"Letâs go, letâs first take Young Master Mu to see Lord Gong." Tan Yu habitually wiped away cold sweat and said.
"Okay, okay, let me finish eating first. Shh, donât say anything, or the lord will surely skin me alive." Gu Yushu said cautiously.
Seeing Gu Yushu puffing his chubby lips to make a âshhâ gesture, those tiny eyes dancing nervously around, looking like a guilty thief, Mu Hanyan and the others couldnât help but chuckle.
Tan Yu helplessly nodded; it seemed this fellow stealing the exotic beasts raised by Gong Hongru wasnât a one-time offense, no wonder he was this fat.
Following Gu Yushu around the mountain hollow, Mu Hanyan and the others widened their eyes simultaneously.
Behind the windless mountain hollow, two bonfires were burning, on top of one bonfire was a large cauldron; the cauldron was half the height of a person, with broth boiling and chunks of hand-sized meat cooked to perfection inside. Another bonfire roasted an exotic beast resembling a badger pig, not particularly powerful, but sizable, weighing about forty to fifty pounds.