After realizing this was a world of cultivation, and following that phone call, Yang Bairao felt as energized as if he had been pumped full of adrenaline.
He remained spirited day after day, eagerly looking forward to reaching the stronghold Lü Yi had spoken of.
For over ten consecutive days, stopping and going, they collected grain levies from several villages and even encountered one village that had been completely massacred. Witnessing the chaos of this transmigrated world once again, Yang Bairao forced himself hard to learn to get used to it. As he grew increasingly indifferent to human life and death along the way, and having more free time on his hands, he took the initiative to ask Lü Yi if he could learn to ride a Flat-beaked Beast by himself.
Lü Yi was a kind-hearted person who never turned anyone away, and naturally agreed to Yang Bairao's request without hesitation.
As a man from the modern world, Yang Bairao had been adept at riding bicycles in his childhood, and motorcycles and electric scooters in his youth. Once mounted on a Flat-beaked Beast, he quickly grew accustomed to its movement frequency as well.
Aside from the howling wind, he effortlessly mastered the rhythm of the Flat-beaked Beast as it ran.
Yang Bairao learned so quickly that the people who had originally waited to make a joke of him dropped their jaws in astonishment, all of them admiring his innate talent.
Because of how quickly Yang Bairao learned to ride the Flat-beaked Beast, Lü Yi's doubts over the past few days regarding whether Yang Bairao could actually be of any help to the stronghold completely vanished.
After collecting the final batch of military grain a few days prior, Lü Yi called out to the others, changed their direction, and headed away from the villages.
Yang Bairao knew that their destination now must surely be the East Wasteland Cavalry Majun Lü Stronghold that he had been yearning for so long.
Traveling in this stop-and-go fashion in a single direction for less than a week, Yang Bairao spotted from afar a fence woven from wild grass. Inside the fence stood thatched houses much like those in Xiang Village, except that here, the thatched houses were arranged in an orderly and much neater fashion.
As the scenery rushed closer and closer, Yang Bairao—now able to ride a Flat-beaked Beast on his own—heard the command from Lü Yi at the very front and signaled the beast beneath him to slow its pace, walking leisurely toward the settlement.
"Ahead is Lü Stronghold. Welcome to Lü Stronghold."
Lü Neng rode his Flat-beaked Beast, deliberately keeping pace side-by-side with Yang Bairao, and explained everything about Lü Stronghold to him, along with its history as far as he knew it.
"Lü Stronghold has existed for over a century. In these hundred-plus years, we villagers have gone through several generations."
Lü Neng spoke on of his own accord, not caring whether Yang Bairao was actually listening, and continued, "There aren't many rules in the stronghold. You just need to remember that everyone is equal and everyone has work to do. Once you enter the stronghold, you have to prove your worth. If you can't contribute, you won't last long before being driven out."
This was something that had never been mentioned over the past many days; bringing it up voluntarily today was meant to make Yang Bairao understand the rules of the stronghold.
In the chaotic prairie of today, anyone who arrived at a gathering place and failed to make a contribution would undoubtedly find it hard to stay.
Even as they spoke and Yang Bairao listened, a sudden flurry of frantic running noises erupted. Following the sound, they saw another group of people riding Flat-beaked Beasts rushing toward them at top speed.
The approaching group was in a chaotic formation, and as the howling wind whipped up by their ride swept past, a reeking smell of blood drifted over, causing the expressions of Yang Bairao's party to change drastically.
"Have they been defeated again?"
Lü Neng cut off his sentence, his tone heavy with distress and panic.
"Defeated?"
Yang Bairao looked at the other group, which was now close at hand, and saw that nearly everyone bore injuries. Even more shocking was that some of the men on the backs of the Flat-beaked Beasts were missing arms and legs, returning heavily wounded.
"They are the heroes of Lü Stronghold—the Beast-Taming Team. Just keeping the prairie villages safe is perilous enough, but now a band of robbers has come to the prairie, and in our multiple clashes with them, we have suffered defeat every time."
Lü Tian had drawn close to Yang Bairao at some point and sighed as well.
"Welcome our heroes!"
Lü Yi at the very front let out a loud shout, and Yang Bairao saw the people around him straighten their postures and roar in unison, "Welcome our heroes..."
"Welcome our heroes..."
From further away, an equally uniform voice echoed across; it was the people back in the stronghold who had also discovered the return of the defeated Beast-Taming Team.
No one uttered reproaches; there was only solemnity and admiration.
Though Yang Bairao had just arrived and felt no sense of belonging to Lü Stronghold at this moment, he still maintained the same posture as everyone else.
"Let's go, back to the stronghold!"
Lü Yi watched the defeated Beast-Taming Team enter the stronghold first, and only then did he summon his own Grain-Levy Squad to enter together.
With low morale, the men dismounted from their Flat-beaked Beasts, fell in behind Lü Yi, and hurried toward the stronghold.
Lü Stronghold's garrison gate tower also served as a watchtower, constructed from thick stacks of grass.
Originally there had been no gate tower, and doors were practically left unlocked at night. But now, with the arrival of that band of robbers, the people of Lü Stronghold took the threat seriously, erecting fences and a gate tower in the hope that this first line of defense for the clustered village could slightly obstruct the charge of the robbers.
At Lü Neng's invitation, Yang Bairao followed along and saw Lü Yi walking toward a conspicuously large thatched house in the very center of the settlement. Without anyone introducing it, he understood that this place must be an important meeting hall or the stronghold leader's residence.
Walking along the way, the ground of the stronghold was swept impeccably clean, without a single weed growing from it. People hurried through the stronghold in low voices, their faces filled with tension and solemnity.
No one paid attention to Yang Bairao, nor did anyone care about those carrying the military grain back; these sights were clearly commonplace.
"Feel free to look around. Later, after the chief military officer and the stronghold leader finish discussing official business, the leader will grant you an audience. The leader is a good man with no airs, but you'd better still show some respect, or don't say I didn't warn you if someone gives you a hard time."
Lü Neng chattered endlessly with a mountain of words. He seemed to want to say more, but clearly had pressing matters of his own, and after hesitating with unexpressed words several times, he hurriedly left after leading Yang Bairao to an empty thatched house.
The interior of the thatched house was much the same as the one in Xiang Village, and Yang Bairao had no heart to inspect it.
He stepped out of the thatched house, intending to walk around this stronghold and see why this group, different from ordinary villages, was called the East Wasteland Cavalry.
"Aborigines are aborigines after all, they don't even have ironware."
Yang Bairao took a tour of the outer perimeter without approaching the depths of the settlement, and discovered that the living conditions of the villagers here were no different from those in Xiang Village—everything was made of pottery or stone.
He simply couldn't be bothered to look any further, and walked back toward his dwelling, preparing to quietly await the arrangements of the villagers.
Inside the largest thatched house of Lü Stronghold, aside from a single person seated high on the upper seat, everyone else stood in two rows flanking the left and right of the dais. At a glance, all the familiar faces from Yang Bairao's group were present.
Lü Yi stood at the head, with Lü Tian, Lü Di, and Lü Neng standing in order behind him.
Opposite Lü Yi sat a bearded man with his long hair disheveled at will, a murderous aura on his face, and his entire body wrapped in multiple bandages, clearly suffering from external wounds.
The rest of the men bore injuries to varying degrees, crimson blood already soaking through the hemp cloth bandages on their bodies.
The man on the upper seat had a middle-aged face, clothing not much different from the others, and long hair simply tied back. He wore a stern expression, and deep within his eyes lurked a trace of worry.
"Lü Ba, you all said before that those robbers have sharp weapons, cutting down everyone they meet and injuring anyone they touch. Although our stone knives and stone spears can do the same, their weapons are incomparably hard, remaining undestroyed and undamaged after repeated use."
The middle-aged man looked at the bearded Lü Ba, unsure whether he was asking a question or talking to himself.
"Stronghold Leader, they must have come from outside the prairie. Those weapons are not something the prairie can produce."
The bearded Lü Ba wore a face full of sorrow.
"According to recorded books, our East Wasteland Prairie has not been invaded by outsiders for many years. Not to mention the dilapidation and barrenness of the East Wasteland, just the complete absence of Yuan Qi alone—who would be willing to come and invade or stake a claim here?"
The stronghold leader continued, his expression grave.
"Invade if they want to invade, but they kill everyone they cross paths with. We can't even guess what their purpose is!"
Lü Ba spread his hands, filled with bitter hatred.
The stronghold leader waved his hand; this difficult decision was something he needed to think about how to resolve, and it was hard to answer right away.
He turned his gaze to Lü Yi on the other side: "You said you brought back an outsider. Where is he?"