Lu Ran closely observed the four people.
They were all in their early twenties with healthy wheat-colored skin, and regardless of gender, height, or build, they all had a certain amount of muscle—even the forthright female hunter who spoke first looked like she could take down five scumbags with a single punch.
In response to the female hunter's question, Lu Ran revealed what he believed to be a friendly smile, "I find your clothing sowhat familiar."
"My grandfather also had similar garnts as he was a hunter of the Lu Family Village in his early years."
"However, later on, our family moved to the city and seldom returned."
As soon as Lu Ran finished his sentence, all four of them were taken aback, and the most robust young man among them said in surprise, "Fellow villager? What's your grandfather's na?"
"My old man is called Lu Hai," Lu Ran said.
"That na... it sounds vaguely familiar," the female hunter mused.
"There are many people called Lu Hai in Lu Family Village, but if we're talking about soone who moved away... Chief Lu Hai?!" Suddenly, a thin hunter thought of sothing and blurted out in astonishnt.
Once he said that, the others quickly rembered that the village chief of the Lu Family Village was elected based on hunting skills. The village had a fierce spirit, with hunting events every year, so each generation's village chief was well-known. Children grew up listening to their stories; their prestige was incomparable to the chiefs of other villages.
The na of Chief Lu Hai wasn't too distant for them to rember; indeed, there was such a chief in the Lu Family Village. His children had done well and moved to the city. The elders said that Chief Lu Hai's children often donated money to the village and even contributed to the construction of schools and clinics.
"It's the very one you're talking about. He indeed was a village chief. My old man was ill in his later years, and the dical conditions in the village were inadequate, so we had to take him to the big city for care. Over ti, our whole family eventually settled outside," Lu Ran explained.
"You're Chief Lu Hai's grandson?!" The previously cautious group, upon hearing Lu Ran introduce himself and matching it with their mory, suddenly showed surprise and looked at Lu Ran with a hint of warmth, as the saying goes, when fellow villagers et, their eyes well with tears.
Infinite City spans across seven provinces, so under these circumstances, their eting could indeed be considered fate—especially since Lu Ran's elders were famous figures in the village!
"Truly a fellow villager!"
"Hahaha, take a seat. Co on, don't be shy. Let's talk while we eat; it's on us," the robust young man announced generously.
"Really? Well, then I won't stand on ceremony!" Lu Ran heard he could get a free al and considered it an unexpected pleasure.
"I never thought I'd bump into Chief Lu Hai's grandson in Infinite City..." the female hunter remarked with a sense of wonder.
"Well then, let introduce everyone first. This is Lu Yi," the huntress began, pointing at the most robust youth. "We've ford a Beast Training Squad, and he's the captain."
Lu Yi nodded with a smile, and judging by his build, he indeed seed the strongest.
"And this is Lu Dingding," she then introduced the thin man with a smile, "It's Lu Dingding, not exposed Dingding."
"Lu Bing, shut up!" The lean young man showed an angry look, annoyed by the others calling him by his nickna, as if he was still at the age of wearing split pants and could be called anything willy-nilly.
"Uh..." Lu Ran could only twitch the corners of his mouth, struggling not to laugh, thinking about the na... his parents were truly creative!
"My na is Lu Bing, and this last one, he is called Lu Wu, the fifth child in his family, so we all call him Xiao Wu," Lu Bing introduced, pointing to the shortest among them, a young man barely over 1.6 ters tall.
"And you, how should we address you?" she finally asked Lu Ran.
"Hello everyone, my na is Lu Ran, and to think... there are so many Beast Trainers from the Lu Family Village," replied Lu Ran.
"Not just us," Xiao Wu said cheerfully: "Many young people in the village have beco Beast Trainers, dozens of them, and they all passed the beginner's trial. We're just one of the squads."
"Pff..." Lu Ran almost spit out his drink and said, "What, dozens??"
Even if a county town had that many Beast Trainers, Lu Ran wouldn't be so surprised, but the Lu Family Village was just a small village with not many people. It seed the hunter heritage had really given the village an edge, with everyone exhibiting the talent for Beast Training!
"Haha, there are quite a few of us. Actually, the first, second, and third batches from our village all had people beco Beast Trainers..." Lu Yi said with a hint of regret, "But although there are many of us, we've also been quite unlucky."
"How so?" Lu Ran asked.
"The first generation were all exploring and thus stumbled a lot, so the brother chosen from our generation didn't last long before an accident took him. He was the son of the current village chief, strong in hunting. In the second generation, we had two more Beast Trainers picked, but unfortunately, both of them..."
"It was the sa with the third generation. Everyone entered prepared and full of spirit, but it's like our village has been cursed, with no Beast Trainer living long—damn it," Lu Yi couldn't help but curse.
"Maybe it's also related to our people's love for wrestling with the Secret Realms and preferring to hunt in teams of kin..." Lu Dingding touched his nose, musing that the downside of the village's spirited nature was the tendency to court disaster.
Moreover, since the Beast Trainers from the Lu Family Village always tead up, usually if one had an accident, the entire team would be wiped out.
"This..." Lu Ran had not expected this and couldn't help saying, "So, does that an that now in the Lu Family Village, only the fourth generation of Beast Trainers remains?"
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"Yes, that's right." Lu Yi nodded and said, "Although those elder brothers and sisters have left, every one of them prepared quite a lot of resources for the village when they were alive."
"So, with the arrival of the fourth Beast Taming Wave, the chosen Beast Trainers in the village got allocated a lot of initial resources. This ti, our Lu Family Village will definitely rise." Lu Yi said with anticipation, "At that ti, the whole village will prosper together."
"So, does everyone have any plans? Like, joining official organizations or guilds or sothing?" Lu Ran asked.
"No." Lu Bing replied, sitting with her legs crossed, "The village has decided to establish its own guild. After all, we have our ancestral traditions here, and it's hard for young people who have stayed in the village for a long ti to integrate into the outside world. It's better to stick together for warmth."
"To be honest, hunting in the Secret Realm makes a lot more money than hunting outside."
"Although we are much slower than the other big guilds, the Lu Family Village has always relied on its own efforts. Who is to say that we are any worse?"
"Little brother Lu Ran, do you want to join us? If you are Chief Lu Hai's grandson, you should be able to. We'll find soone to help you level up when the ti cos." Big sister Lu Bing said with a smile.
"Uh... probably not. My elders want to go to Beast Training University first..." Lu Ran said.
"Beast Training University?" Lu Yi said. "That's also a good path to take. Our village mostly consists of hunters, and few have the talent for academics. It's rare to have a university student even every decade or so. No worries, since we're all from the sa village, we can still exchange insights later on. If you run into any trouble, you can also co to us."
"Mm-hmm." Lu Ran nodded and said, "Speaking of which, big brother Lu Yi, can you tell more about the Lu Family Village? I can barely rember it and have returned only a few tis. I've mostly forgotten. When I have ti, I must go and visit and pay respects to our ancestors."
"That... I'll leave that to Lu Bing." Lu Yi gave an embarrassed smile, feeling he would not be good at explaining.
anwhile, Lu Bing rolled her eyes and said, "You guys have forgotten all about your ancestry!"
She warmly turned to Lu Ran and began, "The history of the Lu Family Village is quite ancient, it might even date back to four or five thousand years ago."
"That's way too long ago!" Lu Ran exclaid, startled.
"Ahem, that's what is said, but whether it's really that long, no one can be sure. Anyway, the village has moved several tis, and its history has been broken ti and again..." Lu Bing cleared her throat and continued:
"Back then, wasn't totem culture popular? Our village actually has its own totem, which is a Divine Deer. The old people in the village say that we have been able to inherit until now because we were protected by the Divine Deer."
"Even today, there is still a temple in the village dedicated to the Divine Deer."
"However, this culture seems to have faded over the past century. Apart from so older folks, the young have rarely worshipped the Divine Deer. Those who go are mostly dragged there reluctantly," Lu Bing said. "Speaking of which, our village is called the Lu Family Village because of this Divine Deer. Deer, Lu, you see, the na was transford."
Lu Bing didn't realize that as she spoke, a storm of thoughts was raging inside Lu Ran. His legs began to shake involuntarily.
Damn.
He just knew that the Deer Horn of God and the Lu Family Village had so unclear and inexplicable connection.
And it turned out to be true.
Totem culture, huh?
Generally, the totems worshipped by ancient tribes were mostly fabricated, but for so reason, Lu Ran felt that the one the Lu Family Village revered was real...
The official narrative couldn't also be true, could it? That Blue Star truly had supernatural forces in ancient tis!
And now, Spiritual Energy was reviving!
"Why does our village use the Divine Deer as a totem?" Lu Ran suppressed the shock in his heart and asked.
"That... I don't know," Lu Bing shrugged. "Perhaps so of the older folks in the village know a bit of the history, but I doubt it's likely since it's been so long."
"To have kept the faith in the Divine Deer to this day is already quite remarkable."
"Okay." Lu Ran nodded. It seed that he really must visit the Lu Family Village. He wouldn't feel at ease until he understood the matter of the Divine Deer.
"Shouldn't we order now..." At that mont, Xiao Wu touched his stomach and said.
This restaurant had a self-service ordering system, and the group had been sitting and chatting for quite a while without ordering a single dish.
"If you're interested in the village's history, you should co back and visit. We can introduce you to so respected elders who might know sothing," Lu Bing said. "Looks like Xiao Wu is hungry, let's order first. You go ahead and choose, Lu Ran. Pick whatever you want to eat and don't worry about saving crystal coins for us."
"Alright..." Lu Ran said with a slight smile, but just then, a commotion suddenly erupted in the restaurant.
People were shouting about Public Secret Realm, Wild Map BOSS, and rushing to claim monsters among other gaming terms. The atmosphere in the restaurant suddenly filled with restlessness as if spring had arrived.
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