Chapter 77- 63: The Temptation of Returning to the Vige_1
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 somewhat familiar."
"My grandfather also had simr garments as he was a hunter of the Lu Family Vige in his early years."
"However,ter 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 viger? What''s your grandfather''s name?"
"My old man is called Lu Hai," Lu Ran said.
"That name... it sounds vaguely familiar," the female hunter mused.
"There are many people called Lu Hai in Lu Family Vige, but if we''re talking about someone who moved away... Chief Lu Hai?!" Suddenly, a thin hunter thought of something and blurted out in astonishment.
Once he said that, the others quickly remembered that the vige chief of the Lu Family Vige was elected based on hunting skills. The vige had a fierce spirit, with hunting events every year, so each generation''s vige chief was well-known. Children grew up listening to their stories; their prestige was iparable to the chiefs of other viges.
The name of Chief Lu Hai wasn''t too distant for them to remember; indeed, there was such a chief in the Lu Family Vige. His children had done well and moved to the city. The elders said that Chief Lu Hai''s children often donated money to the vige and even contributed to the construction of schools and clinics.
"It''s the very one you''re talking about. He indeed was a vige chief. My old man was ill in hister years, and the medical conditions in the vige were inadequate, so we had to take him to the big city for care. Over time, our whole family eventually settled outside," Lu Ran exined.
"You''re Chief Lu Hai''s grandson?!" The previously cautious group, upon hearing Lu Ran introduce himself and matching it with their memory, suddenly showed surprise and looked at Lu Ran with a hint of warmth, as the saying goes, when fellow vigers meet, their eyes well with tears.
Infinite City spans across seven provinces, so under these circumstances, their meeting could indeed be considered fate—especially since Lu Ran''s elders were famous figures in the vige!
"Truly a fellow viger!"
"Hahaha, take a seat. Come 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 meal 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 me introduce everyone first. This is Lu Yi," the huntress began, pointing at the most robust youth. "We''ve formed a Beast Training Squad, and he''s the captain."
Lu Yi nodded with a smile, and judging by his build, he indeed seemed 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 nickname, 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 tough, thinking about the name... his parents were truly creative!
"My name is Lu Bing, and thisst 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 meters tall.
"And you, how should we address you?" she finally asked Lu Ran.
"Hello everyone, my name is Lu Ran, and to think... there are so many Beast Trainers from the Lu Family Vige," replied Lu Ran.
"Not just us," Xiao Wu said cheerfully: "Many young people in the vige have be 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 Vige was just a small vige with not many people. It seemed the hunter heritage had really given the vige 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 vige all had people be 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''tst long before an ident took him. He was the son of the current vige chief, strong in hunting. In the second generation, we had two more Beast Trainers picked, but unfortunately, both of them..."
"It was the same with the third generation. Everyone entered prepared and full of spirit, but it''s like our vige has been cursed, with no Beast Trainer living long—damn it," Lu Yi couldn''t help but curse.
"Maybe it''s also rted 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 vige''s spirited nature was the tendency to court disaster.
Moreover, since the Beast Trainers from the Lu Family Vige always teamed up, usually if one had an ident, the entire team would be wiped out.
"This..." Lu Ran had not expected this and couldn''t help saying, "So, does that mean that now in the Lu Family Vige, 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 vige when they were alive."
"So, with the arrival of the fourth Beast Taming Wave, the chosen Beast Trainers in the vige got allocated a lot of initial resources. This time, our Lu Family Vige will definitely rise." Lu Yi said with anticipation, "At that time, the whole vige will prosper together."
"So, does everyone have any ns? Like, joining official organizations or guilds or something?" Lu Ran asked.
"No." Lu Bing replied, sitting with her legs crossed, "The vige 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 vige for a long time 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 Vige 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 someone to help you level up when the timees." Big sister Lu Bing said with a smile.
"Uh... probably not. My elders want me 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 vige 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 same vige, we can still exchange insightster on. If you run into any trouble, you can alsoe to us."
"Mm-hmm." Lu Ran nodded and said, "Speaking of which, big brother Lu Yi, can you tell me more about the Lu Family Vige? I can barely remember it and have returned only a few times. I''ve mostly forgotten. When I have time, I must go and visit and pay respects to our ancestors." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"That... I''ll leave that to Lu Bing." Lu Yi gave an embarrassed smile, feeling he would not be good at exining.
Meanwhile, 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 Vige is quite ancient, it might even date back to four or five thousand years ago."
"That''s way too long ago!" Lu Ran eximed, startled.
"Ahem, that''s what is said, but whether it''s really that long, no one can be sure. Anyway, the vige has moved several times, and its history has been broken time and again..." Lu Bing cleared her throat and continued:
"Back then, wasn''t totem culture popr? Our vige actually has its own totem, which is a Divine Deer. The old people in the vige 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 vige dedicated to the Divine Deer."
"However, this culture seems to have faded over the past century. Apart from some 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 vige is called the Lu Family Vige because of this Divine Deer. Deer, Lu, you see, the name was transformed."
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 Vige had some 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 some reason, Lu Ran felt that the one the Lu Family Vige revered was real...
The official narrative couldn''t also be true, could it? That Blue Star truly had supernatural forces in ancient times!
And now, Spiritual Energy was reviving!
"Why does our vige 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 some of the older folks in the vige 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 seemed that he really must visit the Lu Family Vige. He wouldn''t feel at ease until he understood the matter of the Divine Deer.
"Shouldn''t we order now..." At that moment, 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 vige''s history, you shoulde back and visit. We can introduce you to some respected elders who might know something," 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, amotion suddenly erupted in the restaurant.
People were shouting about Public Secret Realm, Wild Map BOSS, and rushing to im monsters among other gaming terms. The atmosphere in the restaurant suddenly filled with restlessness as if spring had arrived.
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