There were still three days until the Family Hunt.
After his Breakthrough to Rank Three, Zhou Ming still needed to replace all the Gu worms on his body before he could truly unleash the powerful combat strength of a Rank 3 Gu Master.
Before leaving Warm Pool Valley, Zhou Ming passed by Zhou Hao's residence, paused for a moment, and remained silent.
These past few days, no one had sought him out, and he had not sought out anyone either.
A thick, sorrowful barrier had already formed between them.
"This is for the best. When I leave, there won't be so much sadness, so many ties," Zhou Ming thought to himself, then turned to leave.
Just then, the door behind him suddenly opened.
"Zhou Ming?" Zhou Hao's slightly surprised voice came through.
Zhou Ming turned around and looked at him.
Zhou Hao greeted him with a hint of pleasant surprise, smiling, "I was just about to look for you. I didn't expect you to come to me first. You really do have me in your heart."
Zhou Ming: "..."
For some reason, he suddenly really wanted to draw his blade.
"Let's go!" Zhou Hao grabbed Zhou Ming's arm, pulling him along.
"...Where to?"
"To find Zhou Yu and Zhou Ke!"
Zhou Hao explained as he walked, "I've already taught those two a lesson these past few days, and they've admitted their mistakes."
"I was planning to bring them to you today, but you found me first. Perfect, let's go see them together!"
"I..." Zhou Ming instinctively started to refuse, but after a moment's thought, he smiled instead.
"Alright, I was just thinking of giving those two a good beating. They actually tried to push me away last time, hmph hmph!"
"Haha, you're Two-turn now, and Zhou Yu is still at Peak Rank One. You two can just brawl it out. I absolutely have to watch this spectacle."
As the two laughed and chatted, their relationship seemed to return to its previous harmony.
Soon, the two arrived at Zhou Ke's residence. Zhou Hao stepped forward and knocked on the door.
The door opened from the inside, revealing a sleepy-eyed head.
"Captain, Zhou Ming, why are you two here so early? Is there an event?"
Zhou Ke seemed not yet fully awake, rubbing his eyes and muttering.
Suddenly, he reacted, his consciousness instantly clearing, and his entire body froze in place.
The hand rubbing his eyes slowly lowered. A complex expression appeared in his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to speak but remained speechless, saying nothing at all.
At this moment, Zhou Hao stepped forward, wrapped an arm around Zhou Ke's neck, pulled him over, and rubbed his head, laughing loudly.
"You kid, what time did you go to bed last night?"
"I heard Zhou Lu got a new batch of picture books. Could it be that you, kid... did too much 'handicraft' last night?"
Zhou Ke was, after all, only a sixteen-year-old boy. Teased by Zhou Hao, his face immediately turned red. He struggled and said, "Captain, what are you talking about? I didn't..."
"He's flustered, he's flustered." Zhou Hao released his arm, pointed at Zhou Ke, and laughed heartily with Zhou Ming.
Zhou Ming couldn't help but laugh as well, coming to Zhou Ke's rescue, "Captain, with our Ke Ke's looks, just standing there, who knows how many aunties would want to eat him up. Does he still need to secretly 'grow up' alone?"
"Zhou Ming, you kid..." Zhou Ke's face was beet red, as if it could drip blood.
Zhou Ke had a baby face, and his skin was very fair and smooth, like a creamy little pretty boy. Because of his appearance, his teammates often teased him.
Amidst the commotion, the three looked at each other and suddenly all burst into laughter.
"Alright." Zhou Hao clapped his hands and smiled, "The past few days, we've all been too emotional. The unpleasantness should be over now."
"This morning, Zhou Ming came to me early, begging me to bring him here to apologize to you all. See, isn't that sincere enough?"
As he spoke, Zhou Hao subtly winked at Zhou Ming.
Zhou Ming understood and sincerely said to Zhou Ke, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been absent from the last mission."
"No, no, no." Zhou Ke waved his hands repeatedly, "You can't be blamed for this. What could Gu Masters like us, at Rank One and Two-turn, do in a Small Beast Tide? It was every man for himself! That day, that day was just because..."
"Don't say anymore." Zhou Ming placed both hands on Zhou Ke's shoulders, looking at him seriously, "I understand."
"Mm." Zhou Ke nodded, his face turning red again. He lowered his head and said, "Zhou Ming, don't, don't look at me like that."
Zhou Ming: "..."
Why did he suddenly want to draw his blade again?
"Ahem, you two can express any romantic feelings you have in private. For now, let's get down to business."
Zhou Hao, who was standing by, couldn't take it anymore and quickly jumped in to mediate.
"Let's go, we're going to find Zhou Yu!"
"Captain..." Zhou Ke said softly, "Zhou Yu, he..."
"Don't worry." Zhou Hao said no more, just stated it calmly.
So Zhou Ke said nothing further.
Zhou Ming was silent in his heart.
Among the five-man team, the Gu Master who died in the Small Beast Tide was named Zhou Hang. He was Zhou Yu's cousin, but they grew up together and were as close as brothers.
Zhou Hang's death had the biggest impact on Zhou Yu.
The lively atmosphere had now cooled considerably. The three arrived at Zhou Yu's residence in somewhat silence.
Standing at the door, Zhou Hao said to Zhou Ming, "You wait here for a moment. Zhou Ke and I will go in and see if that kid is sleeping naked."
Zhou Ming nodded, saying nothing.
Zhou Hao pulled out a string of keys from his waist, directly opened the door, and led Zhou Ke inside.
Zhou Ming stood at the door, listening to the faint sounds of conversation from inside, then an argument, followed by Zhou Hao muttering to himself, and then gradually silence.
Then, the door opened again, and Zhou Hao and Zhou Ke dragged Zhou Yu out.
At this moment, Zhou Yu looked very dejected, unkempt, and gaunt.
He was forcibly brought out by the two and placed in front of Zhou Ming. He mumbled for a while, lowered his head, and unwillingly said, "I'm sorry."
Zhou Ming said nothing, just quietly looked at Zhou Yu.
Zhou Yu didn't look up. Hearing no response from Zhou Ming, he just repeated, "I'm sorry."
Zhou Ming still said nothing, ignoring Zhou Hao's anxious eye signals, and continued to look at Zhou Yu with a calm gaze.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Zhou Yu kept saying, his words getting faster and faster, his tone growing more and more agitated.
Finally, it erupted into an angry, tearful shout mixed with grievance: "I've already said I'm sorry! What more do you want from me? If it's not enough, then just kill me!"
Zhou Ming reached out, grabbed his collar, and abruptly lifted him, his feet dangling off the ground.
"Do I need to hear your damn apologies?"
Zhou Ming asked in a deep voice, "I ask you, how did Zhou Hang die?"
Zhou Yu gritted his teeth, his face a mix of anger, sorrow, stubbornness, and grievance.
"Zhou, Zhou Ming..." Zhou Ke tried to stop the conflict between the two, reaching for Zhou Ming's arm, but found his arm to be as unshakeable as if cast from refined iron.
"I'm asking you, how did Zhou Hang die!"
Zhou Yu's lips trembled, tears quickly welling up in his eyes.
"Zhou Hang died in the Beast Tide, damn it! He was bitten to death and devoured by those damned wild beasts!"
"What good is saying sorry to me? While you're crying, while you're dejected, while you're wasting time throwing a tantrum with me here, Zhou Hang's bones are being gnawed by some beast! His flesh has already been digested and turned into shit, dumped on who knows what patch of grass!"
"What good is saying sorry?! Where in Northern Plains do people not die? Your brother died! You should work hard to become stronger, to kill the beasts that ate him, to wipe out the Beast Tide, not cry like a woman and throw a childish tantrum here!"
Zhou Ming released his grip, and Zhou Yu fell to the ground, staggering backward, caught by Zhou Hao and Zhou Ke.
Zhou Ming glanced at him, then turned and left.
His voice, however, lingered, unable to dissipate from Zhou Yu's heart for a long time.
"I hope I can still fight alongside you, brother!"
Third update, one more chapter later.