Chapter 637: Where's the Bull?

Lei Hou, the fifth young master of the Lei Family, was only fifteen years old—the age when boys were bold and reckless.

Seeing the Fierce Draconic Colt so obedient, it immediately caught Lei Hou's interest. "Can I take it for a ride?"

Steward Wang hurriedly intervened, "Absolutely not, Fifth Young Master."

Lei Hou's cultivation realm was only at the third realm. Even though he had some beast-taming divine abilities that were passed down in his family, there was no way he could control this Fierce Draconic Colt that was already at the fourth realm despite being a child.

Steward Wang thought,

The colt won't care if you're a servant or a young master. Once it gets mad, it will certainly kick you at least once.

If the Fifth Young Master gets injured... That kick might appear to land on him, but that would actually be a hit on my lifeline! If Master gets angry, I'll get skinned alive!

Yet, at the next moment, Chu Liang nodded nonchalantly. "Sure."

"How dare you!" Steward Wang snapped. "You're new here. You don't know anything! How dare you speak so recklessly? If the Fifth Young Master suffers even a slight... uh, injury...

huh?

"

His voice gradually weakened.

Instead of responding to Steward Wang's questioning of his skills, Chu Liang just pressed his palm lightly on the Fierce Draconic Colt and said, "Sit."

The Fierce Draconic Colt immediately bent its hind knees and sat down on the ground obediently.

The horse was sitting in the standard seated posture... and even crossed its legs. When in his life had Steward Wang ever seen such a thing?

"This is way too absurd," Steward Wang muttered, his face darkening with disbelief.

Chu Liang raised his hand again and produced a flaming steel hoop out of thin air.

He yelled, "Jump through!"

"

Neeeigh!

"

On Chu Liang's command, the Fierce Draconic Colt jumped through the hoop.

Lei Hou watched in awe, his eyes gleaming with excitement. This was no longer the vicious and uncontrollable Fierce Draconic Colt from before. The Lei Family rarely had such a docile demonic monster.

Steward Wang covered his face with his hand, utterly baffled. "Where did the flaming hoop even come from?"

The show wasn't over yet.

Chu Liang waved his hand again. "Give your greetings for the New Year."

The Fierce Draconic Colt actually stood on its hind legs and held its front legs together as though it was really bowing. It waved its legs repeatedly, doing its best to gain Chu Liang's favor.

"How is this even possible??" The Fifth Young Master said in astonishment.

Steward Wang held his head in his hands, struggling to process what he was seeing. "It's way past the New Year now, and it's still giving greetings for the New Year?"

Chu Liang let the Fierce Draconic Colt rest, allowing the farce to finally end for the time being.

Then he cupped his hands toward Lei Hou. "Fifth Young Master, do you now believe the Fierce Draconic Colt is well-behaved?"

Lei Hou chuckled, "

Haha,

I'll try riding it then."

He leaped onto the back of the Fierce Draconic Colt.

The Fierce Draconic Colt raised its head slightly, seemingly with the intention of throwing Lei Hou off. However, upon seeing the sharp glint in Chu Liang's eyes, the Fierce Draconic Colt lowered its head back down.

The Fierce Draconic Colt let out a loud neigh and bolted forward. Without a saddle or bridle to hold onto, Lei Hou simply grabbed the colt's mane, and in a split second, they were moving like the wind.

The colt galloped around the park in the form of a blazing ball of fire.

Lei Hou jumped off the colt's back and exclaimed excitedly, "That was exhilarating!"

"Hahaha!" he laughed heartily. Then he said to Chu Liang, "Come with me to claim your reward."

Lei Hou turned to Steward Wang and ordered, "Handle things here. Clean this place up; make it nice and tidy. Tomorrow, I'll bring my brothers and sisters to see the demonic beast!"

After that, Lei Hou left with a smiling Chu Liang, leaving the dumbfounded Steward Wang alone there.

A long while later, Steward Wang finally turned to look at the imposing Fierce Draconic Colt lying on the ground, suspicion still lingering in his gaze.

He picked up the flaming hoop that Chu Liang had discarded earlier and slowly raised it up high.

Then he called out to the Fierce Draconic Colt, "Jump through?"

Boom!

The sound of an explosion reverberated from the park as a human figure shot up, becoming a tiny speck in the sky.

The people below could faintly hear his drawn-out one-syllable scream.

"

Aaaaaahhhh!!!

"

...

The Lei Family's estate occupied a vast area. Most of the land consisted of parks used as enclosures for raising demonic beasts and monsters. In contrast, the residential quarters in the rear courtyard were not particularly large. The servants tending to the demonic beasts in the front courtyard were generally not allowed into the rear courtyard.

Lei Hou brought Chu Liang to the accounts room, ordered his wages to be doubled, and gave him a few words of praise before dismissing him.

After leaving the accounts room alone, Chu Liang did not return to his station straight away. Instead, he transformed into a whistling gust of wind and swiftly circled back to the rear courtyard.

The challenge of searching for the remaining part of the Divine Ruins' scroll lay in the uncertainty of the lead. They had a piece of information that seemed likely to be true, but ultimately, it was just a suspicion. Despite the Whale-Riding Immortal's incredibly high cultivation level and power, he couldn't rely on forceful measures to obtain the remaining part of the scroll.

Even if the Whale-Riding Immortal's party tied up every member of the Lei Family and threatened them, the family could simply insist they didn't have it. What could the Whale-Riding Immortal's party do then? Moreover, they were not from an evil sect, so they couldn't commit atrocities with the mindset of "it's better to wrongfully kill someone than to make a mistake in letting them go."

Thus, the Whale-Riding Immortal often employed a strategy of "luring the snake out of its hole".[1]

A cool breeze drifted into the study of the Lei Family's patriarch. The study was empty at the moment, but Chu Liang did not search through it. After all, no one would leave a map that led to hidden treasure out in the open. Instead, Chu Liang just did a quick sweep with his divine sense. That revealed nothing, so he didn't bother doing a physical search. Furthermore, rummaging around would leave traces that someone had been searching for something there.

In the end, Chu Liang just placed a letter on the desk.

The letter read:

I am aware that a part of the map to the Immortals' Storehouse is in your possession. The map is fake information that a malicious party released. It actually leads to an ancient perilous site that once caused great upheaval. The map part you hold is an ominous object. I am willing to pay a high price for it. I hope you will consider this offer carefully, patriarch of the Lei Family.

Chu Liang could not confirm if the last part of the Divine Ruins' scroll was in the Lei Family's possession. If it wasn't, the letter would simply cause some confusion. However, if it was, there would inevitably be some unusual movement within the family.

Of course, if the Lei Family's patriarch was truly willing to sell the map part, Chu Liang wouldn't mind spending money to buy it.

While Chu Liang quietly busied himself, an incessant string of wails rang out from the stewards' quarters in the front courtyard.

"

Ooooow!

"

Several of Steward Wang's subordinates carried him on a stretcher to his bed. They surrounded him with concerned expressions.

"Fortunately, I've cultivated some martial arts techniques. My cultivation level isn't high, but I did develop a sturdy physique," Steward Wang said with anguish. "Otherwise, that Fierce Draconic Colt's charge would've ended my life!"

"The Fierce Draconic Colt has always been vicious and uncontrollable. How could it have suddenly become so tame?" one of Steward Wang's subordinates wondered. "Maybe that new guy did something?"

"That's very likely!" another servant chimed in. "If not for him, Steward Wang wouldn't have gotten injured. He even sucked up to the Fifth Young Master, causing the steward to lose face!"

The rest of the servants showed disgruntled expressions.

"Should we teach him a lesson?"

"Have you all got pigs for brains?" Steward Wang snapped angrily. "If it's not because of something he did, then that's fine. Just forget about it. But if he really does have the skill to tame the Fierce Draconic Colt, what could we possibly do to retaliate? Or are you saying that one of you is able to withstand a kick from that colt?"

His subordinates quickly agreed with him. "Yes, you are right, Steward Wang."

"However, our facilities here are quite old and in disrepair. It wouldn't be surprising if a vicious beast

accidentally

escaped," Steward Wang said with a sinister smirk. "Newcomers don't know how things work here, and people sometimes get injured or even killed. Go inspect the enclosures thoroughly. After all, we wouldn't want any 'accidents.'"

...

Chu Liang returned to the Fierce Draconic Colt's enclosure, only to find the surrounding enclosures absent of people. It seemed that all the other servants had left.

He was a bit puzzled.

Are they all attending a meeting without me?

Nevertheless, he didn't think much of it. He just wanted to stay there quietly until nightfall. After that, he would head to the study of the Lei Family's patriarch again to see if he could get some information.

However, when Chu Liang passed by one of the enclosures, a muffled roar rang from inside. Looking up, he noticed that the enclosure's fencing had collapsed.

Boom!

A massive vicious beast, two zhang tall[2] and covered in jet black hair, charged out. It resembled a wild bull with upward-pointing saber teeth and eyes brimming with ferocity.

Judging from its appearance, this vicious beast was every bit as aggressive as the Fierce Draconic Colt. With its four hooves pounding the ground, it rushed furiously toward Chu Liang!

Yet, Chu Liang stood motionless. Just as the vicious beast's horns were about to ram into him, he raised a finger and lightly tapped the beast's forehead.

Tap.

That one tap effortlessly brought the vicious beast to a halt. Then a ball of Divine Dragon Fire burst forth from Chu Liang's finger.

Boom!

The Divine Dragon Fire engulfed the vicious beast with a whoosh, reducing it to ashes in an instant.

A cool breeze dispersed the ashes in the blink of an eye. It was as though the vicious beast had never existed.

Chu Liang was deeply moved by how the beast had delivered itself to him.

What a pleasant surprise.

A short while later, Steward Wang rushed over with a group of cultivators working for the Lei Family. Naturally, the cultivators held a much higher status than the servants who did odd jobs around the estate. Thus, Steward Wang spoke to them with an extremely respectful attitude.

As they approached the enclosure of the massive bull-like vicious beast, Steward Wang said, "It's here. I heard that one of the vicious beasts escaped its enclosure. My incompetence in handling matters has inconvenienced all of you—"

He abruptly stopped talking mid-sentence.

The enclosure and the surrounding area were totally empty. There wasn't even a trace of the escaped vicious beast.

The ground was level, and the buildings undisturbed; there were no signs at all of a rampaging vicious beast.

The only person around was Chu Liang. He was sitting outside the Fierce Draconic Colt's enclosure with his eyes closed, dozing off.

Steward Wang walked over to him and asked, "Where's the Rampaging Devil Bull?"

Chu Liang shook his head. "I don't know."

Steward Wang said furiously, "You've been here the whole time, and you don't know?"

"The Fifth Young Master called me away earlier, so I just got back," Chu Liang replied. "Besides, I'm not responsible for tending to Rampaging Devil Bull."

"Then, who

is

responsible for the beast?" asked one of the Lei Family cultivators behind Steward Wang.

His displeasure was clear in his tone.

Steward Wang had been worried that the Rampaging Devil Bull's escape would cause excessive damage to the estate, potentially jeopardizing his position. So, he had estimated how long it would take for the Rampaging Devil Bull to harm Chu Liang once he entered the area with the enclosures. Then Steward Wang preemptively summoned the cultivators responsible for suppressing vicious beasts. This way, he could minimize the damage.

Yet, things had turned out completely different to what he had expected.

Why isn't there even a single bit of damage?

The servant responsible for tending to the Rampaging Devil Bull was dragged out and thrown to the ground.

Under the intent stares of the Lei Family cultivators, Steward Wang had no choice but to question the servant loudly. "Ah Wei, you're responsible for tending to the Rampaging Devil Bull. Where is it?"

"That's right, Steward Wang," Ah Wei said, looking at him with a baffled expression. Ah Wei trembled and pulled away from Steward Wang as he asked in return, "Where's the bull?"

1. This idiom basically means to lure a bad person into a trap that reveals the truth. ☜

2. Approx 6.6m ☜