Listening to the girl's dismissive tone, Lu An frowned slightly but said nothing.
He turned to look at Gao Dashan and the others, noticing their unpleasant expressions, and said, "Let's go, let's look outside."
Gao Dashan glared at the beautiful girl when she lowered her head, then huffily walked away with Lu An.
Lu An surveyed the Hunter Alliance, noticing several groups of people forming circles and conversing, apparently each group was a team.
After looking around, Lu An noticed one particular group.
That group was different from the others; while other circles revolved around a man, this one centered on a woman.
The woman appeared to be around nineteen years old, dressed provocatively and sensually, with a deep cleavage exposed and a side slit in her skirt reaching her upper thigh, revealing her entire long leg with every slight movement, leading to suggestive thoughts.
This woman was very outgoing, even somewhat temperamental.
In just one minute, Lu An noticed her playfully hitting two other people on the head.
While it was just a joke, it showed her dominant personality.
The others also looked around, seeing that many people were hesitant to approach and speak, Gao Dashan couldn't help but ask Lu An, "Which one should we go to?"
"Right there," Lu An said, looking ahead.
Gao Dashan followed Lu An's gaze and immediately noticed the tall, fiery woman, his eyes lighting up as he said, "You have good taste!"
Lu An rolled his eyes at Gao Dashan and said, "Although this person seems fiery, she should be easy to talk to.
The others are arrogant and unwilling to talk to their companions, only this one has a chance."
With that, Lu An said to the people behind him, "Not too many people need to go, just Brother Dashan and I are enough, you all wait here for a bit."
Li Dongshi and the others nodded quickly; they were already a bit timid and self-conscious, not daring to step forward to speak.
Lu An and Gao Dashan walked towards the group, and when they arrived behind them, no one noticed them.
Seeing this, Lu An cleared his throat twice and politely asked, "Excuse me, may we join your team?"
At these words, everyone immediately fell silent and turned to look at the two men in front of them.
One was tall and burly, and the other looked very young; everyone scrutinized the two, their eyes filled with curiosity.
As Lu An expected, the woman took two steps forward, and the people around her made way for her.
The woman carefully sized up the two, then looked at the group of people in the distance who were still staring at them, and asked coldly, "Are you new students?"
"Yes," Lu An nodded and said, "We just enrolled yesterday, and we'd like to join your team to help out and earn a little money."
"Earn money?" The woman looked at Lu An, who was a bit shorter than her; she could tell he was only about twelve or thirteen years old, and she couldn't help but sneer, "My team already has enough people, why should I share the money with you?"
With that, the woman turned to look at Li Dongshi and the others in the distance and said, "Once we're in the mountains, not only will you be unable to help, but I'll also have to be distracted protecting you.
It's a losing business no matter how I look at it."
Lu An listened to the woman's words without getting angry at all, looking at her calmly and saying, "There will always be a place where people are needed, and we're not trying to earn a lot of money, just trying to make a living."
Their eyes met, and the woman looked at the young man in plain cloth clothes.
How could she not know that these people were all children from poor families?
"There are so many people here, have you asked all of them?" the woman asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No," Lu An shook his head and said truthfully, "There's no need to ask the others, because they definitely wouldn't agree."
"Oh?" The woman smiled, a hint of interest in her eyes as she looked at Lu An, and asked, "Then why do you think I would agree? Can you read people?"
Lu An heard her but did not answer.
He could indeed read people, because it was a basic survival skill.
When he was a slave to others, many people didn't know what they had done to anger their masters even when they were executed.
Being able to fathom others' thoughts, understanding their personalities and what they were thinking, was key.
Looking at the silent Lu An, the woman's interest grew even more, because she had originally intended to suppress whatever the young man said.
But she hadn't expected him to say nothing, which caught her off guard.
The people around them also showed interest, looking at Lu An as if watching a good show.
"Joining our team to make a living is acceptable, after all, when we hunt in the mountains, we do lack people to watch our luggage," the woman said, crossing her arms, which made her cleavage even more prominent.
"But if you want to join us, you'll need to pass a test."
"What test?" Lu An asked.
"North of the academy is a mountain range called the Gongxu Mountains.
There are many Strange Beasts in the mountains, and we all hunt there.
What I want you to do is simple: the day before yesterday, when I went to the Gongxu Mountains, I left a water skin at the highest point of the first peak.
Before dawn, you bring it back to me, and I'll agree to let you all join."
With that, the woman raised an eyebrow, a glint in her eyes, and said, "Don't say I didn't warn you, although Strange Beasts rarely appear in the outermost mountains, it's not absolutely impossible.
And at night, there are many tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves.
With your current strength, which is like that of an ordinary person, encountering them would be a disaster."
"So, do you dare to go?" The woman looked at Lu An, her eyes challenging, and teased, "A young man like you is the most delicious treat for those wild beasts."
"Hahahaha!!" The men behind the woman burst into laughter, and the woman straightened up, watching Lu An with great interest.
Hearing the woman's words, Gao Dashan shivered, quickly came in front of Lu An, pulled his arm, and whispered, "Lu An, I heard that the Gongxu Mountains at night are very scary.
Many students have died there before, so let's just forget about it!"
Lu An frowned slightly, his expression somewhat grave.
After thinking for a while amidst the laughter, he looked up and quietly asked the woman, "Where can I find you after I get the water skin?"
At these words, all laughter instantly ceased!
The smile on the woman's face deepened; she was becoming more and more interested in this young man, and said, "After you get the water skin, find me at the Third Layer of the Body Tempering Ground."
"Good," Lu An's brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the woman and said in a deep voice, "I hope you keep your word then and let all of us stay."
"Of course," the woman tilted her head slightly, her long wavy hair flowing behind her, and said, "Beauties never lie."
"It's a deal," Lu An said in a deep voice upon hearing this, then turned and walked towards Li Dongshi and the others.
Gao Dashan also gave a simple smile to the group, then quickly followed Lu An's footsteps.
Watching the two new students leave, the people beside them shook their heads, saying, "They will definitely give up."
The woman smiled, waved her hand casually, and continued chatting with her subordinates, treating it merely as an insignificant interlude.
When Lu An and Gao Dashan arrived in front of their own people, everyone immediately asked how it went.
Gao Dashan briefly recounted the conversation, and instantly, everyone's faces darkened, filled with disappointment.
Compared to earning some living expenses, they cared more about their lives.
"If it's really not possible, let's wait until we've been at the academy for a year or two before participating.
Going now is undoubtedly suicide," Li Dongshi couldn't help but say.
"Yes," a girl also said timidly, "We've all entered the academy, and our future is bright.
There's no need to risk it for a little money now, otherwise our families will be very sad."
The others also agreed, and even Gao Dashan couldn't help but speak, advising Lu An, "Little Lu, we are all children from poor families, and our families are counting on us to become Heavenly Masters so they can turn their lives around.
There's no need to take such risks here!"
Lu An glanced at Dashan, then looked at the others, noticing that everyone's face was very grim.
However, he understood these people very well.
"Brother Dashan is right," Lu An smiled and said, "I was just saying that casually earlier, I won't go.
It's getting late, let's all go back to the dorms!"
Gao Dashan immediately breathed a sigh of relief, patted Lu An's shoulder, and said loudly, "That's right!
Where there's a will, there's a way!
When we become Heavenly Masters later, we'll hunt Strange Beasts every day!"
Lu An smiled and walked towards the dormitories with the others.
Only when he left the Hunter Alliance did he turn and look north.
The Gongxu Mountains, huh?
He definitely had to experience it tonight!