Yi Yun originally imagined that
this was a world where martial arts was respected, but after listening to Jiang
Xiaorou's description, Yi Yun realized that he had underestimated the
importance of martial arts in this world.
More precisely, this was a
world where martial arts was life. In this world, humans had their own cities
and campgrounds while the wilderness belonged to the wild beasts and desolate
beasts. Humans risked the threat of being attacked by wild beasts or desolate
beasts when out farming or hunting. Because of these monstrous behemoths, it
had limited the range of human activities. So among the commoners, there was a
supply deficit.
For a campground or a city,
highly-skilled warriors were a lifeline! Without the protection of the
highly-skilled warriors, desolate beasts could destroy the residents of
campgrounds and cities in a night.
Unfortunately for Yi Yun and
Jiang Xiaorou, their tribe was a small tribe without a single highly-skilled
warrior. The entire tribe was in a precarious state, one that could be
destroyed any time. Because of the lack of strength, these small tribes had a
lot of troubles cultivating or collecting food. They were unable to survive on
their own but relied on the manufacturing of weapons such as arrows and armor
for the bigger tribes in exchange for some rations and beasts to survive.
The raw materials for the
arrows Jiang Xiaorou made came from a bigger tribe. She was only in charge of
manufacturing them.
"Yun’er, go back in.
Tomorrow I can exchange quite a bit of ration with these arrows. I can even
exchange a piece of desolate beast meat. Do you still remember desolate beasts?
Those are the strongest beasts, and only very large tribes are able to hunt
them. Eating a piece gives a lot of strength! If one eats it for prolonged
periods, one can become a warrior very quickly!" Jiang Xiaorou said
dreamingly, for if her brother could become a warrior, it would be absolutely
splendid.
It was a pity that they only
had a chance to eat a desolate beast every few months. The hopes of becoming a
warrior were destined to be an extravagant wish.
However, in large tribes, the
young had desolate beasts for their meals, and it was actually not considered
valuable among the big tribes. Although desolate beasts were hard to hunt, a
desolate beast was over ten meters high and weighed a few tons. It was sufficient
to feed ten people for years.
To the proud elites in the
large tribes, the meat of the desolate beasts was for the commoners. What they
ate was the desolate beasts' bones or desolate bones.
All the essence in the desolate
beasts was in their desolate bones. A huge skeleton of a desolate beast could
be refined through a special method to obtain a bean-sized desolate bone
essence.
This desolate bone essence was
used to help warriors break their limits by opening up their meridians,
stimulating blood pulses and provide various beneficial effects. It was
something all martial artists yearned for.
Of course, a desolate bone
essence was simply a legend to the poor families in a lowly tribe like Jiang
Xiaorou and Yi Yun’s.
Forgetting a desolate bone
essence, even refining a piece of desolate bone would require many steps and
secret methods. It was impossible for a normal person to refine it
successfully.
"Desolate beast, desolate
bone essence..." Yi Yun mumbled to himself. The terms he heard from Jiang
Xiaorou's mouth surprised him, as she was so knowledgeable.
After a silent night, Yi Yun
woke up early the next morning from hunger.
Without eating for a few days,
and only eating a tiny bit of porridge, Yi Yun's level of hunger was
understandably high.
"Sis Xiaorou!"
Now, Yi Yun was accustomed to
calling Jiang Xiaorou sister. He had learned from the chat yesterday with Jiang
Xiaorou that he used to call Jiang Xiaorou "Sis Xiaorou".
"Oh… Sis Xiaorou, why are
you..."
Yi Yun suddenly realized that
Jiang Xiaorou's clothes were soaked with dew, and her originally bright eyes
were now speckled with red blood vessels. She looked exhausted.
Looking at the two bundles of
arrows that Jiang Xiaorou was hugging, it was clear to Yi Yun that Jiang
Xiaorou had not slept once throughout the night to finish the arrows!
They were so poor that they
could not afford to light a lamp. Jiang Xiaorou had used the faint glow of the
fireflies and the moonlight to arduously finish the arrows overnight.
Jiang Xiaorou smiled saying,
"Yun'er, previously when you fell and hurt yourself, I kept taking care of
you. In the past two days, I was busy with your burial and rites, so I didn't
have time to make the arrows. Today is the day we exchange them for rations, so
if I had not rushed to finish them, the two of us would starve. I'm even going
to get you desolate beast meat to nurse you up!"
As she said that, Jiang Xiaorou
looked lovingly at Yi Yun's forehead.
Yi Yun was dumbfounded as he
saw Jiang Xiaorou use linoleum to wrap the two bundles of arrows carefully. Her
expression was that of glee and satisfaction.
Yi Yun exhaled deeply and
tightened his fists. He was determined to give the sister who cared for him a
much better life.
"Let's go, it's time to
collect our rations!"
Jiang Xiaorou held on to Yi Yun
while carrying the two bundles of heavy arrows. She came full of anticipation
to the Sun Valley field where the ration exchange was taking place.
There were already many people
gathered there.
The thing that caught people's
attention was the man in a robe on stage.
He looked approximately
twenty-five and sat majestically on a chair covered in beast hide. A well-made
sword hung by his waist.
The man in the robe was lazily
glancing at the suffering crowd as they busied themselves below the stage.
These people were moving the
bundles of arrows and the sets of exquisite leather armor. A person who looked
like a treasurer recorded down every item that was moved.
Standing beside the robed man
was an elderly man dressed in yellow. He was all smiles, with a fawning look on
his face.
"Are the weapons and armor
satisfactory, Lord Tao?" The elderly man bowed before him as his face
wrinkled up. The robed man took a glance at the elderly man before snorting as
a response.
Although the robed man was full
of disdain, the elderly man didn't betray any of his thoughts and carried on
smiling.
Lord Tao was an ambassador from
a large tribe, and he was in charge of collecting the weapons. It was because
Lord Tao was not considered special in his tribe that he was sent here on the
errand, but to the yellow-robed elder, he was someone of utmost importance.
Jiang Xiaorou handed over the
two bundles of arrows she made in exchange for two small wooden tablets. With
the two wooden tablets in hand, Jiang Xiaorou's face reddened as she gripped it
tightly in her clammy palms for this was for her and her brother’s ration.
After fifteen minutes, all the
weapons and armor were stored in the large cart that was pulled away by two big
horned horses.
Lord Tao lazily scanned the
books as he threw a large wooden chest at the yellow-robed elder before leaving
with his subordinates.
The yellow-robed elder politely
sent Lord Tao away with smiles before finally wiping them off his face to exude
a face of dignity.
All the tribal folks were
burning with anticipation as they said, "Patriarch, please distribute the
rations."
"Right! We haven't seen it
in months!" A couple of people had started shouting for they were all
waiting to collect the rations to fill their stomachs back home.
"Silence!" as the
yellow-robed elder quelled the masses with a gesture. Yi Yun never expected
that this spineless old-timer was the Patriarch.
"Since everyone is so
impatient, let's distribute the rations!" The moment he finished speaking,
a few strong men walked up hurriedly and brought out bags of rations from a
warehouse and stacked them into a small mound.
"That's not right,
Patriarch. Why is there so little this time?"
"Yeah! There used to be a
lot more!" "Also why don't we see any beasts?"
Many people started rabbling
for they had handed more weapons than previous years, yet the amount received
was pathetically lesser. Not only were the rations halved, the beasts had also
disappeared.
"The Tao tribal clan has
gone too far, how can they dismiss us with this tiny amount?"”
"Patriarch, what's the
meaning of this!"
Seeing that the mob was getting
more disorderly, the yellow-robed elder snorted and said, "Shut your
mouths!" You will understand in a while. Distribute the rations now! Hand
over your wooden tablets, and whatever you receive is all you will get!
The yellow-robed elder said it
with a force that resulted in many of the dissatisfied to zip up their mouths
immediately. The yellow-robed elder was a warrior. Although he was a
low-classed Mortal Blood warrior, he was definitely the tribe's pillar, so few
dared defy him.
"Those from the warrior
preparation camp are the first to receive the rations!" The moment the
yellow-robed elder waved his hand, a group of men wearing animal leather walked
forward. Their ages ranged from fifteen to forty years old. Without exception,
all of them were stout and muscular from their training. These people were
members of the warrior preparation camp and were the hope of the tribe. As
young adults with good physical attributes, they were chosen from young for
training. Besides hunting occasionally, they did not farm or manufacture arrows
or armor. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com
Besides, anything beneficial
like food was first distributed to the warrior preparation camp. Because, if
any of them were to become a high-class warrior, they would bring lots of
riches to the tribe. Besides being able to protect, the output capabilities of
high-level warriors were extremely high as they were strong enough to go out
into the wilderness to hunt. Just a few large wild beasts would be enough to
feed the entire tribe for days. Without exaggeration, a single high-level
warrior could sustain a small tribe!
There were dozens of people in
the warrior preparation camp, and because they never participated in the
manufacturing, they naturally didn't have any wooden tablets; but each of them
still took away a big bag of rations.
The tiny quantity of rations
was further reduced by a fifth, but there were tens of times more people who
haven't received the rations compared to the warrior preparation camp.
From this, it was fated that
many would starve.
Jiang Xiaorou, who was by Yi
Yun's side, grasped the wooden tablet tightly. Her face was pale for their days
were numbered if they didn't manage to obtain any rations.
The people were solemn as the
warrior preparation camp members took their usual share, which definitely meant
that there wasn't enough to distribute.
"Household with tier-one
males, come collect your rations!" The yellow-robed elder gave another
order. In this world where martial arts was life, males not from the warrior
preparation camp received distributions proportional to their abilities.
A simple test was that of
strength; being able to lift 150 kilograms made one a tier-one male!
The lesser they lifted, the
lower their tier.
Those households with tier-one
males heaved a sigh of relief and rushed forward to collect their rations. The
wooden tablets were just for show. These households received much fewer rations
than normal, but at least they received something.
These households were
originally wealthier and would have surplus food. So even though their days
ahead required them to be frugal, it wasn't a desperate situation.
"Household with tier-two
males, come collect your rations!" The yellow-robed elder opened his mouth
again. Compared to the person who was bowing to "Lord Tao", this
yellow-robed elder was a totally different person with his cold demeanor.
A tier-two male could lift
about 125 kilograms. The rations they received were reduced greatly.
The ration bags depleted
rapidly. With every disappearing bag, Jiang Xiaorou's face turned paler. Her
clammy hands gripped the wooden tablet tightly.
The problem wasn't about having
fewer bags of rations; this was a matter of life and death. Without the
rations, they would starve to death!
She was originally full of hope
for this round’s ration distribution. Besides getting the rations, she was
hoping to receive a piece of meat in order to nurse Yi Yun. However, there
weren’t even any normal rations left.
"Household with tier-three
males, come collect your rations!"
With the depleting rations,
Jiang Xiaorou held her breath.
The yellow-robed elder frowned,
as a number of rations was too little. Many still had not received it. In the
months to come, many would be fated to starve to death.
But for the tribe's benefit, to
catch that golden opportunity, the yellow-robed elder could only steel his
heart and sacrifice the weak.
It was common for people to die
of hunger or sickness in the tribe. The adverse living conditions resulted in
the average life expectancy to be frightening short.
"The rest, come collect
your rations."
With those words, a large group
of people rushed forward. Jiang Xiaorou screamed as the mob pushed her down.
She was bruised from her fall,
but she held on to her wooden tablet closely, as if it was her freedom that
could give her hope.
"Sis Xiaorou." Seeing
Jiang Xiaorou fall, Yi Yun rushed through the mob and pulled her up.
"Are you alright, Sis
Xiaorou?” Yi Yun was anxious as being trampled by this mob would result in
death. Jiang Xiaorou held on helplessly to Yi Yun's hand.
"Stop squeezing. All of
you be orderly!" The yellow-robed elder shouted. His voice seemed to be
imbued with a special energy, causing the mob that was squeezing forward to
quiet down.
"Line up, one by
one!" The yellow-robed elder was authoritative. No one dared to defy him
for they all knew he held absolute power. He was in charge of the tribe, and he
would execute whoever disobeyed on the spot.
The people lined up for the
rations, even if it was a pathetic amount. But in a while, the rations were
gone, leaving many without any.
Jiang Xiaorou's heart sank.
Without the rations, they could not survive.
"Wang Long, bring out a
few stored rations out," said the yellow-robed elder to a stout man. Wang
Long was one of the yellow-robed elder's family members.
"Yes, Patriarch."
Wang Long left and returned in a short while with a small cart of rations.
These were the stored rations containing only grain.
On Earth, eating grain was a
source of vitamins resulting in healthiness. However, in this alternate world,
it was a totally different matter. Grain was the remnants after processing. It
was mixed with wheat bran as food. The taste was horrible and hard to swallow.
Also, grain was low in
nutrients, and difficult to digest. In fact, it provided very little energy,
about half of the rations. Although it was grain, it was better than nothing.
The crowd could only resign to fate and collect the extremely tiny amount of
grain. Jiang Xiaorou was right at the back, and by her turn, there was almost
no grain left.
She passed the two sweat sodden
wooden tablets and received two palm-sized bags of grain. Even if she and Yi
Yun ate the grains as porridge, it wouldn't last them more than ten days.
Jiang Xiaorou was stunned as
she held the light bags of grain, unwilling to accept her fate.
Her brother had just come back
from the dead, are they going to starve together?
"What are you staying
there for, stop blocking the way!" The man in charge of distributing the
grain said impatiently, wanting Jiang Xiaorou to leave as soon as possible.
Jiang Xiaorou felt anger. She
had worked hard overnight to make those arrows, and all she got was this tiny
amount. Although she was a weak girl, she daringly faced the group of men who
held the tribe's authority. "Why is there so little? I handed over two
bundles of arrows. Not only did I not get the rations, but all I got was grain
that is far from the normal amount!"
The man in charge of
distributing the grain was stunned. He never expected the young girl to have
the courage to question him.
"Do you even know the
rules? You are just a kid and a young girl at that. Without any males at home,
what's the point of having so much food? It would be a waste!"
In this world, the smaller
tribes favored males. In the big tribes, there were various kinds of desolate
beasts and even desolate bones. So the differences between the two sexes didn't
matter as much.
But in a small tribe, a male's
strength was an advantage gap that couldn't be bridged. Few girls had the
strength comparable to men.
Being looked down upon, Jiang
Xiaorou shouted angrily, "Who said I didn't have any males in my house?
There is one right here!” With that said, Jiang Xiaorou grabbed Yi Yun's hand
and stood beside him.
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