Only after returning home did Bai Yu begin examining the Burial World Record.
When he opened the first page, it contained Bai Yu's information.
Name: Bai Yu Aptitude: 1 Vitality: 3 Strength: 5 Cultivation Method: None Divine Ability: Eternal Life Skills: Playing the Suona (Practice Makes Perfect), Literacy (First Glimpse), Hunting (Uninitiated)
It seemed this body really was weak beyond belief, a pathetic scrap with a strength of only five.
With a thought, Bai Yu claimed the funeral reward.
Funeral successfully conducted for Zhao Laogen. Strength +5, Life Experience +5!
Bai Yu's body crackled and popped.
The muscles all over his body swelled, power surging through his sinews and flesh.
He could feel that his strength had doubled outright.
Before, his strength had been around fifty pounds. Now, it had shot up to a hundred.
Overjoyed, Bai Yu picked up a stone with both hands and hurled it high into the air.
"With the sun and moon in my hands, stars plucked from the heavens, there is none in this world like me! Hahahaha—"
With a clang, Bai Yu's only battered jar was smashed to pieces.
That had been the only thing he could use as a cooking pot.
Bai Yu felt a little awkward and looked at the Black Dog.
"Ahem. Actually, we can still cook without a pot. Tonight, we're having grilled fish."
The Black Dog looked utterly bewildered.
"Is this something a human would do?"
Even a dog would shake its head at that.
But who told him he was its master?
The Black Dog let out a sigh.
Bai Yu pulled a plum pit from his chest and said solemnly:
"Old Mo, let's dig a hole and plant this."
"In a few years, we'll have plums to eat."
The Black Dog nodded repeatedly and swiftly dug a hole in the ground.
Once the hole was ready, Bai Yu placed the plum pit inside with great solemnity.
He covered it with dirt and watered it.
Man and dog both looked forward to having endless plums to eat in a few years.
Just then, Uncle Dazhuang came up from the foot of the mountain, carrying a small burlap sack in his hand.
His booming voice carried over.
"Yo, Little Blackie has grown this big already."
He was referring to the Black Dog, which everyone had once called Little Blackie.
After Bai Yu transmigrated here, he had renamed it Old Mo.
Bai Yu hurriedly said:
"Uncle Dazhuang, what brings you here?"
Uncle Dazhuang handed him the sack.
"Changsheng, I brought you some coarse rice. Only around ten-odd pounds, so don't think it's too little."
"Eat too many sweet potatoes, and they'll give you heartburn."
Bai Yu was deeply moved and hurriedly invited Uncle Dazhuang to stay for dinner.
Uncle Dazhuang set down the sack, turned, and left.
"Changsheng, if there's ever a wedding or funeral, I'll come get you."
"Old Brother Bai is gone. You need to keep living well."
No sooner had Uncle Dazhuang left than Sister-in-law San, a former neighbor, brought over a bowl of wild vegetable dumplings.
"People have to look ahead. Only when you're full can you live well."
With that, Sister-in-law San left as well.
In the countryside, there were village tyrants who devoured people alive, but there were also simple, honest villagers.
Tears of gratitude streamed from the corners of Bai Yu's mouth.
"Old Mo, we're eating dumplings tonight."
The Black Dog bounced around Bai Yu a few times.
At last, they could have a full meal. Over the past few days, man and dog had nearly starved to death.
Man and dog sat on the ground, one for you and one for me, finishing every last dumpling in the bowl.
Bai Yu even licked the bottom of the bowl clean.
Finally, Bai Yu poured a little water into the bowl, and a layer of oil floated to the surface.
This was precious grease. Bai Yu sucked the oil into his mouth in one breath.
"It feels so good to have something in my belly."
"Old Mo, let me tell you: a gentleman's revenge can wait ten years."
"For us immortals, even a hundred years isn't too late for revenge."
The Black Dog nodded again and again, licking the oil from the corner of its mouth while it was at it.
It had now become a divine beast of the Burial World as well, blessed with Eternal Life.
"Hmph. Once the Chen Brothers grow old, we'll make their pensions burst right out of them!"
The Black Dog grew even more eager to try, utterly thrilled.
We're immortal, so who are we afraid of?
At that moment, a voice drifted up from far down the mountain.
"Brother Changsheng."
Bai Yu looked over and saw a little girl with twin horn braids.
Her features were delicate and pretty, her skin fair. She was clearly a little beauty in the making.
"Xiao Yu, what are you doing here?"
She was the village schoolteacher's daughter and Bai Yu's closest friend.
Xiao Yu soon arrived before Bai Yu's shack.
"My father asked me to bring Brother Changsheng a pot. Oh, and a jar of cooking oil too."
"If there's anything else you need, I'll go back and get it."
Bai Yu was touched.
"Thank Master Meng, and thank you too, Xiao Yu."
In this tiny mountain village, supplies were extremely scarce.
A pot, a burlap sack, or a clay jar were all exceedingly important possessions.
Xiao Yu added:
"My father went to see the Chen family. He said he feels guilty that he couldn't get your house and fields back for you."
Master Meng was the village's only schoolteacher.
He was upright and fair in his dealings, and held great prestige in the village.
Even the village-tyrant Chen family had to give him some face.
But prestige was not martial force, after all. Naturally, the Chen family would not relinquish the fat meat already in their mouths.
Bai Yu hurriedly said:
"How could it be Master Meng's fault? I'm already deeply grateful that he was willing to speak up for me."
Xiao Yu said again:
"Brother Changsheng, aren't you going to attend school anymore?"
"My father said you won't need to pay tuition in the future."
Bai Yu gave a bitter smile.
"I appreciate Master's kindness, but in my current state, I'm really not suited to keep studying."
Xiao Yu's face dimmed, and she gave a soft "Oh."
Suddenly, she removed a purse from her waist and tried to stuff it into Bai Yu's hand.
"Brother Changsheng, this is the spare money I've saved up. Take it and use it first."
How could Bai Yu possibly take a little girl's private savings? He hurriedly said:
"No, no. How could I take your money?"
"Don't worry, Xiao Yu. Your big brother will get better soon."
"After some time, I'll tell you stories from the books again."
Master Meng was extremely old-fashioned and firmly believed that ignorance was a woman's virtue.
Yet Xiao Yu rather liked reading, so she could only pester Bai Changsheng to tell her stories.
Bai Changsheng was also happy to show off what he had learned to the little girl.
That was why the two of them had been so close.
Only after Bai Yu assured her that everything was fine did Xiao Yu put away the purse and skip off.
That night, Bai Yu and the Black Dog lit a bonfire and cooked a pot of fish soup.
The firelight flickered, casting its glow across Bai Yu's face.
Bai Yu looked at the Black Dog and said earnestly:
"For a drop of kindness, repay it with fists."
"The villagers have helped us so much. If anyone dares bully them in the future, we'll definitely beat them back."
The Black Dog pressed against Bai Yu's side and nodded in agreement.
Woof, woof, awooo~
"The ten copper coins we earned before, along with the things the villagers gave us, should be enough for us to scrape by for half a month."
"We need to find a way to make money. First, we'll fill our bellies, then we'll repay Master Meng and the others tenfold."
Bai Yu drank the piping-hot fish soup and fell into deep thought.
How was he supposed to make money?
What he was best at was playing the suona, but Peach Blossom Village might not see even one happy occasion in a month.
Making money through the suona was not going to work.
Right, he had also obtained 5 points of Life Experience during the day. He had no idea what they were for.
He focused his mind on the Burial World Record and immediately learned that Life Experience could be used to raise skill levels.
Bai Yu glanced at the skill panel.
Skills: Playing the Suona (Practice Makes Perfect), Literacy (First Glimpse), Hunting (Uninitiated)
Besides playing the suona and reading, he also possessed a little knowledge of hunting.
Bai Changsheng's maternal grandfather had been an old hunter.
When Bai Changsheng was young, his grandfather would often trek dozens of miles through the mountains to bring him some game.
Sometimes it was two pheasants; sometimes it was a fat rabbit.
Influenced by what he saw and heard, Bai Changsheng had learned quite a bit about hunting as well.
Though his Hunting skill had not yet entered the gate, its proficiency had reached 7/10.
With a thought, Bai Yu added three points of Life Experience to Hunting.
Hunting skill level increased: First Glimpse!
A flood of information immediately appeared in Bai Yu's mind.
The hunting techniques his grandfather had taught became incomparably clear, and much knowledge now seemed to fall into place as naturally as water flowing into a channel.
"Old Mo, sleep early. Tomorrow, we're heading into the mountains to hunt."
"Woof woof~"
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