It's Not Bad to Read More Books

(Brain Repository, the author has some brain but not much, and the novels written will be the same. So please deposit your precious brains here.)

(This book is slow-paced. The humble author wants to try writing with some brains. Thank you, great masters, for your mercy. Deepest gratitude!)

The Barren Star System, a small stellar system. It's extremely remote within the vast Styx Galaxy, so remote that even interstellar pirates looking to profit from this galaxy of death and despair wouldn't bother.

Within the stellar system, a not-so-large young star, along with its few subordinates, sped through the dark expanse of space. Among them, a planet with a faint blue glow appeared exceptionally beautiful in this galaxy of desolation.

"Child, what's wrong?"

It was an old woman gathering herbs on a mountain. Seeing a child curled up on the dewy grass, her heart, which had been a little uneasy about the unexpected object appearing on a familiar path, finally relaxed.

Looking at the child's cute face and the helpless look in his eyes after being woken up, she inwardly sighed, "What a sin. I wonder which family has been taken away this time, leaving this poor child behind."

As she spoke, the boy looked at the old woman, whose face was etched with the marks of time, and then smiled.

"Giggle!"

A sound so brief it could barely be called a laugh caused the old woman's previously furrowed brow to break into a happy smile.

She hesitantly raised her right hand, covered in scratches, and slowly picked him up. After playing with him for a moment, she somewhat hesitantly began to walk back with him.

In the blink of an eye, over ten years had passed.

"Yuan, you little rascal, don't run. Stop right there, you brat, or I'll skin you alive when I catch you."

Saying this, a man limped along, holding a long stick and struggling to chase a boy who looked about ten years old.

The boy seemed to know he had thoroughly angered the man behind him, so he quickened his pace, a mischievous grin plastered across his face.

"Jos, why are you so angry? That kid isn't the first time he's provoked you, and I've never seen you this mad."

"Hiss! Stop talking, come help me, I can't take it anymore."

As he spoke, he stumbled to the side. His companion quickly stepped forward and helped him up.

"I said, it's just hemorrhoids, right? Is it worth being this dramatic?"

"You know nothing. That little bastard smeared mustard on the toilet paper I was using. I #@$#^@$%#^$^" he cursed loudly.

Seeing the other man's furrowed brow, he knew the curses were truly vile.

"Hmph! If you ask me, you deserve it. Yuan is known around here for being well-behaved, cute, and filial. You must have said something disrespectful to Grandma Zorya again?"

"I~~~"

Seeing the argument escalating, the person supporting Jos quickly waved his hand to mediate.

"Alright, both of you, say less. Jos, you too, your bad habit of shouting loudly after drinking needs to be corrected. Grandma Zorya is the only one who can treat illnesses around here now."

"Grandma didn't bother with you before, but now with Yuan here, don't cause any more unpleasantness."

As he spoke, he cast a deep look at the few people who had fallen silent beside him.

"No one knows when the Kingdom's next conscription will come. Although not much time has passed since the last one, we must be prepared."

"It's already a ten-in-ten chance of death, so nothing can go wrong, or there will be no good end for anyone. Even if she doesn't have much skill, it's better than nothing."

Upon hearing the words "Kingdom's conscription," the people present shivered and fell silent. The atmosphere instantly turned somber.

"Hey, enough of that. It hasn't been that long since the last one. Let's not talk about such mood-killing things. Let's talk about Jos instead. I say, why do you always get hemorrhoids? Do you have some kind of problem?"

"Nonsense. Eating this garbage every day, how can I not have trouble? I have to squat for a long time."

As they spoke, the figures of the few people chatting and laughing slowly disappeared into the still slightly misty village.

The boy, seeing Jos being led away by the others, also stopped running and happily returned home.

"Went to provoke Jos again?"

Although it was a question, Zorya's gaze towards Yuan was one of certainty.

"Heh heh, Grandma, that guy just needs to be taught a lesson. I'll let him off this time, but if he gets drunk and acts up again, I'll replace the paper with a stick."

"What do you mean?" Zorya looked at Yuan with some confusion, not quite understanding.

"Nothing, it means nothing. Grandma, is there anything to eat? I'm so hungry." With a hint of a mysterious smile, Yuan walked towards the kitchen behind the house to get something to eat.

"Oh, you child, it's still hot, you have to wait a bit longer."

That's right, this boy was the one Zorya had found years ago.

Zorya had no one else in her family, and she had never told Yuan about any relatives. Yuan seemed to guess something and never asked.

The only question he had proactively asked was: "Grandma, why did you name me Yuan? It's not like them, with a given name and a surname, so many characters."

Zorya's answer made him pause. Her exact words were, "I vaguely remember hearing my teacher talk about it when I was young. From their words, the character 'Yuan' seemed very powerful, so I named you that."

"That's it?"

"That's it!"

What Yuan didn't know was that after Zorya confirmed the character, a faint golden light flickered in her eyes.

Countless images flashed by like a slideshow. After a long time, she closed her eyes with a smile.

From then on, Yuan never asked Zorya any more questions. As for this grandson who gave her so little trouble, Zorya would occasionally have long conversations with him.

Soon, two bowls of simple breakfast were placed on a slightly worn table. It was called breakfast, but it was actually just two bowls of rice porridge. Yuan didn't hesitate, picked up a bowl, and began to devour it heartily.

"Yuan, you're thirteen now. It's not good to always be reading alone in your room. Why don't you ever want to go out and play with the other children?"

As she spoke, she affectionately brushed back Yuan's slightly curly hair.

"They're too young, and I don't want to play with those imbeciles."

"Yuan, don't curse." Zorya's expression turned stern, then she asked with concern, "Why do you say that?"

"They were throwing poop at each other, can you believe it?"

That's right. After his grandmother had persuaded him last time, Yuan, though unwilling, had obediently gone to the village to find the children. He planned to pretend to play with them for a bit and then leave.

But he hadn't expected that when the children saw Yuan was finally willing to come out and play, they all happily started making a fuss, insisting on having a welcoming ceremony.

So, out of curiosity, Yuan followed them to their so-called secret base and began the welcoming ceremony that would give him nightmares for days.

"Holy crap!"

Seeing the children, despite their furrowed brows, pull out several dark lumps from a small hole with joy on their faces, Yuan's heart was instantly thrown into turmoil.

"You call this a welcoming ceremony? What kind of ritual is this?"

"Hey, Yuan. You don't understand the fun in this. Come on, you'll understand soon."

As she spoke, the girl named Maji slowly walked towards him.

"No, thank you. You can keep this fun all to yourselves. My life is unfortunate enough; you enjoy these 'good' things on your own."

While saying this, he slowly backed away.

"Hey, don't go."

Maji seemed anxious and quickened her pace towards Yuan. Seeing all the children closing in on him, Yuan's face was filled with pain.

"You, don't come over here."

"Ugh! Why are you hitting me? I already got hit, didn't I?" Maji gagged as a black substance was smeared on her face.

"Sorry, I tripped on the grass. Ouch! What are you doing!"

"Excuse me, I tripped too."

"Fine, fine, you want to play like this, huh? Eat my fist."

And so, under the fatal entanglement of a few blades of grass, the scene immediately lost control. Black and yellow objects flew everywhere, and a strange odor filled the air. Yuan remained silent, merely covering his nose and desperately running forward.

Hearing Yuan's explanation, Zorya fell silent. She then lowered her head and began eating from the bowl on the table. Although it was somewhat disgusting, the food here was hard-won, and she didn't want to waste it.

"Actually, reading more isn't a bad thing. I have some more under my bed; I'll get it for you later."

"Mhm."

Afterward, both fell silent, quietly staring at the mush in their bowls.

"You guys really know how to have fun!"