A Strange Feeling

Seeing the unwelcome guest, Yi Yun furrowed his brows. The man who had barged in was precisely the one who had clashed with them while distributing grain and tried to attack Jiang Xiaorou.

Yi Yun also knew his name now. It was Zhao Tiezhu.

"What are you trying to do?"

Jiang Xiaorou tensed when she suddenly saw Zhao Tiezhu barge in. Her hand reached beneath the bedding and quietly gripped an arrow that had been hidden there all along.

"Heh, why are you so nervous, little wench? I came here today for proper business. Young Master Lian has begun secluded cultivation and will be in seclusion for three months, attempting to break through to the Purple Blood Warrior realm in preparation for the Tai'a Divine Kingdom's selection of warriors!"

"The clan leader has issued an order. All clansmen must go up the mountain to gather herbs and boil medicinal baths for Young Master Lian! Each person must hand over eight taels of medicinal herbs every day!"

"Gather herbs? Take medicinal baths?"

Only then did Yi Yun remember that he seemed to have fallen from the cliff and "died" while gathering herbs.

It seemed that the so-called herb gathering was for preparing body-washing baths for these warriors.

Thinking about it was truly tragic. At such a young age, he had risked his life gathering herbs—and for someone else, at that. After falling to his death, he had not even received a shred of compensation. They had even deducted their grain.

"Eight taels of medicinal herbs per person per day? How is that possible?" Jiang Xiaorou was furious. "And if we all go gather herbs, when will we have time to make arrows? Without weapons, how are we supposed to exchange for grain with the next large tribe? Won't we all starve to death?"

"Hahaha! You're still thinking about exchanging for grain? Once Young Master Lian breaks through to the Purple Blood Warrior realm and is chosen by the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, what need will you have to exchange for grain? You can all move into the cities. I guarantee you'll have the best food and drink!"

The burly man spoke with a mouthful of sarcasm, casting a greedy glance at Jiang Xiaorou as he did. This little girl really was a beauty in the making. If she had better nourishment and grew for a few more years, who knew what she would become?

"My brother was injured when he fell while gathering herbs. His legs still don't work properly, and you're making him go gather herbs again. Aren't you sending him to his death?"

Jiang Xiaorou's voice trembled with anger. Yi Yun had originally fallen to his death while gathering herbs, and although he had just come back to life, his body was still extremely weak. Yet they wanted him to gather herbs again. That was no different from sending him to die!

Besides, gathering herbs brought them no benefit at all. Every herb they gathered had to be handed over to the clan for free!

The burly man gave an disdainful laugh when he heard Jiang Xiaorou. "What does one person's life count for compared with the clan's glory? As long as Young Master Lian breaks through to the Purple Blood Warrior realm and is chosen by the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, it will bring blessings to your descendants and protect the Lian Clan for hundreds of years. When that time comes, your contributions will even be recorded in the clan genealogy!"

"You're quibbling over such a great deed that benefits your descendants. You really don't know how to appreciate favors!"

"Besides, the clan leader has spoken this time. To nourish your bodies and give you more drive, all the medicinal herbs will be boiled after they're handed over. The leftover medicinal dregs will be returned to you for bathing. In the past, these medicinal dregs all went to the members of the Warrior Reserve Camp."

The burly man spoke with righteous conviction. Jiang Xiaorou gripped the arrow in her hand tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force. "What if we can't hand over enough herbs?"

"Can't hand them over?" The burly man's expression turned cold. "Hmph! The clan doesn't support useless trash. If you can't even gather herbs, what right do you have to eat? If you can't hand over the herbs, your grain will be confiscated. Who knows how many people are still waiting for food!"

As he spoke, the burly man glanced at Yi Yun, who was still lying on the bed. He remembered how Yi Yun had embarrassed him in front of everyone earlier, causing Lian Chengyu to blame him for being incapable of handling his duties—even something as simple as distributing grain.

For a moment, Zhao Tiezhu's anger flared. "Brat, quit pretending to be dead on the bed. I heard you were injured. Let this grandpa take a look and see where you're hurt!"

As he spoke, the burly man reached out and grabbed at Yi Yun!

He had deliberately intended to make Yi Yun suffer, so he used tremendous force.

Faced with the burly man's surprise attack, Yi Yun instinctively tried to dodge. Yet at that instant, he suddenly felt as if everything in the world had slowed down. Every trace of the vicious man's expression and every movement he made was reflected with crystal clarity in Yi Yun's eyes.

Even Jiang Xiaorou's tense little face nearby, the arrow clutched in her hand, and the layout of the bed all entered Yi Yun's field of vision.

It felt as if time had suddenly frozen. Sound and air currents seemed to have all become part of his body, sensed clearly by Yi Yun.

Everything slowed down. Only the faint chill from the Purple Crystal in Yi Yun's chest remained incomparably clear.

The Purple Crystal?

That chill from the Purple Crystal made Yi Yun's body jolt!

Yi Yun even felt that he could duck beneath the burly man's grasp in an instant, snatch the arrow from Jiang Xiaorou's hand, then spring up and use the force of that leap to drive the arrow into the burly man's throat and kill him!

The feeling was incredibly strong. The most perfect trajectory for his body's movement even appeared in Yi Yun's mind, giving him a powerful urge to try it.

However, Yi Yun ultimately did not do so. Now was not the time to fall out with the Lian Clan.

Simply inciting the people had already made Lian Chengyu develop murderous intentions toward him. If he killed or beat a clan warrior, the consequences would be even more severe. A boy who had originally been powerless enough not to truss a chicken had killed a member of the Warrior Reserve Camp—how could that fail to draw the attention of the clan's higher-ups? There would be no way to explain the source of his strength!

He watched Zhao Tiezhu grab at him with his own eyes, merely retreating a tiny step without leaving a trace. This kept Zhao Tiezhu from grabbing his flesh, allowing him to seize only his clothes.

Zhao Tiezhu had originally intended to pinch Yi Yun's flesh until it turned purple and blue. He had not expected this little thing to be so slippery. With Yi Yun shrinking backward, Zhao Tiezhu actually missed!

If he tried to grab him again, Zhao Tiezhu would lose face, so he only snorted, lifted Yi Yun up, and threw him back onto the bed.

"Looks like you little monkey aren't injured at all! Hand over the herbs by sunset tomorrow. For every tael short, ten jin of your grain will be deducted!"

After saying this, Zhao Tiezhu waved his hand and left.

"Yun'er, are you all right?" Jiang Xiaorou asked anxiously, but Yi Yun just stared blankly, unable to speak.

What had that feeling just now been?

Zhao Tiezhu, who had undergone years of training, had suddenly seemed as slow as a tortoise before him, making Yi Yun feel that he could kill him with ease.

Unless Zhao Tiezhu had suddenly developed senile dementia, could it be that... his own movements had become faster?

Could it be... his body...

"Sister Xiaorou, what rank of male laborer was I before?"

Yi Yun realized something and asked Jiang Xiaorou impatiently.

"Why are you suddenly asking that? Yun'er, you didn't even qualify as a male laborer before. Even the lowest fifth-rank male laborer had to lift a hundred-jin stone weight. You could only lift thirty jin..."

"Thirty jin..."

Yi Yun was somewhat speechless. But then he thought about how the stone weights in the Lian Clan had to be lifted above one's head. Thirty jin was equivalent to most of a sack of rice, and it was not easy for a thin, frail child to lift it.

"Where are the stone weights in the clan kept?" Yi Yun asked again.

"They're in the training ground behind the village. Yun'er, why are you asking about that?"

"Nothing." Yi Yun smiled faintly. "Sis, get some rest early tonight. We still have to gather herbs tomorrow."

Night fell, and the ink-black sky was filled with dazzling stars.

There were no streetlights in this era, and even poor commoners could not bear to use oil lamps. Thus, the village where the Lian Clan resided was pitch-black.

The training ground behind the village was a broad stretch of land over a mile across. Usually, the members of the Warrior Reserve Camp practiced martial arts there. Tonight, a nimble Black Shadow quietly slipped into the training ground and looked around.

"Found it!"

Yi Yun's heart leaped with joy. Just as Jiang Xiaorou had said, a row of stone weights stood at one side of the training ground.

They ranged from twenty jin to three hundred jin. There was even a five-hundred-jin millstone and a thousand-jin stone roller.

Yi Yun had come here today to test his strength! He wanted to know whether his body had truly undergone a mutation, and what had caused it.

(Some readers have said that the protagonist's personality is a little weak. Everyone, keep reading slowly. Actually, he has written down everything people have done to bully him in his little notebook. ^_^)