Falling Ill

Yi Yun absorbed the energy of the savage bones at night, eating his fill, then secretly watched the people from the Warrior Reserve Camp practice during the day, sneaking peeks at Yao Yuan teaching the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist.

The place where the Warrior Reserve Camp practiced was not a restricted area either. People still came and went normally, and as long as Yi Yun was a little careful, he would basically not be discovered while secretly watching them train.

After learning the martial art, Yi Yun went to the rear mountains to cultivate, fully digesting the energy of the savage bones before fusing it into his flesh and blood. This cultivation rhythm could be called perfect.

After several days, Yi Yun's Thunderous Sound Realm grew increasingly solid. He could already remain underwater for twenty-five minutes, a duration that was nearly comparable to a dolphin's.

When there was one month left until the Taia Divine Kingdom's warrior selection, the able-bodied man who had been refining bones alongside Yi Yun fell ill.

Although Yi Yun had done his best to absorb the toxic blue energy, quite a bit of energy still seeped into the men's bodies, causing them to contract what was known as "Typhoid Fever."

After the first person fell ill, Yi Yun promptly "fell ill" as well—and his "illness" was severe.

Yi Yun could no longer come to refine the savage bones. According to Jiang Xiaorou, Yi Yun had been vomiting and suffering from diarrhea, his face was pale, and his body was extremely weak. He could not even get out of bed, so Jiang Xiaorou had to request leave for him.

Zhao Tiezhu picked at his ear. After listening to Jiang Xiaorou's description, his face filled with schadenfreude. "Oh? Vomiting and diarrhea? A pale complexion? A weak body? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Isn't his life pretty tough? How come he can't even get out of bed this time?"

Zhao Tiezhu's voice was dripping with sarcasm. Jiang Xiaorou's expression turned cold, as if she were furious, but in truth, she was only putting on an act. She knew that nothing was wrong with Yi Yun—he was merely pretending to be ill.

"Your younger brother was a good-for-nothing to begin with. If he died, then so be it. But who told Young Master Lian to have such a kind heart? Young Master Lian has already sent medicinal pills over!"

As Zhao Tiezhu spoke, he reluctantly pulled a bright-red pill from behind his buttocks.

According to Zhao Tiezhu's wishes, he absolutely did not want to give Yi Yun a medicinal pill. He would have loved nothing more than for Yi Yun to die of illness. However, Zhao Tiezhu did not know why Lian Chengyu valued Yi Yun so highly. Lian Chengyu had specifically instructed him to give Yi Yun a pill and make sure that he swallowed it.

Could Young Master Lian really admire this little beast?

At the thought, Zhao Tiezhu felt extremely displeased.

"Young Master Lian is such a good person!"

"Young Master Lian is far too kind!"

At that moment, because the able-bodied men who had been refining the savage bones were falling ill one after another, many people had gathered there to receive medicine. When they saw Zhao Tiezhu take out a pill that was said to bring the dead back to life and prepare to give it to Yi Yun, they immediately began flattering Lian Chengyu.

These people had previously been worried that Lian Chengyu would ignore them, but now it seemed that even a useless brat like Yi Yun had medicine. Their own strong men should have medicine too, right?

Especially when they saw that Zhao Tiezhu was holding a bulging cloth bundle in his other hand, which looked as though it contained cured meat, they became even more excited. The situation instantly grew somewhat uncontrollable.

"Sir Zhao, my husband is sick too!"

"Sir Zhao, my child's father is even more seriously ill! He's been vomiting for three days!"

A crowd surrounded him, hoping that Zhao Tiezhu would hand out a medicinal pill and a piece of cured meat. Their eyes were filled with longing, and they were practically ready to kowtow to him.

Zhao Tiezhu was very satisfied with the feeling of being surrounded by adoring people. Young Master Lian really was softhearted. Such precious medicinal pills and all this cured meat were being handed out to these wretched commoners just like that. What a waste!

Zhao Tiezhu had originally wanted to secretly eat one of the medicinal pills, but Lian Chengyu had warned him in advance, so he could only give up. In particular, the fact that this pill had to go to Yi Yun, that little monkey, made him even more unhappy.

"What are you making such a fuss about? Anyone who's genuinely ill gets a share!"

Zhao Tiezhu opened the cloth bundle, counted the people, and distributed all the medicine and cured meat.

Everyone who received a medicinal pill and cured meat continuously offered their thanks. "Thank you, Sir Zhao! Thank you, Sir Zhao!"

"What are you thanking me for? Thank Young Master Lian. Young Master Lian will remember your contributions to the clan. As long as you properly refine the savage bones and do your part, Young Master Lian and the clan will not treat you unfairly."

Zhao Tiezhu spoke with a strong sense of accomplishment, under the illusion that he represented the higher-ups of the Lian Clan. At that moment, he even felt that he had become one of the Lian Clan's higher-ups.

"Yes, yes. Thank you, Young Master Lian." Some of the suffering people knelt down and kowtowed toward the direction of the Clan Elder's compound.

Zhao Tiezhu was very satisfied with the result. He had distributed almost all the cured meat and medicinal pills, leaving two pieces behind—one the largest and the other the smallest.

The largest piece of cured meat was the one Zhao Tiezhu had kept for himself. When Lian Chengyu had told him to distribute the cured meat, he had immediately picked out the largest piece and saved it for himself.

The cured meat was counted by the piece, so what could he do if one piece was missing? Simple—he could cut a small piece off the second-largest one.

Of course, the piece he cut off became the smallest piece of cured meat among them all. He gave this smallest piece to Jiang Xiaorou.

"This is yours."

Zhao Tiezhu spoke indifferently.

"You..."

When Jiang Xiaorou saw how small her piece of cured meat was, she knew Zhao Tiezhu had deliberately targeted her. Anger flared in her chest, but she knew there was no point in protesting, so she put the cured meat away.

Yun'er really hasn't eaten meat in a long time.

"How is your younger brother?" Zhao Tiezhu stuffed the largest piece of cured meat into his robe and asked lazily.

"Didn't I just tell you?" Jiang Xiaorou replied irritably.

"Heh heh, I'll go take a look with you. Who told me to have such a kind heart and care about the people?" Zhao Tiezhu had invisibly set himself apart from the common folk, referring to Yi Yun as "the people" in an extremely irritating tone.

As for why he wanted to see Yi Yun, it was naturally because of Lian Chengyu's instructions. Otherwise, he would have been too lazy to go. Zhao Tiezhu could not understand why Lian Chengyu cared about that little monkey.

In fact, Lian Chengyu had only casually reminded Zhao Tiezhu. He had not taken the matter to heart. His ambitions soared as high as the heavens; he wanted to become a superior among men and enjoy endless wealth and glory. How could he care about a nobody like Yi Yun?

He was merely puzzled by how Yi Yun could survive death's door time and time again.

The first time, Yi Yun had fallen while gathering herbs and been buried beneath a grave, yet he had still managed to crawl out.

The second time, Lian Chengyu had secretly tampered with things and sent a lethal stream of primordial energy into Yi Yun's body, yet it had still failed to extinguish Yi Yun's vitality.

This time, the savage bones contained cold poison, on top of the poison in the Blood Dissolving Pill. Lian Chengyu really wanted to know—could Yi Yun still survive this time?

In Lian Chengyu's eyes, Yi Yun was like a cockroach. Cockroaches were weak, but their vitality was tenacious. Even after being crushed flat under someone's foot, with all their internal organs bursting and completely losing the ability to move, they could still live for a day or two without eating or drinking.

Yi Yun seemed to be the same. His strength was so weak that it could be ignored, yet he had repeatedly survived great disasters.

"Bang!"

The courtyard door was kicked open, and Jiang Xiaorou's clear voice, laced with anger, rang out. "What are you doing?!"

"Hahaha, coming to see your younger brother."

Zhao Tiezhu swaggered in and immediately saw Yi Yun lying on the bed.

At that moment, Yi Yun's face was covered in sweat, and his wet hair clung to his forehead. In front of his bed sat a basin that seemed to contain vomit, and the entire room reeked of sour stench.

"Damn, what bad luck!"

Zhao Tiezhu looked disgusted. Pinching his nose, he tossed the Blood Dissolving Pill to Yi Yun. "I really don't know what kind of dog-shit luck you had to receive special treatment from Young Master Lian. Look at you—you're even more pathetic than a beggar. Just looking at you makes me sick. Hurry up and take the medicine!"

Yi Yun expressionlessly picked up the Blood Dissolving Pill that had fallen beside the quilt. Jiang Xiaorou hurriedly brought over a bowl of water.

The moment Yi Yun took the Blood Dissolving Pill, he could sense the pill's energy attributes.

The pill contained pitifully little energy. It had no valuable medicinal herbs in it, but it contained extremely potent toxins.

A good pill contained energy within itself. After a person swallowed it, the medicinal power in the pill would spread out and flow into the body, naturally healing injuries and illness and allowing the person to regain vitality.

But a low-quality pill like the Blood Dissolving Pill contained almost no energy of its own. Instead, it relied on certain toxins to stimulate the human body and force out its potential, regardless of the consequences.

After taking such medicine, a person would indeed recover quickly, but their lifespan would be greatly shortened.

For a pill that brought a hundred harms and not a single benefit, Yi Yun naturally would not take it.

Although Zhao Tiezhu was watching from the side, it was not difficult for Yi Yun to deceive him. He put the Blood Dissolving Pill into his mouth and took a sip of water, making it look as though he had drunk quite a lot. In reality, when the bowl was moved away, Yi Yun spat the water back into it.

Then Yi Yun swallowed with great effort. There had been no water in his mouth to begin with, so naturally, he swallowed nothing.

Immediately afterward, Yi Yun pretended that his body was so weak that even drinking water was difficult, and began coughing violently.

Jiang Xiaorou hurriedly took a piece of coarse cloth and wiped Yi Yun's mouth. During the process, Yi Yun spat out the Blood Dissolving Pill without leaving a trace, leaving it wrapped in the cloth.

Once the coarse cloth was bundled up, nothing could be seen.

Zhao Tiezhu had already been wearing an expression of disgust and impatience. Naturally, he could not see through Yi Yun's performance. In fact, not even Lian Chengyu himself might have been able to tell that Yi Yun had spat out the medicine had he come in person.

After all, Yi Yun appeared to be only a twelve-year-old child. Who could have imagined that he would put on such a performance?

"Consider yourself lucky. Swallowing this pill not only saved your life, it will also make you feel more energetic, so you won't always look like a sickly half-dead wretch!"

After saying that, Zhao Tiezhu flung his sleeve and left.

After Zhao Tiezhu departed, Yi Yun narrowed his eyes and looked at the Blood Dissolving Pill wrapped in the coarse cloth. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. Lian Chengyu, you're ruthless enough. Refining a single savage bone requires killing so many people!

This foreign world was nothing like Earth.

On Earth, if two children occasionally quarreled and one of them took a knife after school and stabbed the other to death, such a rare incident might even make the Tencent network news.

But in this foreign world where strength reigned supreme, if someone flew into a rage and killed another person after a disagreement—uh... would that even count as an incident?

On Earth, under peace and the rule of law, murder was an earth-shattering matter. Here, killing someone was about the same as slaughtering a chicken or butchering a dog.

There were even many times when killing you required no reason at all. Finding you displeasing was enough.