Yi Yun's slight frame was even a few inches shorter than Jiang Xiaorou's. He looked like nothing more than a child, but in Jiang Xiaorou's heart, Yi Yun was the man of the household—the man who would one day hold this family up!
Holding Jiang Xiaorou's hand, Yi Yun could feel how stirred she was. Her palm was scorching hot, and her fingers trembled faintly.
Facing death in the future and the tribe's injustice, Jiang Xiaorou could not count on anyone to stand up for her. She could only step forward herself—a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old girl facing a group of burly men.
For a moment, the scene fell utterly silent. Everyone's eyes landed on Yi Yun and Jiang Xiaorou, and they stared blankly for a while.
After a brief silence, several burly men in charge of distributing grain suddenly burst into laughter.
"He's the man of your household? Hahahaha!"
"Little girl, you've never seen a man before, have you? Want your old man here to show you what a real man is?" one of the men said lecherously.
"A little brat who hasn't even grown a hair, and a scrawny monkey at that. Say, little brat, how many days ago did you take off your split-crotch pants?"
The big men roared with laughter. Jiang Xiaorou's little face flushed bright red, and she clenched her tiny fists, but the people waiting for grain behind her and a short distance away did not step forward to help her.
The ruling class of the tribe gathered all the clan's able-bodied workers and warriors, and their strength was formidable.
An arm could not wrestle a thigh. Besides, these people could barely keep food in their own bellies—who would bother with someone else's troubles?
"Eh? I remember now. Didn't this little brat die a few days ago?"
In a small tribe, death was nothing unusual. Yi Yun had no status, either, so not many people cared whether he lived or died.
"That's right, I know him. He's a sickly runt, so weak that a gust of wind could knock him over," another person chimed in.
"Who said my little brother was dead?"
Jiang Xiaorou glared at the speaking burly man like a young leopard. Their bodies were completely mismatched, like a little yellow oriole facing an adult vulture. Yet Jiang Xiaorou still gritted her pearly teeth and refused to retreat even half a step. There was even a faint trace of killing intent in her eyes—it resembled the gaze of some wild beast.
It was hard to imagine that such a frail little girl could erupt with a look like that.
Jiang Xiaorou's hand was pressed tightly against her back. Hidden inside her coarse-cloth clothes was something thin and long, shaped like a bamboo rod. It was an arrow Jiang Xiaorou had made. She had secretly kept one for the sake of protecting herself!
Faced with Jiang Xiaorou's gaze, the burly man furrowed his brow. He had clearly been provoked. As an administrator of the tribe and a member of the Warrior Reserve Camp, he held an extremely high position within the tribe. The feeling was like a tiger being challenged by a kitten.
"Yellow-haired brat, what are you glaring at? Keep glaring and I'll gouge your eyes out!"
The burly man spoke angrily, but Jiang Xiaorou still gritted her pearly teeth and stood before him. She could not retreat, because if they failed to get any grain today, they would have no way to survive.
She tightened her grip on the arrow in her hand, nearly drawing it!
"This little girl is interesting!" At that moment, in a clean, brightly lit room, a youth wearing Silver soft armor sat in a chair, watching the conflict between Jiang Xiaorou and the burly man through the window with a smile.
The Silver soft armor youth had a ruddy complexion and an extraordinary bearing. With his bright clothing, he was worlds apart from the suffering paupers outside—truly, one was in the clouds and the other in the mud.
"She actually has an arrow hidden on her. The materials for making arrows are all counted when distributed. Even defective arrows have to be handed in. I have no idea how this little girl managed to hide one. Judging by her appearance, she truly has the courage to draw it and fight someone to the death."
"If she fights to the death, she will be beaten severely, and the consequences will be terrible." Beside the Silver soft armor youth stood an old man who looked like a private adviser. He spoke respectfully.
"Indeed. But if she doesn't fight, she will probably starve to death anyway." The Silver soft armor youth did not even turn his head. "Tell me about this girl."
The old man who looked like a private adviser bowed and said, "In answer to Young Master, her name is Jiang Xiaorou. She is a low-ranking female dependent of the Lian Clan. She and her younger brother were not originally members of the Lian Clan; they were refugees who had fallen on hard times and happened to settle here temporarily. Several years ago, her younger brother Yi Yun's mother died of illness, leaving the two siblings orphans. By all rights, two children without a mother should have been doomed to die. But this Jiang Xiaorou was quite unexpected. Though young, she could stand on her own. In this chaotic age, she not only supported herself but also raised her younger brother, stubbornly holding on for several years."
The old man's tone was extremely respectful. He actually knew every detail about the more than thousand people throughout the Lian Clan.
Ordinarily, large tribes did not accept refugees. Only small tribes did, and in truth, refugees were the main source of a small tribe's population. However, refugees held a much lower status than the tribe's original inhabitants.
"So she is an outsider."
The youth seemed to be speaking to himself, the corners of his lips curving slightly.
From the scenes he had witnessed, he had discovered an unusual aura about Jiang Xiaorou—something difficult to describe, something that did not seem like it could belong to a child from a poor family.
Moreover, Jiang Xiaorou was strikingly beautiful. In a small tribe ravaged by suffering, it was exceedingly rare to see such a beautiful girl.
A woman who appeared beautiful and gentle, yet was stubborn and bold to the bone, with an origin that remained somewhat mysterious—she had stirred Lian Chengyu's interest.
"Young Master, surely you haven't taken a fancy to this woman?" The old man hesitated before asking. Young Master Lian Chengyu enjoyed extremely high prestige within the clan!
The Lian Clan had quite a few warriors, but only three people had truly reached the inner halls and could be called experts. One was the clan chief, the Yellow-robed Elder. Another was Yao Yuan, the chief instructor of the Warrior Reserve Camp. The last was Lian Chengyu, the Yellow-robed Elder's grandnephew.
The clan chief was already over sixty, while Lian Chengyu was only seventeen. His future prospects were limitless.
Lian Chengyu would undoubtedly become the next clan chief. He was also the person with the greatest hope of becoming a Purple Blood Warrior.
With Lian Chengyu's status, he could not take an outsider as his wife. After all, an outsider's status was low.
"What if I have? In the future, I won't be confined to this tiny Lian Clan. I will go out and make a name for myself on this desolate continent! Are you trying to bind me with the Lian Clan's rules?"
Lian Chengyu's tone was calm, but the chill in his words made the old man who looked like a private adviser shudder violently. He hurriedly said, "Young Master, you jest. This old man was only asking casually. I spoke out of turn—please don't take offense!"
As he spoke, the old man was about to slap himself. The Lian Clan might be small, but its clan rules were strict!
In the desolate world, the strong preyed upon the weak. Many of the countries here were often governed by the military, while the tribes were usually ruled by warriors. Whether national laws or tribal rules, all were extremely harsh!
The strong controlled the fate of the weak. Lian Chengyu was an absolute strongman within the clan, and he had the authority to decide whether others lived or died.
Moreover, Lian Chengyu was by no means soft-hearted. From a young age, he had undergone trials where life and death hung in the balance, and within the tribe, he had also endured cruel competition.
Seeing that the old man was about to slap himself, Lian Chengyu said blandly, "Enough. Don't put on an act for me. This girl is still too young. Besides, if I take her in, it will only be as a maid or a concubine. You needn't worry about anything. That won't violate the clan's rules."
"Yes... Thank you for your understanding, Young Master." The old man hurriedly nodded.
"Mm... Tell me, why doesn't this Jiang Xiaorou share a surname with her younger brother?" Lian Chengyu narrowed his eyes as he watched the scene unfolding on the threshing ground. He noticed that Jiang Xiaorou was extremely protective of her younger brother. Though he was clearly a scrawny, sickly weakling who could not even truss a chicken, Jiang Xiaorou seemed proud of him.
"This... I heard that when Jiang Xiaorou was suffering and homeless, Yi Yun's mother adopted her as an orphan. That was probably the reason. Jiang Xiaorou was very grateful to Yi Yun's mother, and she treated Yi Yun very well."
"Oh, is that so..." Lian Chengyu frowned slightly and rose to his feet.
"Get lost!"
Seeing that Jiang Xiaorou's feet seemed rooted to the ground, the burly man was utterly enraged. He covered the distance in three strides and two steps, then swung his palm down toward Jiang Xiaorou!
Jiang Xiaorou was a weak woman, and her build was completely disproportionate to the burly man's. If that slap landed, it would definitely send her flying!
Jiang Xiaorou was just about to draw her arrow when someone pressed down on her hand. Yi Yun quickly whispered beside her ear, "Don't act rashly!"
As he spoke, Yi Yun flashed forward and already stood in front of Jiang Xiaorou.
"Wait!" Yi Yun raised his hand.
"What are you supposed to be?"
The burly man grew even angrier. It was that frail, scrawny monkey. He might as well send him flying along with her!
Yi Yun wished he could kick the burly man so hard that he would never sire children again. However, he understood that a wise man did not fight when the odds were against him. Having lived two lifetimes, Yi Yun was ultimately more composed. He knew that clashing with this brute under the circumstances would end very badly.
"A good man doesn't fight a woman. Besides, you're a member of the Warrior Reserve Camp, aren't you, Big Brother? Your strength must be formidable. How could you lay hands on a little girl? Wouldn't that make the clan members laugh at you?"
Afraid that the burly man would attack without another word, Yi Yun spoke extremely quickly, yet enunciated every word clearly enough for everyone present to hear.
The burly man froze for a moment as he stared at the youth before him, feeling an indescribable sense of strangeness.
A little brat of eleven or twelve was at the age when he should be hot-blooded and foolish. Shouldn't he have jumped out to curse him, or stupidly shielded his sister from the slap before getting knocked flying along with her?
Instead, he had jumped out and delivered such a speech. The simple provocation was extraordinarily effective, leaving the burly man's raised hand hanging over his head, unable to come down yet unable to withdraw.
It gave the burly man the feeling of throwing a punch into cotton. Indeed, as a member of the Warrior Reserve Camp, striking two children in full view of everyone would look terrible if word got out. Besides, the Warrior Reserve Camp already had certain conflicts of interest with the ordinary people, making it easy for others to seize upon any excuse to criticize them.
Although the burly man was crude and reckless, he did not want people gossiping behind his back and jabbing fingers at him.
"Hmph, at least you know your place!" The burly man lowered his hand and gave the siblings a disdainful look. "This lord is in a good mood today and can't be bothered with you. Get lost!"
"Yun'er!" Jiang Xiaorou anxiously grabbed Yi Yun's hand. She was helpless. Naturally, she knew they could never gain the upper hand in a clash with this burly man, but if they simply left, they would starve to death.
"Sister Xiaorou... don't worry." Yi Yun squeezed Jiang Xiaorou's hand, signaling her to calm down.
"Big Brother, I'll leave right away. But before that, there is something I would like to ask you..."
Before you continue