Dark Intentions

The source of the points of light was that large wooden chest—in other words, they came from the desolate bone!

This sudden turn of events made Yi Yun break out in a cold sweat.

The desolate bone emitted several points of light, which flew toward him and were all absorbed by him. How could Lian Chengyu possibly not investigate such an anomaly?

The points of light were growing more numerous and more obvious. They were bound to be discovered!

Once the matter was investigated, he would definitely lose his life!

"Yun'er, what's wrong with you again? Why are you sweating on your forehead?"

"Sister Xiaorou, you..." There were many points of light flying before Yi Yun's eyes, yet Jiang Xiaorou had not noticed them at all. "Sister Xiaorou, didn't you see anything?"

Yi Yun asked somewhat guiltily. He noticed that it was not just Jiang Xiaorou—even the surrounding people were turning a blind eye to the points of light.

"See what? Yun'er, are you sick?"

Jiang Xiaorou touched Yi Yun's forehead with concern. Yi Yun's body was weak, and he had only just survived yesterday. If he fell ill again, it would be fatal.

"Uh..."

Yi Yun was stunned for a moment, then secretly let out a sigh of relief. Could it be that he alone could see the points of light?

Could it be that because he was the owner of the Purple Crystal, he could see the changes in the Purple Crystal while everyone else could not?

He quietly glanced at Lian Chengyu on the platform, only to find that Lian Chengyu still wore a calm smile. Only when he occasionally looked at the desolate bone in the large wooden chest did a trace of barely perceptible fervor flash through his eyes!

"He didn't notice those points of light either..."

Only then did Yi Yun relax. Since even Lian Chengyu could not see them, it seemed that no one else could. He was the only one who could see them.

Yi Yun felt more and more that this Purple Crystal was an extraordinary treasure!

Just then, Yi Yun saw Lian Chengyu look toward him, a meaningful smile hanging on his face.

He walked forward a few steps and stopped in front of Jiang Xiaorou.

"This food is your reward. Take it and don't starve yourself. If it isn't enough, you can come find me."

Lian Chengyu's voice was soft. He was speaking to Jiang Xiaorou. Although his tone was amiable, his expression and voice silently proclaimed a fact—he was a superior. He could give everything, and he could take everything back.

Jiang Xiaorou said nothing. Lian Chengyu did not mind. He admired the stubbornness Jiang Xiaorou had shown while the food was being distributed, but that did not mean he liked her maintaining that stubborn nature in front of him as well. He wanted to grind away her sharp edges bit by bit, until she became as docile as the kitten in his arms.

What he wanted was an obedient servant girl, not a young lady who needed to be coaxed.

Especially now, Jiang Xiaorou had a younger brother by her side who could be called her spiritual support. With such support, a person would naturally be stronger. That was not something Lian Chengyu wanted to see. Besides, Jiang Xiaorou had been adopted by Yi Yun's mother; they were not siblings by blood. They were not related, yet they ate and lived together. Lian Chengyu did not want to see such a thing.

Furthermore, Yi Yun had deliberately incited the people earlier, nearly causing a great disturbance. This had left Lian Chengyu deeply troubled. For a child of eleven or twelve to be so scheming—what would happen when he grew up?

What Lian Chengyu wanted was a group of obedient people to serve as his stepping stones, not someone scheming and difficult to control like Yi Yun.

With the time to refine the desolate bone approaching, this was a major matter for Lian Chengyu. To accomplish it, he could pay any price.

He absolutely did not want any unstable factors to exist, because Lian Chengyu himself would soon enter seclusion. Moreover, there was something wrong with the desolate bone itself, and people would die during its refinement!

There was already a shortage of food, and then there would be deaths. It would be easy to arouse public anger. If the people started a rebellion while he was in seclusion and overturned the great cauldron used to refine the desolate bone, ruining his plans, then cutting the instigators into a thousand pieces would not be enough.

In Lian Chengyu's eyes, Yi Yun harbored resentment toward him. Lian Chengyu could not see in Yi Yun the fear and respect that a lowly pauper should have.

Yi Yun already had a history of inciting rebellion. When Lian Chengyu entered seclusion, if Yi Yun sought revenge out of resentment, it would be easy for him to incite the people to riot amid consecutive famines and deaths. He might become the spark that ignited disaster.

Thinking of this, Lian Chengyu smiled faintly and once again reached out to lightly pat Yi Yun's shoulder.

Yi Yun's heart lurched. Before he could react, Lian Chengyu's hand had already landed on his shoulder.

Damn it!

Yi Yun wished he could chop Lian Chengyu's hand off with a blade. This fellow was too sinister. He felt as though the other man were a venomous snake!

Lian Chengyu said indifferently, "Why are you nervous? Are you afraid of me? You and your sister have it hard. Take good care of your sister."

As he spoke, Lian Chengyu withdrew his hand, but that faint tingling sensation remained in Yi Yun's body.

Both of his shoulders had been patted by Lian Chengyu. Yi Yun could only watch helplessly, unable to dodge.

"If you have any difficulties, you can come find me." Lian Chengyu always wore a smiling expression when speaking to Jiang Xiaorou. Yi Yun frowned. It seemed that Lian Chengyu had designs on his sister.

That was it. No wonder he had given him extra food. If he did not covet Jiang Xiaorou, why would he give precious food to him?

His words about coming to find him if she had difficulties revealed his intentions even more clearly. If Jiang Xiaorou went to his home, who knew what might happen?

Lian Chengyu waved his hand, and several burly men from the Warrior Reserve Camp sealed the large wooden chest containing the desolate bone.

The instant the wooden chest was sealed, Yi Yun felt the connection between the Purple Crystal in his arms and the desolate bone severed. The points of light flying through the air vanished along with it.

"What is this..." Yi Yun's heart stirred. He watched the desolate bone being carried away by members of the Warrior Reserve Camp, deep in thought.

"Yun'er, why do you look so troubled?"

On the way home, Jiang Xiaorou saw that Yi Yun was absentminded and looked grim, so she spoke up.

How could he not be troubled? That Lian Chengyu was like a venomous snake, and he had even patted Yi Yun's shoulders twice. Heaven knew what tricks he had played. Yi Yun did not want to tell Jiang Xiaorou and make her worry, but he was also afraid that, because of her youth, she could not see Lian Chengyu's true nature.

However, Yi Yun had not expected Jiang Xiaorou to ponder for a while before suddenly saying, "Yun'er, you must be careful around that man named Lian Chengyu. Avoid him whenever you can."

Jiang Xiaorou's words left Yi Yun stunned. He had not expected her intuition to be so sharp.

In truth, none of Lian Chengyu's actions today appeared inappropriate on the surface. He had seemed like a respectable clan leader who cared for his people and treated them with humility.

Yi Yun could detect something strange about Lian Chengyu because he had seen plenty of performances by politicians on Earth. Whether in history or the news from various countries, there were many people like Lian Chengyu. Thus, after hearing Lian Chengyu's words, Yi Yun found them hypocritical and nauseating. Such experience was far beyond what those suffering paupers, who had spent their entire lives struggling just to obtain food, could possess.

Moreover, how could Yi Yun not know that Lian Chengyu's two pats on his shoulders had been hostile?

Yet Jiang Xiaorou could sense it as well. This made Yi Yun somewhat surprised.

"Just stay away from him, no matter what."

Jiang Xiaorou said this with certainty. Yi Yun suddenly felt that he truly knew nothing about this sister of his.

Whether it was her understanding of the desolate bone and desolate beasts, her intuition, or even her delicate beauty—far surpassing that of ordinary clan girls—all of it made Jiang Xiaorou stand out within this impoverished Lian Clan...

Dinner was coarse-grain and wild-vegetable porridge, something Yi Yun had expected long ago.

In this world, people ate only two meals a day. Ordinary people rose at five in the morning to work, then ate breakfast at around nine. Of course, "breakfast" was Yi Yun's term; here, it was called "morning food." Dinner was eaten at four in the afternoon.

Yi Yun knew that in ancient Huaxia, people also ate only two meals a day, just like in this otherworld. Perhaps in an environment where resources were extremely scarce, eating two meals a day was the most scientific and survivable way to eat.

While eating, Jiang Xiaorou felt somewhat guilty because, in the end, she had still failed to let her younger brother eat meat.

Yi Yun had no mind to care about such things at that moment. He kept thinking about Lian Chengyu's two pats on his shoulders. Everything was merely his speculation and suspicion. He had no idea whether anything had happened or how serious it was.

Yi Yun had just finished a bowl of coarse-grain porridge and was about to eat a few more bites of wild vegetables when his arm suddenly went numb. The chopsticks in his hand dropped straight to the ground.

"Yun'er, you..."

Yi Yun groaned. His left hand became unable to move in an instant as well. Both of his arms were in excruciating pain, as though someone were forcibly tearing them apart!

"Yun'er!"

Jiang Xiaorou's expression changed drastically. Not knowing what had happened to Yi Yun, she hurriedly helped him onto the bed.

Damn it!

Yi Yun's arms hurt terribly. He gritted his teeth, and there was no doubt about it—Lian Chengyu had tampered with him. His guess had been right!

He did not know what method the other man had used, but the absolute gap in strength meant that even though Yi Yun had guessed Lian Chengyu's hostility, he had been completely unable to avoid it.

This was the law of the jungle, where the strong decided the fate of the weak.

"Yun'er, how do you feel? Is this a lingering effect from when you fell while gathering herbs last time?"

"I..." When Yi Yun opened his mouth to speak, he found that even his tongue had stiffened. The nerves throughout his body were gradually becoming numb, and his awareness of his own body was growing weaker and weaker.

Yi Yun gradually realized that when he lost all sensation throughout his body, it would be the moment of his death!

Lian Chengyu wanted his life!?

Yi Yun was both shocked and furious. If he had not guessed wrong, the two pats Lian Chengyu had given him should have involved infusing his body with some kind of energy, such as "true essence" or "true qi," secretly destroying all the meridians in his body!

If he were an ordinary child of eleven or twelve, he would never have thought of this. Not to mention anyone else, even Yi Yun himself would have assumed that an old injury had flared up.

After his death, apart from Jiang Xiaorou, no one would grieve for him. Most people might even feel that this was simply his fate—how could someone who was supposed to die have come back to life?

Killing him without anyone noticing would not only avenge his incitement of the people, but also earn Lian Chengyu a reputation for caring about the common folk.

While Jiang Xiaorou was grief-stricken, she would also encounter difficulties in her life afterward. By then, she might truly go to Lian Chengyu for help. Dealing with a little girl through soft tactics would be far too easy for him!

Killing Yi Yun and obtaining Jiang Xiaorou—what a vicious scheme!

Yi Yun gained a deeper understanding of this world.

This was no law-abiding society like Earth. Here, it was savage and primitive, and strength decided everything. It was like the world in an apocalyptic novel. Here, killing someone truly did not count for much!

(Thank you, everyone, dear readers and friends, for your generous rewards. Thank you very much ^_^. Also, thanks to the newly appointed deputy moderator Daidai Treading Treasures, Stars, and Mouse-kun. There were too few highlighted posts this week, so many posts could not be featured. Sorry about that! If you have recommendation votes, please cast them for True Martial World.)