Sacrifice and Leftovers

(Friendly Tip: The first four chapters are the protagonist's period of low-key accumulation. Starting from chapter five, the high-burning mode will be activated. Readers who enjoy the thrill are advised to start directly from chapter five. We hope for your understanding!)

(Please temporarily leave your brains here and enjoy a massage service O(∩_∩)O)

The cold air felt like poisonous needles piercing deep into his bones, seeping in from the cracks in the dilapidated wooden planks, from all directions, invading without reservation.

Li Yuan huddled on a pile of dry straw in the corner of the room, covered by a thin, almost transparent old burlap sack. He gritted his teeth tightly, trying to suppress the icy shivers that surged from the depths of his body. His stomach was hollow and aching, sending waves of burning cramps through him. It wasn't just hunger; it was mixed with a chilling soreness that felt like it could devour his very life force.

Outside the window, from the direction of the family ancestral hall, faint sounds of revelry and sacrificial music could be heard, making his humble side room feel even more like a forgotten tomb.

Today was the Li Family's annual grand ceremony to worship the "Ancestral Spirit." While they called it the Ancestral Spirit, Li Yuan vaguely knew it was no benevolent entity. The air was filled not only with the scent of incense but also with a faint, heart-pounding chill.

After an unknown amount of time, the clamor outside gradually subsided.

"Creak—"

The dilapidated wooden door was roughly pushed open, revealing a burly handyman in a blue cloth shirt holding a wooden bucket. His face was etched with undisguised contempt.

"Hey, you trash, get up!" The handyman slammed the bucket onto the ground. Inside was murky dishwater with oil slicks, along with vegetable scraps and a few scattered bits of bone and meat, boiled into an unrecognizable mush. "The sacrifice is over. This is your reward. Eat up quickly, and after you're done, clean up the altar outside the ancestral hall!"

His tone was as cold as if he were ordering around a stray dog, not a fellow clan member.

Li Yuan didn't respond, merely pushing himself up from the straw pile. Long-term malnutrition made his vision blur, and his emaciated body swayed slightly beneath his thin clothes. He walked to the doorway, his gaze falling on the wooden bucket without even looking at the handyman.

The mixed leftovers emitted a nauseating odor, but his empty stomach churned violently in response. He crouched down, extending his withered fingers, carefully sifting through the cold grease and food scraps.

His fingers brushed against something hard and cold.

It was a piece of meat, about the size of a baby's fist. He couldn't tell what part it was; it was dark in color, with unprocessed bloodstains and a layer of congealed white fat. In this slop bucket, it was practically a "delicacy."

Li Yuan's fingers paused slightly. He quickly and naturally clenched the piece of meat in his palm, hiding it in a hidden pocket within his sleeve. The entire process was silent; the handyman was impatiently looking up at the sky and didn't notice.

"What are you dawdling for! Still think you're a young master?" The handyman spat. "Hurry up, cleaning the altar is important. If you're late, the Third Elder will skin you alive!"

Li Yuan picked up the half-bucket of slop, lowered his eyelids, and walked out of the room. The biting cold wind immediately enveloped him, making him shiver. Yet, the cold piece of meat in his sleeve seemed to carry a faint warmth, supporting him as he walked forward.

On the path leading to the ancestral hall, several young men and women in brocade robes approached, clearly direct descendants who had just finished the sacrifice. Their faces were ruddy, their qi and blood abundant, and they carried an air of ease and arrogance befitting their status as they chatted.

Seeing Li Yuan, who was carrying the slop bucket and looked gaunt, they stopped. Their faces displayed mocking expressions.

The young man leading them was named Li Peng, the grandson of the Third Elder. He usually took pleasure in bullying Li Yuan. He sized Li Yuan up and down, sneering, "Well, well, if it isn't our Li Family's 'genius' Li Yuan? What, the Ancestral Spirit didn't favor you today, so you're left to eat slop?"

A young girl beside him covered her mouth and chuckled, "Brother Peng, you shouldn't say that. Little Brother Li Yuan's body is very 'precious.' I heard he has the 'Yin Sha Body,' a one-in-ten-thousand constitution. Even the Ancestral Spirit is reluctant to swallow him whole, preferring to nurture him slowly."

"Yin Sha Body? I think 'short-lived body' is more like it!" Li Peng burst into laughter. He stepped forward, poking Li Yuan's bony chest with his finger, feeling only cold and stiffness. "Look at you, you'll fall over with a gust of wind. Li Yuan, don't say I didn't look out for you. The sacrificial meat offered to the Ancestral Spirit in the hall is a treasure filled with blood essence. But then again... with your frail body, you'd probably spit up three liters of blood just from smelling the malevolent energy, right? You're not blessed enough to enjoy it!"

The malicious mockery struck Li Yuan's ears like ice picks. He kept his head down, his fingers gripping the bucket handle so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His fingernails dug into his palm, bringing a sharp pain that barely suppressed the surging humiliation and anger in his chest.

I can't resist. Not now.

He silently shifted his body to the side, trying to clear a path.

Seeing his submissive demeanor, Li Peng found it boring. He snorted coldly and swaggered past with his companions, leaving behind a trail of harsh laughter.

If you find this book to your liking, please add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

Li Yuan looked up, watching their receding backs. In the depths of his eyes was a coldness like ten thousand years of frozen ice. He touched the cold piece of meat in his sleeve and continued his steps towards the altar outside the ancestral hall.

The altar was built from dark green stones, carved with twisted, grotesque runes. The ritual had just ended, and the altar still bore the ashes of burned paper talismans, splashes of dark red sacrificial blood, and remnants of shattered, unknown beast bones. A thick smell of blood and a strange, ancient, tomb-like chill permeated the air.

As instructed, he needed to clean up this "mess."

He set down the slop bucket and began to clean silently. When his hand touched the soil and bone fragments stained with sacrificial blood, the "bone-corroding cold" that had resided within him for years seemed to become more active. A faint pulling sensation arose, as if it craved these things, but it was quickly suppressed by a deeper sense of weakness.

He knew his body's peculiarity. He also vaguely understood that the family keeping him alive, even driving his branch to ruin, was related to this constitution and the so-called "Ancestral Spirit." He was like a penned-up sacrifice, waiting for a specific moment to be sent to the altar and have his last value squeezed out.

After quickly cleaning the altar, the sky had completely darkened. The wind howled like the cries of ghosts.

Li Yuan, carrying the barely touched slop bucket, hurried back to the dilapidated side room. Closing the door, isolating himself from the outside world, he finally felt as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted. He leaned against the door, gasping for breath.

Hunger and cold gnawed at his will like two venomous snakes.

He carefully took out the piece of meat from his sleeve. It was cold and stiff, with bloodstains and fat, looking rather disgusting. But in his eyes, it was precious energy that could sustain his life.

There was no fire, and he couldn't start one. He directly opened his mouth and took a fierce bite of the raw, cold meat.

The meat was tough, with a strong fishy smell and icy shards, sliding down his throat with difficulty. He forced himself to swallow it bite by bite, feeling the cold food land in his empty stomach.

After finishing the last bite, he licked the oily residue from the corners of his mouth with lingering satisfaction. He curled back up on the cold straw pile, hugging his arms tightly, trying to draw a sliver of warmth.

The night deepened.

The coldness within him surged again, more violently than ever before. It wasn't just cold; it was like a living thing, burrowing and gnawing within his meridians and bones, bringing continuous, fine, and deep pain. He knew this was the "Yin Sha Curse" acting up again. The family had planted this thing in him; it slowly devoured his vitality on a daily basis, and during its attacks, it felt like ten thousand ants devouring his heart.

He curled into a ball in agony, cold sweat beading on his forehead, instantly turning icy again. His consciousness wavered between extreme pain and numb coldness.

Just as he felt he was about to be completely swallowed by the boundless darkness and cold—

A faint light ignited in the deepest part of his consciousness, without any warning.

The light was extremely weak, yet it possessed an indescribable, scorching quality.

It was like... a single, crimson ember buried deep within the ashes.

The moment this "ember" appeared, the rampant "bone-corroding cold" within him seemed to meet its nemesis and abruptly halted!

And the food he had just swallowed, not yet fully absorbed, after being brushed by that imperceptible scorching sensation, suddenly dissolved into a faint but real stream of warmth, far exceeding expectations, slowly spreading into his almost frozen limbs and extremities!

Li Yuan's eyes snapped open.

In the darkness, a faint red glint flashed deep within his pupils before vanishing.

His body was still cold, and the pain had not completely subsided.

But in that fleeting moment, he had truly felt a difference.

A possibility... named "warmth."