The Man-Eating Black River Town

The biting cold wind swept through the Iron Furnace Room, wrinkling the tattered hemp clothes on the youth's body.

The youth was named Chen Mo, and the land he stood upon was a place that devoured people without spitting out the bones.

"Sigh, we can't afford the tribute grain again this month."

Another youth, a head taller, sighed and patted Chen Mo's thin shoulder from behind. "I don't know if we can make it through this winter."

The so-called tribute grain was not food, but copper coins stained with the blood and sweat of the poor.

The Black Tiger Hall, which tyrannized the region, came to collect from every household; the honest and obedient paid up voluntarily, while those who were not obedient were beaten until their limbs were crippled, after which they became obedient.

"A-Cai, didn't your father find a job as a waiter recently? Your sister's embroidery work can earn money too, right?" Chen Mo asked.

"Those are all jobs that barely keep us alive. Being a waiter only pays three coins a day. As for my sister's embroidered handkerchiefs, there are people who want them, but we dare not speak of it. After all, she is still young, and I'm afraid that if the Black Tiger Hall finds out..."

Chen Mo nodded slightly. "That is true."

The two fell into a brief silence.

Black smoke seeped from the cracks in the windows of the furnace room behind them, scorching their skin until it was dry and cracked, and the air was stiflingly acrid.

The two were low-level laborers at the Black River Town Iron Furnace Room, sweating and vomiting blood for only two blood-stained copper coins a day.

"I heard Xiao Wu was sacrificed alive yesterday..." When Zhang Cai said this, the only remaining light in his eyes dimmed even further.

It was because they, these laborers, could not see a glimmer of hope.

Although the Iron Furnace Room was under the jurisdiction of the prefecture and county, it was actually controlled by the Black Tiger Hall.

The swords, halberds, and armor forged by the laborers with their lives were sold to the prefecture and county through "middlemen"; the middlemen took a "contact fee," and the Black Tiger Hall took the "hard-earned money."

But everyone knew who was truly suffering!

The killers in the hall were human butchers; if a family did not pay enough money, that family would be used as a sacrifice for the furnace. They claimed that the swords and halberds forged after a live sacrifice possessed spiritual essence and were the glory of that family.

Zhang Cai suddenly looked at Chen Mo, somewhat flustered. "A-Mo, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up. I forgot that your father was also..."

"I'm fine... It has already been half a year since my father was sacrificed alive by them."

Chen Mo had once learned from Master Wu in the furnace room that, in reality, the live sacrifice half a year ago was supposed to be Chen Mo's turn, but Chen Ying had sacrificed himself to the furnace to save his son's life...

Chen Mo's gaze dimmed, and his rough fingers unconsciously rubbed the hem of his clothes.

He did not belong to this world; he had arrived here by accident three years ago. Therefore, he felt unworthy of the sacrifice Chen Ying had made for him.

"A-Mo, do you think these days will ever end?" Zhang Cai asked dully.

Chen Mo came back to his senses and thought about it seriously. After a moment, he spoke: "Only when one is strong can one avoid being bullied, and to become strong, one must practice martial arts."

In the current world, all injustice stemmed from an imbalance of power.

Hearing this, Zhang Cai clicked his tongue. "Practicing martial arts is not something we can reach! Only two martial artists came out of all the children in Black River Town last year, and that was after spending a huge amount of money. We have no money, no backing, and can't even shed our lowly status; how can we talk about learning martial arts?"

Chen Mo listened but did not reply.

The bellows inside the furnace room sounded like a dying beast, emitting a dull, low roar.

Zhang Cai wiped his frozen, red nose and continued, "Besides, practicing martial arts requires aptitude. I heard Master Wu say that martial artists are one in a hundred, and those with good talent are one in a thousand. That is just the most basic threshold."

Martial arts emphasized natural bone structure; ordinary people were born barred from the gates of the martial path.

But a faint glimmer of light returned to Chen Mo's eyes. He felt that he might be able to give it a try, as he had awakened a martial arts talent yesterday.

He focused his mind slightly, and several lines of text appeared in his consciousness.

[Thousand Hammer Refinement, Mountain and Water Cultivation]

[The ultimate polishing of Mountain Essence and Water Soul can unleash the original potential of materials and convert it into your comprehension of cultivation techniques.

It must be used in conjunction with a cultivation technique; for different techniques, one must seek different natural spiritual materials to polish.]

Chen Mo pondered. He did not know what Mountain Essence and Water Soul referred to; did the iron ore forged in the furnace room count? If it did, he had some understanding of forging ironware.

As long as he could improve his comprehension, the threshold of the martial path would be non-existent for him.

The only thing missing now was... a cultivation technique!

Seeing Chen Mo remain silent, Zhang Cai patted his shoulder again. "A-Mo, martial artists are too far away from us. Don't let your imagination run wild. Better think about how to scrape together this month's tribute grain. Don't you have an uncle? Why not go ask him to borrow some?"

Chen Mo was struck by a sudden realization.

He remembered that his grandfather had two sons: the eldest, Chen Ying, and the second, Chen Bao. Now, the old man and Chen Bao lived in an alley in the west of town.

Chen Bao had a son named Chen Hang. Two years ago, it was discovered that this person had some talent for martial arts, so Chen Bao poured his wealth into Chen Hang, sending him to a martial arts school, hoping that this cousin of Chen Mo's would bring their family to prosperity.

The old man had always favored Chen Bao; when the family split, he didn't give much money to Chen Ying's family, with the bulk going to Chen Bao's side.

Now that Chen Ying was gone, and with Chen Hang showing promise in martial arts, the old man would be even less likely to give Chen Mo any financial support.

Chen Mo was well aware of this.

He was just wondering if he could ask Chen Hang for a cultivation technique, even if it were just a rudimentary martial arts manual. He wouldn't even call it asking; he would call it borrowing, just to see if they still held any shred of family affection.

Thinking of this, Chen Mo immediately bid farewell to Zhang Cai and headed home.

Zhang Cai urged him, "Be quick on the road, so you don't run into the Black Tiger Hall thugs patrolling the streets."

"Hmm, you be careful too."

Chen Mo's father had passed away as a living sacrifice, and his mother had also died from a severe illness three years ago, leaving only the two siblings to rely on each other.

His older sister, Chen Lan, was four years his senior; as the woman of the house, she served as the pillar that held their home together.

Black River Town was not large, and Chen Mo arrived at the door of a dilapidated house in a short while.

Yet, people often run into exactly what they least want to encounter.

"Yo, the Chen boy is back. Just in time, I was explaining some logic to your sister, you can come and be taught a lesson too."

The speaker was named Huang E, who grinned to reveal a mouthful of yellowed teeth.

This man was a thug from the Black Tiger Hall. He leaned one hand against the door frame and suddenly exerted force, causing the door to shake and dust to shower down.

Although Huang E was only a half-baked martial artist, snapping Chen Mo's neck would be incredibly easy for him.

Chen Lan gave Chen Mo a look, signaling him not to talk back.

Chen Mo stood beside Chen Lan, and she tilted her body slightly to shield half of him.

Huang E bared his two rows of yellow teeth, "I'll say it again: one hundred and fifty coins every month, not a single one less! If one is missing, there will be one more ghost with the surname Chen in the furnace!"

As he said this, a sinister smile appeared on his face, his gaze fixed on Chen Mo.

Chen Lan nodded hurriedly, "Rest assured, Master Huang, rest assured. The money will definitely be paid in full, it's just that could the deadline..."

Before she could finish, Huang E cut her off, "Don't even think about it! Not a single day of delay. I'll come to collect the money in ten days."

Huang E swaggered away and headed to the next house.

Chen Lan pulled Chen Mo into the house and shut the door tight.

The wailing cold wind caused the door panels to tremble incessantly.

Chen Mo lit a candle, and in the candlelight, he noticed several small scabs on his sister's wrists. They weren't from Huang E's beatings, but looked like needle pricks from doing embroidery.

Chen Mo knew that to keep him from being used as a living sacrifice, his sister worked day and night doing odd jobs—washing clothes, embroidery, farm work, and even heavy labor like moving cargo.

But she had never touched a needle and thread since she was young; how could she possibly know how to embroider!

It would be a lie to say Chen Mo wasn't moved, but what could he do?

The two of them earned one hundred and fifty or sixty copper coins a month, and the tribute grain alone cost one hundred and fifty. Everything that could be pawned had been, unless they stopped eating and drinking entirely.

Chen Mo pondered in his heart.

To break this deadlock, the only way was to rely on the eight words: [Thousand Hammer Refinement, Mountain and Water Cultivation]. Only by stepping into the threshold of martial arts would there be a glimmer of hope!

"Sister, shall we go to Second Uncle's house?"

Chen Lan was startled, her mouth half-open as she asked, "What are we going there for?"

"Just to... borrow something."

Chen Lan smoothed the hair at her forehead and pondered for a moment, "Our family and Second Uncle's family have become increasingly... distant. I'm afraid they won't lend us money."

Chen Mo spoke frankly, "Sister, I'm not going to borrow money. I want to borrow a martial arts manual from Chen Hang to practice."

Hearing this, Chen Lan's eyes widened like copper bells.

Although she was just a woman, she had heard the brawny guards say that even for those with the aptitude for martial arts, it took three to five years to achieve even minor success.

At this critical juncture, with the tribute grain deadline only ten days away—where failure to pay meant death—practicing martial arts now was no different from seeking death.

But she didn't blurt out all these inner thoughts, instead asking, "What made you think of learning martial arts?"

Chen Mo's thoughts raced, and he finally came up with a relatively suitable reason, "Learning martial arts might not guarantee success, but it can at least strengthen the body to some extent. I won't take up too much time; I just want to... gain some strength and have a bit of self-preservation."

Hearing this, Chen Lan did not refuse, "Alright, let's go now."