Chapter 4

Jiang Xiaorou, without any doubt, told Yi Yun a lot about the general situation of this strange world.

Yi Yun originally thought that this might be a world where martial arts were revered, but after listening to Jiang Xiaorou's description, he realized that he had underestimated the status of martial arts in this world.

To be precise, it was a world where martial arts were the essence of life.

In this world, humans had their own cities and camps, while the wilderness was the domain of beasts and wild beasts.

Whether humans went out to farm or hunt, they could be attacked by beasts and wild beasts. Because these terrifying giants compressed the living space of humans, the lower-class people were extremely short of resources.

For a camp or a city, high-level warriors were the lifeline!

Without the protection of high-level warriors, the residents of camps and cities could be completely slaughtered by wild beasts overnight.

Unfortunately, the tribe where Yi Yun and Jiang Xiaorou lived was a small tribe without any high-level warriors.

The entire tribe was in a precarious state, always on the brink of destruction.

Due to their weak strength, the small tribe could produce and gather only a limited amount of food. They could not even feed themselves and had to rely on processing weapons for large city tribes, such as arrows and armor, to exchange for some grain and meat, in order to survive.

The materials for the arrows Jiang Xiaorou made were transported by the large tribes, and she was only responsible for the processing.

"Yun'er, go inside and sleep. Tomorrow, I can exchange these arrows for a lot of grain and a piece of wild beast meat. Do you remember the wild beasts? They are the most powerful beasts, and only large tribes can hunt them. Eating a piece of their meat can make you much stronger! If you eat it regularly, you can become a warrior very quickly!"

Jiang Xiaorou said, with a look of longing. If her brother could also become a warrior, that would be wonderful.

Unfortunately, they could only eat wild beast meat once every few months, so becoming a warrior was a luxury.

In the large tribes, the young people ate wild beast meat as their daily meals. In fact, wild beast meat was not considered precious in large tribes. Although wild beasts were hard to hunt, a large wild beast could be tens of meters long and weigh tens of thousands of pounds. Its meat could feed ten people for several years.

For the elites of the large tribes, wild beast meat was for the lower class, while they ate wild beast bones, known as wild bones.

The essence of wild beasts was contained in the wild bones. A huge wild beast skeleton, after special processing, could produce wild bone essence the size of soybeans.

This wild bone essence could help warriors break through their cultivation levels, as well as open meridians and activate bloodlines, making it a highly sought-after item for martial artists.

Of course, for the poor people in the lower tribes like Jiang Xiaorou and Yi Yun, wild bone essence was almost a legend.

Not only was it hard to obtain wild bones, but even if they got one, it would take many methods and secret techniques to refine it into essence, which ordinary people found very difficult to achieve.

"Wild beast meat, wild bone essence..."

Yi Yun muttered to himself, surprised by the breadth of Jiang Xiaorou's knowledge.

...

The night passed without incident. The next morning, Yi Yun got up early, not because he was awake but because he was hungry.

He hadn't eaten for days, only drinking a little porridge, so his hunger was obvious.

"Xiaorou!"

Now, Yi Yun was used to calling her "Xiaorou." From their conversation yesterday, he learned that he used to call Jiang Xiaorou "Xiaorou."

"Um... Xiaorou, why are you..."

Yi Yun was startled. He saw that Jiang Xiaorou's clothes were soaked with heavy dew, and her usually bright eyes were full of bloodshot, and she looked extremely tired.

Looking at the two large bundles of arrows in her arms, Yi Yun realized that Jiang Xiaorou had been working all night without sleep!

Their home was poor, and they couldn't afford oil lamps. Jiang Xiaorou made arrows by the faint light of fireflies attracted by a bug grass and the moonlight. The physical toll of working all night under such harsh conditions was evident.

Jiang Xiaorou smiled, "Yun'er, you were injured before, and I took care of you. The past two days, I was busy with your funeral and memorial, so I didn't have time to make arrows. Today is the day to exchange for grain. If I don't work hard and make more, we won't have food. I also need to stew wild beast meat for you to regain your strength!"

As she spoke, Jiang Xiaorou affectionately patted Yi Yun's head.

Yi Yun's expression darkened, and he didn't know what to say. He watched as Jiang Xiaorou took an oilcloth and carefully wrapped the two large bundles of arrows, her eyes full of joy and satisfaction.

Yi Yun took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and made a silent vow to himself that he would do whatever it took to make his caring sister live a good life.

"Let's go, we'll go exchange for grain!"

Jiang Xiaorou pulled Yi Yun, carrying the two heavy bundles of arrows, and they headed to the grain exchange area, which was a drying field.

There were already many people gathered there.

The most eye-catching was a man in a brocade robe on a high platform.

He was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, sitting in a large fur chair with a fine sword hanging from his waist.

At that moment, the man in the brocade robe was lazily scanning the busy, suffering people below him.

These people were moving bundles of arrows and finely crafted leather armor, and each time they moved one, a man who looked like a secretary would record it.

Next to the man in the brocade robe stood a well-dressed old man in a yellow robe, his face full of flattery.

"Lord Tao, are you satisfied with the weapons and soft armor this time?"

The old man bowed deeply, his face creased with servility.

The man in the brocade robe glanced at the old man and snorted, which was his response.

Although the man in the brocade robe was arrogant, the old man did not dare to show any dissatisfaction and continued to smile.

Lord Tao was a messenger from a large tribe, responsible for collecting weapons. Although he might not have done well in his own tribe, which was why he was sent to do this errand, to the old man in the yellow robe, he was a big shot.

Jiang Xiaorou also handed over the two bundles of arrows she made and received two small wooden tokens in return.

Holding the two tokens, Jiang Xiaorou's face turned slightly red, and she clutched them tightly, her palms sweating. These tokens were the food for her and her brother.

After about fifteen minutes, all the weapons and soft armor were loaded onto a large cart, and two horses with horns on their heads pulled it away.

Lord Tao lazily glanced at the ledger, had a large wooden box taken from the cart and thrown in front of the old man in the yellow robe, and then left with his entourage.

The old man in the yellow robe smiled and bowed to see Lord Tao off. Then he stood up, his smile fading, and he took on a stern look.

The tribe's people were eagerly waiting, "Chief, distribute the grain quickly."

"Yes, we haven't seen meat for months!"

Some young men started shouting, eager to get their grain and meat to fill their bellies.

"Quiet!" The old man in the yellow robe raised his hand, signaling for everyone to be quiet. Yi Yun was surprised to find that this seemingly spineless old man was actually the chief of the tribe.

"Since everyone is so eager, let's distribute the grain first!"

As he spoke, several strong men eagerly stepped forward, driving ox carts to bring the grain out of the warehouse. The grain bags quickly piled up into small mounds.

"Wait a minute, Chief, why is there so little grain this time?"

"Yes, there's usually much more! And where's the meat?"

Many people started shouting. They had contributed more weapons this time than in previous years, but received much less in return, not only half the grain but also no meat, which they had been looking forward to.

"The Fire Cloud Tribe is being too unfair, giving us so little?"

"Chief, what's going on?"

Seeing the crowd getting more and more agitated, the old man in the yellow robe coldly snorted, "Shut up! I'll explain this later. Now, distribute the grain! Hand in your tokens, and you'll get what you get!"

As he spoke, a faint aura emanated from him, making many dissatisfied people fall silent.

The old man in the yellow robe was a warrior.

Although he was a low-level warrior, he was a pillar of the tribe, and few dared to defy him.

"Warrior trainees, come and get your grain first!"

As the old man in the yellow robe spoke, a group of men in animal skins stepped forward. These men ranged from fifteen to forty years old, all of them strong and muscular, clearly trained fighters.

These men were the warrior trainees, the hope of the tribe. They were selected from the best young men and trained from a young age. They neither farmed nor engaged in production activities like making arrows or soft armor, except for occasional hunting.

However, the tribe always prioritized the best food and grain for the warrior trainees, because if one of them became a high-level warrior, it would be a great wealth for the tribe.

Not to mention the protection a high-level warrior could provide, their production capacity alone was significant. A high-level warrior was powerful enough to hunt alone in the wilderness. If they managed to catch a few large beasts, it would be enough to feed the entire tribe for several days!

It was no exaggeration to say that a high-level warrior could support a small tribe!

There were dozens of warrior trainees, and they did not engage in production, so they had no tokens. However, each of them carried away a large bag of grain.

The already limited grain bags were reduced by one-fifth, and the number of people who had not received grain was many times that of the warrior trainees.

This meant that many people were destined to go hungry.

Next to Yi Yun, Jiang Xiaorou clutched her tokens tightly, her face pale. If they didn't get grain, how would they survive?

The tribe fell silent. The grain received by the warrior trainees was not much less than usual, and if this continued, there wouldn't be enough to go around.

"Households with first-class men, come and get your grain!"

The old man in the yellow robe issued another command. In this world, where martial arts were the essence of life, men outside the warrior trainees were also ranked.

A simple test was to compare strength. Men who could lift a 600-pound stone lock were first-class men!

The lower the weight they could lift, the lower their rank.

Households with first-class men breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly came forward to get their grain. At this point, the tokens were just a reference. These households received much less grain than usual, but they still got some.

These households were already relatively well-off, with some surplus grain at home, so they could manage with a tighter budget but wouldn't starve.

"Households with second-class men, come and get your grain!"

The old man in the yellow robe spoke again. Compared to his servile attitude toward "Lord Tao," he now looked stern.

Second-class men could lift a 500-pound stone lock, and they received even less grain.

The number of grain bags quickly decreased, and with each bag, Jiang Xiaorou's face turned paler. She clutched her tokens tightly, her palms sweating.

This wasn't just about a few bags of grain; it was a matter of life and death. Without grain, they would starve to death!

She had high hopes for this grain distribution, not only for the grain but also for a piece of meat to stew for Yi Yun to regain his strength. But now, there wasn't even ordinary grain.

"Households with third-class men, come and get your grain!"

The grain was getting less and less, and Jiang Xiaorou was holding her breath.

The old man in the yellow robe frowned. The grain was far too little, and many people would not receive any. Many would starve to death in the coming months.

But for the tribe's benefit, to have a chance at a breakthrough, the old man in the yellow robe had to make the difficult decision to sacrifice some of the weaker members.

In the tribe, it was common for people to die of hunger or illness. The harsh living conditions made the average lifespan shockingly short.

"Remaining people, come and get your grain."

As the old man in the yellow robe spoke, a crowd immediately rushed forward. Jiang Xiaorou screamed and was pushed to the ground by the surging crowd.

She was bruised and battered but still clutched her tokens tightly, as if they were her only hope.

"Xiaorou."

Seeing Jiang Xiaorou helplessly fall to the ground, Yi Yun, somehow finding the strength, squeezed through the crowd and pulled her up.

"Xiaorou, are you okay?"

Yi Yun was tense. Falling and being trampled in the crowd could be fatal.

Jiang Xiaorou held Yi Yun's hand, feeling helpless...

"Stop pushing! Everyone, behave yourselves!"

The old man in the yellow robe roared, his voice infused with some kind of energy, making the crowd suddenly quiet.

"Line up and come one by one!"

The old man in the yellow robe spoke sternly, and no one dared to defy him. He had the absolute power and enforced the tribe's rules. Anyone who disobeyed could be killed on the spot.

People started lining up to get their grain. Even though the amount of grain each household received was pitifully small, with so many people, the grain was quickly distributed.

Jiang Xiaorou's heart sank. Without grain, they couldn't survive.

"Wang Long, take some people and bring out the remaining grain from the tribe's warehouse," the old man in the yellow robe said to a strong man next to him.

This man, Wang Long, was the old man's bodyguard.

"Yes, Chief."

Wang Long left and soon returned with a small cart, unloading a few bags of grain. This was the tribe's reserve grain, but it was all coarse grain.

On Earth, eating coarse grain meant more vitamins and health.

But in this strange world, it was not the same.

Coarse grain was the last bit left after grinding, containing bran. Food made from coarse grain was hard to swallow and difficult to digest, providing less energy. One pound of fine grain was equivalent to two pounds of coarse grain.

Although it was coarse grain, it was better than nothing. People had to accept their fate and come to get their grain. Each person received a very small amount, and by the time it was Jiang Xiaorou's turn, there was hardly any coarse grain left.

She handed over her two sweat-soaked tokens and received only two palm-sized bags of coarse grain. Even if she and Yi Yun ate bran porridge every day, it would only last ten days.

Jiang Xiaorou was completely stunned, holding the light grain bag, unable to accept this outcome.

Her brother had just come back to life. Were they going to starve to death together?

"What are you still doing here? Don't block the way!"

The man in charge of distributing the grain said impatiently, wanting Jiang Xiaorou to leave quickly.

Jiang Xiaorou felt angry. She had worked hard all night to make arrows and received only this small amount of grain. Although she was a weak woman, she clenched her teeth and faced the group of strong men representing the tribe's authority.

"Why is there so little? I handed in two bundles of arrows, but I didn't even get any fine grain. Even the coarse grain is far less than usual!"

The man in charge of distributing the grain was taken aback, not expecting this little girl to have the courage to question him.

"Do you even know the rules? You're just a child and a girl. What use do you have for so much grain? It would be a waste if you ate too much!"

In this world, small tribes favored men over women.

In large tribes, with various wild beast meats and even wild bone essence, the original small physical differences between men and women were negligible, and female experts were not fewer than men.

But in small tribes, the inherent physical advantages of men over women were a difficult gap to bridge, and few women could match men in physical strength.

Feeling more anger at being discriminated against, Jiang Xiaorou said, "Who says my family has no men? My family has a man, just like any other!"

Jiang Xiaorou grabbed Yi Yun's hand and stood with him!