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0.23% True Martial World / Chapter 4: Who said I didn't have any males in my house

Chapter 4: Who said I didn't have any males in my house

Jiang Xiaorou did not suspect anything and explained the various aspects of the world to him.

Yi Yun originally imagined that this was a world where martial arts was respected, but after listening to Jiang Xiaorou's description, Yi Yun realized that he had underestimated the importance of martial arts in this world.

More precisely, this was a world where martial arts was life. In this world, humans had their own cities and campgrounds while the wilderness belonged to the wild beasts and desolate beasts. Humans risked the threat of being attacked by wild beasts or desolate beasts when out farming or hunting. Because of these monstrous behemoths, it had limited the range of human activities. So among the commoners, there was a supply deficit.

For a campground or a city, highly-skilled warriors were a lifeline! Without the protection of the highly-skilled warriors, desolate beasts could destroy the residents of campgrounds and cities in a night.

Unfortunately for Yi Yun and Jiang Xiaorou, their tribe was a small tribe without a single highly-skilled warrior. The entire tribe was in a precarious state, one that could be destroyed any time. Because of the lack of strength, these small tribes had a lot of troubles cultivating or collecting food. They were unable to survive on their own but relied on the manufacturing of weapons such as arrows and armor for the bigger tribes in exchange for some rations and beasts to survive.

The raw materials for the arrows Jiang Xiaorou made came from a bigger tribe. She was only in charge of manufacturing them.

"Yun'er, go back in. Tomorrow I can exchange quite a bit of ration with these arrows. I can even exchange a piece of desolate beast meat. Do you still remember desolate beasts? Those are the strongest beasts, and only very large tribes are able to hunt them. Eating a piece gives a lot of strength! If one eats it for prolonged periods, one can become a warrior very quickly!" Jiang Xiaorou said dreamingly, for if her brother could become a warrior, it would be absolutely splendid.

It was a pity that they only had a chance to eat a desolate beast every few months. The hopes of becoming a warrior were destined to be an extravagant wish.

However, in large tribes, the young had desolate beasts for their meals, and it was actually not considered valuable among the big tribes. Although desolate beasts were hard to hunt, a desolate beast was over ten meters high and weighed a few tons. It was sufficient to feed ten people for years.

To the proud elites in the large tribes, the meat of the desolate beasts was for the commoners. What they ate was the desolate beasts' bones or desolate bones.

All the essence in the desolate beasts was in their desolate bones. A huge skeleton of a desolate beast could be refined through a special method to obtain a bean-sized desolate bone essence.

This desolate bone essence was used to help warriors break their limits by opening up their meridians, stimulating blood pulses and provide various beneficial effects. It was something all martial artists yearned for.

Of course, a desolate bone essence was simply a legend to the poor families in a lowly tribe like Jiang Xiaorou and Yi Yun's.

Forgetting a desolate bone essence, even refining a piece of desolate bone would require many steps and secret methods. It was impossible for a normal person to refine it successfully.

"Desolate beast, desolate bone essence…" Yi Yun mumbled to himself. The terms he heard from Jiang Xiaorou's mouth surprised him, as she was so knowledgeable.

After a silent night, Yi Yun woke up early the next morning from hunger.

Without eating for a few days, and only eating a tiny bit of porridge, Yi Yun's level of hunger was understandably high.

"Sis Xiaorou!"

Now, Yi Yun was accustomed to calling Jiang Xiaorou sister. He had learned from the chat yesterday with Jiang Xiaorou that he used to call Jiang Xiaorou "Sis Xiaorou".

"Oh… Sis Xiaorou, why are you…"

Yi Yun suddenly realized that Jiang Xiaorou's clothes were soaked with dew, and her originally bright eyes were now speckled with red blood vessels. She looked exhausted.

Looking at the two bundles of arrows that Jiang Xiaorou was hugging, it was clear to Yi Yun that Jiang Xiaorou had not slept once throughout the night to finish the arrows!

They were so poor that they could not afford to light a lamp. Jiang Xiaorou had used the faint glow of the fireflies and the moonlight to arduously finish the arrows overnight.

Jiang Xiaorou smiled saying, "Yun'er, previously when you fell and hurt yourself, I kept taking care of you. In the past two days, I was busy with your burial and rites, so I didn't have time to make the arrows. Today is the day we exchange them for rations, so if I had not rushed to finish them, the two of us would starve. I'm even going to get you desolate beast meat to nurse you up!"

As she said that, Jiang Xiaorou looked lovingly at Yi Yun's forehead.

Yi Yun was dumbfounded as he saw Jiang Xiaorou use linoleum to wrap the two bundles of arrows carefully. Her expression was that of glee and satisfaction.

Yi Yun exhaled deeply and tightened his fists. He was determined to give the sister who cared for him a much better life.

"Let's go, it's time to collect our rations!"

Jiang Xiaorou held on to Yi Yun while carrying the two bundles of heavy arrows. She came full of anticipation to the Sun Valley field where the ration exchange was taking place.

There were already many people gathered there.

The thing that caught people's attention was the man in a robe on stage.

He looked approximately twenty-five and sat majestically on a chair covered in beast hide. A well-made sword hung by his waist.

The man in the robe was lazily glancing at the suffering crowd as they busied themselves below the stage.

These people were moving the bundles of arrows and the sets of exquisite leather armor. A person who looked like a treasurer recorded down every item that was moved.

Standing beside the robed man was an elderly man dressed in yellow. He was all smiles, with a fawning look on his face.

"Are the weapons and armor satisfactory, Lord Tao?" The elderly man bowed before him as his face wrinkled up. The robed man took a glance at the elderly man before snorting as a response.

Although the robed man was full of disdain, the elderly man didn't betray any of his thoughts and carried on smiling.

Lord Tao was an ambassador from a large tribe, and he was in charge of collecting the weapons. It was because Lord Tao was not considered special in his tribe that he was sent here on the errand, but to the yellow-robed elder, he was someone of utmost importance.

Jiang Xiaorou handed over the two bundles of arrows she made in exchange for two small wooden tablets. With the two wooden tablets in hand, Jiang Xiaorou's face reddened as she gripped it tightly in her clammy palms for this was for her and her brother's ration.

After fifteen minutes, all the weapons and armor were stored in the large cart that was pulled away by two big horned horses.

Lord Tao lazily scanned the books as he threw a large wooden chest at the yellow-robed elder before leaving with his subordinates.

The yellow-robed elder politely sent Lord Tao away with smiles before finally wiping them off his face to exude a face of dignity.

All the tribal folks were burning with anticipation as they said, "Patriarch, please distribute the rations."

"Right! We haven't seen it in months!" A couple of people had started shouting for they were all waiting to collect the rations to fill their stomachs back home.

"Silence!" as the yellow-robed elder quelled the masses with a gesture. Yi Yun never expected that this spineless old-timer was the Patriarch.

"Since everyone is so impatient, let's distribute the rations!" The moment he finished speaking, a few strong men walked up hurriedly and brought out bags of rations from a warehouse and stacked them into a small mound.

"That's not right, Patriarch. Why is there so little this time?"

"Yeah! There used to be a lot more!"

"Also why don't we see any beasts?"

Many people started rabbling for they had handed more weapons than previous years, yet the amount received was pathetically lesser. Not only were the rations halved, the beasts had also disappeared.

"The Tao tribal clan has gone too far, how can they dismiss us with this tiny amount?"

"Patriarch, what's the meaning of this!"

Seeing that the mob was getting more disorderly, the yellow-robed elder snorted and said, "Shut your mouths! You will understand in a while. Distribute the rations now! Hand over your wooden tablets, and whatever you receive is all you will get!"

The yellow-robed elder said it with a force that resulted in many of the dissatisfied to zip up their mouths immediately. The yellow-robed elder was a warrior. Although he was a low-classed Mortal Blood warrior, he was definitely the tribe's pillar, so few dared defy him.

"Those from the warrior preparation camp are the first to receive the rations!" The moment the yellow-robed elder waved his hand, a group of men wearing animal leather walked forward. Their ages ranged from fifteen to forty years old. Without exception, all of them were stout and muscular from their training. These people were members of the warrior preparation camp and were the hope of the tribe. As young adults with good physical attributes, they were chosen from young for training. Besides hunting occasionally, they did not farm or manufacture arrows or armor.

Besides, anything beneficial like food was first distributed to the warrior preparation camp. Because, if any of them were to become a high-class warrior, they would bring lots of riches to the tribe. Besides being able to protect, the output capabilities of high-level warriors were extremely high as they were strong enough to go out into the wilderness to hunt. Just a few large wild beasts would be enough to feed the entire tribe for days. Without exaggeration, a single high-level warrior could sustain a small tribe!

There were dozens of people in the warrior preparation camp, and because they never participated in the manufacturing, they naturally didn't have any wooden tablets; but each of them still took away a big bag of rations.

The tiny quantity of rations was further reduced by a fifth, but there were tens of times more people who haven't received the rations compared to the warrior preparation camp.

From this, it was fated that many would starve.

Jiang Xiaorou, who was by Yi Yun's side, grasped the wooden tablet tightly. Her face was pale for their days were numbered if they didn't manage to obtain any rations.

The people were solemn as the warrior preparation camp members took their usual share, which definitely meant that there wasn't enough to distribute.

"Households with tier-one males, come collect your rations!" The yellow-robed elder gave another order. In this world where martial arts was life, males not from the warrior preparation camp received distributions proportional to their abilities.

A simple test was that of strength; being able to lift 150 kilograms made one a tier-one male!

The lesser they lifted, the lower their tier.

Those households with tier-one males heaved a sigh of relief and rushed forward to collect their rations. The wooden tablets were just for show. These households received much fewer rations than normal, but at least they received something.

These households were originally wealthier and would have surplus food. So even though their days ahead required them to be frugal, it wasn't a desperate situation.

"Households with tier-two males, come collect your rations!" The yellow-robed elder opened his mouth again. Compared to the person who was bowing to "Lord Tao", this yellow-robed elder was a totally different person with his cold demeanor.

A tier-two male could lift about 125 kilograms. The rations they received were reduced greatly.

The ration bags depleted rapidly. With every disappearing bag, Jiang Xiaorou's face turned pale. Her clammy hands gripped the wooden tablet tightly.

The problem wasn't about having fewer bags of rations; this was a matter of life and death. Without the rations, they would starve to death!

She was originally full of hope for this round's ration distribution. Besides getting the rations, she was hoping to receive a piece of meat in order to nurse Yi Yun. However, there weren't even any normal rations left.

"Households with tier-three males, come collect your rations!"

With the depleting rations, Jiang Xiaorou held her breath.

The yellow-robed elder frowned, as a number of rations was too little. Many still had not received it. In the months to come, many would be fated to starve to death.

But for the tribe's benefit, to catch that golden opportunity, the yellow-robed elder could only steel his heart and sacrifice the weak.

It was common for people to die of hunger or sickness in the tribe. The adverse living conditions resulted in the average life expectancy to be frighteningly short.

"The rest, come collect your rations."

With those words, a large group of people rushed forward. Jiang Xiaorou screamed as the mob pushed her down.

She was bruised from her fall, but she held on to her wooden tablet closely, as if it was her freedom that could give her hope.

"Sis Xiaorou." Seeing Jiang Xiaorou fall, Yi Yun rushed through the mob and pulled her up.

"Are you alright, Sis Xiaorou?" Yi Yun was anxious as being trampled by this mob would result in death. Jiang Xiaorou held on helplessly to Yi Yun's hand.

"Stop squeezing. All of you be orderly!" The yellow-robed elder shouted. His voice seemed to be imbued with a special energy, causing the mob that was squeezing forward to quiet down.

"Line up, one by one!" The yellow-robed elder was authoritative. No one dared to defy him for they all knew he held absolute power. He was in charge of the tribe, and he would execute whoever disobeyed on the spot.

The people lined up for the rations, even if it was a pathetic amount. But in a while, the rations were gone, leaving many without any.

Jiang Xiaorou's heart sank. Without the rations, they could not survive.

"Wang Long, bring out the few stored rations," said the yellow-robed elder to a stout man. Wang Long was one of the yellow-robed elder's family members.

"Yes, Patriarch." Wang Long left and returned in a short while with a small cart of rations. These were the stored rations containing only grain.

On Earth, eating grain was a source of vitamins resulting in healthiness. However, in this alternate world, it was a totally different matter. Grain was the remnants after processing. It was mixed with wheat bran as food. The taste was horrible and hard to swallow.

Also, grain was low in nutrients, and difficult to digest. In fact, it provided very little energy, about half of the rations. Although it was grain, it was better than nothing. The crowd could only resign to fate and collect the extremely tiny amount of grain. Jiang Xiaorou was right at the back, and by her turn, there was almost no grain left.

She passed the two sweat sodden wooden tablets and received two palm-sized bags of grain. Even if she and Yi Yun ate the grains as porridge, it wouldn't last them more than ten days.

Jiang Xiaorou was stunned as she held the light bags of grain, unwilling to accept her fate.

Her brother had just come back from the dead, were they going to starve together?

"What are you staying there for, stop blocking the way!" The man in charge of distributing the grain said impatiently, wanting Jiang Xiaorou to leave as soon as possible.

Jiang Xiaorou felt anger. She had worked hard overnight to make those arrows, and all she got was this tiny amount. Although she was a weak girl, she daringly faced the group of men who held the tribe's authority. "Why is there so little? I handed over two bundles of arrows. Not only did I not get the rations, but all I got was grain that is far from the normal amount!"

The man in charge of distributing the grain was stunned. He never expected the young girl to have the courage to question him.

"Do you even know the rules? You are just a kid and a young girl at that. Without any males at home, what's the point of having so much food? It would be a waste!"

In this world, the smaller tribes favored males. In the big tribes, there were various kinds of desolate beasts and even desolate bones. So the differences between the two sexes didn't matter as much.

But in a small tribe, a male's strength was an advantage gap that couldn't be bridged. Few girls had the strength comparable to men.

Being looked down upon, Jiang Xiaorou shouted angrily, "Who said I didn't have any males in my house? There is one right here!" With that said, Jiang Xiaorou grabbed Yi Yun's hand and stood beside him.


Chapter 5: Lian Chengyu

Yi Yun's thin and frail body was even shorter than Jiang Xiaorou's. Although he looked like a kid, in Jiang Xiaorou's heart, Yi Yun was the man of the house, a man who would support the family in the future!

While holding Jiang Xiaorou's hands, Yi Yun felt her agitation as her palm heated up with a slight tremble in her fingers. Facing their impending deaths, and the unfairness of the tribe, Jiang Xiaorou did not expect anyone to stand up for her. She could only do it herself, as a fifteen-year-old girl, against a bunch of stout men.

The atmosphere went silent for a moment as everyone dazedly looked at Yi Yun and Jiang Xiaorou. After a short silence, a few of the men in charge of distributing the grain roared with laughter.

"He is your household's man? Hahahaha!"

"Young lass, have you not seen a man before? Do you want me to show you what it means to be a man?" said one of the men lewdly

"A kid who doesn't even need to shave, and is as thin as a monkey at that. I wonder kid, how many days ago did you stop using diapers?

A few of the men guffawed, Jiang Xiaorou turned red from embarrassment as she clenched her fists tightly. Not a single person behind her was willing to stand up for her.

The ruling class of the tribe was filled with all the strong and laborious warriors. As the weak could not defeat the strong, no one bothered to help them as they had their own meals to worry about.

"Eh, I recall something. Didn't this brat die a few days ago?"

In a small tribe, deaths weren't uncommon. And because of Yi Yun's lack of any standing, his death wasn't very widely known.

"That's right. I know him. He's full of illnesses. His body is so weak that the wind can blow him over," another person agreed.

"Who said my brother died!?" Jiang Xiaorou stared at the man like a leopardess. Their bodies were so disproportionate in size, like a sparrow against a vulture. Even so, Jiang Xiaorou gritted her teeth and stood her ground. There was a hint of killing intent in her eyes, one that could be seen in a beast.

It was hard to believe that a weak, young girl like her could exhibit such a stare. Jiang Xiaorou held on tightly to a long and thin pole-like item she had hidden behind her. She had secretly kept one of the arrows for defensive purposes!

Facing Jiang Xiaorou's glare, the man frowned because she had angered him. As a deacon in the tribe, and a member of the warrior preparation camp, his position in the tribe was very high. This situation was like a tiger being pinned down by a kitten.

"You foolish lass, what are you staring at!? I'll dig out your eyes if you keep staring!" The man said angrily, but Jiang Xiaorou continued staring at him while gritting her teeth. She did not stand down because they would not survive if they didn't receive any additional rations today. The arrow in her hand was gripped even tighter, almost to the point of her drawing it out!

"This lass is interesting!" Situated in a clean and high house, a smirking lad in silver armor had been monitoring the conflict between Jiang Xiaorou and the man through the window.

This silver-armored lad had an overpowering presence. His bright armor only served to enhance the difference between him and the suffering commoners.

"She is still hiding an arrow. All the arrow-making materials have been accounted for, but even a defective arrow must be collected. I don't know how this lass managed to hide the arrow, but from the looks of it, she might have the courage to use the arrow offensively."

"If she were to go on the offensive, she would definitely end up in a sorry state," an elder standing beside the silver-armored lad politely said.

"That's right. However, if she were to not to go on the offensive, she will probably starve to death," the silver-armored lad nonchalantly said. "Tell me more about this girl."

The elder bowed responding, "Yes my lord, her name is Jiang Xiaorou, a girl from the lower castes in our Lian tribal clan. She and her brother were originally not from the Lian tribal clan. She was a refugee who managed to find a foothold in the Lian tribal clan. A few years ago, her brother, Yi Yun's mother passed away. The siblings became orphans. It was expected that the two children, without their mother, would surely die, but this Jiang Xiaorou, though young, surprisingly managed to take care of both herself and her brother and have lasted for a few years."

The elder was extremely polite. The Lian tribal clan numbered a thousand, and he knew everything about everyone.

A typical large tribe usually did not take in refugees, only smaller tribes did. In fact, this was one of the ways for a small tribe to sustain their population, however the refugees were always of a much lower status than the natives.

"She's actually a girl from elsewhere." The lad mumbled to himself as he slowly smirked.

From the situation before, he realized that Jiang Xiaorou had a different air that he couldn't describe, for it wasn't one a poor family's child would have. Furthermore, Jiang Xiaorou had elegant and refined looks. In a small tribe that endured suffering, such a beautiful girl was a rarity. Such a beautiful and charming girl with a defiant attitude, with an unknown past, kindled the interest in Lian Chengyu.

"Young Master, has she caught your eye?" the elder couldn't resist asking. Young Master Lian Chengyu had extremely high prestige in the tribe!

The Lian tribal clan had a few warriors, but for an honest count of experts, there were only three. One was the Patriarch who was the yellow-robed elder, the warrior preparation camp's coach, Yao Yuan was another, and lastly it was Lian Chengyu. He was the grandnephew of the yellow-robed elder. The Patriarch was already in his 60s, but Lian Chengyu was only seventeen, so he had a bright path ahead. Lian Chengyu was undoubtedly going to become the next Patriarch. He was also the person with the highest chance of becoming a "Purple Blood Warrior".

With Lian Chengyu's birth stature, he wasn't supposed to marry a woman from outside, because of her low stature.

"So what if I'm interested? Soon this small Lian tribe will not bog me down. I'll go out and have a great adventure in the vast wilderness! Are you trying to use the Lian tribal clan rules to stifle me?"

Although Lian Chengyu had said it calmly, the cold words made the elder shudder as he hastily said, "I was joking, Young Master. I was just asking. I spoke too much, please do not take it to heart!"

The elder was about to slap himself as he said that, for although the Lian tribal clan was small, the clan rules were very strict!

In the wilderness, where the strong ruled over the weak, many countries imposed military law. In the tribes however, the warriors held power, so be it the laws or the tribal clan rules, they were all extremely strict!

The strong held the weak people's lives in their hands. Lian Chengyu, who was a powerhouse in his tribe, had absolute authority to decide over a person's fate.

Besides, Lian Chengyu showed no mercy. Since he was young, he had gone through numerous tribulations, and had experienced cruel in-fighting, even in the tribe.

Seeing that the elder was about to slap himself, Lian Chengyu coolly said, "Alright. Stop acting in front of me. This girl is still young. I only want her as a maid, or a concubine, so you don't have to worry. This should not violate the tribe's rules."

"Yes… thank you for your forgiveness, Young Master," the elder nodded hurriedly.

"Well… Let me ask you. This Jiang Xiaorou, why does she have a different surname than her brother?" Lian Chengyu narrowed his eyes as he looked at what was happening on the field. He realized that Jiang Xiaorou was extremely protective of her brother, while her brother was an illness-riddled weakling, Jiang Xiaorou still seemed proud of him.

"This… I heard that when Jiang Xiaorou was in difficulty, she was adopted by Yi Yun's mother. It is probably for this reason that Jiang Xiaorou is very grateful to Yi Yun's mother, so she also treats Yi Yun well."

"Ah, is that so…" Lian Chengyu frowned as he stood up.

"Get lost now!" Seeing Jiang Xiaorou's legs rooted to the ground, the man was angered. He stepped forward in front of Jiang Xiaorou and was about to slap her!

A weak girl like Jiang Xiaorou could not compare to the man's large body. This slap would have thrown Jiang Xiaorou into the air!

Jiang Xiaorou was about to draw the arrow when she felt her hand being pressed down. Yi Yun quickly whispered into her ear saying, "Do not be rash!"

With that said, in one fluid move, Yi Yun was standing in front of Jiang Xiaorou.

"Hold on!" said Yi Yun with his hands raised.

"What do you think you are doing?" The man was angered; it was actually this weak skinny monkey. He would send him flying too!

Yi Yun was itching to kick the man in his groin, but he knew that a wise man does not fight when the odds are against him. Having lived two lives, he was calmer, and knew that being rash in this situation would be disastrous.

"A real man doesn't fight with women. Furthermore, aren't you from the warrior preparation camp? You must be very strong, so how can you lay your finger on a young lady? Wouldn't that be a joke to people?" Wary of the man's violent actions, Yi Yun said it quickly but clearly. Everyone present heard it.

The man hesitated as he looked strangely at the lad in front of him.

Wouldn't a twelve-year-old kid jump out to lambaste him? Or would he stupidly take the slap in his sister's stead and be sent flying?

But, him jumping out and saying those words, it was a simple taunt that was extremely effective. He left his hand in mid-air as he hesitated in swiping his hand down.

This man felt like he was punching the air. Indeed, as a member of the warrior preparation camp, and in the eyes of many, to hit two kids would not be something to be proud of. Furthermore, there were some conflicts of interests between the warrior preparation camp and the ordinary citizens, so it was easy for him to be brought down with words.

The man may be brash, but he did not want to be talked about behind his back.

"Well, at least you know your place!" said the man as he lowered his hand while staring at the siblings. "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll not bother arguing with you. Get lost now!"

"Yun-er!" Jiang Xiaorou said as she pulled Yi Yun's hand. She felt helpless for she knew that she had nothing to gain by entering a conflict with the man. But to leave would mean their starvation.

"Sis Xiaorou… do not worry," as Yi Yun held onto Jiang Xiaorou's hand, gesturing for her to calm down. "So, I'll be leaving now, but before that, little me has something to consult you on…"


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