As the stiffness grew more intense, Yi Yun's limbs became immobile as he felt the numbness spread to his abdomen and his head. He was unable to speak, hear or see properly.
He only felt his face getting wet with tears, Jiang Xiaorou's tears.
She was shouting with all her life, but Yi Yun could only vaguely see her mouth move. The voices were stretched and unclear!
Yi Yun couldn't take this lying down. With all his determination, he managed to move his stiff tongue to say, "Lian… Lian Chengyu…"
Although Yi Yun's voice was not clear, Jiang Xiaorou was able to decipher it, "Lian Chengyu? Lian Chengyu harmed you?"
Yi Yun was already completely unable to speak. He felt a cold corpse-like stiffness spreading towards his heart.
If his heart were to stiffen and stop beating, then his life would be over!
Yi Yun felt like a fish left out to dry; neither could he move nor could he breathe. All he could do was wait for death. Unexpectedly, just as the stiffness spread to his heart, he sensed a cold feeling starting to develop.
This cold feeling was exquisite and familiar. It was like pure spring water cleansing his body!
The Purple Crystal! Yi Yun rejoiced! It was the feeling from the purple crystal. In the worst of times, he would always feel the Purple Crystal!
The stiffness had already permeated throughout his body, but when it reached his heart it met its nemesis. He had always kept the purple crystal close to his heart inside his clothes.
Just as the purple crystal activated, Yi Yun felt a small whirlpool in his heart.
The tiny eddies may not amount to anything, but… "Swish!"
A light sound rang. Without struggle or suspense, Yi Yun felt his body go light; the purple crystal had absorbed all of the energy permeating inside his meridians. The stiffness in his body had disappeared.
Yi Yun knew he had now completely recovered. He moved his four limbs and realized nothing was amiss. He was only covered in sweat due to his nervousness.
Completely fine already? Yi Yun could not believe it. He was fine again in less than a second once the purple crystal activated!
This…
The purple crystal by Yi Yun's heart made him speechless. What exactly was this purple crystal?
"Yun'er, how are you? Don't scare Sis like this!" Jiang Xiaorou saw the originally stiff and immobile body of Yi Yun moving again, but there was a silly look on his face. She was extremely worried.
"I'm fine, Sis Xiaorou. I'm… completely fine…" Yi Yun said just as he felt something amiss. As he finished his last word, he felt something brew in his stomach.
"Eugh!" Without warning, extreme nausea overwhelmed Yi Yun, making him vomit.
Previously, Yi Yun only vomited gastric juices as his stomach was empty, but this time, it was different. He had vomited out black blood clots which held a rancid smell!
This horrified Jiang Xiaorou. In this strange world, vomiting was equivalent to declaring a death sentence.
Yi Yun kept vomiting without stop. Besides vomiting he also perspired out smelly, sticky sweat, it resembled black mud.
Seeing Yi Yun break out into sweat and vomiting, Jiang Xiaorou was unfazed by the stench that filled the house and scrambled to wipe Yi Yun's mouth and pat his back.
"Yun'er, Yun'er, don't scare Sis. What happened to you? What happened?" Jiang Xiaorou's voice trembled as she spoke.
Yi Yun did not have a chance to respond until he finished vomiting out all the black blood. But weirdly enough, he didn't feel weakened afterwards. Instead, he felt even better. Besides having an empty stomach and being extremely hungry, he felt like he was rejuvenated.
Yi Yun felt like he could eat an entire roasted lamb and pig if they were placed in front of him.
"Sis, I'm fine. I'm just hungry, and… I need a bath."
The sticky sweat had adhered to his body like a sticky mud shell, it was indescribably uncomfortable.
"Yun'er, you are hungry?" Hearing Yi Yun's words, Jiang Xiaorou was delighted. Since ancient times, a measure of healthiness was the ability to eat.
No matter if it was the saying, "Lian Bo is old, is his appetite the same as before?" or Zhuge Liang's goal to deter the enemy by pretending to eat a lot, both made the point that appetite was a mark of health.
This criterion was worthy of being taken as a reference.
Jiang Xiaorou wiped her tears and rushed to prepare food. While boiling the grain porridge, she also prepared Yi Yun's bath water and cleaned up Yi Yun's vomit.
Yi Yun comfortably took a bath. He had never felt better.
The strange thing was that after his bath, Yi Yun felt like his eyesight had become even better. He could clearly see the water droplets on trees about eight meters away.
Oh?
Yi Yun was slightly stunned, but before he could think more about it, he heard Jiang Xiaorou shout, "The porridge is ready, Yun'er, come have your meal!"
"Alright!" Yi Yun could also smell the aroma of the grain porridge.
Weirdly, the grain porridge Yi Yun had trouble swallowing in the past now tasted sweet and delicious.
Yi Yun finished two big bowls of grain porridge, he even felt like the porridge got digested the moment it entered his stomach. He was still hungry after finishing these two bowls of grain porridge, but he now felt more rejuvenated and energetic.
"Yun'er, are you feeling better?" Next to Yi Yun, Jiang Xiaorou was watching him without eating. She had gained hope that maybe, Yun'er was actually better!
Jiang Xiaorou may not be a doctor, but she knew that treatment was about ventilating the blood vessels.
Thinking carefully, Yi Yun vomiting blood may have been a horrible scene, but he didn't vomit fresh blood but black blood.
That might have been the congested blood in Yi Yun's stomach. It might have been a good thing that he vomited the congested blood.
Also, the layer of sweat on Yi Yun's body was very dirty. Vomiting congested blood and dirty sweat, was this a blessing in disguise for Yun'er?
"Sis, I am fine. Actually, I have never felt any better…" Before Yi Yun could finish his sentence, he felt a soft body embracing him
"It's great you are fine. You scared Sis…" Jiang Xiaorou softly said. In this wilderness, rife with killings, abuse and death, this brother-sister duo only had each other as kin.
She tightly hugged Yi Yun, afraid that the moment she released him, she would lose him again.
After hugging him for a long time, Jiang Xiaorou wiped her tears away and carefully examined Yi Yun. After she was satisfied with him looking alright, she said, "You previously mentioned Lian Chengyu's name. Was Lian Chengyu the one who harmed you?"
Yi Yun hesitated for a while before nodding his head, "Sis Xiaorou, I think Lian Chengyu has the hots for you!"
Yi Yun's words made Jiang Xiaorou blush. "You are still a child, don't speak nonsense."
It was indeed weird for a twelve-year-old to say such words.
"Lian Chengyu, he's too evil!" Jiang Xiaorou said while gnashing her teeth. She resented that Lian Chengyu had harmed her brother, but she was powerless against him for he was too strong. He had control over the entire warrior preparation camp.
"Peng!" Suddenly there was a loud sound. Jiang Xiaorou jumped while turning around and saw the yard door kicked open. A burly man had burst in…
Seeing the unwelcome guest, Yi Yun frowned. This intruder was the person who they had previously got into a conflict with during the ration distribution.
Yi Yun also knew his name, Zhao Tiezhu.
"What do you want?" Seeing Zhao Tiezhu barge in, Jiang Xiaorou tensed up. Her hands surged under the blankets and secretly grabbed the arrow hidden underneath them.
"Hey, little girl, what are you nervous about? I'm here on business today. Young Master Lian has already isolated himself for training. He will be isolated for three months, preparing to attain the level of Purple Blood Warrior in preparation for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's warrior selection. The Patriarch has ordered that the entire tribe head to the mountain to pick herbs, which will be used by Young Master Lian to soak in! Each person has to hand over up to 8 oz of herbs daily!"
"Pick herbs? Soak?" Yi Yun recalled that his past self had fallen off a cliff, to his "death", while picking herbs.
So it seems the picked herbs are for the warriors to soak in.
It was pathetic, to pick herbs at an early age for others and fall to his death while doing so, without any compensation. Even their rations were withheld.
"8 oz of herbs per person a day? How is that even possible?" Jiang Xiaorou thought furiously. "Besides, if they were to pick herbs, where would they find the time to make arrows? Without the weapons, how were they going to exchange for rations with the big tribes? Won't we starve to death then!"
"Hahahaha! You are still thinking about exchanging for rations? When Young Master Lian reaches the level of Purple Blood Warrior and gets chosen by the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, you don't even need to exchange for rations anymore. We will all move into the city, and I guarantee you that you will have enough to eat and drink!"
The man said sarcastically while looking covetously at Jiang Xiaorou. This little chick is a beauty; in time to come, with better nutrition, she will definitely become even prettier.
"My brother hurt himself previously while picking herbs. His feet aren't nimble yet, yet you insist he has to pick herbs, do you really want his life?" Jiang Xiaorou said with a trembling voice. Yi Yun had originally fallen to his death, but having just come back to life, his body was still weak. Sending him back to pick herbs was the same as sending him to his death!
Furthermore, picking herbs gave them no benefits. All the herbs were given to the tribe without compensation!
The man listened to Jiang Xiaorou's words and disdainfully laughed, "How can a person's life compare to the entire clan's glory!" As long as Young Master Lian reaches the level of Purple Blood Warrior and gets chosen by the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, he will benefit generations to come and protect our clan for hundreds of years. The clan's history books will record all of your meritorious deeds!"
"Such a blessing for generations to come, yet you are haggling, you sure don't appreciate it!"
"Besides, the Patriarch has ordered it. To strengthen your body and to make you more energetic, all the herbs remnants will be given back to you after they have been brewed. You can then use it to soak in. In the past, these remnants were only reserved for the warrior preparation camp."
As the man said this, Jiang Xiaorou only gripped the arrow in her hand more tightly, till her fingers went white. "What if we can't make the quota?"
"Can't make it?" The man's face turned cold. "Humph! The tribe doesn't rear trash; if you can't pick herbs, what rights do you have to eat? If you can't make the quota, your rations will be confiscated. Many others are still waiting for that food!"
The man said and glanced over at Yi Yun who was lying in bed. He recalled Yi Yun causing him trouble in front of the crowd. Lian Chengyu had later reprimanded him for being incompetent during the distribution of rations.
Zhao Tiezhu's heart immediately burned with rage, "Kid, stop pretending to be dead. I heard that you were injured, let me see exactly where you are injured!"
The man thrust out his hand to grab Yi Yun!
He was deliberately trying to make Yi Yun suffer, so his thrust was extremely strong.
Yi Yun wanted to dodge the man's sudden attack, but Yi Yun suddenly felt as if the world slowed down in front of his eyes. The fierce look of that man and his actions were all clearly reflected in Yi Yun's eyes.
Including Jiang Xiaorou's worried face, Yi Yun saw the arrow in her hand under the blanket.
It felt like time had frozen. Sounds and the air itself seemed to have become a part of his own body, everything was clearly perceived by Yi Yun.
With everything slowed down, a cool and clear feeling was felt coming from the Purple Crystal.
Purple Crystal?
The cool feeling from the Purple Crystal shook Yi Yun's body!
Yi Yun felt that in that instant, he could dodge the man's grab, snatch Jiang Xiaorou's arrow, raise his body and thrust the arrow into the man's throat, killing him!
The feeling was extremely intense and the images of his body doing the movements perfectly played out in his mind, giving him the urge to give it a try.
But in the end Yi Yun decided against it, it wasn't yet the time for him to turn the Lian tribal clan against him.
Just stirring the crowd led to the Lian Chengyu's killing intent. If he were to kill or beat up a tribal warrior, the consequences would be more severe. How could a kid, who originally was weak as a fly, kill a member of the warrior preparation camp? Wouldn't this gain the attention of the upper echelons of the tribe? There was no way he could explain the source of his power!
He looked as Zhao Tiezhu's grab approached him, and retreated without a trace. Zhao Tiezhu only managed to scrape his skin and seize his clothes.
Zhao Tiezhu originally wanted to beat Yi Yun up, but he didn't expect to miss when Yi Yun shrank backward!
If he were to grab another time, Zhao Tiezhu would lose face, so with a grunt; he lifted Yi Yun up before throwing him back down onto the bed.
"Looks like this monkey isn't hurt! Tomorrow at sunset, hand over the herbs. For every ounce missing, ten pounds of rations will be confiscated!" Finishing his sentence, Zhao Tiezhu walked out and left.
"Yun'er, are you alright?" Jiang Xiaorou asked worriedly. But Yi Yun did not say a word.
What was that feeling a moment ago?
A well-trained Zhao Tiezhu had moved as slow as a tortoise in front of him, making him vulnerable to Yi Yun's killing intent.
If it wasn't because Zhao Tiezhu suddenly got Alzheimer's… could it be that my speed had increased?
Could it be… my body?
"Sis Xiaorou, what male tier am I again?" Yi Yun seemed to have realized something and impatiently asked Jiang Xiaorou.
"Why are you asking about this suddenly? Yun'er, in the past you weren't even at a tier. Even the weakest tier five male can lift fifty kilograms. Yun'er, you could only lift fifteen kilograms…"
"Fifteen kilograms huh…" Yi Yun was speechless, but in the Lian tribe, they had to lift a rock over their heads. Fifteen kilograms was similar to a bag of rice; a weak child would have trouble lifting that.
"Where are the tribe's rock weights stored?" Yi Yun asked.
"Behind the village, at the training grounds. Why do you ask this Yun'er?"
"Nothing," Yi Yun said with a smile. "Sis, sleep early tonight. We still have to pick herbs tomorrow."
In the middle of the night, the dark sky was filled with numerous bright constellations.
This era didn't have any streetlights and the poor were unwilling to use their oil lamps. So the entire Lian tribe village was pitch black.
The training grounds behind the village was a wide field. The members of the warrior preparation camp normally trained there. A dark shadow sneaked into the training grounds, looking around him tonight.
"Found it!" Yi Yun was delighted. As Jiang Xiaorou described, there were rows of rock weights arranged on the training grounds.
From 10 kilograms to 150 kilograms, there were even 250-kilogram millstones and a 500-kilogram stoneroller.
Yi Yun was here today to test his strength! He wanted to know what changes his body had experienced…
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