Chapter 8: Killed Secretly
The light source was from the wooden box, which meant the desolate bones!
Yi Yun broke into a cold sweat at this unexpected turn of events.
The desolate bones emitted bits of light, which flew towards him. How could Lian Chengyu not investigate this phenomenon?
With more and more light dots, it was getting too obvious. He was sure to be discovered!
The moment it was investigated, he could only explain it with his life!
“Yun-er, what’s wrong with you? Why is your forehead full of sweat?”
“Sis Xiaorou, you…” Yi Yun saw many light dots flying, but Jiang Xiaorou didn’t seem to notice it. “Sis Xiaorou, you don’t see anything?”
Yi Yun asked with a guilty conscience. He realized that besides Jiang Xiaorou, the surrounding people did not seem to notice the light dots.
“See what? Yun-er, are you sick?” Jiang Xiaorou asked with a concern. Yi Yun’s body was weak and he had just resurrected the previous day. It would be terrible if he were to fall sick again.
“Eh…” Yi Yun paused for a while before heaving a sigh of relief. It seemed like he was the only one who could see the light dots?
Could it be that only the owner of the Purple Crystal was able to see the strange happenings of the Purple Crystal?
He glanced furtively at Lian Chengyu who still had a calm smile on his face. Lian Chengyu would occasionally look at the box of desolate bones with a manic look in his eyes!
“That guy hasn’t noticed the light dots…”
With that, Yi Yun relaxed. If even Lian Chengyu couldn’t see it, then no one else could except himself.
Yi Yun was further convinced that the Purple Crystal was a wonderful treasure!
At this moment, Lian Chengyu turned his gaze towards him with a meaningful smile.
He walked forward and stood in front of Jiang Xiaorou.
“The food is a reward for you. Take it and don’t starve yourself. If it’s insufficient, come look for me.” Lian Chengyu said those words softly. His voice was congenial, but his expressions and tone were one of superiority. For whatever he gave, he could take back.
Jiang Xiaorou stayed silent. Lian Chengyu did not mind that as he admired her for her stubbornness when the rations were distributed. It didn’t mean that he liked her stubborn attitude towards him and was determined to slowly rub it off her till she was as obedient as a kitten.
What he wanted was an obedient servant girl, not a lady that needed coaxing.
With a brother by her side, she had something to cling on to and stay determined. This was not what Lian Chengyu wanted. Besides, Yi Yun’s mother adopted her, and they had no blood relations. Lian Chengyu did not like the fact that the non-blood siblings were living together.
Furthermore, Yi Yun had stirred the masses, and almost caused a commotion. He took it to heart that a twelve-year-old kid could be so scheming. He would be a threat when grown up.
What Lian Chengyu wanted was obedient people, as his stepping-stones, and not scheming people like Yi Yun who were hard to control.
As the desolate bones were about to be refined, it was a big matter to Lian Chengyu. He was willing to pay any price for it to succeed.
He didn’t want any uncertainty, because he was about to isolate himself for training. Besides, the desolate bones had a problem, refining it would cause deaths!
With a food shortage and people dying, it was easy to incite public rage. He was afraid of mutiny while he was isolated. They could flip the cauldron where the desolate bones were being refined. If his plans were destroyed, killing all of them was pointless.
From Lian Chengyu’s point of view, Yi Yun hated him, and didn’t have a trace of fear or respect towards him.
Yi Yun had already a record of inciting chaos. If Yi Yun sought revenge while inciting the people due to the starvation and deaths isolated him, Yi Yun could be the spark that spelled disaster.
Thinking of this, Lian Chengyu smiled again and patted Yi Yun’s shoulder gently once again.
Yi Yun’s heart skipped a beat, but before he had time to react, Lian Chengyu’s hand was already on his shoulder.
F**k! Yi Yun wished he could have chopped off Lian Chengyu’s hand. He felt Lian Chengyu was as sinister as a venomous snake!
Lian Chengyu said coolly, “What are you nervous about, are you afraid of me? You and your sister don’t have it easy. Take care of your sister.”
Saying that, Lian Chengyu withdrew his hand as Yi Yun felt that numbness again.
Lian Chengyu had patted his shoulders twice, but he could do nothing about it.
“If there are any problems, look for me,” said Lian Chengyu to Jiang Xiaorou. He was always smiling. Yi Yun frowned for he sensed that Lian Chengyu had the hots for his sister.
That must be it. It was no wonder he gave so much food, if he not for his coveting of Jiang Xiaorou. There was no reason to hand out the precious food.
The thing about approaching him if there were any troubles shed light on his thoughts. If Jiang Xiaorou were to go to him, indescribable things would definitely happen.
With a wave of Lian Chengyu’s hand, the warriors from the warrior preparation camp sealed the box containing the desolate bones.
The moment it was sealed, Yi Yun felt the disconnection between the Purple Crystal he had and the desolate bones. The floating light dots also disappeared shortly.
“This…” Something cropped up in Yi Yun’s mind as he saw the warrior preparation camp members carry the desolate bones away.
“Yun-er, what’s on your mind?” On the way home, Jiang Xiaorou had sensed that Yi Yun wasn’t paying attention and was frowning.
Yi Yun couldn’t be carefree for a venomous snake like Lian Chengyu had patted him on his shoulders twice. It was unknown what had been done. Yi Yun didn’t tell Jiang Xiaorou, as he didn’t want her to worry. Also, she was still young and wouldn’t be able to see through Lian Chengyu’s wolf in sheep’s clothing act.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Xiaorou suddenly said, “Yun-er, that Lian Chengyu, you must be careful of him. Try to avoid him if possible.”
Jiang Xiaorou’s words stunned Yi Yun for a while. He didn’t expect her to have such a keen intuition.
In actual fact, Lian Chengyu’s behavior could not be faulted on the surface. He was a Young master who was concerned about his people, an amiable and respected tribal clan leader.
Yi Yun was able to sense Lian Chengyu’s underlying motives as he had seen the acts of several politicians from Earth. People like Lian Chengyu could be found in historical books and international news. Yi Yun could only sense hypocrisy when he heard Lian Chengyu’s words. This insight wasn’t something the suffering poor could attain.
To Yi Yun, the two pats from Lian Chengyu on his shoulders clearly spelled out his hostility.
Yi Yun was stumped that Jiang Xiaorou was able to sense it too.
“Anyway, just avoid him.” Hearing Jiang Xiaorou’s determined words, Yi Yun realized that he did not fully understand this sister of his.
Be it the desolate bones, desolate monsters and her intuition, including her extreme beauty compared to to the other tribal girls made her stand out in the poor tribal clan…
As expected by Yi Yun, dinner consisted of wild vegetables and porridge.
In this world, people only ate two meals. A typical day began at 5 am before they ate breakfast at 9 am. Of course, breakfast was just Yi Yun’s way of calling it; they had a different name for it here. Finally, dinner was eaten at 4 pm.
Yi Yun understood that in ancient China, people only ate two meals, just like in this strange world. In a situation with scarce resources, having two meals a day was probably most scientific and optimal for surviving.
While eating, Jiang Xiaorou felt somewhat guilty that she didn’t manage to get meat for her brother.
Yi Yun wasn’t taking it to heart, as he was busy thinking about the two pats on his shoulder. It was all speculation and suspicion on his part; he had no clue how serious it would be.
After finishing a bowl of grain porridge, as Yi Yun was about to eat a few mouthfuls of wild vegetables, he felt his arm go numb and dropped his chopsticks.
“Yun-er, you…”
Yi Yun grunted for his left hand could no longer move. Both his arms were hurting, as if someone was breaking it!
“Yun-er!” Jiang Xiaorou’s face went pale, she didn’t know what was happening to Yi Yun and quickly helped him to the bed.
Damn it!
Yi Yun’s arm was full of pain as he gritted his teeth. Without question, this was the work of Lian Chengyu. Yi Yun had not guessed wrongly!
It was unknown what method Lian Chengyu had used, but with the disparity in power, even if Yi Yun had sensed Lian Chengyu’s enmity, he had no way to avoid it.
This was the law of the jungle where the strong determined the fate of the weak.
“Yun-er, how are you? Is this an after effect of your fall while picking herbs?”
“I…” As Yi Yun opened his mouth, he realized his tongue had gone numb. He was experiencing a gradual increase of paralysis in his entire body.
Yi Yun began to to realize that the moment he lost all feeling in his body was the moment of his death!
Lian Chengyu wanted his life?
Yi Yun was both shocked and angry. If he didn’t guess wrongly, Lian Chengyu had transmitted some form of energy like “Ki” or “Qi” that had destroyed his meridians!
A normal twelve-year-old child would not have been able to figure it out. Even Yi Yun himself would have thought it was an after effect from his old injuries.
After his death, besides Jiang Xiaorou, no one would grieve for him. In fact, many would think he was fated to be–how could a dead person suddenly revive?
By killing Yi Yun mysteriously, Lian Chengyu would not only have taken revenge for the incitement of the crowd, but also receive the good will of the people.
Jiang Xiaorou would be in a grievous situation, and suffer subsequent difficulties in life. She could even approach Lian Chengyu. Lian Chengyu could then gain her easily by using conciliation tactics!
Killing Yi Yun and obtaining Jiang Xiaorou, what a venomous plan!
Yi Yun gained a deeper understanding of this world. This was not the lawful society of Earth. It was a brutal and primitive place where power determined everything. It was like an apocryphal world in novels where killing someone was nothing…