"Phew! I'm dead tired."
Tang Wen stretched his shoulders.
Carrying a pig of over a hundred pounds all this way had left his shoulders sore and aching from the strain.
"Hurry and rest." Tangtang ran to drag over the stool she used for washing clothes and placed it behind him.
After sitting and resting for a while, Tang Wen decided he would break through to the next level of the Eight Vajra Techniques tonight.
With this wild boar, he had more than enough food.
But wild boar has a very strong, gamey smell. To ensure a proper meal, Tang Wen took the remaining Red-beaked Sparrows they had at home to the general store. There, he traded them for a few pounds of green peppercorns, some ginger, garlic, chili peppers, and three pounds of salt. Finally, he went to the liquor shop and exchanged some for half a pound of sweet potato liquor.
The green peppercorns weren't expensive, and neither was the yellowish salt. The camp seemed to have a stable source of salt, so it was always sold cheaply.
The most expensive item was the sweet potato liquor, followed by the ginger, garlic, and dried chili peppers.
That night, the north wind howled.
The brother and sister had skinned the boar and butchered the meat early on, but they waited until late at night, until not a single light was on in the surrounding homes, before they began to cook.
The reason was simple: they didn't want to attract attention.
Their neighbors lived too close, and the boar had a strong gamey odor. If they cooked it during the day with people coming and going, it wouldn't take more than a meal's time for everyone to know the Tang family was eating pork!
In a winter when most people couldn't even get enough to eat, your family was eating pork?
It would make people green with envy and could attract unnecessary trouble.
RUMBLE... A bucket of well water was drawn and poured into a large iron pot.
As Tangtang cooked the meat, she grumbled, "Why add chili peppers and liquor? Such a waste, such a waste! So what if the meat is a bit gamey? Back when we only ate meat once every six months, you'd even eat eggshells and feathered chicken skin. Now you're getting picky..."
Tang Wen: '...That wasn't me, don't talk nonsense! I've never eaten eggshells, let alone feathered chicken skin!'
When the first batch of over ten pounds of spare ribs was cooked.
Tang Wen took a deep breath, stood in the center of the courtyard, and began to perform the Eight Vajra Techniques.
Preparatory Stance...
First Section: Hands Thrust Upward to Regulate the Triple Burner
...
Eighth Section: Stomping the Feet to Quell Cravings and Addictions
Closing Stance...
WHOOSH!
Tang Wen exhaled a long plume of white vapor.
The vapor condensed without dispersing, stretching half a foot long!
In that moment, he felt as if he had broken through some invisible barrier.
The night scene before him suddenly seemed different. He looked up, and the sky was like blue silk, the brilliant stars seeming so much closer.
[Skill: Eight Vajra Techniques, Beginner → Master (1/3000)]
A skill breakthrough!
Following the breakthrough came a surge in his Attributes.
[Body: 1.09 → 2.09]
[Essence: 1.05 → 2.05]
His last breakthrough had increased both major Attributes by 0.7.
This time, they had increased by a full 1.0 Attribute Value!
The number might seem small, but based on Tang Wen's own exploration and practice...
...a "Body: 1.0" was essentially the peak Physical Attribute of a healthy adult male, encompassing strength, endurance, speed, and other aspects.
A "1.0" meant a person who could carry something over a hundred pounds and walk two *li*.
In terms of speed, they could run 100 meters in 12 or 13 seconds without a problem.
If that weren't the case, Tang Wen would never have been able to carry such a heavy boar back.
So what about an Attribute that broke "2.0"?
Just how monstrous would that be?
Tang Wen's heart filled with anticipation.
A strange noise erupted as his stomach rumbled with hunger, like a drum beating.
He tore off two ribs and handed them to his sister, then grabbed the rest of the rack and began to devour it.
"Hiss... huff... so hot, so hot!"
"So fragrant, and it's numbing and spicy!" Tangtang took small bites, savoring each one, her big eyes curving into a pair of crescent moons.
An entire rack of ribs, along with two large wooden buckets of Maize rice. The richly flavored meat and Maize slid into his stomach, transforming into nutrients and energy that nourished Tang Wen's whole body.
"Water, sis, water!" He had eaten too fast and was choking.
"Here, there's a whole bucket." Tangtang picked up a wooden bowl, scooped half a bowlful of warm water directly from the bucket, and handed it to him.
GLUG GLUG GLUG...
"Phew! I'm stuffed!"
After eating tens of pounds of food and drinking an entire bucket of water, Tang Wen's stomach was as big as a pregnant woman's. He went back inside and passed out the moment he hit the bed.
Outside, by the stove, Tangtang ladled a spoonful of broth over her steamed Maize and ate slowly and deliberately.
However, what she didn't notice was that dozens of meters away, on a rooftop, a dark figure was holding a bamboo tube-like object and staring at her by the starlight.
'Meat! That little wench is eating meat?'
'Goddammit! I've never even eaten meat that good!'
'Are those ribs? *Slurp!*'
'Fuck! I really want to go down and snatch it! That whole pot is full of meat, all meat! I'll go now!'
The dark figure started to climb down from the roof, but halfway there, he turned back.
'No, that's not right. A little girl couldn't have gotten such good meat on her own. There must be someone else in her family. I need to figure this out...'
The cold starlight illuminated the man's face—a Hooked Nose and triangular eyes, very distinctive.
If Tang Wen had seen him, he would have immediately recognized him as the guy he had encountered at the blacksmith's shop.
Li Daniu had even specifically warned him that this man was bad news.
Tang Wen slept until dusk the next day before slowly waking up.
After taking care of his morning business, he went into the courtyard and stretched, his joints letting out a series of cracks.
"Xiaowen, you've gotten taller, more handsome, and stronger."
Tangtang was in the courtyard processing the pigskin. Seeing how her brother seemed to have shot up overnight, she couldn't help but use her hand to measure his height.
Finally, she nodded in satisfaction. "At least those 13 pounds of ribs, 30 pounds of Maize rice, and 1 bucket of salt water weren't wasted!"
Tang Wen: ...
"Sis, my clothes are too small."
Overnight, Tang Wen had grown in both height and muscle, turning his once-loose linen clothes into a tight-fitting outfit.
"Too small? Then hurry and take them off. I'll alter them for you."
"Okay, sounds good."
The two of them went back into the house one after the other.
On the nearby rooftop, the man from yesterday was still staring at the courtyard.
'Heh! So it really is just two little brats! Just like I heard during the day!'
The Hooked Nose man grew excited, his triangular eyes glinting.
'Their house is much better than mine! If I kill the boy, his meat, his house, and that little wench will all be mine!'
Inside the house, Tangtang altered the clothes while Tang Wen, dressed only in a thin set of undergarments, began to practice the Eight Vajra Techniques.
He practiced very slowly, each move and stance imbued with a certain charm.
His sister, mending the clothes, couldn't help but stare at her brother, her mind wandering. After a long while, with the clothes still not fixed, she simply gathered them up and went into the inner room.
After completing one set, Tang Wen felt light and buoyant, an experience he had never had before.
The feeling was addictive.
[Skill: Eight Vajra Techniques, Master (1 → 10/3000)]
'I got 9 experience points for one set?'
'That seems higher than before, doesn't it?'
'What's the logic behind that?'
'Is it because my Realm is higher and my practice is better, so I gain more experience?'
He didn't dwell on the question.
The feeling of seeing immediate returns for every bit of effort was intoxicating. Tang Wen was getting hooked. He didn't even go to the courtyard for Sword Practice all night, instead repeating the Eight Vajra Techniques over and over in the house.
He was completely immersed, oblivious to the outside world.
He didn't even notice when Tangtang started practicing with him.
Before he knew it, the night had passed.
"GROWL..."
His sister clutched her stomach. "Uh, I'm hungry."
"Then let's have a midnight snack!"
His sister sighed. "Lately, I've gotten stronger, but I've also become a bottomless pit."
Tang Wen smiled. Tangtang's changes were quite obvious. Before, when fetching water with a jar, she would have to rest three times just to carry a half-full jar home.
But now, when they moved a couple of days ago, there wasn't enough space on the donkey cart, so she carried a bucket of water, pots, and pans all the way to their new home without getting tired. She then busied herself cleaning the house and was still full of energy by nightfall.
It was clear her practice of the Eight Vajra Techniques was also yielding good results.
The brother and sister ate some more meat and didn't go to sleep until the middle of the night.
The next day, Tang Wen shouldered a basket and went out to hunt.
The Hooked Nose man, sporting huge dark circles under his eyes, saw him from a distance and grew ecstatic. "You little bastard, you're finally out. Just watch how I'm going to take care of you..."
A savage, excited glint appeared in his triangular eyes as he followed Tang Wen from a distance.