Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Hardship ’This is...’ Lou Yi was stunned. He blinked quickly and found the light screen still there. ’Thump thump thump!’ His heart started beating uncontrollably. Finally, my hack has arrived! Life’s ups and downs came too quickly, but Lou Yi didn’t have time to study the light screen. Right now, sending Cheng Chen’s body back was more important. He and a few villagers from Cheng Chen’s village wrapped the corpse tightly with wide grass leaves, then used branches to tie it up, making it easier to carry. Because Cheng Chen’s body was hollowed out by bugs, it didn’t weigh much. Carrying it was quite easy, not slower than ordinary walking. However, as they got closer to Daihe Village, their steps became heavier. In sight was a stretch of dark brown adobe houses, a bumpy yellow mud road, straw stacks placed everywhere, and the pungent smell from latrines at each household’s door. Lou Yi and the others stopped at the door of an ordinary adobe house. From inside sprang out a little boy with a high ponytail. He seemed about nine or ten years old, with patches all over his clothes and a dirty face, but his eyes were bright and lively. Seeing Lou Yi, his eyes lit up, "Uncle Lou!" Lou Yi forced a smile, "Doggie, where’s your mother?" "She’s inside sewing clothes. Oh right, why hasn’t my dad come back?" The little boy called Doggie asked, puzzled. The atmosphere quickly turned silent. "Is it Lou who’s here?" A frail woman with a sallow complexion quickly walked out from inside—Cheng Chen’s wife, Cheng Sun. She initially had a polite smile. But noticing the stiff expressions on Lou Yi and the others, her smile froze. Seeing the grass-wrapped bundle and the red liquid dripping continuously from its end, her face turned pale, and she almost staggered. A moment later, loud cries filled the air. "Father of my child, how could you leave like this!" "Now it’s just the two of us, how will we live!" Lou Yi didn’t know how he managed to leave, only walking numbly toward his village. The village he lived in was called Erhe Village, separated from Daihe Village by a river. Between them stood an old stone bridge, with half of its railings broken. Stepping on the hard mud road, there were vegetable plots and latrines on both sides, and villagers removing weeds or carrying manure could be seen occasionally. "Oh, Lou, you’re back late?" Some greeted Lou Yi, while most just glanced and there was nothing more. But Lou Yi’s memory told him that before his scholar father died, these people were all enthusiastic. Who said rural folks are honest? Lou Yi shook his head, shaking off these mundane thoughts. Arriving at the westernmost side of the village, in sight were three rare two-story stone brick houses, complemented by red walls, with courtyards inside — obviously of a different financial level than ordinary homes. Of course, these three big houses had nothing to do with him. Lou Yi walked behind one of the walls, where he saw his single-story stone brick house that had been blocked. The wooden door with peeling paint was less than three meters from the twisted wall deliberately created. The stone steps at the door were covered in moss, indicating a lack of sunlight normally. "Damn Qi Family..." Lou Yi muttered, skillfully unlocking the door. Enter the house, close the door, latch it securely, and luxuriously lit an oil lamp. Under the dim oil lamp, the situation inside the house was clearly visible. Stove, water tank, rice bucket, bench, wooden bed, firewood, hoe, straw shoes... various items randomly placed. The coarse stone wall with white mud peeling off here and there, looking mixed with gray, like a big flower face. Back home, Lou Yi inexplicably felt a sense of comfort. This house was the greatest legacy left to him by his scholar father. Stone brick houses were quite notable in the village. If it hadn’t been for such a troublesome neighbor as Butcher Qi, life would be much more comfortable. Butcher Qi was about ten years older than Lou’s scholar father, having started with pig slaughter. In his early years, he was unruly and aggressive, ruling as the village tyrant and amassing quite a fortune. The three big houses next to Lou Yi’s home belonged to Butcher Qi’s sons. The eldest Qi Long continued his father’s business, and was considered the biggest butcher within a ten-mile radius. The second, Qi Hu, was advanced into the Village Inspection Office to become a bowman. Technically, all villages in Xinxiang were within his patrol range. Outside Tai City, there were thirteen villages. Xinxiang was considered one of the largest. The third, Qi Bao, was even more remarkable. Through other woodcutters, Lou Yi already knew he had joined the Martial Arts Hall in the main city, destined to be a great person in the future. When the scholar Lou was alive, Butcher Qi didn’t dare to act too boldly. But as soon as Lou the scholar died, the Qi family’s wall deliberately curved around, extended to Lou Yi’s doorstep, blocking most of the light. Lou Yi naturally harbored anger, but under the eaves, he’d to bow his head. The Qi Family now flourished like the sun at noon, and no one in the surrounding villages dared to challenge them. Lou Yi checked the door latch once more, then focused all his attention on the pale green light screen before him. [Name: Lou Yi] [Age: 19/55] [Realm: None] [Skills: Chopping Trees (Uninitiated 0/1), Wood Splitting (Uninitiated 0/1)] [Energy: 1] The contents of the light screen were simple enough for a primary school student to understand. Lou Yi first glanced at the age category and felt speechless; he’ll only live to fifty-something? But for now, many hardships abound; living well in the present is the true way. He didn’t ponder further and looked at the skills section. Chopping Trees, Wood Splitting, could these be considered skills? Moreover, I’ve been chopping trees and splitting wood for so many years, yet not even the basics? Lou Yi pulled out an axe from his chest, picked up firewood on the ground and stood it up, gave it a casual chop, and noticed nothing changed. Could it be... Lou Yi looked at the last category labeled Energy, recalling those novels he’d read before — perhaps energy could upgrade skills? As soon as the thought formed, a faint "+" sign appeared after the skills of chopping trees and wood splitting. In the present circumstances, Lou Yi was naturally more focused on wood splitting. He imagined a force pressed the "+" sign after wood splitting. Then he saw the wood splitting line flash for a while, in an instant changing to (Initiated 0/3). The Energy section at the bottom consumed one point, cleared to zero. [Name: Lou Yi] [Age: 19/55] [Realm: None] 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦 [Skills: Chopping Trees (Uninitiated 0/1), Wood Splitting (Initiated 0/3)] [Energy: 0] At the same time, certain memories started generating in the mind, like films fast-forwarded, quickly playing. Lou Yi closed his eyes, feeling intricately. Within the film, he was still the nineteen-year-old youth. After chopping wood for years, he began thinking: how to increase speed in wood splitting? Standing posture, axe grip, splitting location — everything seemed to matter. Constantly experimenting, constantly correcting. Five years later, Lou Yi finally summarized a practical set of techniques, splitting speed increasingly faster, usage of the axe increasingly adept. A surge of warmth appeared out of thin air, circulating through limbs and bones, endlessly repeating. Lou Yi opened his eyes, squeezed his arm, and felt the muscles become significantly tighter, strength evidently enhanced. It felt like those five years of wood chopping activities were not just existing in a virtual memory, his physical body experienced it simultaneously. Thus, naturally expanding the muscle group. Lou Yi looked again at the axe in his hand. Holding separately with both hands, he moved one hand to the upper end of the axe handle, the other hand to a fist distance from the end. His left foot gently bent forward, balance split between two feet, shoulders slightly twisted when swinging the axe, arms fully stretched, drawing a smooth arc. With this swing, he felt an unprecedented ease! ’Crack!’ The firewood standing on the ground split evenly in half, the cross-section was smooth without a trace of burr. "Haha!" Lou Yi laughed cheerfully, venting all the day’s frustration. ...