Night had fallen completely. Along the road, pinpricks of firelight flickered to life in the shacks and hovels.
The flames danced in the wind, looking as if they might be extinguished at any moment.
"Why isn't my brother home yet?"
Tangtang clung to the crude wooden door, peering toward the camp entrance.
Time ticked by. The fire in the hut behind her died out, but she remained squatting on the ground, her eyes wide and unblinking.
It was all too common for someone to leave the camp during the day and not return by nightfall—only to never be seen again.
While fetching water or washing clothes, she would always overhear the women talking. Someone from this family hadn't returned for a day. The next day, it would be two days... then three, then five... After that, no one spoke of it again.
Tangtang wrapped her arms around herself. The cold night wind sent a shiver through her very core.
"Sis, what are you doing by the door?" Spotting the dark figure on the ground, Tang Wen breathed a sigh of relief. The hut was pitch-black; he'd thought something was wrong.
"Brother? Why did you come back from that way?"
Tangtang got to her feet, tears instantly welling up in her eyes.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Let's go inside!"
"Okay... okay!"
The siblings entered the hovel, grabbed a flint and steel, and relit the earthen stove.
The firelight cast a crimson glow across their faces.
Before his sister could ask, Tang Wen pressed an index finger to his lips. With his other hand, he reached inside his robes and pulled out the bag of maize.
"This is...?" she whispered, her voice a mixture of shock and delight.
After speaking, Tangtang quickly glanced toward the doorway. Seeing nothing amiss, she took the bag of maize with both hands.
"Nearly five pounds of maize. We can finally eat our fill tonight!"
"Where did you get this? Are you hurt?" As she spoke, Tangtang grabbed his arm, ready to give him a full-body inspection.
Tang Wen quickly waved his hands. "I'm fine! Just a little tired, that's all. Oh, right. There's also this."
He pulled out the last Red-beaked Sparrow he had managed to get that day.
"You got..." Tangtang's words trailed off. She glanced at the doorway again, paused for a few seconds, then whispered, "You hit it with a rock?"
"Yeah. Don't tell anyone."
"Right, right!"
Tangtang bobbed her head repeatedly. "We should trade this little bird for maize, too."
Tang Wen glanced down at their stick-thin arms. "We need meat. Winter is coming, and if we don't eat more, we won't survive it. We'll each eat half!"
Reluctance washed over Tangtang's little face. "But didn't you say one little bird could be traded for a pound and a half of maize?"
"Don't worry. I'll get more tomorrow."
"Alright then. We can eat it tomorrow. Let's just have more maize tonight."
With that, she turned to get the maize jar.
Tang Wen...
'My sister... hmm, she's certainly got a sharp mind.'
BUBBLE BUBBLE... The water in the clay pot came to a boil.
Tangtang steeled herself and tossed in two small handfuls of maize.
"Add some more," Tang Wen urged. "I'll definitely get more birds tomorrow."
'The feeling of constant hunger was unbearable.'
'After the last two days, Tang Wen finally understood why so many people struggle to lose weight.'
'Being constantly hungry while having to keep moving... it was no way for a person to live.'
At her brother's urging, Tangtang added one more small handful to the clay pot.
GROWL, GROWL.
Their stomachs rumbled, one after the other.
Neither of them said a word.
When you're starving, you have no desire to speak.
As soon as the thick maize porridge was ladled into their bowls, they both snatched them up eagerly.
Blowing on the hot porridge as they drank, they finished both bowls in less than three minutes.
Tangtang then added some cool water to the pot and boiled two bowls of thin gruel, which they sipped slowly.
The two bowls of gruel left them feeling mostly full.
While his sister cleaned up, Tang Wen lay on the straw, closing his eyes to rest his mind.
'It's probably only seven in the evening.'
'In a world with no entertainment, I guess going to bed early and waking up early is a decent way to live...'
'No.'
'This is no time to relax!'
Tang Wen's eyes snapped open. He remembered the men he'd encountered on the way back to the camp, the ones squatting by the roadside, looking to rob passersby.
'Thankfully, I managed to bluff my way past them.'
'But what about next time?'
'Right. From now on, I can't take the main road back.'
'I should climb a tree or find some high ground to scout things out first.'
And most importantly... He looked down at his own arms, as thin as kindling.
'I have to get stronger!'
With this in mind, and while he wasn't yet hungry again, he stood up, walked to the doorway, and began to stretch.
As his sister watched in confusion, Tang Wen stared straight ahead. He spread his legs, laid his palms flat, and raised them to his navel. He then spread his arms wide, brought the backs of his hands together above his head, and with a SWISH, thrust them straight up toward the sky.
From inside the hut, Tangtang watched his movements, her head tilting back sharply to follow.
The first form of the Eight Vajra Techniques.
Over the past three years, Tang Wen had been locked down at home for several months at a time.
The last and longest lockdown had lasted for over 80 days. In the apartment building where he lived, new cases were confirmed every single day.
To boost his immune system, he had followed a wellness guru on TikTok and learned this set of Eight Vajra Techniques.
He had only practiced this Cultivation Technique for a few months, though—not long enough to feel any real benefits.
Now, Tang Wen desperately hoped it was as miraculous as the comments section had claimed.
"Sis, you need to memorize these movements and practice with me."
Tangtang didn't want to memorize them, and she certainly didn't want to practice. Moving around too much just made you hungrier.
But seeing the serious look on his face, she gave a slight nod. She tossed a handful of dry leaves into the earthen stove, making the firelight burn a little brighter.
After one set of the Eight Vajra Techniques, his body felt slightly warm.
He rested for a moment, then began a second set.
And then a third...
'The worry on Tangtang's face deepened. Is he going to get hungry? He's not going to want another meal, is he?'
As Tang Wen finished his third set of the Eight Vajra Techniques, the light before his eyes distorted:
[Name: Tang Wen]
[Age: 14 years, 9 months]
[Body: 0.3]
[Essence: 0.7]
[Skill: Farming Mastery (719/1000)]
[Skill: stone throwing, Master (67/1000)]
[Skill: Eight Vajra Techniques, Beginner (0/500)]
'It really became a Skill.'
'This proves my form is correct, without too many mistakes.'
Tang Wen's anxious heart settled. He had always followed the video's voice prompts, practicing step-by-step. He hadn't been very confident practicing for the first time without the video to guide him.
'But it worked!'
It's just that the Eight Vajra Techniques were far more complex than stone throwing. After becoming a Skill, the displayed Level wasn't 'Initiate,' but 'Beginner'.
But Tang Wen was satisfied enough. As long as there was an experience bar, he was happy.
"Sis, have you memorized it? Next set, you're practicing with me."
'Another set? He's definitely going to be hungry after this, isn't he?'
"Xiaowen, what is it that you're practicing?"
Tang Wen said offhandedly, "A couple of days ago, I met an old man with a white beard who taught it to me. He said practicing it would make me stronger."
It dawned on Tangtang. "No wonder you've been hungrier these past two days! Have you been practicing during the day, too?"
"Yeah... listen, we're not going to be short on maize from now on. You should start practicing, too."
After a two-second silence, Tangtang finally said, "Tomorrow. I'll start tomorrow."
Tang Wen didn't press the issue. He took a sip of water and went to the doorway to begin his fourth set.
Tangtang sat on the straw, her arms wrapped around her knees, murmuring something only she could hear.
He gained 5 Experience Points for completing the fourth set.
[Skill: Eight Vajra Techniques, Beginner (0→5/500)]
"Phew!"
After performing four consecutive sets of the Eight Vajra Techniques with his weak body, a light sheen of sweat had already formed.
He didn't continue. Tang Wen went back inside, lay down on the straw, and after a few idle words with Tangtang, he quickly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Tangtang could hear her brother's stomach growling before he even woke up.
Tangtang steeled her heart and put a full three handfuls of maize into the pot, cooking up two bowls of thick, fragrant porridge.
After they ate, with his sister's worried reminders echoing in his ears, Tang Wen left the camp and walked into the barren forest.
Everyone knew the coming winter would be hard.
That was why even the edible bark had been stripped clean from the trees.
Life was hard for humans, and just as hard for the birds.
After searching for some time, he finally spotted a few Red-beaked Sparrows resting in a tree.
Drawing on his experience from the previous day, Tang Wen's actions were much more deliberate.
The four Red-beaked Sparrows were startled into flight several times by the deaths of their kin, but they only flew to nearby trees. Tang Wen kept his eyes on them, and out of the four, three ended up dead.
But these three Red-beaked Sparrows were all he managed to get for the entire morning.
At noon, he returned to the camp.
"You got three more? Xiaowen, you're incredible!"
Tangtang's spirits lifted immediately.
Then, as if remembering something, she quickly shut the door and began a rapid-fire series of instructions:
"When you trade for the maize, don't go back to the same shop as yesterday! And I heard the shop on the east side of camp is a rip-off, so you can't go there. And don't trade for too much at once..."
Tang Wen listened patiently before saying something that left her conflicted. "We won't be able to trade for much maize, anyway. We need to eat the meat."
"Ugh..." Her eyebrows knitted together in a pained expression. "Fine."