I picked up skill fragments in the demon world

Chapter 18: The Bleeding Stone Tablet (Part 2)

Zhang Chen looked at the stone tablet before him, his mind racing with thoughts. The idea of obtaining skills and experience points through blood sacrifices was undeniably tempting.

“If I could get some large livestock blood to offer, there would definitely be a bigger surprise. But even if I hunted down large prey, I wouldn’t be able to move it here. There are deer, antelope, and even wild horses nearby, but with my current physique, I wouldn’t be able to carry them for long.” Zhang Chen muttered to himself, then began preparing the wild ducks for beggar's chicken.

After a hearty meal, Zhang Chen rolled up his sleeves and began digging diligently in the underground cave.

Today's digging was for a better life tomorrow. With a fox spirit chasing after him, Zhang Chen dared not slacken in the slightest, working diligently and conscientiously.

One by one, experience points appeared, and Zhang Chen continuously picked them up:

【Experience Points + 16】

【Experience Points + 5】

【Experience Points + 17】

【Experience Points + 3】

【Experience Points + 3】

【Experience Points + 51】

【Experience Points + 41】

… …

Zhang Chen dug happily, a hint of joy in his eyes as he watched the experience points on the screen continuously surge. The constantly increasing experience points were his motivation for digging, his hope.

By afternoon, Zhang Chen crawled out of the cave to bask in the sun. Looking at the sun's position and the experience points he had gained today, he couldn't help but frown: “Today's experience points are only three hundred?”

【Name: Zhang Chen】

【Skill 1 (Second Tier): Light of the True God (0/5000)】

【Skill 2 (Unranked): Dragon Qi (0/2000)】

【Points: 2750】

Zhang Chen frowned: “The deeper I dig, the slower the speed becomes. Not only is transporting the soil more troublesome, but the soil is also becoming colder and colder, freezing it solid. Digging it is almost no different from chiseling stone. No wonder the legendary tomb of the Emperor's Daughter is frozen so solid; digging it open is indeed not easy.”

Zhang Chen rubbed his hands. The digging speed slowed down mainly because it was getting colder and colder down below. Before, Zhang Chen could wear animal skins and only need to come out to bask in the sun after two hours. Now, Zhang Chen would be frozen stiff after half an hour and had to run out to bask in the sun.

Of course, he had considered starting a fire in the cave, but how much firewood would that take?

Moreover, the cave space was small, and there wasn't enough oxygen. Unless he opened up a chimney, digging through the top of the cave.

“Let's keep digging first; there's no need to rush to consider burning firewood.”

Zhang Chen shook his head, shook off the dust on his body, and then went to the stream. He jumped into the stream to wash off the mud, but soon Zhang Chen frowned because he found that the water level of the stream had dropped again.

Although he didn't rely on farmland for survival, the mountain prey also relied on the river to survive. Once the stream dried up, many prey would migrate, and he would only go hungry. This was definitely not good news for him.

“Not good!” Zhang Chen looked at the water level of the stream, then looked at the sun in the sky. After a rough estimate, it hadn't rained for a month, and he couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling: “Could it be that there's going to be a drought?”

Drought was a fatal blow to any era, especially in underdeveloped ancient times. Once a drought occurred, what followed was a great famine, and even the rise of rebellious soldiers and foreign invasions.

Perhaps it was the sensation brought by the dragon qi, but Zhang Chen always felt that the water vapor in the world was constantly decreasing, and even the sky was cloudless and blue.

Thinking about the old farmers who were making weapons, Zhang Chen couldn't help but feel bitter: “I only hope that rain will fall soon, otherwise, the timing will truly be perfect for a great chaos to unfold before our eyes.”

Zhang Chen didn't idle but returned to the cave. He wanted to prepare more explosives to cope with more unknown crises.

By the time he finished, it was already evening. Zhang Chen went down the mountain to check the traps and actually caught two more rabbits.

Zhang Chen carried the rabbits back and saw the fox spirit standing outside the gate, looking forward to his return. The fox spirit was listlessly lying in front of the gate, as if it had been ravaged. But when it saw Zhang Chen, the fox spirit's eyes lit up, and it scurried into the house.

Zhang Chen found the fox spirit's actions a bit strange, but he didn't say much. Instead, he went into the house to rest.

That night,

Zhang Chen slept soundly, while the scholar and the fox next door stared intently at the scriptures, their eyes full of nervousness.

Fortunately, the scriptures did not emit light tonight. The man and the fox stayed up until dawn, and then finally couldn't hold back their eyelids and fell into a drowsy sleep.

The next day,

Zhang Chen had just opened the door when he saw two burly young men standing outside the gate with sticks at their waists.

Looking at the two, Zhang Chen frowned slightly, recognizing their origins as stewards from the Li family.

The Li family was the owner of this forest and a local wealthy family. It was said that their ancestors had even been vice ministers in this dynasty and were considered a local power in this forest. Even when Wang Wu caught the fox spirit and wanted to skin it for a fur collar, it was to please the Li family.

The two men in front of him were guards from the Li family, specifically responsible for guarding this forest.

“I wonder what brings the two stewards here?” Zhang Chen looked at the two stewards with an honest smile.

“This year's rent will increase by 30%, and it must be paid next month. Also, in mid-next month, the Li family will be holding a 60th birthday celebration for Master Li. All of you need to show your appreciation to avoid displeasing Master Li. If Master Li is unhappy, all of us will suffer, and life will not be good.” The steward looked at Zhang Chen with a smile.

Zhang Chen's expression immediately fell upon hearing this: “Steward, how many prey do I sell in a year? The rent has increased to five taels of silver. I simply can't survive!”

“We're not discussing this with you; we're here to inform you. If you think it's too high and don't want to pay, that's fine. As long as you change your profession and stop hunting, we naturally won't be able to control you.” The steward gave Zhang Chen a cold look, turned his head, and left arrogantly, seemingly not taking Zhang Chen seriously at all.

Watching the backs of the two leaving, Zhang Chen silently calculated in his mind: “Five taels of silver for rent, one tael of silver for poll tax, plus other miscellaneous taxes, it won't be less than seven taels of silver a year. This is not giving the people a way to live! In previous years, it was only three taels of silver, but this year it has actually increased to five taels. Coupled with the drought year, the people can't survive. This is forcing the people to rebel!”

“Huh, forcing the people to rebel?” Zhang Chen suddenly paused, then quickly fell silent, swiftly extinguishing the thought in his mind.

Thank you to "古月春秋战国时期" for the 100-point coin reward.

Thank you to "缘也冥心" for the 100-point coin reward. Thank you both.