Chapter 2 002: What a lousy meteorite!

The moon was dim, and the stars were sparse.

The night was like a thick, indistinct ink, lonely and profound.

The prisoners walked all day under the scorching sun in shackles, their bodies and minds pushed to the limit. Even a small, spoiled, and smelly pancake became a delicacy.

After finishing their meal, they lay down on the ground, and soon the sounds of snoring filled the air, occasionally accompanied by the crackling of the campfire.

The officials gathered around the campfire, took out their wine flasks, and began to drink.

The dried meat in the earthenware jar had been cooked until soft, and then spices were sprinkled on it, which catalyzed a rich and domineering aroma.

It held an almost fatal attraction for these physically weak prisoners who hadn't had a proper meal in a long time.

Shen Tang heard the gurgling sounds of others swallowing hard, their Adam's apples bobbing, and the rumbling of their stomachs. She looked down, touched her own empty stomach, and sighed inwardly.

She was hungry too.

"Want some?" An official ladled a bowl of soup from the earthenware jar, blew on it to cool it down, and was about to take a sip when he noticed the eager eyes, some bright and some dark. His eyes darted around, and he gave them a malicious look, then laughed, "This soup is very expensive. If you want some, you'll have to exchange it for something."

The prisoners immediately fell silent.

Upon hearing this, Shen Tang lifted her eyelids, her lips slightly pursed, and a flash of anger appeared deep in her dark eyes.

She had lost her memory, but that didn't mean she had become an idiot. She understood what the man meant—these were a group of female prisoners whose futures were uncertain and who were about to be sent to the brothel. Even if they had any money on them, it would be confiscated. What could they possibly use to exchange for meat soup?

The answer is obvious.

After the officer finished speaking, his eyes swept over the group of female prisoners with a flippant look, as if watching a play and enjoying the expressions of hesitation or indignation on their faces.

Another officer chuckled and patted him on the back of the head.

He laughed and scolded, "Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror to see if you're qualified to climb onto their beds? These are all Gong's 'benefactors'."

He deliberately dragged out the words "benefactor".

"A noble person? What kind of noble person?" The official scratched the back of his head and deliberately raised his voice, shouting, "Someone who goes to the brothel to serve a noble person?"

"Exactly!" The third constable, emboldened by the alcohol, joined in the fun. "Isn't the brothel a place where you can go for entertainment if you have money? It's not like we brothers can't afford the bribes. If one of us can't afford it, we'll chip in. If we can't afford the whole night, we'll buy half a night. You pay for half an incense stick, I'll pay for half an incense stick..."

"Third brother, who do you think you are? Whoever lasts half an incense stick is the grandson!"

"We'll have to open sooner or later. Does it matter whether we open here or after we go to the brothel?"

Faced with such a humiliating disgrace, the male prisoners dared not speak out in anger, while the female prisoners with even a little bit of beauty were all in danger, their faces ashen.

Seeing that their words were becoming increasingly absurd, the leading official had no choice but to step in and stop them.

“All of you, shut up! You’re getting more and more outrageous! Once your job is done, you can go to whichever brothel you want to have fun with, why are you keeping an eye on these guys? Focus on keeping an eye on them! If any of them escapes after the orders come down, you’ll all be in deep trouble!”

The officials fell silent abruptly, until one of them muttered something under his breath.

"With their literary talents shattered and their martial spirit broken, how can they escape?"

Wenxin?

Courage?

Shen Tang keenly noticed these two words.

Without warning, a sharp, unbearable pain shot through the depths of my mind.

Then he heard the constable flattering the head constable in a low voice, saying with a fawning smile, "These prisoners from the Gong family, no matter how glorious they were in the past, that's all in the past. Although we brothers are just low-ranking officials, you are a third-class noble."

The other officers chimed in, "That's right, boss! These prisoners are either women or crippled criminals. How could they possibly escape?"

A low-class scholar?

Third-class hairpin?

What is this thing?

Shen Tang frowned, clenched her teeth, and endured the intense, stabbing pain. Before she knew it, her forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, and her face was pale. Although she was trying her best to control herself, her trembling movements still alerted the prisoners around her.

The woman lifted her eyelids and glanced at Chen Tang, seeing her supporting her forehead with her hand, looking as if she was in unbearable pain. She snorted softly and turned her back to her.

He muttered, "A madman..."

After an unknown amount of time, the stinging pain seemed to cross a certain threshold, and with a loud bang, it receded like a tide.

Shen Tang breathed heavily, as if granted a pardon, her eyes glazed over.

Once her mind cleared, a fragmented and unfamiliar memory appeared in her head. She closed her eyes to sort it out—two hundred years ago, when the world was about to be settled, stars fell like rain in the night. One particular star was different, emitting an eerie and dazzling purple light that painted the entire sky.

This meteor shower not only turned the tide of the war, causing the overlord who was only one step away from reaching the top to suffer a crushing defeat, but also rapidly changed the world.

From then on, the country was leaderless, and local warlords and lords held their own armies and acted independently.

The world returned to chaos, and afterwards, it was divided into hundreds of kingdoms that fought endlessly.

People were suffering terribly, and at this time some people discovered that their bodies were undergoing strange changes.

By cultivating literature and martial arts, one can absorb the energy of heaven and earth and gather it in the dantian to temper oneself.

The Danfu (Elixir Palace) is further divided into civil and military categories. If one can condense the Qi of Heaven and Earth into an elixir, it becomes "civil heart" and "martial courage," each with its own merits.

As these people continued their explorations, a systematic classification gradually emerged.

The literary mind is divided into nine grades; words can become truth, things can be created from nothing, strategies can be deployed, and victory can be won in the midst of laughter.

There are twenty levels of martial prowess. One man can hold the pass against ten thousand, and can even fight his way in and out of a thousand troops, leaving men and horses in disarray.

Gongshi and Zanniao both belong to the category of martial heroes, ranking as low-ranking and third-class respectively. The highest level of martial hero is the twentieth-rank Chehou. Since the traitor star descended from the sky, there have only been three martial heroes at the "Chehou" level, each a hero of unparalleled strength and spirit, a pillar of strength guarding the nation!

After sorting through these unfamiliar memories, Shen Tang's expression gradually turned speechless.

She had just guessed her own rank of Literary Talent or Martial Courage; even crippled, her physique was still better than an ordinary person's, perhaps allowing her to escape. But the moment this thought crossed her mind, a small line of information popped up, extinguishing her hopes—

She is a woman.

In this world, a woman's body is like a torn bag; although she can sense the energy of heaven and earth, she cannot gather it in her dantian, and naturally, she has no literary talent or martial prowess.

Shen Tang: "...Damn it!"

Does that broken meteorite also discriminate based on gender?

He had just finished cursing in his heart when he heard the leading official reprimanding his subordinates in a stern tone.

"What do you bunch of brutes know?" The leading officer, feeling flattered, didn't lose himself in the praise. "The Gong family's property was confiscated, but not everyone was arrested. I heard there's a fifth-ranking doctor on the run. If we run into him... humph!"

Even a third-rank official like Zan Niao could easily defeat them, a group of low-ranking nobles, leaving them crying for their parents and completely disoriented. A fifth-rank official, belonging to the ninth rank, would be no match for a Zan Niao; he'd be like a grandfather beating his grandson. If that fifth-rank official were to come and kidnap them, they probably wouldn't even have time to escape…

Of course, this is unlikely.

Everyone understood immediately, and at the same time, they felt a deep sense of empathy.

Because of this little incident, they had to suppress their lustful thoughts and dared not act recklessly.

The surroundings were so quiet that only the chirping of insects could be heard. Just as Shen Tang was feeling utterly hopeless, she keenly noticed that the hemp rope around her waist was moving, followed by the sound of a small pebble being thrown and rolling.

The officials who heard the commotion came over.

He hissed warningly, "What are you doing?"

The woman who had been scrambling for the sunflower cakes during the day swallowed hard and asked, "Does my lord still have any meat broth?"

Shen Tang, who was feigning sleep, twitched her eyebrows.

Please vote for this female-oriented novel! _(:з」∠)_

I mailed the contract to Shiitake Mushroom today, and it should be changed to a signed status next Monday.

The 20 ranks of martial prowess refer to the 20-rank military merit system of the Qin Dynasty. From lowest to highest, they are: Gongshi, Shangzao, Zanxiao, Bugeng, Dafu, Guandafu, Gongdafu, Gongcheng, Wudafu, Zuoshuzhang, Youshuzhang, Zuogeng, Zhonggeng, Yougeng, Shaoshangzao, Dashangzao, Sicheshuzhang, Dashuzhang, Guanneihou, and Chehou.

It's too long, and it's too much trouble to flip through my notes, so I'm writing it here with a tag to make it easier to find.

The Literary Talent system is derived from the Nine-Rank System. Unlike Martial Courage, which can be upgraded, the Literary Talent rank is normally fixed; it's like opening a blind box—whatever rank you get is what you get. _(:з」∠)_

Oh, updates are usually scheduled for 2 PM, one update per day, but double updates are recommended.

(End of this chapter)