Chapter 9: Experience

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Ye Family Village was home to more than a thousand people, and in Yunqing’s eyes, it was a rather prosperous place. The fact that they took in refugees and provided them with free food and lodging was proof enough. The villagers themselves were hardworking, each possessing one or more skills, and most began supporting themselves from their early teens.

No one here lacked for food or clothing. Meat was a regular part of their diet, though food that enhanced one’s attributes was a luxury not everyone could afford. Every day, animals were slaughtered at the village abattoir.

Life was comfortable, but for some reason, as Ye Qiaoqiao and the others had mentioned, the average life expectancy in the village was only a little over forty years. Yunqing suspected that poor medical conditions and high infant mortality were to blame.

The next morning, Yunqing went early to Ye Qiaoqiao’s house, explained that she would be apprenticing at the abattoir and wouldn’t join them in gathering herbs for now, and headed straight for her new workplace.

Outside the abattoir, the air was thick with the stench of blood and rot. Yunqing thought to herself: The working environment here is quite unpleasant.

Just as she arrived, piercing animal screams, raw and desperate, stabbed at her ears.

Looking towards the noise, she saw two villagers—one holding the front legs, the other the hind—lifting a white pig onto a wide bench. The agonized squeals were coming from the pig’s mouth.

On the ground in front of the bench sat a large wooden basin and a bamboo basket.

Red lettering: Pig, level unknown.

A pig over level ten, Yunqing marveled at the strength of the two villagers. The animal must have weighed nearly two hundred pounds and was struggling for its life, yet it could not break free from their grip.

One of the villagers bent down, retrieved a sharp knife from the basket, and before Yunqing could see the motion clearly, drove it into the pig’s throat. With a quick withdrawal, a torrent of bright red blood poured from the wound into the basin below.

The pig continued to squeal, its cries fading from strong to hoarse, then vanishing altogether. In a few moments, the red lettering above its body disappeared as well. The villager then took out another tool, preparing to skin the carcass.

Yunqing watched, unsettled, as the once lively creature became nothing more than a lifeless body in minutes. Though she’d never witnessed a killing before, she was relieved not to feel nauseated.

Beside her, Liuliu’s eyes glittered with hunger. “So hungry. I really want to eat meat.”

Yunqing raised an eyebrow. Yesterday, she’d “sacrificed” three days’ worth of food for Liuliu in a lottery. She wondered if buying more meat for the dog today would be a problem.

“Liuliu, my silver is for tuition. Once I become an excellent hunter, I promise there’ll be plenty of meat.”

Liuliu whimpered, “So hungry…”

The villagers slaughtered the pig with practiced efficiency. Ye Xiaolang had said that one thing Yunqing needed to learn was butchering livestock—killing pigs, specifically. Only after graduating from the abattoir could she join a hunting party.

Such work was unthinkable in the modern world, but in the perilous, unfamiliar land of the Central Continent, Yunqing had no choice but to yield.

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Yunqing found the hunched, middle-aged butcher in the midst of skinning the pig and inquired about apprenticing at the abattoir.

Butcher Liu glanced at Yunqing and, seeing her face marked by black and white patches, seemed to understand. Pretty girls didn’t choose this line of work; hunting brought in more silver. Perhaps this young woman hoped to earn enough spirit stones to cure her stubborn facial ailment.

Yunqing handed over five taels of silver for her tuition and became an apprentice at the abattoir, with Butcher Liu—the very man she’d watched kill the pig—as her mentor.

Master Liu was also an outsider, and so was rather welcoming to Yunqing. Upon learning that she’d never even killed a chicken, he assigned her her tasks.

Today, she would learn to slaughter chickens, as well as boil water, pluck feathers, and clean—odd jobs, but a meal was included.

After nearly an hour of boiling water and cleaning, Master Liu finished processing the pig, cutting it into pieces and sending it to the village shop and the relief station.

Liuliu, for once, didn’t hover near Yunqing while she worked, but instead sat fixated on Master Liu as he handled the pork, practically drooling rivers.

Yunqing resolved that once the day’s labors were over, she’d buy a cut of meat for the dog.

With the preparations complete, she finally reached the main event of her apprenticeship: killing a chicken.

Master Liu led her to a storeroom with two cages, each filled with chickens.

Yunqing noted: Chicken, level four… Chicken, level five… So many…

She couldn’t help her excitement. Master Liu instructed, “Open the cage just enough for your hand, not enough for the chickens to escape. Grab whichever you can.”

“Alright!”

Following his directions, Yunqing steeled herself against the discomfort of possibly grabbing chicken droppings and reached into the cage.

As her hand instinctively tightened around a chicken, she noticed a red crosshair appear before her eyes.

She was delighted—apparently, she didn’t only see this when throwing stones; it appeared when grabbing things as well.

The crosshair hovered in an empty spot in the cage; Yunqing adjusted her hand’s angle and pressure until it aligned with a level four chicken.

Go!

With perfect force and speed, she seized the chicken in one swift motion.

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She grabbed it by the wings and pulled it from the cage, carefully closing the door behind her.

Yunqing could not hide her excitement. She’d caught a chicken!

She didn’t know why this made her so happy—it was just a chicken, after all—but she couldn’t help smiling.

Master Liu praised her, “Well done! Nice catch!”

“Thank you, Master Liu,” she replied, genuinely pleased with herself.

Having witnessed the slaughter of a pig, killing a chicken seemed a minor affair—though this time, she’d have to do it herself.

Master Liu explained, “Dealing with chickens is simple. Prepare a bowl to catch the blood, a half-filled bucket of hot water. With your left hand, hold both wings and pin the head, pluck the feathers at the throat. With your right, use a knife to make a small cut at the throat and drain the blood. Once it’s done bleeding, dip the bird into hot water for a while, then pluck it clean. Finally, open the belly, remove the innards, and wash it.”

He made it sound easy. Yunqing, clutching the chicken in her left hand, did as instructed, gathering a kitchen knife, a bowl, and a bucket of hot water.

As she pinned the head and plucked feathers, feeling the warmth of life in her grasp, Yunqing’s heart beat faster. She distracted herself by checking her combat experience.

Combat, level 1, experience: 0/100;

“All set. You can do it now,” Master Liu prompted.

With her right hand holding the knife, Yunqing focused on the chicken’s neck. As she adjusted her grip, a red crosshair appeared over its throat.

She didn’t hesitate—if she delayed, the chicken would struggle and she’d lose her nerve. With a measured stroke, she drew the knife across the crosshair.

-30;

Combat experience +16.

The chicken’s health bar instantly emptied; blood spurted onto the knife, her hand, and the floor. The sudden spatter and the life ebbing away made Yunqing feel a faint discomfort, but she pressed on.