Volume One: Another World Chapter Eight: That Little Bit of Meat Isn’t Enough to Eat

Because he had reached a “black deal” with Old Mu, Li Yu felt he had started off on the right foot: in an instant, he had gone from a clandestine outsider to a legitimate citizen of the other world.

Yesterday, the woman clad in white armor had also been assigned as his language teacher.

Upon returning to the other world, Li Yu pushed open the door and saw Mu Yunhua, who had been waiting outside all morning. After a brief introduction, Li Yu suggested she show him around.

“Mu Yunhua, what’s going on here?” Li Yu asked curiously.

Ahead, several people in white armor were searching the street for something, each with a rather grim expression.

“A petty thief took advantage of the ceremony and stole the illumination pearl from the latrine!”

“Uh…”

Seeing these people approach with increasing intensity, Li Yu broke into a cold sweat and quickly tugged at Mu Yunhua’s sleeve. “Let’s not disturb their work. Let’s go this way.”

He pointed to a street that happened to be quiet. Mu Yunhua glanced at Li Yu’s face, then at the group of officials approaching.

Her willow brows twitched, and she seemed to ponder something.

There was only one outsider in the village, apparently, and he was right beside her.

Out of Li Yu’s sight, Mu Yunhua waved her hand, signaling the group to retreat. Then, pretending to know nothing, she followed Li Yu as he turned away.

Though called a “village,” the area was much larger than an average Chinese village. Perhaps to prevent fires, the wooden houses were spaced apart, and the streets were a mix of stone and earth.

“Damn it, if this is their training method, I don’t need to risk adventuring in another world at all,” Li Yu thought as he stepped onto a broad square.

On the square, a hundred or so youths were exercising, grunting and shouting as they built their strength. On tall scaffolds, some ten meters high, people leaped and swung like monkeys.

The training methods were similar to those on Blue Star, only the equipment was exaggerated.

“My God, what kind of insane world is this?” Li Yu even saw someone hurling a giant stone as tall as a person, tossing it back and forth.

The person catching the stone caused pits to form beneath his feet from the impact, and when he threw it again, his feet gouged new holes in the ground.

“Careful!”

Li Yu’s mind froze, and someone cried out beside him just as a gust of wind rushed at his face. Turning, he saw a massive stone hurtling toward him.

Suppressing the urge to flee back to reality, Li Yu held his ground.

Mu Yunhua intervened. She extended her right hand, and the stone, charging fiercely, stopped in midair as if it had struck an immovable mountain.

“Enough of this nonsense!” Mu Yunhua pushed forward, and the stone flew back in the opposite direction.

“As expected,” Li Yu exhaled in relief.

He had remembered how Mu Yunhua had lifted him effortlessly, without breaking a sweat, which was why he hadn’t moved.

“Let’s look at this next,” Li Yu said to Mu Yunhua.

His curiosity was piqued; he stayed to observe the people. Besides the young men training with stone equipment, burly men were busy nearby as well.

Some drew bows and fired arrows that shrieked through the air.

Others swung broadswords, their blades glinting coldly in the sunlight.

Li Yu pondered.

This world… its development seemed rather uneven.

From what he saw that afternoon, the productivity here wasn’t high; much of the infrastructure was primitive. The houses were wooden, and lighting relied on natural objects—he saw no trace of industry. Most households used wooden utensils or rough pottery.

Yet the violent equipment—broadswords, armor, iron arrowheads—demonstrated outstanding forging skills, though likely not made by locals.

“Perhaps individual martial prowess and the demands of hunting for survival have hindered the emergence of comforts, so the people here have extraordinary strength… but the outside world must be somewhat more advanced.”

After observing, Li Yu and Mu Yunhua left, beginning his official language lessons.

“*%*”
[Wood.]

“#@*”
[Eat.]

…

The system’s translated electronic voice was cold and impersonal, but its presence kept Li Yu from floundering.

Mu Yunhua possessed the patience and delicacy of a woman; she not only pronounced each word clearly, but wrote them stroke by stroke. Clearly acting on Old Mu’s instructions, she thoughtfully pointed out each corresponding object.

This was no simple literacy lesson—it was a systematic course in language.

The local language was bizarre and convoluted, the script complex and ornate, making Li Yu feel as though his brain might explode.

“Use Primary Proficiency *5,” Li Yu murmured, activating the proficiency points he’d just earned. Instantly, he gained some understanding of the world’s pronunciation and writing.

This was exactly why Li Yu felt confident about learning a new “foreign language”—he could use proficiency from the system to apply to this world’s tongue.

Every language has its foundational elements. Whether Chinese pinyin or English phonetics, mastering these equates to grasping the bulk of the language.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Yunhua asked with concern.

Li Yu gave a satisfied smile; this time, Mu Yunhua’s words weren’t translated by the system—he understood the meaning himself, thanks to his recent language acquisition.

“Nothing.” Li Yu glanced at the sky. “It’s time to eat!”

Unnoticed, the afternoon had slipped by. He said this so Mu Yunhua would know his intention, then everyone could go their separate ways and he could return to reality for a meal.

To his surprise, Mu Yunhua nodded. “Indeed, it’s time to eat. Come with me.”

…

Li Yu hadn’t figured out how to refuse before Mu Yunhua lifted him, spinning his world upside down. When he recovered from his dizzy state, he found himself seated at a table surrounded by burly men.

Nervously, Li Yu swallowed. “You’re not planning to make me the main course, are you?”

Apart from Old Mu at the head and Mu Yunhua at his side, the dozen other men were all musclebound and fierce.

Were they waiting for their main dish to arrive?

Old Mu laughed. “With so little meat, you wouldn’t be enough for us.”

Li Yu: …