The silent night. Moonlight filtered through holes in the roof, illuminating a slightly crooked bed where a figure lay slumped.
Suddenly, the dilapidated door emitted a faint creak. Two figures stealthily slipped into the room.
Seeing the youth lying on the bed, seemingly fast asleep, they relaxed their guard, moving less cautiously.
"Is it him?" one whispered to the other.
Using the moonlight to look at the figure on the bed, the one addressed nodded. "Yes, that's him. Let's get to work."
The two walked to the bedside. One slid a burlap sack off his shoulder and placed it on the ground, clearly intending to stuff the person on the bed inside.
"Kid, don't blame us brothers. Blame your own bad luck for crossing our Young Master. Since your worthless life isn't worth living anyway, better to die early and be reborn sooner. Try to be born into a wealthy family next time..."
"Stop the chatter. Hurry up and get this kid into the sack."
"Huh? What's he clutching? A brick? Hey! He's holding it pretty tight..."
"Never mind. Let him keep it. I've got a good idea. When we get to that place, if they don't issue him a weapon, let him go up with this brick. He's dead either way. When the Young Master sees it, he'll definitely be happier. Might even reward us extra."
"Haha!! That's a nasty trick... but I like it..."
Moving with practiced efficiency, as if accustomed to such tasks, they stuffed the youth into the sack, tied it shut, hoisted it onto a shoulder, left the house, and swiftly vanished into the night...
...
Bai Yunfei felt he had slept exceptionally well. His whole body was warm and comfortable, his consciousness foggy. He didn't know where he was, but he simply didn't want to get up, wanting to sleep a little longer.
"Young man, wake up, wake up..."
The sudden voice close to his ear roused Bai Yunfei considerably. Then, he felt someone pushing his shoulder. With a jolt, he snapped his eyes open and sat bolt upright.
Dazedly patting his forehead, he murmured, "What happened to me?... Where is this?"
He suddenly realized he wasn't at home. He was lying on a layer of dry grass. Beside him, an old man with white hair was looking at him with some concern.
"Old sir, what is this place? How did I get here?" Perhaps the old man's concerned gaze made Bai Yunfei relax slightly. He looked at the old man questioningly.
"What? You don't even know why you were brought here? Ah... young man, you've offended someone you shouldn't have. It was that beast from the Zhang family who had you snatched, right?"
"The Zhang family... Zhang Yang?" Bai Yunfei was momentarily stunned before catching on.
"Yes, you know him. How did you provoke him? Ah..." The old man looked at Bai Yunfei, sighing and shaking his head.
Bai Yunfei surveyed his surroundings as he asked, "How did we end up locked in here? How can we get out?"
It was a fairly large room. The floor had only a layer of dry grass; there were no other furnishings, no windows. To Bai Yunfei's left was an entrance barred with wood – a prison cell? Through the cell bars, he could see outside: a field several hundred square meters in size, surrounded by walls three or four meters high. Beyond that were several tiers of luxurious, tiered seats.
Bai Yunfei and the old man were in one corner of the room. Not far from them on the other side were about ten other people. However, these men looked fierce and menacing, obviously not good people, talking quietly amongst themselves.
"Get out?" The old man's expression turned strange upon hearing his words. "Young man, you... ah! Everyone in Falling Stone City knows that offending Young Master Zhang Yang of the Zhang family... few live to tell the tale..."
"What?! I... I'm going to die?" Bai Yunfei gasped, his voice involuntarily rising. This drew unfriendly glares from the group opposite. He quickly lowered his voice, asking anxiously, "Old sir, is what you're saying... true?"
"Ah, young man, don't be too afraid. What's coming will come. Being afraid won't help..." The old man patted his shoulder, comforting him. "Besides, I heard them say that soon they'll make us fight others. If we survive, they'll let us go..." At this point, the old man couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh himself, clearly not holding much hope for the survival chances of himself, an old man, and Bai Yunfei, a youth.
"Fight..." Bai Yunfei's heart trembled, his fear intensifying. But seeing the old man's comforting, kind eyes, he somehow gradually calmed down. Perhaps the old man's kindness reminded him of his own grandfather...
"Old sir, you..."
"My surname is Wu. You can call me Uncle Wu."
"Yes, Uncle Wu. Why are you here?"
Unexpectedly, his question caused the previously kind-faced old man to suddenly become immensely sorrowful. Then, a fierce light appeared in his eyes; he gritted his teeth like a wild beast ready to tear someone apart.
The old man's sudden change startled Bai Yunfei. He shrank back slightly, seeming a little afraid.
After a long while, the resentment faded from the old man's eyes. He sighed deeply. "I'm sorry. Did I scare you?"
Seeing the old man return to normal, Bai Yunfei breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hand. "No... Uncle Wu, if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to..."
"It's actually nothing unspeakable. I was caught and locked up here because I took a hatchet intending to kill that Zhang family's Young Master Zhang Yang."
"What?!" Bai Yunfei truly couldn't imagine this was the reason for Uncle Wu's imprisonment.
"That beast Zhang Yang... he... he killed my granddaughter!" Uncle Wu's body trembled slightly, his emotions running high. "My poor little Yu'er was only sixteen!"
"Three days ago, my good granddaughter said she was going to buy a bolt of cloth to make me a coat. She said winter was coming and she couldn't let her grandfather freeze..." As he spoke, Uncle Wu's eyes were filled with boundless affection, a smile appearing on his face. Bai Yunfei could feel his immense love for his granddaughter; it was the same look his own grandfather used to give him.
"But... but once she stepped out that door... it was a separation between heaven and man!!" Tears welled up in Uncle Wu's eyes, his expression grief-stricken.
"A neighbor rushed over to tell me that little Yu'er had been snatched by Zhang Yang's men. When I hurried to the Zhang family to demand her back... what I got... was a cold corpse!"
"Little Yu'er, my good granddaughter... unwilling to suffer Zhang Yang's humiliation... she was beaten to death by that beast!"
The savage, predatory expression returned to Uncle Wu's face. But this time, Bai Yunfei felt not a shred of fear, only sorrow and rage.
"After I buried my good granddaughter, the neighbors all urged me to swallow my anger, saying I couldn't fight the Zhang family. I know too. Even if a few more commoners like us were killed by the Zhang family, those people in the City Lord's mansion would just turn a blind eye. Our lives, in their eyes, are like ants."
"But, I hate! If I don't do something, how can I face my good granddaughter? I would die with unclosed eyes! So I took the hatchet from my home and waited for him to come out drunk from the brothel. I charged at him! I wanted to chop him into a thousand pieces! I wanted him to pay for my granddaughter's life!"
"Result... I didn't even touch the hem of his robe before his pack of lackeys caught me. Then... I was locked up here. It's been a day and a night now... cough... cough..."
Uncle Wu finished speaking, but overcome by emotion, he started coughing uncomfortably.
Bai Yunfei remained silent, unable to think of words to comfort the old man. He could only grasp Uncle Wu's trembling hand, pat his back, and say with concern, "Uncle Wu, don't get so agitated. It's bad for your health. That beast of a man will get his just punishment one day..."
Uncle Wu stared blankly at Yunfei for a long moment before saying, "Ah... my little Yu'er used to hold my hand like this too, pat my back, and scold me for getting too worked up... Young man, I haven't asked your name yet."
"My name is Bai Yunfei. You can call me Yunfei."
"Alright, Yunfei. I can see you're a good kid... There are fewer and fewer people like you nowadays. People now, whether openly or secretly, only care about themselves, disregard others' lives, and will do anything. They've lost their human nature. A person should live a life with a clear conscience..." He finished, noticing Bai Yunfei staring at him blankly. "What's wrong? Don't you agree with what I said?"
"No, it's just... it made me think of my late grandfather. He... used to say the same thing."
Just then, several men appeared outside the cell door. They carried a bucket of steamed buns and a bucket of water, placing them just outside the bars. They shouted loudly at the people inside, "You lot! Come and eat! Eat your fill! You'll need your strength to fight for your lives later!"
The bucket held quite a few buns. Only after the dozen or so men across the way had eaten their fill did Uncle Wu get up. He took a few buns, scooped a bowl of water, and returned to Bai Yunfei's side, handing them to him. "Hungry? Eat. Eat your fill, and you'll have the strength to live."
As he ate the buns and spoke quietly with Uncle Wu, looking into his kind eyes, Bai Yunfei felt a faint tremor in his heart. It was a feeling he had scarcely experienced since his grandfather's death – this feeling of 'warmth'.
After eating several buns and talking for a while, Uncle Wu seemed tired. He leaned back against the wall to rest. Bai Yunfei continued to huddle in the corner. Only now did he have time to recall yesterday's events.
"Why are all my injuries gone?" Yunfei finally realized that all the wounds from yesterday's beating had completely vanished! His body felt perfectly fine, no discomfort at all.
"Last night... I think I fainted? Why? Oh! Enhancement... the brick!!"
Thinking of this, Yunfei instinctively reached beside him. To his surprise, his hand found a sharp-edged object – it was the very brick he had clutched tightly when he lost consciousness last night!
"You were gripping this brick tightly when they brought you in last night... Does it hold some special meaning?" Uncle Wu asked curiously as Yunfei picked it up.
"Uh... no, it's just something I used to prop up my bed leg..." Yunfei didn't know how to explain. Fortunately, Uncle Wu, seeing him dumbstruck and speechless, didn't press the matter. He chuckled softly twice and didn't ask further.
Yunfei lowered his head, looking at the brick in his hand:
"Equipment Grade: Ordinary" "Enhancement Level: +10" "Attack Power: 9" "Additional Attack Power: 16" "+10 Additional Effect: 1% chance to inflict up to 3 seconds of Forced Stun status on target upon attack (if attacking the head, Stun chance increases to 5%)." "Enhancement Requirement: 12 Soul Points."
"Indeed, everything last night was real..."
"+10 Additional Effect? Stun? What does that mean? Hitting someone with a brick would naturally knock them out, so why is there a percentage chance?"
"Should I try enhancing it again?"
He quickly dismissed the idea, though. He seemed to have lost consciousness precisely because of enhancing it last night. In a place like this, how could he dare to attempt it casually?
Bai Yunfei sat hugging the brick, lost in thought. He had no idea how much time had passed when he was suddenly startled by a surge of noise.
Turning his head, he saw that the circle of luxurious seats outside was now filled with people. Dressed in fine clothes, they were clearly wealthy nobles. Their faces were alight with excitement and anticipation. They chatted quietly amongst themselves, some pointing towards the cell area, saying things to those around them.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Arena!"
A loud, booming voice suddenly echoed across the field. The murmuring nobles temporarily ceased their conversations, but the excitement on their faces only intensified, even seeming somewhat... frenzied.
"Those lowly lives, struggling for survival, fighting each other like beasts! This is the thrilling, bloody Arena! Let us savor today's visual feast!"