Village is located on the west side of a stone arch bridge, while the eastern side is home to Qiaodong Village. Given the presence of the stone bridge, the river flow here is quite substantial. During heavy rains, flooding is a real threat, but most of the time, the fertile land is ideal for farming. Because of this, both Qiaoxi and Qiaodong Villages are not impoverished. However, the local officials' relentless taxation makes it hard for villagers to do more than scrape by.

When Zhou Yuan first realized he had traveled to another world, he was ecstatic. But that excitement wore off in just two days. He had dreamed of a life filled with wealth and beautiful women, but the reality was just a bowl of bitter greens and a single hard piece of bread. Fortunately, the game-like interface he discovered offered him a glimmer of hope, allowing him to reluctantly adapt to this strange new world.

Twenty days ago, however, a group of minor officials and enforcers arrived in Qiaoxi Village, announcing a new draft decree from the Wei Empire. Zhou Yuan learned that Qiaoxi Village was part of this nation, which enforced a military conscription policy known as the "three-household draft." Under this system, for every three households, one able-bodied man was chosen for war or labor. By ancient standards, this was not particularly harsh. But for Zhou Yuan, who lived alone, it was a disaster: even a single-household family like his was not spared.

Zhou Yuan's first thought was to escape into the wilderness. Fighting in a war seemed like a death sentence compared to foraging in the forest, where he could at least survive by sneaking around and stealing what he needed. On the battlefield, he imagined, untrained villagers like himself would be slaughtered by armored soldiers. But he underestimated the village elders. That very day, he and Er Gou were both assigned three sturdy villagers as guards.

Zhou Yuan’s situation was grim because he had no family to tie him down, while Er Gou didn’t fare much better. Er Gou’s father had broken his leg while performing forced labor years ago, which had also left him unable to have more children. Er Gou was his only son. When it came time for Er Gou’s family to fulfill the draft, his father insisted on going in his place despite his disability. However, this time, military duty could not be substituted, and the village head refused to budge.

In the end, the villagers gathered some money to buy a bride for Er Gou from Qiaodong Village, hoping that he would at least leave behind an heir before going off to war. Zhou Yuan, being an orphan with no relatives, had no such luck. The village wouldn’t help him find a wife, partly out of concern for the girl’s future, and partly because no responsible family would marry their daughter off to a solitary man with no support network.

So while Er Gou was getting married, Zhou Yuan had to settle for a bowl of chicken soup. As Er Gou held his new bride in his arms, Zhou Yuan was stuck with three scruffy villagers guarding his house. Compared to Er Gou, Zhou Yuan was truly miserable. Unable to sleep, he got up and tried to strike up a conversation with Uncle Da Huang, who was keeping watch.

“Uncle Da Huang, I've changed my mind. How about you help me find a wife too?”

“Get lost. Who’d be willing to marry you?”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“I don’t mind if she’s from a bad family. I hear the pretty ones often come from rougher homes.”

“Rubbish. What’s the difference between a good family and a bad one anyway? You’re from a bad family yourself, with no connections. Getting any bride would be hard, let alone a pretty one.”

“Bah, we’re not on the same page. I’m talking about a little demoness or a mischievous succubus, not some regular village girl.”

“Well, aren’t you the bold one! Good thing we’re all off to war soon. If you stayed around much longer, who knows how many girls you’d corrupt and how many wild kids you’d leave behind.”

Uncle Da Huang, whose full name was Zhao Da Huang, was related to the newly married Zhao Er Gou. People in the village had simple, crude names. Zhou Yuan was known as "Stone," which wasn’t great, but at least better than names like Er Gou or Da Huang. Sleepless, Zhou Yuan opened his status screen, hoping to discover a hidden way to level up.

Name: Zhou Yuan

Health: 98%

Stamina: 1, Strength: 1, Spirit: 1

Skills: None

Experience: None

It was a bare-bones status screen, without even a level indicator, but it had all the core stats.

“Still so balanced. After all this hard training, why hasn’t anything changed? Is the improvement too minor to show, or is it just too soon to see results?”

Since hearing about the draft, Zhou Yuan had been training daily, as had many of the village men. No one wanted to die, and any small increase in strength felt worth the effort. Yet, twenty days in, with only half a day missed for Er Gou’s wedding, Zhou Yuan’s stats were unchanged, and his health had even dropped by 2%. All that effort had only led to sore muscles and an empty stomach, with no clear gains.

“Experience, experience. If only I could figure out how to earn experience, everything would improve.”

Despite his worries, Zhou Yuan eventually drifted off to sleep. Da Huang and the others didn’t let their guard down, taking turns to watch the "troublesome kid." The next day, Zhou Yuan woke up close to noon and rushed to the outhouse.

“Morning, Uncle Da Huang.”

“It’s nearly lunchtime. Why not go back to sleep? I’ll call you when it’s time to eat.”

Zhou Yuan was being treated like a landlord, with meals prepared and water fetched for him. His guards were efficient, giving him a taste of luxury.

“No way, fetch me my hatchet. I need to train or I’ll feel uneasy.”

“Fine, hang on.”

Uncle Da Huang handed him a hatchet and set up a couple of logs. “Hurry up; I need to start the fire soon. No time for your ‘tetanus-strike technique.’ Chop the wood first; you can practice afterward.”

“I’ll be quick. Once I master the ‘Mountain-Cleaving Strike,’ I’ll make it our village’s legendary technique.”

The three guards exchanged uneasy glances, clutching their wooden clubs just in case. “Almost made a mistake there,” muttered one. “Handing him a hatchet could’ve been a death wish. If he’s crazy enough, one of us could get cut down.”

“Shh, don’t say things like that. If he hears and reports us to the officials, we might have to replace him with someone younger—or even crazier.”

“You’re right. Let’s just keep it to ourselves. Stone is the smartest guy in ten villages. If anyone says he’s crazy, they can go fill his spot.”

Zhou Yuan, meanwhile, was focused on his training and didn’t hear a word. He was determined to find a way to avoid military service, even if it meant faking madness.

“Almost there... Just a bit more... Break!”

Zhou Yuan, true to his reputation, whispered to himself, eyes bloodshot, and struck down hard. He wasn’t lying about practicing; even if he lacked martial skills, the Mountain-Cleaving Strike was an honest effort. Over days of practice, his stats hadn’t changed, but each swing felt more fluid, more powerful.

Ding!

【You have comprehended 'Mountain-Cleaving Strike' and acquired a blade technique.】