Xin Yun despised those boys not just because they took his place or caused him to stumble and fall. In fact... their evil deeds were far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
The disaster that had befallen the village had only just begun. The village was attacked, and apart from the eight children hidden at the bottom of the well by the adults, all the villagers had perished. As a result, even after the enemies had left, they still could not come out.
He would never forget, the survival at the bottom of the well must have lasted over half a month. At first it was bearable, but later on, as the food was all eaten and the water source was lacking, those four boys did something utterly heinous.
The mouth of the dry well was not large, but the area at the bottom was quite spacious. It accommodated eight children without feeling cramped: five boys and three girls, all around seven or eight years old. Despite looking robust as if they were in their teens, they were actually just over seven years old. Relatively speaking, children in this world developed earlier and had stronger bodies.
According to Xin Yun's memory, it should have been the seventh day when those four thirsty and hungry brutes pinned down the three girls and forcibly bit open their wrists to drink their blood, directly causing two of the girls to die. Yi Luo Xiang was the only survivor among the three girls, but she too had gone into shock due to excessive blood loss. That she managed to survive was absolutely a miracle!
As for Xin Yun, he was lucky to have found a stone and narrowly avoided being attacked by those three. After all... those four boys might have been sturdy, but they were no match for a stone.
Now that Xin Yun had been reborn, he naturally would not allow such things to happen again. In the past, he might not have been able to defeat those four boys who were much sturdier than him, but now it was different. Although his physical strength was still weak, years of cultivation were not in vain. Deprived of strength, just his skill alone was enough to defeat those four little brats.
Xin Yun wanted to take action right away and beat those four scums to a pulp, but he dared not do so. Just think... If he really did that, how would Yi Luo Xiang view him?
He was certainly going to thrash them, but he had to choose the right moment. He had to wait until those four were about to act and had not yet succeeded. Otherwise, Xin Yun feared he would leave an impression of being petty and brutal on Yi Luo Xiang, which was something Xin Yun would not want to see, even in death.
While contemplating, Xin Yun followed Yi Luo to the corner where the three girls were. This place was relatively dry compared to the muddy center. When Xin Yun and Yi Luo arrived, the two girls were trying hard to scrape moss from the well walls and throw it onto the muddy ground beneath their feet, hoping to make it dryer.
Seeing this, Xin Yun dashed forward. What a joke, this moss was the only lifeline. During the upcoming survival challenge that could last over half a month, this moss was a lifesaver. Wasting it like this, what would they eat later?
Bending down quickly, Xin Yun picked up the moss from the mud one by one. Fortunately, the two girls had just started scraping and had barely removed a few pieces, so it didn't take long to pick them up.
Looking at the moss in his hands, Xin Yun thought for a moment, then took off his trousers, tied the ends of the legs, and tossed the moss into them one by one.
That wasn't all. Xin Yun kept busy in the darkness, continuing to scrape off the moss from the walls of the well and throwing it into his pants.
You see, there wasn't much moss at the bottom of the well, and it only grew on one side. It couldn't be wasted, not even a bit. After who knows how long, Xin Yun finally stuffed a whole pair of pants and an undershirt full of moss, then reached out with both hands, dug through the mud beneath his feet, and buried the moss-filled pants and undershirt. In the darkness, the girls had no idea what he was up to, and the boys on the opposite side couldn't see anything either.
After collecting all the moss, Xin Yun smiled contentedly. With this moss, the food issue was solved until the rescue team arrived. As for water, it should rain tomorrow, and then there would be a second downpour on the ninth day. The toughest time would be the span between the first and second rainfalls, and that was precisely when those four brutes committed their evil acts.
Xin Yun didn't dare to use too much physical strength and sat down leaning against the well wall. Although the three girls didn't say anything, he consciously kept a distance from them. After all... children around seven or eight years old already knew about the differences between men and women.
One must know, in the more than half a month to come, everyone would have to survive at the bottom of the well. Even though the lack of food meant there were fewer needs to attend to, it was still inconvenient.
At this moment, the four boys and the three girls, along with Xin Yun, were each stationed at the bottom of the well at twelve o'clock, four o'clock, and eight o'clock positions.
Sitting on the moss-covered earth, which now felt much thicker beneath him, Xin Yun felt a lot more comfortable. However, he felt that he was still missing something. He suddenly slapped his head and quietly stood up, heading towards a spot he remembered.
Indeed, after searching the well wall for more than ten minutes, Xin Yun found the loose stone block he remembered. With a bit of force, he pulled out a stone bar about as thick as a forearm and roughly twenty centimeters long - this was the weapon upon which Xin Yun relied in battle!
Holding the stone bar upright in his right hand, Xin Yun tested it with a bit of force, hmm... it was very handy. With this tool, chopping down would definitely not lack destructive power; the weight was also just right. Most precious of all, the tip of this stone bar was very sharp. With a single chop, the damage would not be much less than a metal weapon. As long as he applied the force correctly, heh heh...
Clasping the stone bar secretly, Xin Yun returned to the mossy corner. After briefly practicing a few times, he didn't dare to continue using physical strength recklessly. He sat on the moss bed, leaning against the well wall. After doing what was necessary, he knew that he had to settle his mind and think things through properly.
Facing a rare chance at rebirth, he must carefully plan his life. Now that he already knew about many things in advance, there was much more he could do. If he didn't organize and digest it properly, he might lose many opportunities and miss out on many chances. By then, he would regret it to death.
Before drafting his new life blueprint, the first thing to do was to review his previous life and tally all the mistakes he had made. He absolutely could not make the same errors; otherwise, even with rebirth, there wouldn't be much change.
First and foremost were issues with women. Although there was no formal investigation, it was clear that those indulgent in carnal pleasures did not become real experts. This was especially true for the Nine Great Experts; none who hadn't maintained their virginity before reaching the Great Achievement Realm became great masters. Even after achieving it, they did not indulge in carnal pleasures.
At that thought, Xin Yun's face fell. The so-called Great Achievement took at least until age twenty, or slower ones until thirty. But if one couldn't achieve greatness by the age of thirty, then they would never be able to enter the Great Achievement Realm in their lifetime.
While the Nine Great Experts only represented the highest level of the world at that time and weren't the zenith—perhaps just a phase—if one couldn't even reach the Great Achievement, what was there to talk about the future?
Asceticism! At least before reaching the Great Achievement, one must be resolutely and thoroughly ascetic. This was the first commandment Xin Yun set for himself. If he wanted to taste the pleasures of women again soon, then he would have to train like mad. The sooner he achieved greatness, the sooner he could enjoy; otherwise, he would have to bear it.
Of course, even upon reaching the Great Achievement Realm, it didn't mean one could indulge in desires. The punishment from his past life had already enlightened him. Those who toyed with emotions were inevitably toyed with by emotions. Having many women meant that one was destined not to possess a true love that belonged exclusively to them. Even if you could have her body, you couldn't possess her soul or her love!
Although the pleasures of the flesh were enjoyable, they were ultimately not as sweet as true love. Although Xin Yun didn't know what true love really was, as he had never tasted it, one thing was certain: Yi Luo Xiang was the woman he loved the most. For her... he was willing to lose everything. Even if it meant giving up all other women, he was as resolute as Shi!