Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends: Starting from the Equipment Slot

Chapter 1 Earthly Fiend Spirit Sword

"This year, God is really going to kill us. The river is frozen over in September, and all the autumn crops are ruined."

While drinking her thin porridge, Sun Erniang secretly slipped a piece of cornbread into Wang Yuan's hand.

The four-year-old sister, who was huddled up drinking her porridge, noticed this scene. She sniffed and exclaimed, "Mommy, Niu Niu is hungry too! Niu Niu wants to eat steamed buns!"

Looking at her thin, yellow-haired daughter, Sun Erniang felt a pang of pity in her eyes. Then, her expression hardened, and she said, "You don't do any work. Go drink some porridge and lie down to sleep. If you don't move, you won't be hungry. Your brother still has to go up the mountain to chop firewood. He needs to chop as much firewood as possible before the snow closes the mountain, otherwise the three of us will all freeze to death."

Niu Niu pouted and didn't say anything, but her big, bright black eyes kept glancing at the steamed bun in Wang Yuan's hand.

The cornbread was dry and hard. Wang Yuan took a bite and it felt like he was biting into a mouthful of coarse grass. He had to chew it slowly, otherwise he would choke when he swallowed it.

Wang Yuan chewed slowly and forcefully, his hunger like an addiction urging him to swallow quickly.

Every winter, an elderly person in the village chokes to death while eating.

Even dogs wouldn't eat this food in their past lives.

In this world, however, it has become a luxury.

In a family, only the men who do the work are allowed to eat a piece of food.

Seeing how pitiful Niu Niu was, Wang Yuan broke off a piece of his own and handed it to her.

Niu Niu's eyes lit up, and she subconsciously reached out her hand, then quickly withdrew it. She swallowed, shook her head, and said, "Niu Niu won't eat. If Niu Niu eats, brother won't have the strength to chop wood."

Wang Yuan withdrew his hand; he was too hungry.

He had only been in the world for three days, and although he had developed some feelings for his obedient and well-behaved younger sister, those feelings were far from overcoming his hunger.

Only when people are well-fed and clothed can they learn about etiquette!

Wang Yuan had never experienced hunger, so he didn't fully understand this statement. After starving for three days, he realized that all the suffering in the world seemed insignificant in the face of hunger.

Prolonged hunger can destroy a person's rationality and morality, turning them into a wild beast.

After the meal, Wang Yuan put on a fur cloak, took his wood-chopping knife and straw rope, and went out the door. His mother and sister stood at the gate of the courtyard and watched him go up the mountain.

"Be careful on the road, run if you encounter wild animals!"

Wang Yuan waved his hand, crossed the main road in the center of Wangjia Village, and went out through the south gate of the village.

Four adult men were chatting on the south gate tower, which was built of wooden stakes. They carried bows and arrows on their backs, had spears beside them, and wore animal skin coats. Because of their thin build, they looked like four monkeys wearing animal skins.

"Xiao Yuan, be careful going up the mountain, don't go too far. It's getting cold lately, and food is scarce. Those beasts have come down the mountain because of the smell."

"Avoid Black Wind Ridge. Old Liang encountered that black bear there yesterday and almost lost his life!"

"Understood, Uncle Tie Jun!"

Wang Yuan felt a chill in his heart, smiled at the others, and walked out of the village.

Wangjiazhai has about a hundred households and more than five hundred people, making it a large village in the surrounding area.

The village is nestled against Mangshan Mountain, with a large river in front. The villagers have cultivated rice paddies in the wetlands along the river and make a living by hunting, fishing, and farming.

Although life was poor, at least they were able to make ends meet.

In the last ten years or so, the country has been in chaos. First, the government imposed heavy taxes and levies, and then a band of mountain bandits appeared, who would come down from the mountains to plunder.

In addition, the sudden climate change in recent years has led to reduced crop yields and rising food prices, making it increasingly difficult for villagers to have enough to eat.

This year is even stranger; the river has already frozen over in September, two whole months earlier than in previous years.

"This year is another year of disaster; with fewer autumn crops, I'm afraid many people will starve to death!"

Wang Yuan sighed inwardly. Three days had passed since he transmigrated, and he had gained a general understanding of this world from the villagers' elders.

The current ruling dynasty of this land is the Great Jin, which has existed for over seven hundred years since its founding.

Wangjiazhai is under the jurisdiction of Luoxian County in Dajin. Even the elderly people in the villages further up don't know that the farthest place they've ever gone from the village is Luoxian County.

Compared to the current official rulers, Wang Yuan was more interested in the ghost stories of this world.

He learned from the old man that gods and monsters really exist in this world.

Many villagers in Wangjiazhai have experienced these things.

For example, more than ten years ago, a rat spirit sneaked into the village and stole Master Wang's gold, silver and grain.

Master Wang, with his extensive connections, went to the city and hired a Taoist priest. That very day, the priest found the rat spirit in the village. It was a large, black-haired rat, the size of a dog, skilled in earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic that allows one to move without a trace).

The old Taoist priest shouted "Stop!" and pointed to the ground, ordering the villagers to dig. Five or six people dug more than two meters deep and found a rat spirit curled up in the mud, unable to move, its eyes filled with terror and pleading.

The rat spirit is alright; it's only greedy for money and food, and it won't harm people.

Some demons, however, can take people's lives.

Several years ago, a hunter from the village went hunting in the mountains and did not return for several days. Later, he was found in a cave, and he had become a dried corpse. Strangely, you could see a joyful expression on his face, as if he had experienced something extremely happy before he died.

Later, the matter was reported to the authorities, and after the officials came to investigate, they said that the person had encountered a fox spirit.

Fox spirits are skilled in seduction and illusion, and feed on people's vital energy.

It often transforms into a beautiful woman to seduce young and strong men and devour their vital essence.

"Immortals, spirits..."

Although Wang Yuan was extremely interested in all of this, he didn't have much energy to explore it. If he couldn't fill his stomach, it was hard to say whether he could survive the winter.

His father died in the wild a few years ago while hunting in the mountains. The family relies on his mother to cultivate rice fields for Master Wang to make a living. He just turned fourteen this year and has already taken on the burden of the family.

They go hunting in the mountains during spring, summer and autumn, and spend the winter in the village. Because of the chaos in the country, the price of grain has been rising every year, and this year the family does not have much grain stored up, so they will have to endure this winter.

Half a day later, Wang Yuan glanced at the depths of Python Mountain. He heard from the old hunter that there were many wild beasts and even a kingdom of spirits and monsters deep in the mountains, and that people who went in had a nine-out-of-ten chance of dying.

Humans don't go deep into the mountains, and demons don't leave the deep mountains—that's the rule!

As for who set the rules, even the village elders can't say for sure.

Tightening the straw rope around himself, Wang Yuan picked up his woodcutter's knife and prepared to head back. Instead of taking the way he came, he walked along a secluded path.

Along the way, Wang Yuan checked several of the traps that had been set up, but unfortunately, no prey was caught.

After the weather gets cold, wild animals either hibernate or stay indoors, making hunting even more difficult.

Wang Yuan shook his head regretfully, and after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped, a look of vigilance appearing in his eyes.

"It smells bloody!"

Wang Yuan was startled and hesitated for a moment, but hunger drove him to take the risk.

Wang Yuan gently unloaded the firewood from his body and walked towards the source of the bloody smell.

Soon, a figure appeared ahead.

His right arm was severed at the shoulder, and there was a deep, bone-piercing wound on his back, with blood staining half of his body.

Wang Yuan looked around, then quickly went up to him and found that the man was dead, his body already frozen stiff.

Upon turning over the body, they found a handsome middle-aged man with fair skin and a strong physique. In contrast, everyone in the village was sallow and thin, except for the young master and his daughter from the Wang family, whose skin was this color.

The middle-aged man held a sword in his only remaining left hand.

The red scabbard is inlaid with gold and rubies, making it extremely valuable and clearly not an ordinary item.

"Selling this sword would probably be enough to feed our family of three for several years!"

The thought flashed through Wang Yuan's mind. He squatted down, panting heavily, and pried open the middle-aged man's fingers to snatch the sword.

The moment he grasped the sword, a sudden change occurred.

Name: Wang Yuan

Vitality: 2

Mental Power: 4

Perception: 2

"Earthly Fiend Spirit Sword Starfire detected. Equipable. Equip?"

"Equipping this sword will increase swordsmanship aptitude by 2 points, vitality by 2 points, and mental strength by 2 points."

"Equipment slot one, usable!"

"Equipment slot two is not unlocked!"

"A cheat code?"

Wang Yuan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he chose the equipment without hesitation!