2 Pendant
"I refuse to bow my head again!"
As she said this the pendant on her chest began to burn and she cried out.
The pendant was something she had worn from birth, it was a small wooden talisman, carved into the shape of a fox. Her parents had never told her the origin of it, only telling her it was a good luck charm.
A vast amount of power began to circulate in the talisman before it settled, Yuyue's body was filled with a sense of warmth still, she felt holes in her body like there were empty containers waiting to be filled.
Yuyue felt more energized than she had felt in days like she could run 10 li without stopping. She decided that for the first time in a month, she would leave her room.
That day her family had left the house for an important village affair and it was currently empty.
She left the house and began to walk down the streets of the village.
In truth, there was no reason she could not leave, rather she felt slightly embarrassed that she had spent so long in her family home.
She walked to the village courtyard where the majority of the village was, she was confused as to why such a large gathering was happening. It was not the time for any festival.
She could see a podium had been set up, and her father and mother were sitting on it along with the village elders.
The person in front of them currently speaking was an old man wearing a white robe, Yu Yue walked closed to hear what the man had to say. She was fortunate that he had a booming voice that seemed to echo throughout the courtyard.
"Hello! We are from the Fog Woods Martial Sect! We have come to find promising youths to become outer disciples. Any family of a promising youth will be compensated 20 taels of golds, but we will take them from this village no matter what! he said
The villagers all gasped at the amount of gold that was offered.
20 taels of gold was the amount an average farmer or hunter would make in their lifetime, for Yuyue's family they made around 1 tael of gold a year, and thus it was around 20 years of expenses for them.
The poorer villages immediately began to wolfishly look at their children like they had become commodities.
Yuyue was instantly intrigued by the offer, she no longer had any reason to stay in her village. She was aware of the existence of martial sects, but she had never seen their disciples in-person, they would never come down to mortal villages like hers.
The man tapped on the small pouch that was tied to his side and instantly a large marble pillar appeared, it slammed into the courtyard shaking the ground.
"Anybody who is willing can touch the measuring pillar and have their aptitude tested! If it lights up, you have the potential to be a disciple. Keep in mind if you are selected you will not have a choice of staying here!" The man bellowed.
Instantly, the village youths began to clamor towards the pillar, the children of the more affluent families stayed back, while 20 taels was a large amount they were still more valuable as a representative of their family than the gold that was being offered.
A line was soon formed with all the Youths going to the pillar to touch it. The line moved quickly, and the pillar had not lit up once.
Many of the villagers began to express discontent at this fact.
"This is sham," many of them muttered under their breaths
Another youth touch the pillar and it remained the same.
"Let me touch it again!" He shouted towards the old man on the podium
"If the pillar did not light up during your test then you have failed, there is no reason to touch it again"
"I refuse to accept this result!" the youth yelled, from his clothing it could be seen he was quite poor, it seemed like he viewed the pillar as the only way to pull his family out of poverty.
The old man snorted.
Instantly a wave of pressure washed over the crowd.
Yuyue found herself completely suppressed by the pressure and was shocked. The youth instantly became pale-faced and kowtowed in front of the man.
"This one was disrespectful! Please forgive me." The youth cried out.
The man frowned, before waving away the boy who instantly made a hasty retreat.
A strange uneasiness began to form over the villagers who now didn't want to offend the old robed man.
Yuyue was intrigued, the power the man gave off with his aura was something she had never felt before.
"If I had such power, then Ji Ruo wouldn't have dared make me lose face like that!" She thought.
She snuck into the line where she was at the tail-end. She knew her family would not approve of her taking the test, but she had decided in her heart that she wanted to become strong like the man on the podium.
Eventually, a boy walked up to the pillar and lit up in a brilliant azure, and the old man smiled.
"Mhmm! Good talent you can come, I'll even compensate an extra 10 taels!"
The youth looked shocked but also an expression of excitement could be seen on his face, his clothing was ragged, and he looked like one of the poorest boys in the village.
The boy walked up to the podium and stood next to the man where the boy looked quite smug. The man tapped his pouch once more and 30 taels of gold instantly flew towards his family who greedily stuffed it in their money pouches.
There was no grief on their face over losing their son, only happiness at being lifted out of poverty.
Yuyue soon found herself the next one to touch the pillar. Her father who had watched the events with a flat expression instantly looked shocked as he saw his daughter approach the pillar.
He thought Yuyue was still at home and thus didn't worry about her taking the test, but upon seeing her he instantly shouted.
"Yue'er! Don't you dare take that test!"
Yuyue was shocked she had never heard her father take such a commanding tone toward her. It was something borne out of love he did not wish his beloved daughter to be whisked away by the man.
Undeterred Yuyue walked towards the pillar, instantly her father shot out of her seat to grab her but he was much too far away.
Yunyue walked towards the pillar and touched it.
