Chapter 3: 3 Chaotic Times

【Strength: 1~1】

【Affinity: 100】

Song Cheng stared outside the door, glanced at Tong Jia's data, and then swept a look at his own.

【Strength: 0~0】

"0" did not mean having no strength at all, but simply that it had been rounded down to 0.

This was not strange.

Tong Jia needed to go out to gather herbs, climbing mountains year-round, stretching her arms, and weaving through dense forests; her physique was naturally stronger than his.

As for him, he was just a blind man. In his daily life, he watched the door, did odd jobs, and at most chopped wood, dried herbs, stir-fried herbs, or even washed pots, bowls, and clothes.

It was precisely because of this that although he and his employer were not husband and wife, they were already living together as partners.

Tong Jia did not want him to die, and she found it hard to feel secure with people outside, which was why they had established their relationship yesterday. This was in the hope that after he became a true man, he could muster the hope to live, support each other with her, and endure one day at a time together in this chaotic world.

As for surviving... no one could guarantee that.

Sudden disasters were all too common.

Take the old doctor at Huichun Hall, Song Cheng's father-in-law, for example; the day before, he was still in the hall taking pulses and discussing plans to relocate, but the next day he was press-ganged and dragged away.

Generals passing through, press-ganging men and seizing grain—this was nothing rare.

In the span of a day, the able-bodied men of Tanghe Village were harvested like tall chives in a single sweep.

Tanghe Village became a village of widows and orphans, and Huichun Hall fell into ruin.

In such a world, who had the confidence to guarantee they could survive? "Add Points."

2 points invested.

In the skill bar, the progress of "Heart Eye" changed from "Entry (0/2)" to "Entry (2/2)," and immediately after, it changed to "Minor Success (0/4)."

At the moment the panel changed, Song Cheng felt a mysterious sensation surge from his Soul.

His body and his keenness changed accordingly, as if he had lived somewhere for a long time and gained experience for a long time, and now had achieved growth and progress, while the process in between was like a splash leaping up in the long river of time, instantly soaring, yet instantly falling back to the original point in time.

He had completed the cultivation within the splash, yet had not caused any impact on the original timeline.

This time... years of groping and living in darkness gave him a more acute perception of the flow of air.

When the wind encountered an obstacle, it could not pass through; accompanied by the sound of it spreading out thinly, it formed the outlines of objects.

"Hoo~~~"

Song Cheng blew a breath.

It was like white water falling into ink, spreading out in a mass, expanding, yet quickly returning to silence.

In his heart, Song Cheng felt an indescribable novelty, even joy.

He hurriedly added the remaining 2 points to "Heart Eye," making its progress "Minor Success (2/4)."

This time, there was no qualitative change, but his sensitivity to air currents went a step further.

He hurriedly raised his hand to feel around, gripped the hardwood blind man's cane leaning by the bed, tapped and knocked, hurried to the door, and grabbed the door leaf with excitement and anticipation.

Open.

Boom!!! A gale carrying a blizzard rushed into the room; before Song Cheng's eyes, it was as if a sea god had stirred up an angry tide and rolled up heavenly waves in his eternally empty, lonely world.

Once the door opened, it was as if he had been placed into a vast ocean.

White water surged, wave after wave, crashing against various places, stirring up ripples in the ink-colored world.

The echoes that came and the changes in air currents outlined the contours of objects.

There was the door, there were the tables and chairs, there were the herb racks, there was the bed, and the pale gauze curtains swayed nimbly in the pitch-black space.

The walls appeared, with a bamboo hat and a sickle hanging on them; in the corner of the room sat a bamboo basket, and the wind passing through the thousand holes and myriad openings of the bamboo weave made a delicate sound. On the small table under the window, the emergency lamp-wick oil lamp also revealed its outline; it was an oil lamp half an arm's height, with a copper ear at the bottom serving as a handle.

An intense feeling of joy suddenly flooded Song Cheng's heart.

To him, this was nothing short of a miracle.

He couldn't help but grin and laugh happily.

In the distance, a rush of a woman's voice came, accompanied by hurried footsteps.

"Close the door, close the door!"

It was Tong Jia.

Tong Jia ran over hurriedly while wiping her hands.

Running into the room, she hurriedly closed the door behind her, then lightly tapped Song Cheng and said, "You're going to be the death of me! It was so hard to get a little warmth in the room, and now it's all gone!"

The door leaf closed, and the wind was blocked.

The ink-wash world faded rapidly, turning into sketch lines; that was the layout of this place in Song Cheng's memory.

"I'm going to chop wood," Song Cheng said suddenly.

Tong Jia said sharply, "Go, go, go, chop what wood! Get your health back first!" She helped Song Cheng sit by the table and busied herself outside.

Song Cheng sat before the table, looking left and right at the sketched objects in the room, getting up to touch this and that, with no errors, all matching up.

When he grabbed the sickle on the wall, his data changed to 【Strength: 1~1】.

Sure enough, the weapon granted him extra strength.

Like a child who had just opened his eyes to the world, he circled the room with curiosity.

But outside this sketched room, it was pitch black.

Boundless black, further than the horizon, deeper than the sky, like a cosmic tomb devoid of stars.

And in the pitch black floated two lines of information about Tong Jia.

Suddenly, he saw someone else coming from afar.

【Strength: 0~0】

【Affinity: 60】

That person came to the backyard.

Tong Jia went to meet them.

Song Cheng leaned against the window, tilting his head to listen.

"Doctor Tong, is Brother Cheng doing alright?" the youth's voice asked.

From the memories of the original body, Song Cheng knew this should be a youth in the village named Ding Siyan. Conscription usually only took those over 17, and Ding Siyan was only 15, and he was not the tall type, so he had escaped that fate.

"He's doing alright," Tong Jia said with a smile.

"Doing alright?" Ding Siyan asked suspiciously, "Wasn't it said he fell and was nearly dead?"

Tong Jia was taken aback and said, "What nonsense are you spouting!"

Ding Siyan chuckled and said, "Nothing, I'm just worried about Brother Cheng. We're all from the same village; my mother was worried, so she asked me to come and see if I could help with anything."

As he spoke, he bypassed Tong Jia and pushed into the courtyard, then quickly walked to the door of the room.

He was fast, but Tong Jia was not slow; she walked over quickly, blocked him, and said, "Ding Siyan, what are you trying to do?"

Ding Siyan just kept shouting loudly, "Brother Cheng, Brother Cheng!!"

Following the shouting, Song Cheng saw his favorability rating dropping rapidly; after only two shouts, it had already fallen from the original 60 to 50, and the rate of decline was still continuing.

Suddenly,

Song Cheng realized.

Could this kid be harboring the idea of "seizing grain"? Compared to other villagers, Huichun Hall could barely be considered to have surplus grain.

If it were before, with a capable female doctor and a blind man in Huichun Hall, no one would dare harbor such ideas.

But if the blind man were seriously injured, then there would be no guarantees.

This was a scout coming to check.

If he did not react, or if he showed weakness, then disaster might follow.

Song Cheng walked to the door, pulled it open with a "Bang!", and facing the youth who had arrived at the door, he used all his strength to grab his blind man's cane and strike the ground heavily, saying viciously, "What is your business?"

Ding Siyan clicked his tongue twice and said, "Blind man, you're badly injured, aren't you?"

Before the words had even finished, Tong Jia had already picked up a laundry bat and said fiercely, "Get out!"

She was not lacking in Heart Eye; she had realized what was happening.

Seeing that he could not gain any advantage, Ding Siyan was about to say something, but Tong Jia had already raised the laundry bat and struck fiercely at him.

Ding Siyan hurriedly jumped to dodge.

The laundry bat missed, actually smashing out a gust of wind.

Ding Siyan was startled, and while shouting, "You female doctor, where do you get so much strength?", he hurriedly ran out of the small courtyard.

Tong Jia stood with her hands on her hips in front of the fence, roaring at the distance, "If you dare come again, I'll beat you to death!"

Song Cheng could not help but chuckle.

Last night, the mistress of the house was certainly not a tigress.

He lifted his face, his eyes, like cloudy white jade, staring in the direction of the fleeing youth.

His favorability rating had actually rebounded from 45 back to 60.

Strength is the prerequisite for maintaining normal social interaction; otherwise, evil thoughts will breed.

'Must become strong.'

Song Cheng clenched his fists.

(End of this chapter)