NOVEL WEB Chapter 3: 3. Chaotic World
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[Strength: 1~1]
[Affection: 100]
Song Cheng stared at the door, glanced at Tong Jia's stats, and then glanced at his own.
[Strength: 0~0]
"0" didn't mean no strength at all, just rounded down to 0.
That wasn't strange.
Tong Jia needed to go out to collect herbs, climbing mountains year-round, stretching her arms, shuttling through dense forests, so naturally, her physique was stronger than his.
And he was just a blind man. Usually, he would watch the door, do odd jobs, at most chop wood, dry herbs, stir herbs, even washing pots, dishes, and clothes.
Because of this, although he and the owner weren't a couple, they were already living together like partners.
Tong Jia didn't want him to die, and hardly felt safe with outsiders, so their relationship was established just yesterday. This was in the hope that after he became a real man, he could muster the will to live, supporting each other with her, surviving day by day in this chaotic world.
As for staying alive...
No one could guarantee it.
There were too many unforeseen disasters.
Take Doctor Tong, Song Cheng's father-in-law from Rejuvenation Hall, for example. One day he was in the hall taking pulses, discussing relocation, the next day he was taken away for forced labor.
It wasn't uncommon for generals to cross the border and conscript for grain.
In a day's time, the robust men of Tang River Village were harvested like chives.
Tang River Village became a village of widows and orphans, and Rejuvenation Hall fell into ruin.
In such times, who had the confidence to guarantee their survival?
'Add points.'
2 points invested.
In the skill column, the progress of "Heart's Eye" changed from "Entry Level (0/2)" to "Entry Level (2/2)," and then immediately became "Minor Accomplishment (0/4)."
At the moment the panel changed, Song Cheng felt another mysterious sensation surging out from his soul.
His body and acuteness changed with it, as if he lived elsewhere for a long time, trained for a long time, achieving growth and progress now, while those processes seemed like a splash in the long river of time, soaring up instantly, yet instantly fell back to the original point of time.
He completed his cultivation in the splash, but it did not affect the original timeline.
This time...
Years of groping around, living in darkness, gave him a sharper perception of air currents.
When the wind met obstacles and couldn't pass through, accompanied by a spreading noise, it formed the outline of objects.
"Whoooo~~~"
Song Cheng blew a breath.
It seemed like clear water falling into ink, spreading and swelling, yet quickly settling into silence.
Song Cheng felt indescribable novelty and even joy in his heart.
He hurriedly added the remaining 2 points to "Heart's Eye," changing its progress to "Minor Accomplishment (2/4)."
This time, there was no qualitative change, but his sharpness to airflow further advanced.
He quickly raised his hand, touched and grasped tightly the hardwood guide cane beside the bed, tapped around, hurriedly walked to the door, excitedly and expectantly grabbing the door.
Opened.
Boom!!!
A fierce wind carrying blizzards burst through the door, like a sea god unleashing a furious tide in his eternally silent and lonely world, lifting sky-high waves.
Once the door opened, it was like setting a vast river and sea loose.
White water surged, one after another, crashing at places, stirring ripples in the ink-colored world.
The echoes from afar and changes in airflow sketched out the outlines of objects.
There was a door, tables and chairs, medicine shelves, bed, pale mosquito nets swayed lively in the pitch-black space.
The walls emerged, with a straw hat and sickle hanging, a bamboo basket placed in the corner, the wind blowing through the countless small holes in that bamboo weave, making delicate sounds. On the small table under the window, the emergency lamp grass oil lamp took shape, half an arm high with copper ears as a handle beneath.
An intense sense of joy suddenly filled Song Cheng's heart.
To him, this was simply a miracle.
He couldn't help but grin, laughing happily.
In the distance, an urgent female voice, accompanied by hurried footsteps, closed in.
"Close the door, close the door!"
It was Tong Jia.
Tong Jia hurriedly wiping her hands, ran over.
Reaching the room, she quickly turned her hand to close the door, gently hitting Song Cheng: "Are you crazy? All the heat in the room finally gathered, and it all escaped!"
Once the door was closed, the wind was blocked.
The ink-painted world quickly faded, turning into sketch lines, the layout in Song Cheng's memory.
"I'm going to chop firewood," Song Cheng suddenly said.
Tong Jia said spiritedly: "Go, go, go, chop what firewood! Wait until your health improves!"
She helped Song Cheng sit by the table, getting busy outside.
Song Cheng, sitting in front of the table, looked around at those sketched objects in the room, getting up now and then, touching here and there, all matching perfectly with his memory.
When he grabbed the sickle on the wall, his stats changed to [Strength: 1~1].
As expected, a weapon gave him extra strength.
Like a child just opening their eyes to see the world, he curiously wandered around the room.
But outside this sketched room, there was pitch-blackness.
Boundless black, further than the horizon, deeper than the sky, like a cemetery of the universe without stars.
And in the darkness floated two lines of information about Tong Jia.
Suddenly, he saw another person approaching from afar.
[Strength: 0~0]
[Affection: 60]
The person arrived at the backyard.
Tong Jia met him.
Song Cheng leaned near the window, listening intently.
"Doctor Tong, how's Brother Cheng's health?" A young voice.
From previous memories, Song Cheng knew this should be a boy named Ding Siyan from the village. Forced labor usually only took those aged 17 and above, Ding Siyan was only 15 and not the tall type, so he had escaped.
"It's alright," Tong Jia said with a smile.
"Alright?" Ding Siyan said suspiciously, "Wasn't he said to be almost dead from the fall?"
Tong Jia hesitated, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Ding Siyan giggled, "Nothing, just concerned about Brother Cheng. We're all from the same village, my mother was worried, so she sent me to see if there's anything I can help with."
As he talked, he bypassed Tong Jia, heading straight into the courtyard, quickly approaching the door of the room.
He was fast, and Tong Jia wasn't slow, quickly moving to block him, saying: "Ding Siyan, what are you doing?"
Ding Siyan continuously shouted: "Brother Cheng, Brother Cheng!!"
As the shouting continued, Song Cheng saw his Affection level dropping rapidly, in just two shouts it had fallen from 60 to 50, and it was still going down.
Suddenly,
Song Cheng realized.
This kid might have the notion of "robbing grain" in mind?
Compared to other villagers, the Rejuvenation Hall barely had a surplus.
If this were before, with a capable female doctor and a blind man in the Rejuvenation Hall, they wouldn't try any ideas.
But if the blind man was seriously injured, who knows.
This was playing scout.
If he didn't react or showed weakness, disaster might follow.
Song Cheng walked to the door, pulled it open with a "bang," and faced the boy at the door, using all his strength, grabbing the guide cane, pounding it heavily on the ground, fiercely saying: "What do you want?"
Ding Siyan "tsk-tsk" twice, saying: "Blind man, heavily injured?"
Before the words even finished, Tong Jia had already picked up a clothing bat, aggressively saying: "Get lost!"
She wasn't lacking intuition, she caught on.
Ding Siyan saw he wasn't going to gain anything, intending to say something, but Tong Jia had already lifted the clothing bat, fiercely swinging at him.
Ding Siyan hastily jumped away.
The clothing bat hit the air, yet created a gust of wind.
Ding Siyan was startled with a jump, shouting: "Where did a female doctor get such strength," and hurriedly ran out of the small yard.
Tong Jia stood with arms akimbo at the fence, shouting into the distance: "If you dare come again, I'll beat you to death!"
Song Cheng couldn't help but chuckle.
Last night, the owner was not a tigress.
He lifted his face, his eyes like cloudy white jade, staring in the direction of the escaping boy.
His Affection level had actually risen from 45 back to 60.
Strength was the prerequisite for maintaining a normal relationship; otherwise... it would breed malicious thoughts.
'Must get stronger.'
Song Cheng clenched his fists.
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