Rustle, rustle, rustle...
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
Li Xiu heard a rhythmic sound coming, like someone shaking a bamboo sieve.
In the sieve, something was tumbling.
There were chunks, granules, and branches.
They collided with each other, each becoming a separate source of sound, expanding outwards like ripples.
Not far away, the sound of a bag being buffeted by the wind rustled, but the bag didn't fly away; it remained fixed, perhaps held by a child playing in the wind or perhaps attached to a scarecrow in a field.
Further away, footsteps and voices were heard, all very muffled, as if through a mist, completely unintelligible.
Suddenly, a sharp pain struck.
Li Xiu instinctively grabbed his hair, his whole body tensing.
Memories flooded into his mind like a gate had been opened.
Vaguely, he heard the sound of the bamboo sieve being dropped, the hurried footsteps running toward him, the door creaking open, and a figure mixed with the scent of medicine pouncing on him.
"Brother Cheng, Brother Cheng!"
It was a woman's voice.
Who was she calling?
Li Xiu flicked through his confusion and, slowly... the pressure in his head gradually eased.
Memories were absorbed.
The woman was calling him.
He had traveled through time.
He was Song Cheng.
The woman was Tong Jia, the owner of Rejuvenation Hall, as well as the resident physician and medicinal herb gatherer.
Song Cheng was a frail, pitiful little blind boy. Since being taken in by Rejuvenation Hall, he had always helped with chores like laundry and sweeping. Having grown accustomed to blindness, he was still capable of handling work around him.
This had gone on for three years.
In those three years, the little blind boy witnessed the decline of Rejuvenation Hall.
The decline was mainly due to the war.
The senior physician had been conscripted into the army, leaving only Tong Jia and him to support Rejuvenation Hall. Then... a few days ago, Tong Jia heard that the army had been defeated, followed by news of the senior physician's death.
Yesterday, his former self accompanied Tong Jia to build a ceremonial grave and when they returned, overwhelmed with grief, he had a big fall and then lay in bed, unconscious...
And then, he arrived.
...
"Brother Cheng, Brother Cheng."
Tong Jia cried bitterly, as if overwhelmed with countless grievances and fears, "You're all I have left. You'll be alright, you'll be alright!"
Li Xiu felt grievances too.
He had become blind...
He could see nothing at all.
Fortunately, the experience of "blindness" passed on from his predecessor prevented him from falling completely into darkness and despair.
His hearing, sense of smell, and touch had become much sharper.
He could feel the softness of a young girl's cheeks, and he could feel the cold wind that suddenly blew through the window like a knife.
Li Xiu belonged in the past.
"From now on, I am Song Cheng."
The rustling sound fell on the black tiles of the roof, with the wind like a fish knife flapping scales, hissing hesitantly.
Song Cheng identified the source of the sound, hence said, "Boss, it's snowing. Gather the herbs."
Tong Jia hurriedly got up, "In rain, snow, or wind, we must gather the herbs dried outside"—this had become an instinct embedded in her, making her act without thinking.
If someone had a god's-eye view, they would see the woman in the house, her skin slightly yellow and dark, with blue-and-white patterned pants outlining her hips and a short jacket wrapping her petite torso. Her long black hair was simply tied up on her head. Years of gathering herbs had made her look both capable and agile...
Tong Jia pushed open the door and ran into a not-so-large courtyard, sobbing while rushing back with the bamboo sieve in her arms.
There had been little business in the store for a long time.
The Rejuvenation Hall was not the only house conscripted in Tang River Village; almost no able-bodied men were left, only the old, the young, women, or the disabled.
No money...
No treatment for illnesses.
For Rejuvenation Hall, in a Chaotic World... for a young woman to maintain her source of medicine by gathering herbs in the mountains was literally risking her life.
Bandits, wild beasts, weather, steep cliffs, and some unspeakable, mysterious creatures from legends were all exceptionally deadly threats.
Thus, every bit of medicine in the herbal shop was extremely precious.
The door "creaked" several times, as the wind entered and was blocked.
After several times, Tong Jia moved all the dried herbs inside and carefully placed them on the shelves.
Outside, the wind that had been relatively gentle suddenly intensified, starting like endless locusts in the distance and then turning into a tsunami near one's ears. It seemed like the deity of snow and wind had become enraged, dancing and staggering drunk in the rolling iron-gray clouds, as if to obliterate this already despairing village.
Tong Jia shuffled closer to Song Cheng.
Song Cheng felt the bed beside him sink slightly; he knew the boss had sat down next to him.
Though he was called the master, it was actually just his previous self's inferiority, what he really hid was an unspoken love. He was blind, yet the master was so kind, so beautiful. The master deserved someone better, and he would be content to silently do chores for the master all his life and quietly protect her.
This was the previous self's "life plan" that reeked of naive simplicity.
But soon, Song Cheng's thoughts drifted away.
'Since I'm here, I must survive.'
He clenched his fists, planning in his mind to quickly recuperate, to rapidly understand the situation outside during this winter, and then when spring arrived, to persuade the master to relocate to a safer place to open a medicine shop.
However, no matter what the future held, he needed to first get through the impending winter. Relying solely on stored food would definitely not suffice, so they needed to go into the mountains to forage for food and wild vegetables. By then, the master would find the food, and he would carry it.
While he was thinking this, a voice suddenly reached his ears.
Tong Jia said, "Brother Cheng, I'll go get some food."
He instinctively tried to get up.
"I'll go chop wood."
Tong Jia pressed him back down, her voice gentle, "How can you chop wood in this state? Recover first."
Soon, a "thud-thud" sound came from under the eaves outside the door; round bundles of firewood were being cleaved apart.
Tong Jia threw the firewood into a little stove.
The stove was small and consumed less firewood.
The earthen stove in the backyard of the medicine shop had not been used for a long time.
After a while, the door opened again, and Tong Jia walked in.
A plate incompletely mixed with the scent of wild herbs and dough entered Song Cheng's nose.
From his former memories, Song Cheng knew this was coarse grain dough mixed with some edible roots.
His stomach growled with hunger; he gobbled up the food voraciously.
Tong Jia also ate slowly, quietly watching Song Cheng while eating, as if she had made some decision.
Outside, the cold snow pounded down like raging tides, threatening to submerge the entire world, leaving only their small cabin as a deserted island.
It grew dark quickly.
To save resources, not even lamp grass was lit inside the medicine shop, let alone lanterns.
It was pitch black everywhere.
Luckily, this had no effect on a blind man.
After who knows how long, Song Cheng suddenly heard the rustling sounds of laces being pulled and clothes being hung on a hanger. The mattress sank as something soft and warm tumbled into the bedding.
A shy and somewhat pretentiously bold voice reached Song Cheng's ears.
"It's too cold and dark, I don't want to go back to sleep!"
Song Cheng's mouth was dry, and he was at a loss for words.
"Brother Cheng, will you marry me?" An even more direct, bolder voice came through.
"That's…"
Before he could finish the word "master," the bedding was pulled up, masking the unclear female voice.
"Fussing like an old woman, what kind of man are you!?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the calm bedding surged like waves, and the night… turned intensely heated.
Time passed, and eventually, Tong Jia and Song Cheng embraced each other in sleep, their breaths gradually evening out.
Song Cheng was about to speak.
Tong Jia lightly hit him, saying, "See, isn't it much warmer this way? We don't need coal now!"
Song Cheng couldn't help but laugh.
...
The night passed.
The next day.
Song Cheng felt the warm, soft presence in his arms get up and dress. His strength had also recovered quite a bit, enough to get up and work.
Just then, he suddenly froze.
Lines of information floated up.
[You spent a harmonious night with Tong Jia and gained 5 remaining points].
Suddenly, another panel appeared in the darkness.
[Name: Song Cheng]
[Talent: Longevity]
[Add Points: 5]
[Realm: Unranked]
[Cultivation Technique: None]
[Skill: Heart's Eye (Uninitiated) (0/1)]
[Taboos: Unlocked]
He saw the "[Add Points]" flashing. Checking again, another two lines of information popped up:
[You can enhance Cultivation Techniques and skills or derive new Cultivation Techniques and skills]
[Would you like to enhance?]