```
In the afternoon, the snow ceased.
But the accumulated snow sealed the mountains and blocked the roads.
Neither the mountains nor the county town were accessible.
Tang River Village had become a world of its own, cut off from everything else.
Inside Rejuvenation Hall, the owner and the blind man had muddled through two meals that day.
Pancakes last night, soup pancakes today; in essence, it was all the same stuff.
After finishing the soup pancakes, warmed a bit, Tong Jia washed the pots and dishes and then peeked out the front door.
There was simply no one coming for medical treatment.
Moreover, during times like these, even if someone did come for treatment, Tong Jia doubted they would pay, or they would pay very little.
As Song Cheng walked in the yard with his crutches, Tong Jia removed the lid of a small jar in the side room to take a look.
Inside the jar, about a third of the coarse grain flour remained—enough to last for the better part of a month if used sparingly.
On top of the jar's lid were also a small bag of soybeans, a large bag of various wild herbs and roots, a jar of millet mixed with quite a lot of chaff, and a piece of cured meat about the size of a palm.
"Brother Cheng, come help me out."
Tong Jia called out, poking her head around.
Song Cheng hurried over.
Tong Jia said, "Let's move the jar to where we sleep; it's unsafe to leave it here."
Song Cheng nodded, wholeheartedly in agreement.
After a bit of effort lifting, pushing, and rolling, they finally managed to get the jar over the threshold and into the room.
When they were done, the two of them carried chairs and sat down under the eaves.
Suddenly, Song Cheng heard the sound of footsteps approaching from a distance.
He turned his head first, sweeping a glance.
[Strength: 0~0]
[Favorability: 60]
'Zero again, it seems the owner is quite strong.'
Tong Jia, seeing him turn his head towards the direction of the house and seeing nothing, asked in surprise, "What are you looking at?"
Before she got an answer, a fat woman dressed in a cotton-padded jacket emerged from beyond the wall.
As soon as the fat woman showed her face, she was all smiles, waving her hands, and calling out, "Doctor Tong, Doctor Tong…"
Tong Jia said, "Aunt Chen!"
Song Cheng learned from his prior memories that this "Aunt Chen" was the village matchmaker who even went as far as the county town. Because she helped people with match-making, she had received quite a few favors and was considered to be doing well in the village.
Tong Jia stood up to greet her and asked, "Aunt Chen, what brings you here?"
Without any regard for the blind man, the fat woman gushed with a grin, "Good news, the best news, Doctor Tong."
"What good news?" Tong Jia wondered.
Aunt Chen, still smiling, said, "I should have told you earlier, but these past few days the old physician was busy with a funeral, so I waited until today—don't blame me."
"Just tell me, Aunt Chen."
"Old Master Wang from the county said he wants to take another concubine, and this time he wants one who's versed in medical skills.
You know Old Master Wang, a name renowned throughout Shanghe County.
At his behest, quite a few brought over portraits, and some even brought their daughters directly. And guess what happened…"
Aunt Chen left a cliffhanger and then clapped her hands, beaming, "Old Master Wang wasn't interested in any of them; he picked your name instead, saying he once had a brief encounter with you when he was visiting the village. This is what we call fate!"
Aunt Chen's words flowed like honey.
Before Tong Jia could reply, Aunt Chen continued, "I know Old Master Wang is more than twenty years your senior, but an older man knows how to cherish a woman. Not like those rash young lads; what's good about them?"
Tong Jia said, "Aunt Chen, I am already with Song Cheng; I won't be with any other man."
Aunt Chen was taken aback, then laughed again, "Old Master Wang won't mind; you'll be just a concubine after all."
Tong Jia promptly picked up a clothes beater.
Aunt Chen stared in dismay, "Doctor Tong, what are you going to do?"
Tong Jia thumped the clothes beater against her palm, then said, "Get out!"
Reluctant to concede, Aunt Chen wanted to say more.
Tong Jia raised the clothes beater.
Aunt Chen had no choice but to flee in a panic, still shouting as she ran, "Think it over!"
Tong Jia went to the front gate, closed the wicker gate with a snap in frustration, and then returned to sit next to Song Cheng, exclaiming, "This is maddening!"
Song Cheng's eyes followed Aunt Chen, whose "favorability" had now dropped from 60 to 50.
He frowned slightly.
Where people dwell, there's just too much gossip and squabble.
...
In winter, darkness falls early, and it's even earlier on overcast days.
It didn't take long for night to set in.
Tong Jia bolted the door, thought for a moment, then pushed the table in front of it as an additional barrier. Only then did she quietly slip off her cotton trousers and called out, "Brother Cheng, come to bed. If we lie down early, we won't feel hungry at night."
Song Cheng responded, and took off his clothes as well.
Outside the window, the snow reflected the moonlight, casting a pale glow.
Inside, the bed creaked on and on until the color outside changed from grey to pitch black.
The beautiful woman curled her neck like a swan starting to sing.
```
The urgent breathing became a long sigh in the gusty downpour.
"Brother Cheng, how can you have so many embarrassing tricks? Have you been fooling around outside?"
"No, that can't be, you're blind and have always been in Rejuvenation Hall. Then... then you must have been born knowing how to please your wife..."
The beautiful woman giggled.
Song Cheng felt the warmth of skin against skin, and touched her cheek again, suddenly asking, "Wife, are you beautiful?"
Intuiting his thoughts, Tong Jia replied in a delicate voice, "When I'm outside, I always smear my face with ash and only wash it off before getting into bed, so don't worry."
Song Cheng nodded.
...
In the next three days, he tested the "Assisting Device" as much as possible and confirmed one thing: the function of the "Assisting Device" was what he had created it to be.
In short, as long as he lived a harmonious marital life with his bound wife, even if they didn't share a bed, he would consistently receive 5 Remaining Points.
...
The third day, morning...
The distant mountains were still white with snow that was hard to melt, but the courtyard had already been swept clean.
Song Cheng glanced at the panel.
[Add Points: 5 Points]
[Technique: Heart's Eye (Perfection) (8/8)]
He added points immediately, never leaving them unused.
Yesterday's 5 points brought the Heart's Eye to Perfection.
At Entry Level, one perceives outlines by touch.
Minor Accomplishment, hears the wind.
Great Achievement, discerns sounds.
Perfection, one sees all airflows and sounds as if with open eyes.
At this moment, he looked at the "+" sign after "Heart's Eye (Perfection) (8/8)".
[Able to deduce new technique, current success rate: 50%]
'Deduce.'
Song Cheng clicked on the "+" sign.
5 points turned to 4, and a strange feeling emerged.
As a blind man wandering the world, without eyes on his face but having an eye in his heart, where there is the sound of the wind, he would not fail to see.
But this still was very inconvenient.
Faced with steep mountain paths, his walking pace would slow to the extreme, because he needed to stop at each step, ascertain the terrain, and then continue forward.
As for reading or looking at maps, those were even more out of his reach. Unless someone spread a page of text on his palm and then slowly traced it with a finger over the page on his palm.
Therefore, he pondered methods for change but came up with nothing.
'Failed.'
Song Cheng paused slightly, then continued to press the "+" sign.
Seeing was very important to him, and he was also very curious about what he could deduce.
4 points turned into 3.
Failure.
3 points turned into 2.
Failure.
Song Cheng furrowed his brow.
'This fifty percent chance might be fake.'
This time he paused for a bit longer, then continued to press down.
2 points turned to 1.
A strange feeling arose.
He pondered and attempted to train himself, even running on the rugged mountain paths to force a rapid response to the terrain.
He fell many times, with a bruised nose and swollen eyes, and he nearly fell into a deep chasm.
After countless trials, one time, he lay exhausted on the ground, then slowly sat up cross-legged, propping himself up.
It was deep spring, the wind carried the fragrance of flowers, and the forest animals ran.
For a moment, he was distracted, a bit dazed.
He slipped into a strange meditative state, his body felt heavy while his divine soul was light.
The light spiritual divine soul moving within the heavy body reminded him of a scene before he transmigrated...
At that time, he seemed to have played "Endless Hell" until exhaustion, so he went out to enjoy nature, visiting a scenic spot... He saw an ancient pagoda with many years to its name, decided to climb it for a better view, and then... he crossed through.
The image of that ancient pagoda became clearer and clearer in his mind.
Suddenly, he felt something, and upon opening his eyes, saw the panel change:
[Add Points: 1 Point]
[Realm: Unranked]
[Cultivation Technique: None]
[Skills]
Pagoda Visualization Method (Yellow Level Grade D) (Uninitiated) (0/2)