3. Chaotic World

[Strength: 1~1]

[Favorability: 100]

Song Cheng gazed outside, looked at Tong Jia's data, and then glanced at himself.

[Strength: 0~0]

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

This was not surprising.

Tong Jia needed to go out to collect herbs, regularly climbing mountains, stretching her arms, moving through dense forests, naturally her physique was stronger than his.

As for him, he was just a blind man. On ordinary days he would watch the door, do odd jobs, at most chop wood, dry herbs, fry medicines, and do chores like washing pots, dishes, and clothes.

It was precisely because of this that although he and his employer were not husband and wife, they had already been partners, sharing their lives together.

Tong Jia did not want him to die, and she felt insecure about outsiders, which led to them defining their relationship yesterday. This was with the hope that once he became a real man, he could harbor the hope of living, support each other with her, and survive day by day in this chaotic world.

As for surviving...

No one could guarantee that.

Misfortunes coming out of nowhere were too numerous to count.

Take the old physician of Rejuvenation Hall, Song Cheng's father-in-law for example. The day before he was still in the hall checking pulses and discussing relocation plans, the next day he was dragged away by conscription.

A general passing through and conscripting men for the army was nothing unusual.

In a single day, the able-bodied men of Tang River Village were swept away like tall chives.

Tang River Village had become a village of widows and orphans, and Rejuvenation Hall had also fallen into ruin.

In such times, who had the confidence to guarantee their own survival?

'Add points.'

2 points invested.

In the skills section, "Heart's Eye" progress went from "Entry Level (0/2)" to "Entry Level (2/2)", and immediately changed to "Minor Accomplishment (0/4)".

In the moment the panel shifted, Song Cheng felt another mysterious sensation surge from his soul.

His body, his acuity, all transformed, as if he had lived somewhere for a long time, had been trained for a long time, and now he had achieved growth and progress, while those processes were like a spray in the river of time, instantly leaping and then instantly falling back to the original point in time.

Within that spray, he completed his training, yet had not impacted the original timeline at all.

This time...

Years of groping and living in darkness had given him a more keen awareness of the movement of air.

When air encounters obstacles, it cannot pass through; if it spreads thinly with sound, it then forms the outlines of objects.

"Huu~~~"

Song Cheng exhaled.

It was like clear water falling into ink, a cluster blooming and expanding, yet quickly returning to stillness.

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

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

This time, there was no qualitative change, but his acuity with airflow further improved.

He hurriedly raised his hand, grasping the hardwood white cane by the bed, tapping it, and rushed to the door, excited and expectant as he clutched the doorframe.

He opened it.

Boom!!!

The fierce wind, carrying a snowstorm, burst into the sect before Song Cheng, like the sea god stirring up angry waves in his eternally quiet and lonely world.

Opening the door felt like letting a great river surge in.

The white water roiled, surging forward, clashing everywhere, stirring ripples in the ink-colored world.

The returning echo, the change in airflow, sketched out outlines of objects.

There was the door, the table and chairs, the medicine rack, the bed, the pale gauze curtain swaying sprightly in the dark space.

The walls appeared, with rain hats and sickles hanging, while in the corner stood a bamboo basket, the wind passing through its myriad of holes, issuing a delicate sound. On the small table by the window, the emergency lamp grass oil lamp also revealed its outline, a lamp as tall as half an arm, with a brass handle at the bottom for gripping.

A strong joy suddenly filled Song Cheng's heart.

For him, this was truly miraculous.

He couldn't help but grin and started laughing joyfully.

In the distance, a hurried female voice approached, accompanied by rushing footsteps.

"Close the door, close the door!"

It was Tong Jia.

Tong Jia, wiping her hands, hurried over.

Once inside, she quickly shut the door behind her and gently tapped Song Cheng, saying, "Are you trying to kill us? We finally had some warmth in the house, and it's all gone now!"

With the door closed, the wind was blocked.

The ink world quickly faded, turning into sketchy lines, which were the layout of this place in Song Cheng's memory.

"I'll go chop wood," Song Cheng suddenly said.

Tong Jia retorted sharply, "Go, go, go, chop what wood! Heal up first!"

She helped Song Cheng to sit by the table, busying herself outside.

Song Cheng sat at the table, looking around at the sketched objects in the room. He got up now and then to touch here and there, everything was spot on.

When he grabbed the sickle on the wall, his stats changed to[Strength: 1~1].

Sure enough, the weapon had endowed him with additional strength.

Like a child seeing the world for the first time, he curiously circled around the room.

But outside this sketched room, it was pitch dark.

An endless darkness, farther than the horizon, deeper than the sky, like a starless cosmic tomb.

And floating in the darkness were two lines of information about Tong Jia.

Suddenly, he saw another person coming from afar.

[Strength: 0~0]

[Fondness: 60]

The person arrived in the backyard.

Tong Jia went to greet them.

Song Cheng leaned by the window, listening intently.

"Doctor Tong, ah, how is Brother Cheng doing?" a young voice said.

From previous memories, Song Cheng knew this must be a young boy from the village named Ding Siyan. The draft usually only took those over 17, and Ding Siyan was just 15 and not particularly tall, so he had escaped that fate.

"Not bad," Tong Jia said with a smile.

"Not bad?" Ding Siyan questioned, confused. "Wasn't he said to have almost died from a fall?"

Tong Jia was stunned, then retorted, "What are you talking about!"

Laughing, Ding Siyan said, "Nothing, just worried about Brother Cheng. We're all from the same village, and my mom was concerned, so she sent me to see if I could help out with anything."

As he spoke, he bypassed Tong Jia and headed straight for the courtyard, quickly approaching the house door.

He moved fast, but Tong Jia was faster. She walked quickly to block him, asking, "Ding Siyan, what are you doing?"

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

As he shouted, Song Cheng saw his fondness quickly decreasing; it had only been two shouts, but it had already fallen from the original 60 to 50, and the rate of decline was still maintaining.

Suddenly,

Song Cheng realized something.

This boy couldn't be planning to "steal grain," could he?

Compared to other villagers, Rejuvenation Hall was barely managing to have some surplus grain.

If it were before, there was a competent female physician in Rejuvenation Hall and a blind man, so no one would have thought of it.

But if the blind man were seriously injured, that would be uncertain.

This was scouting.

If he didn't respond or showed weakness, it might invite disaster.

Song Cheng walked to the door, slammed it open with a "Bang," and facing the boy at the door, he exerted all his strength, banging his guide cane heavily on the ground and said fiercely, "What do you want?"

Clicking his tongue, Ding Siyan said, "Blind man, quite severely injured, aren't you?"

As the words fell, Tong Jia had already grabbed a clothes beater, shouting fiercely, "Get lost!"

She was quick-witted and realized the situation.

Seeing he wasn't going to succeed, Ding Siyan was about to say something, but Tong Jia had already swung the clothes beater down aggressively.

Ding Siyan hurriedly jumped to dodge.

As the clothes beater missed him, it created a forceful gust of wind.

Ding Siyan was startled, shouting as he ran out of the courtyard, "You, a female physician, where did you get such strength?"

With her hands on her hips, Tong Jia stood in front of the fence, yelling towards the distance, "Dare to come again, and I'll kill you!"

Song Cheng couldn't help but laugh.

She certainly wasn't the Mother Tiger last night.

He raised his face, his eyes murky like cloudy white jade, staring in the direction the boy had fled.

His fondness had unexpectedly risen back from 45 to 60.

Strength is a prerequisite for maintaining normal relationships; otherwise... evil thoughts proliferate.

'I need to become stronger.'

Song Cheng clenched his fists.