The mother and her two children in the kitchen had almost finished eating. When he appeared at the door, Jiang Manman paused briefly.
She looked at him and asked:
“Want to eat?”
“Yes!”
Since he said yes, Jiang Manman served him a bowl of rice.
Her voice was flat and devoid of fluctuation. Back when he had left without returning, perhaps the original host had wanted an explanation.
Noticing his gaze fixed on her, Jiang Manman placed the bowl and chopsticks beside his hand.
“Eat! After you finish, explain to the children why you left and never came back. I believe they must be very curious.”
Tang Changsheng stared at her face, his emotions complex, and asked:
“What about you? Do you want to know?”
Jiang Manman: …She couldn’t care less.
But the original host would definitely have wanted to know. Unfortunately, by now, she had probably already moved on to her next life.
“It doesn’t matter to me. You can say it if you want to.”
Tang Changsheng pressed his lips together, his gaze toward her filled with heartache, intensity, guilt, and other complicated emotions.
She didn’t bother analyzing them one by one and turned away to tidy the stove.
Seeing her deliberately avoid his gaze, Tang Changsheng lowered his eyelids and explained while holding the bowl of food:
“The day after I returned, I lost both my legs in an accident. My legs… I’m afraid they’re completely useless. After that, I wrote you a letter. Did you… did you receive it?”
As he asked this, his hand gripping the bowl tightened, his knuckles turning white, and he watched Jiang Manman nervously, waiting for her reply.
Jiang Manman thought for a moment. The original host had never received a single letter from start to finish. She raised an eyebrow and said:
“No!”
Hearing her say no, Tang Changsheng didn’t know whether to feel relieved or even more frustrated.
“I’m sorry, it was my family’s fault.”
“So, is the issue with your family resolved now?”
Tang Changsheng paused, his thin lips pressed together.
“No. To be precise, it can’t be resolved at all. So, I’ve decided to live here from now on. There’s no need to go back to that family. Will you… despise me for being a cripple?”
Yes.
“Live here?”
“Mhm!”
After answering, Tang Changsheng glanced at her cautiously, then at the two children standing side by side, and began eating his rice in large mouthfuls.
Jiang Manman frowned. Truly, troubles fall from the sky even when you’re just at home.
This man was nothing but a burden. But looking at the two children, who were also her future disciples, she couldn’t just abandon him.
“You can stay if you want. Later, I’ll check if your legs can be treated.”
“They can’t be cured!”
Hearing his certainty, Jiang Manman used her Divine Sense to examine his legs. After scanning them, she gasped in shock.
If it were broken bones or misaligned joints, she might have been able to fix them. But from the knees down… there was nothing left!
There really was no hope of recovery.
Wait, that wasn’t entirely true. If they were cultivating immortality… ah, even with cultivation, only after forming a Nascent Soul could the physical body be reshaped.
Only then could legs regrow. This was truly a permanent condition.
However, Jiang Manman decided she needed to have a talk with him.
Perhaps they could find a balanced way to coexist.
She glanced at the two little ones, who were staring at her with wide eyes, then at Tang Changsheng.
Jiang Manman smiled, not wanting to put too much pressure on the children.
She beckoned to them and said:
“Come! I’ll take you to tidy up a room so your father can sleep here tonight.”
Returning to the house with the two little ones, Jiang Manman checked the kang where they slept. It could actually accommodate four people without any issues.
However, this arrangement would make it inconvenient for them to enter the Dimension.
One or two days might be manageable, but prolonged delays would hinder the children’s cultivation progress. She decided to observe the situation for a couple of days first.
Unfortunately, while she intended to wait, circumstances didn’t grant her that luxury.
In this era, none of the village households had electric lights. The only electricity usage came from the large loudspeaker set up at the Village Chief’s doorstep.
During the day, the broadcast would blare, “Time to start work!”
That was the sole function of the speaker nowadays.
Thus, everyone ate before dark and went to bed right after nightfall, with no entertainment options available.
This meant they had long hours for cultivation at night. Although the two children hadn’t yet achieved Qi Refining, their bodies had been nourished by Spirit Energy and Tamed Beast meat over this period, growing increasingly robust.
Jiang Manman herself was anxious to advance to the third layer of Qi Refining as soon as possible, and without entering the Dimension to cultivate, it would be difficult.
Moreover, with his lower legs amputated, everything was inconvenient for him. Even with the Wheelchair, the rough rural paths posed challenges, not to mention the issue of using the outhouse.
Just thinking about it made her head spin.
Remembering he was still in the kitchen, she called out, “Tangxin Tangyuan, we can’t enter the Dimension today. Let’s wait a couple of days. For now, I’ll teach you how to read characters.”
She had bought elementary school textbooks from older children in the village and had been giving daily lessons, assigning just five characters per day without overwhelming them with memorization.
It had to be said that children with a Single Spiritual Root, enhanced by daily Spirit Spring Water, were noticeably brighter than others.
Worried that the dim lighting might harm the children’s eyes, she had specially prepared several extra kerosene lamps.
At thirty-six cents per jin, kerosene was quite expensive for people like them. So, although she had kerosene lamps, she didn’t use kerosene. Instead, she used moonstones.
She had Xuanwu break a moonstone into fragments, placing one piece in each lamp.
She was cautious not to make it too bright and attract unwanted attention, which could lead to unnecessary trouble.
“Review your lessons first. I’ll go get your dad,” she instructed.
Tangxin Tangyuan nodded obediently.
Jiang Manman went to the kitchen and found him just coming out. Seeing her, he gave a bitter smile.
“I’m causing you trouble like this,” he said.
Jiang Manman wanted to retort, “If you think you’re trouble, then go back!” But thinking of the two children, she held her tongue—she was already worrying herself sick over them.
“Glad you realize it,” she replied. “It’s almost bedtime. Do you need to use the restroom? In your condition…”
“It’s fine. I don’t need you to take care of me. I can manage,” he assured her. “This Wheelchair was custom-made. I can handle most things on my own.”
Jiang Manman breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t want to have to carry him to the outhouse—she was afraid she might accidentally drop him in.
“Wait a moment then. Let me check something first,” she said.
She headed to the outhouse to reinforce the dilapidated wooden planks. She shattered the old boards and replaced them with two sturdy stones from her Dimension. Then, she lined the exterior and surrounding area with stone slabs, making it much more secure.
“Alright, you can go now. If you need to wash up, I’ll fetch water for you,” she offered.
“I can manage on my own,” he insisted.
“Alright then, handle it yourself!”
Although she had gone back inside, her Divine Sense remained constantly attentive to the situation in the courtyard.