Chapter Forty-One: Five Years Gone in the Blink of an Eye

It had been two days since Tang Wei moved to the valley. Each day, aside from teaching Old Li and his grandson martial arts, she helped Grandma Yao with her treatments. These few days had indeed been leisurely, but judging by the situation, it seemed she would only have this brief respite. Trouble was already on its way.

“Child, you must help me this time. My two sons have only managed to have this one precious grandson. If anything happens to him, I won’t want to live anymore!” Tang Wei had just reached the entrance of the hall when she heard the wails of a woman inside.

Tang's mother responded helplessly, “At least tell me what’s going on. You came in begging for help, talked so much, but haven’t said what the actual problem is. How am I supposed to help you?”

The woman seemed to realize her oversight. “Ah! I haven’t told you what’s wrong, have I? Well, my little grandson is Zhengming’s youngest son. You haven’t seen him in ages! Here, let me show you.” She pushed the child towards Tang’s mother and continued, “His mother took him to live with Zhengming in the county store. Lately, he’s been catching colds every few days. We’ve been to several hospitals, each time it’s injections and medicine, but after two or three days, he’s feverish and coughing again. We’re worried! He’s just a little one—if this goes on, who knows what serious illness might develop. I heard your Wei girl knows how to heal. Didn’t she save Grandma’s little sister from near death recently? I immediately called Zhengming to send the child back, so your Wei girl could take a look.”

“Yes, Aunt Seventh, you must help and ask Weiwei to see him. He’s been sick every few days; I’m so anxious I can hardly eat. I’m terrified something might happen to him!”

Tang Wei, watching from outside, couldn’t bear it any longer. If these women kept pestering her mother, she would be the one suffering in the end. She hurried in and greeted them, “Aunt Ninth, sister-in-law, what brings you here today? Why are you all standing? Come, sit down!”

“You child, we’ve been calling you for ages. Aunt Ninth’s grandson keeps catching colds—take a look at him and see what’s wrong!” Tang’s mother explained briefly as Tang Wei entered.

“Yes, Wei girl, you must help Aunt Ninth. When you were little, Aunt Ninth…” Before she could go on, Tang Wei quickly interrupted, “Aunt Ninth, I’ll help if I can. Let me first check the child and see what’s going on.”

“Good! Check him!” Aunt Ninth replied, a little embarrassed.

“Little one, what’s your name?” Tang Wei, worried the child might be shy, chatted with him as she examined him.

“Sister, my name is Tang Zhiyuan!” The boy answered sweetly.

Tang Wei smiled, “Zhiyuan, you can’t call me sister; you should call me aunt. I’m your father’s cousin!”

“Oh! But you’re so young—how can I call you aunt? Auntie, when you held my hand, it felt like little tadpoles slipped into it. It was so comfortable!” The child’s words were truly endearing. Hearing him describe his feelings, Tang Wei realized he was naturally suited for cultivation; he could already sense spiritual energy so easily, though he was still a bit too young.

Spiritual energy flowed through his meridians as Tang Wei carefully examined him. Everything seemed fine—no major issues. The minor ailments were quickly alleviated by the flow of wood spirit energy. Looking at Zhiyuan’s plump cheeks, she guessed it was just overnutrition and lack of exercise that had weakened his body.

Tang Wei stood up and asked, “Does Zhiyuan only like eating meat?”

“Yes,” his mother nodded, puzzled. “Does that matter?”

Tang Wei smiled but said nothing, then asked, “He doesn’t go out much, right? Prefers staying at home watching TV or playing games online, then naps when he’s tired?”

Zhiyuan’s mother became even more confused—how could Weiwei tell all this just from a checkup? “You’re right, but how did you know? Does it have anything to do with him getting sick so often?”

Tang Wei put on a mysterious air, though she was secretly amused—it was just a guess, really. Looking at the boy’s physique and considering the typical habits of urban children nowadays, it was obvious enough. But she had to explain.

Touching the back of her neck, Tang Wei hesitated, “Zhiyuan’s kindergarten is on holiday, isn’t it? Why don’t you let him stay in the countryside? Aunt Seventh can bring him over in the mornings or evenings, and I’ll teach him some martial arts. Zhiyuan’s just physically weak—he needs more exercise. Don’t be fooled by his chubby appearance; it’s all just empty weight.”

If things carried on like this, a good seedling would be ruined. She had to find a way to save him.

Zhiyuan’s mother hesitated for a long time but said nothing. Tang Wei didn’t want to force her—every family has its own difficulties, after all. She suggested, “Why don’t you go home and discuss it?”

Aunt Seventh didn’t comment either; her son was the sort who wouldn’t be swayed. This matter would have to be decided by him. After sitting for a while, they left, grumbling as they went.

Five years passed in a flash. The matter of Zhiyuan’s illness, which had prompted the whole village to start practicing martial arts, deserved a detailed recount.

Initially, Tang Wei only wanted to prevent Zhiyuan from being spoiled by his parents. She devised a way for him to exercise with her. Unexpectedly, whenever Aunt Seventh brought him over, she saw Old Li and his grandson practicing nearby and joined in. She stuck with it, training alongside them until Zhiyuan went back to the city for school. A few days after Zhiyuan left, Aunt Seventh noticed that her back and legs hadn’t ached for two months.

The women in the village, except during busy farming seasons, had little to do. They gathered together, chatting and complaining of their chronic aches. One day, as the chatter turned to Aunt Seventh’s experience, everyone agreed her improvement must have come from practicing martial arts. Otherwise, why would city folk choose to live in this remote valley if not for the health benefits?

So, the women clamored to try it out. The men didn’t object—better their wives practiced martial arts than played cards all day, and since there was nothing else to do at home, they joined in as well.

Tang Wei knew most of them wouldn’t persist, but she accepted them all. In the end, many dropped out, but a handful stuck with it, faithfully practicing every morning. Unexpectedly, in less than half a year, some began to cultivate internal strength.

One was Ah Fang, wife of Tang Wei’s cousin. She never cared much for playing cards, but with nothing else to do in the village, joined the others. Finding martial arts more enjoyable, she practiced every day, feeling something missing if she skipped a session. Half a year passed this way.

One day, after a quarrel, her husband grabbed her clothes. Annoyed, she pushed him—he flew ten meters to smash against the wall, groaning loudly. She stared at her hands in disbelief, stunned at what had happened.

Word spread quickly. Everyone realized Wei girl was teaching miraculous skills! The village’s hot-blooded men, hearts aflame, formed a group and marched to the valley demanding martial arts training. Tang Wei saw their zeal and understood that men could be more obsessed than women. Looking at Uncle Tang in their ranks, she realized martial arts had no age limits, so she accepted them all.

Before beginning, Tang Wei made a few simple rules: no spreading the techniques, no using them to bully others, and always help those in need. If anyone broke these rules, she promised to personally strip them of their abilities.

She also explained that after training, they’d be like adults among children. If a child did something infuriating, they wouldn’t really take it to heart, would they? If a child faced difficulties, they’d help. In short, she asked them to treat ordinary people like children—don’t sweat the small stuff. Thus began the martial arts journey of the entire village.

Now, Li Changfeng’s “Free Wanderer” technique wasn’t perfected, but he had achieved some success, developing an internal force suitable for healers and researching acupuncture methods. His self-created acupuncture had yielded results. As a reward, Tang Wei allowed them to pass on the techniques they had mastered. Old Li was utterly devoted to her, vowing that as long as the Li family existed, they would forever remember her kindness.

As for Tang Wei herself, over these five years she focused mainly on refining medicine. She produced enough pills for several people to eat like candy. After Zi Xuan tested them, he found his cultivation inexplicably advanced by two levels. Tang Wei’s pills became coveted treasures. Tang Jun regretted not agreeing to try them earlier. Still, Tang Wei forbade her family from relying on pills—her principle was that if you could cultivate on your own, why depend on medicine? Pills were only for emergencies. With the help of the Five Spirits, her own cultivation soared to the mid-phase of fasting; she no longer needed to eat for long periods, though she couldn’t resist the delicious, toxin-free food from her space.

Zi Xuan, diligent in his training, was rapidly catching up to Tang Wei, having just entered the fasting phase. His talent for formation techniques was extraordinary, and he spent his spare time studying them. He could now casually set up deadly formations, earning Tang Jun’s utmost admiration and pleas to learn. But such skills depended on talent, not mere desire.

Tang Jun, though lacking talent for formations, was gifted in cooking. Being the youngest, he always ended up cooking. Thanks to his uncommon enthusiasm for cultivation, his progress was the highest among the Tang family, already reaching the late stage of foundation building.

Among the others, Tang’s father and mother had just entered foundation building. Eldest sister Tang Feng and her husband were in the mid-phase. Tang Jing, busy caring for her children, was only at the twelfth level of qi refinement, but almost ready to break through. Second sister’s husband, Fu Zhongming, was at the tenth level, but as a sword cultivator, he could easily best Tang Feng and He Jianjun in actual combat.

Of the younger Tang family members, Niu Niu, Miao Miao, and Yu Zai had begun their enlightenment, guided by their parents. Chong Chong and Ya Ya, though as intelligent as ten-year-olds, were deemed by Tang Wei not steady enough. She planned to wait a few more months before starting them.

Grandma Yao had fully recovered, but having grown accustomed to valley life, she decided—with Tang Wei’s approval—to stay and retire there.

The Shi siblings, lacking access to the training space, had been stuck at the fourth level of qi refinement for a long time. Despite this, Tang Wei refused to let them use pills to advance. Shi Jin Nan, however, had reached the tenth level—thanks to Tang Wei frequently using him as a pill tester. She had made it clear that in exchange for testing, he could eat the pills as if they were candy, and his cultivation would leap ahead. However, future potential was uncertain. Shi Jin Nan chose to test the pills, knowing that alone, he’d never reach higher levels.

Shi Xiaolin was considering whether to follow her uncle’s path, for at least that would speed up her progress. Her current rate of cultivation left her discouraged.