I'm a Child Now

An uncared-for three-year-old could easily "die" at any moment.

"I'll place a puppet, and you'll give it a trace of vitality. Then we'll make the switch. That way, we can take him away." Tang Ling explained her plan to Little Heavenly Dao.

"Will Tang San come with us?" Little Heavenly Dao nodded excitedly, then asked hesitantly.

"He will." Tang Ling smiled with certainty, then extended her divine sense toward the entrance of the small house not far away and waited for Tang San to leave home.

Not long after noon, the villagers, having finished lunch, went out to work despite their concern for the noble who had recently arrived in the village. Livelihoods left them no choice.

The wooden house Tang Ling had been watching also let out a three-year-old child.

The child wore gray hemp clothes and cloth shoes. His black hair was slightly long, and when the wind lifted the loose strands from his forehead, it revealed his dark pupils. His eyes held a steadiness that did not belong to someone his age.

The child looked around, then lowered his head and walked toward the end of the village. Beyond the village lay a lush green mountain range.

"Sir!" Seeing the basket on Tang San's back, nearly as tall as he was, Tang Ling's expression darkened. Then she put on a smile and looked toward a villager passing by outside the window.

The villager holding a hoe looked toward the window at the call, then asked carefully, "Miss, were you calling me?"

"Yes!" Tang Ling nodded with a bright smile, then pointed toward the end of the village. "Sir, is the mountain behind your village dangerous? I saw a black-haired child heading up there."

The villager froze for a moment, then smiled and waved his hand. "There aren't any large beasts on the mountain behind our village, only birds, rabbits, pheasants, and the like."

"That's quite good. You can hunt during the slack season to satisfy your cravings." Tang Ling nodded with a smile, then put on a worried expression. "But that child is so young. The children working in the village all look older than him. Are his parents really at ease letting him go up the mountain alone?"

Looking at the worried little girl before him, the villager found it amusing that she was also a child yet called someone else a child. At the same time, he felt fortunate that the noble who had come to the village was such a beautiful and kind-hearted young lady.

He leaned closer and lowered his voice. "That child is called Tang San, Tang Blacksmith's son. His father drinks himself senseless all day long. Whatever Soul Coins he earns, he spends on liquor, never putting anything toward the household.

"The village chief was kind enough to bring Tang San home and raise him when he was one or two. But once he could walk, Tang Blacksmith took him back, saying he would be able to cook once he grew up.

"Ever since then, all the meals in the Tang household have been made by this little fellow."

"Poor child, only three years old." The villager clicked his tongue, his voice full of pity.

"That Tang Blacksmith is truly irresponsible!" Tang Ling looked furious after hearing this. Then she took out her money pouch and smiled again. "I have money. I can help him!"

Seeing the money pouch in the noble young lady's hand, the villager once again sighed at her kindness and hurriedly stopped her. "Miss, your intentions are kind, but none of that money will reach Tang San."

He let out a deep sigh and explained, "Tang San is sensible and obedient, and he's a lovely child. Everyone in the village helps him. Giving him food or supplies is fine, but any money we give him gets taken by Tang Blacksmith.

"And whenever villagers help him with chores or children go looking for him to play, they get driven away. Tang Blacksmith shamelessly says his child needs training and doesn't need friends.

"There's nothing we can do. We can only secretly give him food and make him clothes."

As Tang Ling listened to the villager's account, her gaze gradually turned cold. This Tang Blacksmith deserved a beating, whether he had been influenced by an outside Heavenly Dao or was simply rotten by nature.

Once the villager finished speaking, Tang Ling had calmed herself. She looked at him with her big, round eyes spinning as she said, "Then can I treat him to a feast? I happened to bring lots of food!"

As she spoke, she called Old William over and told him to prepare the ingredients they had bought.

Then she picked up a bag of dried meat and stuffed it into the villager's hands through the window, leaving no room for refusal. "Sir, take this home and let your children have a taste."

The villager accepted it with flattered surprise and thanked her carefully. "Thank you, Miss. You truly are beautiful and kind-hearted!"

Then he pointed toward the mountain behind the village with a broad smile. "The scenery there is lovely. You could have a picnic there and also give that child an extra meal."

"The village is poor, and it's the busy farming season now. We haven't had meat in a long time." The villager chuckled as he tucked the cloth bag more securely into his clothes, his face full of ingratiating smiles.

Yet inwardly, he sighed. It was good that Tang San had earned the pity of someone important and could have a proper meal. If the noble young lady took a liking to him and brought him away, even as a servant, it would still be better than living under Tang Blacksmith, that "stepfather."

Tang Ling nodded with a smile and watched the villager leave. The instant she turned around, her expression completely sank.

"Ahhh! I'm going to beat him up! How dare he treat my son like that!" Little Heavenly Dao bounced around wildly, its voice filled with resentment.

"No rush. We'll take Tang San away first. I'll find someone to deal with him." Tang Ling pressed Little Heavenly Dao down and spoke in an icy tone.

Although Tang San had been an orphan in his previous life and had been robbed of his place in the inner sect, the Tang Sect had still treated its disciples quite well in terms of food, clothing, and lodging.

Even outer sect servant disciples could eat their fill three times a day and received suitable clothes for every season of the year.

And later, under her care, Tang San's food, clothing, and daily necessities had all been provided according to the allowances of an inner sect elder.

Yet he was being abused here!

Tang Ling gritted her teeth and cursed inwardly. Then she thought over the people she could mobilize, intending to investigate Tang Blacksmith and make trouble for him.

"Miss, the ingredients are ready!" Old William stood respectfully some distance away, carrying a large cloth bag.

Tang Ling, pulled from her thoughts, paused briefly before giving orders. "Ersui, take the ingredients and come up the mountain with me. Old William, pack our things. We'll leave at dusk and return to the residence."

"Yes!" Tang Ersui nodded, took the cloth bag, and followed behind Tang Ling at an unhurried pace.

The path up the mountain was easy to traverse. Guided by the Soul Contract, Tang Ling strode ahead, eager and anxious.

After turning past a patch of shrubs and continuing upward, they reached a platform halfway up the mountain. The platform was covered in lush green grass, and beneath its only large tree sat the person Tang Ling had been looking for.

Tang Ling waved for Tang Ersui to stop, then slowly approached. She stopped not far from him and carefully examined the person before her.

Tang San sat cross-legged in meditation. The hair on his forehead was damp with sweat, his slightly sallow little face was taut, and his lips were pressed tightly together.

"You've gotten thinner," Tang Ling murmured. Seeing his eyelids tremble, she laughed. "Won't you open your eyes and have a look? I came all this way to find you, A-Xuan."

Hearing that familiar voice and form of address, Tang San abruptly opened his eyes and froze.

Tang San had noticed someone approaching, but he had not dared to open his eyes. He pretended to be asleep. After all, if someone intended harm in this wilderness, he was only a child and certainly could not defeat two people.

But he had not expected the newcomers to have no intention of hurting him. Instead, they had simply kept examining him. Tang San secretly circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, but the moment she spoke, his defenses crumbled.

Tang San stared blankly at the girl before him, his face full of shock. He had never imagined that the visitor would be his senior sister.

He had come here after death. Did that mean his senior sister had also died in the end?

"Don't recognize me anymore? Tang San, your memory can't be that bad, can it?" Seeing him remain motionless, Tang Ling frowned as if angry.

Then, amid a hoarse cry, someone threw himself into her arms and hugged her tightly.

"Senior Sister! I missed you so much!"

Tang Ling froze for a moment after being embraced. Then she raised a hand and patted the head of the person in her arms, smiling helplessly. "You're still acting like a child? Why are you being so clingy?"

"I am a child now!" Tang San's muffled, hoarse voice came from against her neck as he buried his head in the hollow of her shoulder and gently rubbed against her.

Tang Ling instantly laughed. When she felt the dampness against her neck, she lifted her arms and hugged him back.

The two held each other tightly beneath the tree. At that moment, it seemed as though the world contained only the two of them.