A Visit

It took three days to renovate the courtyard.

Three days later, Qin Fang looked at the completely renovated courtyard and house before him.

The roof tiles had been relaid. The black tiles now fit together seamlessly, so there was no longer any chance of seeing the sky from inside.

The doors and windows had also been replaced almost entirely.

The woodshed beside the main house had been renovated as well. It had been on the verge of collapse before, but now it had new main beams, a tiled roof, and all the clutter and rubbish inside had been cleared away.

Even the courtyard had been tidied up. The edges had been overgrown with dead weeds, and the ground had been blanketed in dust. They cleared out the weeds and filled in the damaged parts of the walls...

There was also a lot more furniture in the house, from tables and chairs to pots and bowls... His master had taken care of every last detail. Whenever he noticed something missing, he would quietly make a note of it and bring it over the next day.

Over the course of those three days, a steady stream of things had been moved inside.

...All told, the things he had brought over must have cost at least ten or twenty taels of silver.

Yet his master hadn't uttered a single complaint.

In fact, apart from going to Spring Return Hall, he had spent most of those three days here, personally supervising everything.

Since coming to this world, it was the first time Qin Fang had felt that he had someone standing behind him.

It was also the first time he had begun to understand what the words "master" and "disciple" really meant...

Qin Fang let out a soft breath and continued making targets.

...He had been busy with the renovations these past three days, and there had always been people around, so he hadn't done much cultivation.

Now that the renovations were finished, it was naturally time to get back to it.

As he made the targets, however, his eyes flickered slightly.

His master's frequent visits over the past few days had naturally attracted the attention of the neighbors. They had been quite warm toward him.

When they learned that Qin Fang was his master's disciple, they had seemed very welcoming at first. Some had even brought over gifts, such as eggs and vegetables, and a few had come to help tidy up the house.

But the moment Qin Fang opened his mouth... they noticed his accent.

Then they asked where he was from, and when they learned he was a refugee...

Their expressions changed on the spot.

...Although they hadn't said much in the end, out of consideration for his master,

their attitude toward him had grown noticeably colder.

Once the house was repaired, they didn't come by again.

That made Qin Fang realize... the refugee unrest had had a profound impact, and its effects still hadn't faded.

And in the end, he had been caught up in it, too.

He couldn't help thinking back to his plans when he had left Spring Return Hall... Looking back now, it was fortunate his master had taken him in.

Otherwise, if he had been left to fend for himself... the outcome probably wouldn't have been good.

This world was a typical society built on familiar faces. As long as he stayed in True Martial County, wherever he went, the people around him would take notice.

And if they learned he was a refugee... with no one to protect him,

there was no telling what the people of True Martial County, angry at the refugees, might do to him...

As for that, he didn't have any good solutions yet.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help letting out a quiet sigh... He could only wait for time to slowly smooth over the past.

He went over everything that had happened lately and began to plan for what lay ahead.

For now, he had his master's protection, but it surely wouldn't last forever. In the end, he would have to rely on himself.

It wasn't as if he could expect his master to support him for the rest of his life, right?

Just then, a cold drop landed on his cheek.

He froze for a moment.

Then instinctively looked up.

A moment later, countless cold droplets began falling one after another.

He brushed his cheek with his hand, then stared in stunned disbelief...

Could it be...

It was raining?

The first rain since he had come to this world!

He stared blankly at the dark sky. The rain came quickly; before long, it was pattering down in torrents.

Qin Fang snapped out of his daze, hurriedly gathered his things, and ran beneath the eaves.

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter...

Raindrops drummed against the newly repaired eaves. In just a short while, the entire world was swallowed by the downpour.

According to the original host's memories, it had been at least four months since the last rain.

When it finally came, it was as if a hole had opened in the heavens, pouring down in sheets.

Qin Fang stood beneath the eaves. The rain fell, bringing a touch of coolness that slipped through his clothes and even carried a long-missed chill.

"It's raining! It's raining!"

"Finally, it's raining!"

The neighbors' voices carried faintly through the rain, sounding as though they had finally let out a sigh of relief.

True Martial County was also a disaster area. It had gone several months without rain.

But since True Martial bordered the Chuan River, the river had never run dry, no matter how severe the drought. They could draw water from it to fight the drought, so the disaster hadn't affected True Martial as badly as it had places like Jingping.

Now that it was raining, it was undoubtedly cause for great celebration among the people of True Martial.

After staring for a while, Qin Fang let out a soft breath. Then he brought a chair to the front of the house and sat watching the rain as he made targets...

That night, he watched for a long time.

The heavy rain came and went for three days before the skies finally cleared.

His master brought over a few more things during those two or three days, such as thick quilts, bedding, clothes, and trousers...

It was already October. It should have been cold by now, but the drought had kept the weather hot.

Once the rain came, though, the cold arrived quickly.

That little old man, who always wore a cold expression, was truly meticulous. Qin Fang felt a genuine affection for him welling up from the bottom of his heart.

Sure enough, three days later, the temperature began to plunge. Three days earlier, a single layer of clothing had been enough, but now, if he didn't cover himself with a quilt at night, he shivered uncontrollably...

The rain had also affected Qin Fang's cultivation. His original plan was no longer feasible.

Unless he wanted to cultivate while soaked in the rain?

He might as well be asking for an early grave.

Although he had been eating meat for several days, his body was recovering at a noticeable pace,

that was only in comparison to how "frail" he had been before.

Compared with an ordinary person, Qin Fang was still "extremely weak."

Even a healthy person could easily catch cold or fall ill exercising in the rain.

Let alone a "patient" like him.

But he couldn't give up cultivation.

With no other choice, he could only practice indoors.

Fortunately, the main room was spacious enough. He could hang a few targets on the walls and practice throwing Flying Darts from the greatest distance he could manage... It would have to do.

But after reaching the Minor Accomplishment Stage, his progress had clearly slowed.

After six or seven days, he had only raised his proficiency to a little over seventy... barely more than ten points a day.

At that rate, it would take at least three or four months to advance his "Hidden Weapons" skill to the next stage.

But Qin Fang knew there was no point rushing... He wasn't in a hurry.

He had already made it through the exile, and now he had a master and a stable place to live. There was nothing he needed to rush.

He could take it slowly.

As for proper martial arts training, his master had said he would have to wait a while longer.

His body was still too weak. He would need to reach the level of an ordinary person before he could begin serious training.

Training now wouldn't get him anywhere. It might even cause the body he had worked so hard to restore to collapse all over again.

...Four months of starvation might have looked like nothing more than being "hungry," but in reality, it had drained him to the point of complete exhaustion.

It was a miracle he had survived.

How could he expect to recover so easily?

According to his master's estimate, he would need another month or two to recuperate before he could begin proper martial arts training.

That day, he was practicing throwing Flying Darts indoors as usual. After throwing more than a dozen in a row, both his arms had started to ache and grow weak. He was resting when someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Thinking his master had arrived, Qin Fang hurried over to open it.

But he still instinctively peered through the crack in the door first.

The moment he looked, his expression tightened, and his hand froze on the latch.

Because standing outside was a face covered in bulging flesh...

Wang Long!