Chapter 2756 - 560:
Because it seemed like there was no one in the neighboring house, and all other houses were under construction, some local children liked to play in the yard next door.
Suddenly, a little girl saw that the previously tightly shut door had slightly opened, and full of curiosity, she walked over to push the door open.
The next moment, a sharp scream resounded.
"There’s someone, there’s really someone!"
"Father, Mother, there’s someone next door, he..."
Cao Zhen didn’t know how long he had been unconscious before he finally started to wake up slowly. He looked around and found himself lying on a bed — his own bed, with a bowl beside it.
He clearly remembered that there was no such bowl in his room before.
Moreover, how did he end up on his bed after fainting?
He reached out both hands, slowly supporting himself as he tried to stand up, but his body felt unusually weak and sore, with almost no strength at all, not even enough to sit up.
Just then, a voice came from outside the door: "Father, Mother, that uncle woke up."
Only then did Cao Zhen notice that the door was open. Soon, a middle-aged man walked in, and upon seeing the unfamiliar young man trying to get up but failing, he rushed forward and said, "Lie down, lie down, you are so weak now, you should rest first."
"I..." Cao Zhen just wanted to speak when his stomach let out a series of growls, sounding particularly clear in the small room.
"You must be hungry." The unfamiliar man turned and shouted to the little girl outside the door, "Ling Ling, go get a bowl of porridge from the house."
Afterward, he turned back to explain, "You haven’t eaten for many days, have you? It’s best to start with porridge to help you adjust."
Sighing lightly, he continued, "Young man, you can’t go on like this. I know this is not your home, yet you came to live here, your home must have been completely destroyed, and your family is gone, leaving only you.
But since you’ve come to live here, it means you still want to live. So why starve yourself?
Young man, look to the future. Only after becoming a parent do you realize how much hardship and struggle your parents faced to raise you.
Living well is the best comfort for them.
Besides, don’t you want to seek revenge? In a few days, the various Great Teachings will come to select disciples. If you manage to get selected, become a disciple of a Great Teaching, and practice immortal cultivation, you can naturally go and kill those Beastmen!
Even though the Beastmen who attacked the city died, it was because their General gave the order. Without it, how could they have attacked us? Our revenge is not complete yet; you need to pull yourself together."
As Cao Zhen listened to the words of this unfamiliar Skyeye Clan person, he quickly realized that the other had mistaken him for a young man who had lost his family and home.
When he first entered this place, the other must have seen him, and since he had been recovering and hadn’t gone out, they naturally assumed he was on a hunger strike.
He now understood about the bowl beside him.
Before, if conditions allowed — like when he was with the Hundred Peaks Sect — he’d maintained a habit of eating, but when he was outside, not eating for even decades would be normal.
But now, he was no longer a cultivator of the True Immortal Realm; without food, he really couldn’t endure it.
After drinking porridge, he rested for another three days before gradually recovering and slowly adapted to his current state.
During these three days, all the meals came from the neighboring family. Although he was now a mortal, he found that his body was still much stronger than an average person, and his appetite was unusually large.
The man next door, Nong Liben, was just an ordinary person who knew a bit of carpentry, just enough to avoid starvation, but certainly not from a wealthy family.
After eating the neighbor’s food for three days, he wished to repay them somehow.
After recovering, the first thing he did was visit Nong Liben and voluntarily offer to help with carpentry work.
Nong Liben didn’t think much of it, assuming Cao Zhen might have learned some carpentry from an elder. However, after Cao Zhen helped with the carpentry, Nong Liben realized he was wrong, greatly mistaken.
Cao Zhen’s craftsmanship was even better than his.
Through his skills, Cao Zhen earned some money, enough for his daily expenses, primarily food since his appetite was unusually large, something an average family couldn’t support.
Luckily, during his time as a mortal, he’d worked as a carpenter and also understood mechanical techniques. During his cultivation of these techniques, he did a fair amount of carpentry work.
Time passed slowly, and before he knew it, a month had gone by, and his injuries were fully healed. Furthermore, two additional rooms in the house were now built.
One day, as usual, after completing a cabinet for a wealthy family in town, and receiving payment, the housekeeper said, "Tomorrow, the Immortals are coming to recruit disciples. Take a day off. Return the day after tomorrow."
This world, much like his original one, also had Great Teachings that came to recruit disciples, even with nearly identical methods. The only difference was the lower frequency in this world; disciples were recruited once every twenty years, and they didn’t only recruit children — residents under thirty could apply.