W Chapter 2

Chapter 2 The Shen Family

Shen Hai’s voice was very weak, and he had to stop and pant for a while after saying a sentence.

Ling Xing had tried to speak before, but couldn’t make a sound. This time, he thought he still couldn’t speak, but after tentatively opening his mouth, he actually made a sound.

“Ling Xing.”

As he spoke, he looked at his husband in name only, feeling a little dazed for a moment.

Ling Xing’s preference in his previous life was for men, but he had never been in a relationship because his grandfather wouldn’t have been able to accept it.

After his grandfather passed away, he was busy filming videos to earn money. Because the filming location was in his hometown village, there was no opportunity to meet people in that small village, and mainly he didn’t have time.

He didn’t expect that after transmigrating, he would even have a husband.

However, the other party really didn’t look too good.

His appearance was not much different from his grandfather’s before he passed away.

Ling Xing thought of some of his previous understanding of ancient times. Although it wasn’t the same dynasty, it felt similar.

If his “Wedding to Ward Off Evil” wasn’t successful, would the Shen family blame him?

He was unfamiliar with the place. If they really blamed him, what would he do?

Ling Xing was worried in his heart, and he also spoke his concerns aloud. This wasn’t like modern times. Even though he was open-minded, he panicked when he saw Shen Hai’s appearance.

Shen Hai listened to Ling Xing’s worries and also turned his head to look at him.

Seeing the worry on Ling Xing’s sallow and thin face, Shen Hai had a faint smile on his lips, trying to reassure him.

“Don’t worry, my family won’t hurt you.”

After saying that, there was silence as Shen Hai caught his breath.

Ling Xing waited quietly, without urging him.

After Shen Hai recovered a bit, he continued slowly, “They also realized that I don’t have many days left. Whether it’s because they’re grasping at straws or they don’t want me to leave without getting married, they certainly won’t blame you.”

After Shen Hai finished speaking, he rested again. Ling Xing confirmed that he had nothing more to say before asking, “How do you know?”

Shen Hai let out a muffled laugh from his chest, “Because they care about me enough, and you are my husband, who will be buried with me after death if you don’t remarry.”

Ling Xing understood, “Love me, love my dog.”

It seemed that the Shen family was really good to Shen Hai.

Ling Xing couldn’t cure diseases, but he knew that someone like Shen Hai needed a lot of money to keep him alive.

The Shen family was so poor, probably because most of the money was used to treat Shen Hai.

It was very lively outside, which made the room even quieter and more desolate.

Perhaps because he hadn’t interacted with strangers for a long time, or because he really regarded Ling Xing as his husband, Shen Hai said a lot.

Ling Xing smelled the scent of herbs and listened attentively as Shen Hai spoke about the Shen family, word by word.

Shen Hai spoke very slowly, and Ling Xing listened carefully.

If nothing unexpected happened, he would be living in the Shen family for a long time.

According to the original Ling Xing’s memory, only men could settle down in a place if they were refugees, and they needed to live there for a full year.

Women and Ge’ers couldn’t establish independent households and could only marry.

Ling Xing was a modern person who had suddenly transmigrated to a strange dynasty, and even his physical structure had been changed. Moreover, he was penniless. Added to that was the law, it was impossible for him to survive alone.

In the Shen family, at least he could live.

Listening to Shen Hai’s words, Ling Xing gathered that the Shen family used to be quite wealthy.

The Yu Dynasty hadn’t been established for very long. After the change of dynasties, the Shen family got in the way, which led to them being persecuted and leaving their homeland.

Shen Hai had been in poor health since he was a child.

His illness was congenital. How long he could live depended entirely on when the family’s money would run out.

Before the age of ten, Shen Hai’s condition was well controlled.

After the age of ten, because the family was affected by turmoil, this branch left the family to survive, traveling arduously to Xiao Liucun and settling down.

From then on, Shen Hai’s body deteriorated day by day.

The family property that had been brought out was all turned into his medicine, and the family’s life became poorer and poorer.

“When my second brother first came to Xiao Liucun, he continued to study in a private school. My third sister and fourth brother used to have a piece of candy to eat every now and then. Later, they had nothing.”

After Shen Hai said that, he gave a self-deprecating laugh. He often thought that there wasn’t a brother or son in this world who was more of a failure than him.

Because of him, his parents, younger brothers, and sisters were living worse and worse lives.

He was just a useless person.

As if that wasn’t enough, he had dragged another person into the family to suffer because of his useless body before he died.

He usually didn’t dare to say these words, he didn’t dare to say them to anyone.

As long as he said them, his family would be sad.

He didn’t want his family to be unhappy or saddened because of him anymore. Shen Hai felt that he didn’t have much time left and wanted to pour out the pent-up feelings that had been buried in his heart for many years when he met Ling Xing today.

Ling Xing listened to Shen Hai’s self-blame and helplessness. Some strength had returned to his arm, and he reached out and used his fingertips to wipe away the tears from the corner of Shen Hai’s eyes.

“Don’t blame yourself. They are doing everything they can to keep you alive because your life is more important than money and possessions.”

Shen Hai was a little dazed. He didn’t expect that he could still cry.

After calming down, he said to Ling Xing, “You must be laughing at me.”

Ling Xing shook his head, “It’s normal for people to have emotions. There’s nothing to laugh at.”

Hearing this, Shen Hai turned his head and looked at Ling Xing carefully.

This Ge’er was very thin, with big eyes and a pointed chin. But the light in his eyes couldn’t be concealed even in the dim room.

He was delaying such a bright person.

“I will tell my parents that after I die, they should set you free.”

Shen Hai felt guilty towards Ling Xing because he had caused a good Ge’er to marry him for a “Wedding to Ward Off Evil,” ruining the other party’s marriage prospects.

He wanted to make up for it, but there was very little he could do.

Ling Xing didn’t agree immediately when he heard this.

He remembered in the original body’s memory that widows and widowers without sons would be forcibly married off by the government after leaving their husband’s family if they didn’t have the protection of their maternal brothers after a year.

Ling Xing shuddered. He had no maternal family. He didn’t know where the Ling family had scattered to.

He didn’t want to get married again!

Although he liked men, it didn’t mean he had to marry strange men again and again!

Who knew what kind of ghost the next one would be?

“No, no, no, Shen brother, if you really want me to be well, you might as well persuade your parents to give me food to eat after you die.”

As he said that, Ling Xing thought of the original body’s wish. He wanted to find his younger brother until his death. After all, he had used the other person’s body and it wouldn’t be good if he didn’t do anything, so he added, “And then help me find my younger brother.”

Shen Hai also thought that the Yu Dynasty had just been established not long ago. Because of the war, there weren’t many people.

Now, in order to have more children, some laws were really not good for women and Ge’ers.

The Shen family could save money after he was gone. It might be better for Ling Xing to stay in the Shen family than to be set free.

Shen Hai nodded and agreed, “Okay, I promise you.”

He knew his parents and they wouldn’t mistreat Ling Xing.

Shen Hai seemed to be in good spirits today. After confirming that Ling Xing would continue to live in the Shen family and agreeing to Ling Xing’s request, he introduced the people in his family to him in detail.

The Shen family had no other relatives here.

The entire Xiao Liucun was a large village of different surnames. Because they were afraid of being bullied by people from other villages, everyone banded together and were considered united.

The Shen family originally lived in the village, and the house was a brick house. But later, because they bought medicine for Shen Hai, they had no money and could only sell the brick house and find another place to build a house.

After searching around, the land at the foot of Mount An’yang was the most suitable. Although it wasn’t in the village, it was only half a kilometer away from the village.

The Shen family elders were named Shen Chengshan and Xu Youfang.

The two had three sons, one daughter, and one Ge’er. Although it seemed like a lot of people, it wasn’t considered a prosperous family in Xiao Liucun.

The eldest was Shen Hai, the second was Shen Hui, the third, Shen Yan, was a girl, the fourth was Shen Gui, and the fifth was a Ge’er named Shen Lai.

Shen Hui was the strong man who replaced Shen Hai in the wedding ceremony with Ling Xing. He had always been unsmiling since he was a child. Before the age of eight, he studied at home and had a special martial arts instructor. He had a good foundation since childhood.

Therefore, the source of income for the Shen family now was basically Shen Hui going up the mountain to hunt, and occasionally writing and reading letters for people to earn money.

In addition to that, there was Xu Youfang, the mother, selling embroidery to earn money, as well as the output of the ten mu of land that the family was allocated.

The third sister, Shen Yan, got married three years ago to a mountain villager. They were a bit poor, but they lived off the mountain, so they wouldn’t starve.

This was also the best family that the Shen family could find for their daughter.

The fourth brother, Shen Gui, married a wife a year ago. The other party was a divorced woman named Cao Manyue, who was five years older than Shen Gui.

The Shen family’s conditions weren’t good either. Even Ge’ers weren’t willing to marry into the family, let alone women.

Therefore, no one could look down on anyone.

After the matchmaker arranged the marriage, Cao Manyue didn’t ask for anything and brought a pair of twins, a daughter and a Ge’er, to marry into the Shen family.

The fourth sister-in-law, Cao Manyue, also had a son who was five years old this year. However, that child stayed with her previous husband’s family because he was a boy and her former in-laws wouldn’t allow her to take him away.

The fifth brother, Shen Lai, was a young Ge’er who was ten years old this year.

He had a fiery temper. Every time he went out and came back, he would have injuries on his body. The Shen family elders had a headache because of this.

Ling Xing’s vision was blurred before, and he could only see things up close. Now, as he listened to Shen Hai introduce his family, he couldn’t match the faces of Shen Yan and her husband, Shen Gui and his wife, and Shen Lai.

However, it was difficult to forget Shen Hui’s aggressive appearance after seeing it once.

So he made a living by hunting. No wonder he was so strong and his arms were as thick as Ling Xing’s legs.

Ling Xing and Shen Hai were lying down talking, mainly Shen Hai talking and Ling Xing listening.

Later, Shen Hai’s voice became smaller and smaller. Ling Xing listened to the other party’s even and weak breathing, feeling a little uneasy. He nervously reached out and felt under Shen Hai’s nose.

Hmm, he was still breathing.

The noise outside didn’t stop until it was completely dark. The room had already become pitch black.

Ling Xing didn’t like the darkness, especially now that he was in an unfamiliar environment. It made him feel very insecure, and he felt panicked and depressed.

He didn’t dare to let his emotions sink, so he thought about happy things in his heart.

Although this place was unfamiliar, he had been reborn and lived again. Not everyone had such an opportunity.

He should cherish it.

Moreover, he had filmed videos in the village before, making ancient restorations and replicating various snacks and delicacies. His grandfather had also taught him the skills of making various sauce recipes. In any case, he was a skilled craftsman. God hadn’t really given him nothing, allowing him to survive on his own in ancient times.

Ling Xing comforted himself and felt that life had hope again. He smiled contentedly.

After his worries and anxieties dissipated a bit, he realized that it was getting cold.

The charcoal brazier had gone out sometime, and the only heat in the room quickly dissipated. The cold air occupied the space aggressively.

Ling Xing could only move slightly now. He laboriously tucked the not-so-thick quilt tighter, trying to retain some heat.

It was really too cold today. According to his memory, Xiao Liucun wasn’t located very far north. Its terrain was similar to his hometown village in his previous life.

His hometown hadn’t been this cold in winter.

With this feeling, Ling Xing thought he was in the far north.

Without global warming in ancient times, winter was really cold.

Ling Xing’s teeth were chattering from the cold, and he was shaking all over, causing Shen Hai, who was beside him, to feel the tremor.

“Are you cold?”

Shen Hai asked sleepily, pushing the large fur coat that was covering him towards Ling Xing.

“No, no, you keep it, don’t give it to me.” Ling Xing subconsciously refused. If Shen Hai got cold again, leading to a decrease in his immunity, it would be fatal to his body.

Shen Hai also knew his body. He didn’t give Ling Xing all of the fur coat, “Half for each of us, it’s okay.”

It had to be said that when the fur coat covered him, the moment the weight settled on him, it also brought warmth.

Ling Xing buried his face, which was about to lose consciousness from the cold, into the quilt. Within a few breaths, water vapor began to rise on his face.

Finally, there was some warmth.

Perhaps because he was too tired, Ling Xing wasn’t sleepy before because of the cold. Now that there was some warmth, his eyelids were fighting each other, and he fell asleep before long.

When he opened his eyes, there was a glimmer of dim candlelight in the dark room.

Ling Xing felt that the weight on his body was even greater. He opened his eyes and saw that he was covered with a familiar outer robe.

It was Shen Hui’s.

He had just grabbed the sleeve of this garment not long ago.

“Are you awake? Is the food ready to eat?” Shen Hai, who was beside him, asked as he looked at Ling Xing.

Ling Xing moved his hands and found that his strength had recovered a bit. Rather than strength, it was more like control over this body.

“Okay.”

Ling Xing got out of bed with difficulty. He looked even weaker than Shen Hai.

At this time, Shen Hui came in with a bowl of hot noodle soup, and the moment he lifted the door curtain, he saw a pair of fair and slender feet on the edge of the bed.

His brows furrowed, and he quickly turned around.

“Mother asked me to bring the food.”

As he said that, he placed the old pottery bowl on the wooden cabinet in front of the window and left in a hurry without looking back.

Ling Xing, who was about to put on his shoes, turned his head strangely and asked Shen Hai, “Why did he run?”

At this time, Shen Hai also turned his head to the side, “Don’t worry about it, go eat quickly.”