3 10 Years

Lying down on the bed while waiting for someone to bring over the pain relieving ointment his mother would give him, Shi Li unexpectedly fell asleep on the bed. Then again, his memories were still mostly in disarray, so it was no surprise that his mind would be tired.

It was only after a couple hours later did he wake up, being woken up by someone knocking on the door. Getting up from the bed to open the door, he soon saw the same servant that brought some towels, now holding a small tray of food and a bottle. Passing the bottle and the tray he held to Shi Li, the servant told him, "Madam has told me that you should not be stingy in applying the ointment all over your body. She has also told me that you can leave the tray in the room once you're finished eating."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind." Shi Li nodded, only for him to stop the servant that was about to leave as he asked him, "Speaking of which, could you tell me where my mother is at the moment?"

Although a small frown could be seen on the servant's face as Shi Li touched him, this frown quickly disappeared as he indifferently replied, "Your mother is currently working in the clan kitchen."

After saying his piece, the servant hurriedly left, leaving Shi Li on his own once more. At first, he thought that it would be better for him to apply the pain relieving ointment first, only for his stomach to start grumbling. Scratching his head as he awkwardly smiled at the current situation, he went ahead and ate the food that was given to him, making sure that no morsel was left on the tray as he neatly placed it on a spot that one of the servants would be able to see.

With his hunger satiated, he then removed the stopper off the pain relieving ointment, pouring some of it on his palms before starting to apply it on the parts of his body that ached. Before, when he had just transmigrated, the pain had not registered in his mind at all due to his thoughts and memories still being in disarray. But now that he had more or less accepted his current fate, it was only then did the pain truly kick in, making him suck in a breath of cold air whenever he rubbed his hands on a sore spot.

"How the hell did I fall from that tree for my whole body to ache this badly?" he could not help but mutter to himself as he continued to apply the ointment. With the ointment bringing a chilling feel whenever it was exposed to air, the pain gradually subsided as a strong chill replaced it instead. Nevertheless, as he placed the now empty bottle of ointment next to the tray, he felt like he could move like before.

With that in mind, he headed out of his room for the first time, relying on his, or the previous owner's, memories of the clan's layout to head to where his mother was working.

…

As he made his way to where his mother was, he took in the scenery, as well as the hustle and bustle that a decently large clan like the Shi clan he was in had. Surprisingly, his Shi clan was one of the four family clans that made Sanshan Town what it was. With that, he did not find it surprising that a lot of people would come and go through the clan's estate as he made his way to the clan kitchen.

However, while he was minding his own business, he could not help but notice that a few of the clansmen that would normally ignore someone like him was actually looking at him. From what he could see, their gazes had hints of disdain and arrogance in them. But as he realized what these gazes contained, he shrugged his shoulders and ignored them, knowing that their arrogance and disdain weren't unfounded. He was a useless cripple in this world, after all.

Naturally, with gazes of disdain and arrogance also came those jeers and snide comments regarding his current situation.

"Hey, isn't that the kid who's said to be a useless cripple in this clan? What's he doing here? Shouldn't he be in bed?"

"I've heard that he fell off a tree and was unconscious for a few days. Can you believe that? Just so you know, he only fell off a tree that isn't even twice as high than the clan walls. How hilarious!"

"Shhh! That kid can hear you, you know?"

"So what if he can hear me? I'm sure he knows he's a cripple."

Hearing that last statement, Shi Li stared at the person that looked at him, prompting the latter to go silent for a bit, only for the person to erupt in slight rage as he looked back at Shi Li and snarled, "What are you looking at, you cripple?"

'I guess I'm just unlucky to have met a bad-tempered person the first time I come out,' Shi Li thought to himself, letting out a sigh as he shook his head, continuing his way to where his mother was.

…

As the clan was large, that also meant that the estate was also large. With that in mind, it took about an hour for him to arrive at the clan kitchen, which was located near the center of the clan estate.

Taking a peek inside, Shi Li noticed that there were a lot of people either preparing ingredients or cooking up dishes. Seeing this, it was not hard for him to come to the conclusion that a feast was going to be held in the clan. With how he had no idea of this feast happening, it was apparent that he wasn't included in it.

Moving around the perimeter of the clan's kitchen, he eventually saw his mother, who was busy making a few side dishes for the feast that was about to be held. Waving at his mother from time to time, he eventually caught her attention as she waved back, gesturing to him that he would be able to meet her after a few minutes.

Nodding in response, he waited for his mother to leave the clan kitchen as he loitered around for a bit, taking in the various plants and trees scattered throughout the clan. After some time, someone called for his name as he was moving his hands through the tall grass. Seeing that the one who called for him was his mother, he hastily headed to where she was.

"So, why have you come here to the kitchen, son?" Shi Languang quickly asked, giving her son the idea that she was still busy. In response, Shi Li nodded as he replied, "I know you're still busy, mother, but I just wanted to tell you something."

"Well, that's quite a rare occurrence." Shi Languang could not help but smile in response. "The only times you tell me something is when you find a girl you fancy? So, who is it? Is it the one from that tailor shop nearby?"

"You're mistaken, mother," Shi Li shook his head as he replied. Noticing the confusion on his mother's face, he decided to tell him what he wanted to say to her in the first place. "I just wanted to tell you that I want to start cultivating again."

Although his condition in this world was the worst it could be, he still didn't give up on the dream of cultivation, which was something he had dreamed of in his past life. After all, who wouldn't like to have the strength of a trillion humans while being able to live forever.

However, rather than be supportive of her son's wishes, a wry smile could be seen on Shi Languang's face as she told him, "You've already tried cultivating once, right? Even though you've spent so much effort, you didn't really get that far. You don't have to force yourself, son. Just staying by my side for the next 10 years would be more than enough for me to be happy."

Normally, someone like Shi Li would just nod in response and think of it as their mother caring for their wellbeing. But for some reason, he had a feeling that there was a hidden message in his mother's words. With that in mind, he focused on the phrase that stood out the most to him. "Mother, what do you mean by the next 10 years?"

Hearing her son focus on it, she couldn't help but let out a sigh as she told him, "Didn't we have a talk about this before?"

Seeing as her son wouldn't go away without an answer, she told him the reason behind the phrase '10 years', only to say it in a mumble. "You…hmnhm…10 years…humnh…"

"Can you repeat that mother? I didn't hear you quite clearly," Shi Li said in response, prompting Shi Languang to let out yet another sigh as she said, "Well, you are 17, so I guess it's about time I tell you this again."

As if she was being forced against her will, she told Shi Li with a slightly dejected expression, "What I was saying was…the reason why I said 10 years is because…"

"You only have 10 years left to live."

"…"

"…huh."