It was only natural for the children to react that way toward their abusive father, keeping their distance in fear.
Wan Zheng remained silent, showing no care for it, and headed back to his room to rest for the night.
Lying on the hard, thin bed like a piece of board, so different from the soft and comfortable mattress of his original world, he was clearly displeased.
Yet, he could only accept that he had no other choice for the night.
He needed sleep and lay down to ease the fatigue in this drunken body.
Tomorrow, he would undeniably have to take on the identity of a new life among the people of this unknown world.
Meanwhile, outside in the yard, Mu Ruying had already spoken to her eldest brother, Mu Yanying.
She urged him to go back for the night and return to their parents, who must already be worried sick since she had left without saying a word.
As for herself, Mu Ruying decided she would stay, even if her husband beat her.
She promised she would never again dare to leave without the children.
Mu Yanying was unwilling to part with his sister after all that had just happened.
Who knew what that young master Zheng was really planning?
What if he was only pretending to act strangely, waiting for a chance to murder his sister once he left?
Mu Yanying will not let that happened, he must guard her through the night.
He could sit outside on a wooden chair in the yard.
However, Mu Ruying gently persuaded him to go back home, reminding him that he already had a wife and son waiting for him.
What use would it be for him to stay and guard his married younger sister all night?
Mu Yanying reluctantly nodded, leaving with a heavy heart.
He looked back twice before his figure finally disappeared into the distance.
As he walked away, he muttered under his breath.
"If that bastard young master dares hurt my sister tonight, I'll make sure he pays, even if I end up in jail."
Mu Ruying turned, holding her second child as they made their way to their shared room.
With every step closer to her husband's door, she couldn't help but feel anxious, afraid he might suddenly come out and start beating them again.
As long as the children did not suffer from her husband's anger, Mu Ruying could endure it.
But until she entered the shared room with her children, the other door remained closed.
Silent. Unmoved.
It left her to wonder uneasily what her husband might be doing inside.
"Mother!"
"Mama!"
"Mother, you're back!"
The other four children immediately burst into tears upon seeing her.
Mu Ruying pulled them into her arms one by one, her chest unbearably heavy.
She couldn't help but reflect on what she had done earlier.
She had almost killed her husband, almost brought condemnation upon herself, and nearly left her children all alone.
Tears brimmed, but she held them back.
Mu Ruying could not show weakness to her children, or else the little ones would worry.
When she saw her husband alive, relief washed over her, but dread sank in her heart.
She knew the heavy stick might strike her back again.
Though her husband had ignored her a while ago, she was used to that silence.
It often felt like the calm before the storm.
Sooner or later, his anger over what had happened earlier would fall on her in the form of beatings.
After crying themselves to sleep from fatigue and hunger, the youngest ones were gently lifted onto the bed by their older siblings.
Then the older children squeezed in as well, all of them packed tightly on the small bed together, like sardines in a can.
Mu Ruying sat in silence, watching her children's thin faces.
They were her beloved stars, the very reason she kept going through all the beatings from her husband.
When everyone was finally asleep, with no one to see or hear her, tears quietly rolled down her cheeks.
Mu Ruying didn't dare make a sound.
Only through these silent cries could she release the worries, sadness, and frustration that weighed heavily on her.
Fresh cuts and bruises across her back stung her skin, still untreated. She had no time to tend to them.
In the end, under the moonlight slipping through the window, Mu Ruying leaned against the wall.
She fell asleep beside her five sons, her mind heavy with worries for tomorrow.
That very night, in Cangwei Village.
Inside the shabby room of the infamous third young master Wan, something quietly shifted.
Under the moonlight filtering through the cracks of the mud house window, the handsome face of a man rested.
Yet, his very core had already been replaced forever—unbeknownst to the heavens.
—
Next morning, before the roosters crowed and woke the whole village, Wan Zheng was already awake.
He wasn't sure whether it was the heat or his body's instinct to wake up early, but he was ready to start the day.
Wan Zheng had stepped outside and saw the first rays of sunlight washing over the earth.
It was still dark, but not completely.
He could still make out the path ahead and walk carefully without tripping.
The yard was quiet as he left the house, suggesting the family was still asleep, which worked in his favor.
Wan Zheng moved silently, planning to reach the nearby river and bathe before the villagers began their day.
From the memories of the original body's owner, the village had a river that connected to Fangwei village.
It was where the young master once swam and got scolded by the villagers behind his back, because bathing there was forbidden.
The river served as the source of water for everyone's daily needs.
Regarding that, Wan Zheng chose to go there anyway.
It wasn't that he didn't want to respect the villagers.
Since it was a river, he simply wanted a quick wash.
Wan Zheng stripped off his ancient-style clothing, smoother and finer than anything anyone in the village owned.
It was because the original body owner knew that even if disowned by his Wan Clan, this young master could still live better than the rest.
Wan Zheng suddenly remembered that the second child's clothes were rough, patched, and clearly far too small for a seven-year-old boy.
He couldn't help thinking about his identity, the previous owner, who had lived in comfort while letting his wife and children suffer.
What an utter scumbag, Wan Zheng thought as he folded the clothes neatly and placed them on the large stone.
His body now revealed a soft chest with fat and no defined abs.
Once again, he felt dissatisfied with this new body.