Chapter 7: Total Shut-In

Words : 1843 Updated : May 15th, 2025

"Mom, it's me, Lia. Can you hear me? Mom..." Lia grabbed her sleeping mother's hand, calling out anxiously. The woman's hand moved a little, her brows knitting together before slowly opening her eyes. She stared blankly at her daughter, whose eyes brimmed with happy tears. She was about to speak when Lia flung herself into her mother's arms, sobbing, "Mom, you're finally awake. I…" "Lia…" The woman gradually came to her senses, feeling a faint, fresh energy slowly coursing through her body, bringing her strength back. "What happened to me, Lia?" she asked, now fully awake and trying to sit up. After being bedridden for so long, her limbs were too numb to move, but she could still feel that refreshing energy working to heal her arms and legs. Nixon stood there, mouth wide open, completely stunned by what he saw, so shocked he couldn't speak. For the first time, he realized there might be things in this world that couldn't be explained. Was he hallucinating, though? ***** Keanu was pretty happy with his new place. He still had tens of thousands left, so he didn't have to worry about making money for now. He spent his days cultivating in the courtyard and had carefully transplanted the Silvero Grass into its own flower bed. After a month, the man realized that the person living in the west room was a woman in her twenties. He trained every night and practiced martial arts in the courtyard every morning. The woman always left for work really early and came back late. Keanu was already cultivating in his room by that time. So, they hadn't even run into each other once in the month that he was there. Keanu didn't care at all what kind of woman lived next door. His life was simple, and he barely had enough time for his own training, let alone any gossip. Meanwhile, the woman, Gwen Shadboult, knew the landlord had rented out the east side, but she didn't know who her new neighbor was; she just knew he was a young guy about her age. She left for work at six every morning and didn't get home until almost seven at night, so she never saw him. With the leaders from the Health Bureau coming to inspect, she hadn't had a single day off, not even on weekends. That young man never showed up before she left or after she got back. If it weren't for the changes in the flower bed, she would have thought he didn't even exist. After a while, she realized this guy across the hall was a total shut-in. There were only two weeks left before school started again, and after a month of training, Keanu's true energy had only gotten a bit more refined. He was still a long way from reaching Level Two Energy Cultivation. It just showed how important the world's spiritual energy was for cultivation. But at least he hadn't slacked off on his regular martial arts- they were getting sharper and sharper. Keanu knew that if he wanted to reach Level Two Energy Cultivation here, he'd need something extra to help him. The herbs from the pharmacy couldn't do it; his only hope was the Silvero Grass in his yard. There was only one Silvero Grass, so Keanu wanted to keep it alive and wait to produce seeds, so he could grow more later. But Silvero Grass took two years to mature, and this one had probably been growing wild for just one year. Even if he took great care of it, he'd still have to wait at least three years before he could harvest any new Silvero Grass. Still, some hope was better than none. One day, when Keanu walked out of his room, he saw a woman in her twenties doing laundry in the courtyard. He could tell right away she was his neighbor. She usually did her laundry at night. How come she was doing it during the day now? Didn't she have work? Gwen saw Keanu walk into the courtyard and couldn't help but smile. After living next door to this shut-in for a month and never seeing him, she'd finally caught a glimpse of him, only because she was covering some night shifts for a coworker's wedding. He wasn't bad-looking, so why did he never come out? What did he do all day, anyway? "Hi, I'm Gwen Shadboult, your neighbor. I work at Lycon Hospital," she said, greeting him with a friendly smile. Keanu nodded with a slight smile. "I'm Keanu Yale. I'm currently between jobs." It was Keanu's first time meeting Gwen. She was a gentle, soft-spoken woman with a sincere smile. Her hair was tied up, hiding its length, but her fair skin stood out. While she wasn't as stunning as the woman who had bought his talisman, she wasn't far behind—a beauty with a girl-next-door charm. "You don't have a job?" Hearing Keanu say he was unemployed made Gwen a little uneasy. A young guy in his prime, not working, renting a place, and staying home all day- what was that about? There wasn't even internet here, so he couldn't just be gaming. And he didn't look away like a typical introvert- he actually looked her up and down pretty directly. Was he some kind of creep? Gwen couldn't help but feel a little paranoid. On the other hand, Keanu didn't care what she was thinking. He checked on his Silvero Grass, took care of the other plants, and was about to start practicing his martial arts- but then, noticing Gwen was there, he stopped, said goodbye, and headed out. As she watched Keanu leave, Gwen finally sighed in relief. Remembering how focused he'd been with the plants, she thought, "Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Would a criminal really care about gardening? He didn't dress like someone with money, either." She still couldn't figure out what he did all day. ***** Queens Lake Park was the closest park to Keanu's home. It was pretty big and had a clear lake in the middle. Lots of seniors and people who like to exercise came here. Keanu had been here before, but this was the first time he'd come to practice martial arts. The air was nice and fresh, and the environment was way better than his little courtyard. After running through a set of moves, Keanu felt his true energy had become a bit purer. He was still far from Level Two, but progress was progress. "Hey, nice moves!" said a man in his thirties, walking over as Keanu finished. "I've seen a lot of martial arts in my day, but I can't tell what style yours is. That's pretty impressive."

Chapter 7: Total Shut-In

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