He was happy that he was wrong for once. He had expected the majority of the former bandit group to take the Gold coins and leave. It was by no means a small amount of money he was offering after all. They could live well even with their conditions if they managed the money well. It was a guaranteed easy life compared to following him. Instead of following a crippled boy they had just met for the first time, who basically went to their front door and had a hostile takeover, they could’ve left and he wouldn’t have bothered them again.

It was a stupid choice. They were all in front of him with Yuan handing him the sack he had given him a week ago with not a single coin missing. Truly, a village of idiots, yet he was more fond of them than before. If there was one thing he valued above competence in his employees it was loyalty. It didn’t matter if it was towards him, friends, or their family, it showed that they had good character.

His first step was to improve their standards of life and health. He gave out medicine and treated everyone he could. Most had small cuts, bruises, and rashes. Nothing that some ointment wouldn’t fix, however, the real issues were from their poor management of their health. These underlying problems would take a lot of time.

Malnutrition, poor hygiene, and lack of exercise.

He couldn’t really blame them considering the circumstances. They were poor and focused more on filling their bellies than being concerned about eating properly. And why exercise and waste energy when you barely had enough to eat as is? Hygiene also wasn’t a well-established concept here like in his old world. Regular bathing and dental maintenance was something for the rich. Soap was an expensive luxury item.

It was a vicious cycle that kept them all in poor health.

Which was why his first order of business was to introduce and enforce regular bathing. It might be too cold for the rivers or a soak in a tub, but using a cloth to scrub themselves and washing their hands regularly wasn’t difficult. He had brought enough food for everyone to last well past the winter, and enough clothing and blankets to keep every man woman and child warm.

So he put them to work, building better fences to keep out wild animals. He showed them how to make a house out of mud bricks and straw, providing much better insulation than their huts of leaves and sticks. Everyone had gathered enough firewood to last them the winter before it became too cold.

He also made everyone exercise, be they man, woman, or child, nobody was left out. It was mostly light cardio and going through the stances and move sets of some fighting styles he had learned in his previous life. It was only to get them active and used to such movements.

He had planned to ask Bai to show them the ropes, not any family secret or personal techniques, but some simple and basic moves. His main goal was to have her help them unlock their KI, as even having it unlocked provided substantial boosts to the body.

Sadly, as talented and strong as Bai was...She was a completely incompetent teacher! Ironically enough it was her vast talent that prevented her from teaching the others. She was a prodigy, everything came simple to her, like second nature. There was no way for her to explain her thought process in a way for them to understand. Something they had in common, which he found hilarious and teased her about whenever she complains about his inventions and ideas.

She couldn’t even draw on her father’s methods as, frankly, they were too brutal and none of these people would survive. Even he probably wouldn’t have been able to manage. He considered himself a taskmaster when it came to those under him, always expecting their best, but not even Qing Shan was that cruel.

While Qing Shan himself had it and learned the basics of manipulating KI, he had cheated. His teacher had unlocked it for him back when he had newly arrived and couldn’t understand the language. Normally it took training and intense meditation and focus to find your inner energy, with the best time for such being in your youth. He couldn’t unlock it for others like his own had did for him. There was a method for forcefully unlocking someone else’s KI, but it was advanced and highly dangerous for both parties. And most of the group were well past the recommended age.

Which was why he planned to take notes from his teachers and fellow students. Bai had unlocked hers in a life or death situation and couldn’t fully recall the process. He was a cheater. Their experiences did jack shit for helping the others, but maybe he could learn something from the other kids? He could recite the materials from his textbooks or bring them copies of it, but without access to KI, it wouldn't do them any good. It would more likely interfere with their progress with preconceived notions

Although he did well in school, Qing Shan didn't truly pay much attention to the goings of it. He attended all his classes, did his assignments, and was never late. He did all he was supposed to and only that. He didn’t mingle with his peers.

Oh, sure, he replied when spoken too, but didn’t initiate conversations. He didn’t play with the other kids, preferring to spend his time reading in the small library. Every day as soon as school ended for the day he would leave without a second glance. He didn’t have a single classmate that he could call a friend.

And that suited him perfectly fine before now. Before he had to take care of a group of people and whip them into shape.

Qing Shan had finished his first class of the day without any trouble thankfully enough. If he was lucky then the answers would be within these walls, if not he might have to sneak into the Long family’s archives...a daunting and irritating task considering it was located near the main house and he would likely encounter his ‘family’.

Normally he would just roll out the door without looking back, but this time he had a goal. Searching through the crowd of kids his eyes ended up homing in on a particularly short one.

Short messy black hair, face still full of baby face, and a meek countenance, Du was the perfect target. He followed him out of the room and down a hallway. There was a half hour intermission between classes and he planned to take advantage of it.

He rolled past the kid and turned around to face him in a small drift. Du stopped in surprise before curling back within himself. His oversized robes made it look as if he was trying to be a turtle. He rolled closer, staring the kid in the eye with a small smile on his face.

"Hello Du, may I have some of your time? I have a certain topic I would like to discuss with you."

It was odd, how despite his pleasant smile and polite tone, Du felt like he was faced with a member of the triad! Why was this happening to him?! He just wanted to use the bathroom before his next class, but now he's being corned by the Long family's kid! Should be run? Surely someone in a wheelchair wouldn't be able to catch up! Wait, what if he takes offense to that and tells his parents on him? The child of a lowly merchant like he couldn't afford their wrath.

Crap, Crap, Crap, what should he do?!

While Du was looking like he was having an anxiety attack, Qing Shan smoothly closed the distance. Every bit of floor he traversed forward, Du took a corresponding amount back, until Qing Shan managed to make him back against the wall.

Anyone passing by would no doubt have thought the resident cripple was mugging Du with how much he was shaking and the sharp gleam in his eyes.

"Come now, Du, It will only take a minute."

Seeing the hesitation in Du, he made the choice for him before he could run off and dragged him along into a nearby area with stone stools. Du didn't know how this kid half his height could drag him when he was in a freaking wheelchair, but he didn't dare voice his complaints and followed along. With the appearance of a man heading towards the gallows, he submitted to his fate.

And so Qing Shan went around asking people questions. Questions so basic or strange, he only further cemented his image of the resident retard.

'How often did you eat, and how was your stool like after unlocking your KI?'

...Truly a strange child.