Jin Se

Chapter 50

The moment Shi Wuduan opened his eyes, he came face to face with Lanre, who flinched in shock. It was the first time she'd seen his eyes, and her impression was that they were deeply black. Perhaps because of his injuries, they seemed dim at first glance, though not on the second. Even the light in his eyes was hidden deeper than others.

Lord Sixth is oddly handsome, Lanre blushed as she thought.

Unlike most young girls, she didn't scream or cause a ruckus. Instead, she quickly poured a cup of water and carefully elevated Shi Wuduan's head, saying, "You must be thirsty lord sixth, have a drink of water first. I'll go get the doctor and Si-niang shortly."

She couldn't tell if Shi Wuduan had heard her or not. He merely stared at her for a while, stared until Lanre started to get antsy, before slowly looking away and drinking half the bowl of water.

After Lanre helped him lay back down again, the rabbit, which had been snuggled in his arms under the blankets the whole time, squirmed its way to the front of the bed and curled up in the crook of his neck. Shi Wuduan glanced down at it, and though he couldn't move, his expression softened as a smile fluttered at the corners of his mouth, a dimple popping up on his haggard cheek.

Lanre accidentally caught a glimpse and instantly turned her gaze away. She thought, if lord sixth was willing to smile at a girl like that, she'd probably be willing to follow him to the ends of the earth. It's said that beautiful women bring disasters, but who'd've thought it'd be true of beautiful men as well.

Shi Wuduan was a very easy patient to take care of. It never took any extra effort to make him take medicine, his temper was so calm that staying on bedrest day in and day out never seemed to annoy him, and he'd do whatever the doctor told him to do. Ever since he'd woken up, Lanre hadn't heard him make a peep of discomfort or pain again. If there wasn't any need, he'd never inconvenience anyone else. Once he was able to speak again, the only instructions he ever gave her was to remind her to feed his bird and rabbit.

Sometimes, Lanre felt like Shi Wuduan would never run out of thoughts to think. When he sat there, holding his rabbit, completely silent, he could sit for a while day, seemingly lost in thought. Only when Li Si-niang and the sirs visited would he liven up a bit and say a few extra words.

Rumor had it that they were cultivators and that each one of them were unimaginably powerful, yet Li Si-niang and the doctor didn't think twice about shutting them outside the door so that they wouldn't disturb Shi Wuduan's rest.

Only the goateed man named Sir Xia had once snuck into his room and chatted casually with lord sixth about what the other sirs had been doing recently. Before he left, he even indecisively called out Lanre, dithered for a while, then finally grit his teeth, begrudgingly counted out three silvers, and handed them to her, urging her to buy a few of lord sixth's favorite snacks for him.

Lord sixth, still bedridden, let out a quiet huff of laughter - his chest was injured, so he had to hold it in. His eyes, when they curved into little crescents, were so very brilliant, as he said, "A thousand gold is easy to obtain, but a single copper from Sect Leader Xia is hard to come by. Being able to use Sect Leader Xia's money is truly the honor of a lifetime."

That stingy Sir Xia was so peeved he marched away at once.

Lanre was used to caring for other people; she was a pious girl who'd looked after her mother and father as they wasted away from sickness. Though she was young, the hardships she'd experienced had made her steady and level-headed. She was also a girl who was possessed of a sincere heart. Because of her gratitude towards Li Si-niang, she tended to Shi Wuduan with her utmost effort; and because of Shi Wuduan's single order, she even treated the rabbit and bird just as well.