Glass Sight

Chapter One 一

Is there no way?

No, her eyes have been damaged for too long. No physician can help her. I'm sorry My Lord.

She heard an audible sigh and the rest of their conversation was tuned out. She couldn't open her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She heard footsteps slowly leaving but could hear the soft breaths of someone continue to stand next to her.

"I know you're awake." She flinched and froze like a statue. "Turn towards me." She recognized his voice as the man who had saved her life from the beast, hence she subconsciously found it safe enough to do so. She turned her body towards the voice and a brief silence followed.

"Open your eyes." He demanded, but her only response was to stay unmoving. "At least answer me."

She opened her mouth and a hoarse voice escaped. "Hurts..." One word was all that she could mutter. He realized how dry and cracked her lips were, immediately calling for a servant to bring some water. A couple of minutes later, he helped her sit up, bringing the glass of water to her lips. She froze, unsure on whether or not she should drink it, but in the end, her thirst overwhelmed her caution.

In the blink of an eye, she had drank the entire content of the glass, like a small, wounded animal that had found an oasis. The man's eyes hardened. What had this child gone through to be like so? He remembered that she was almost dead by the wild animal had he not been curious of the sound coming from the forest, rescuing her.

"What is your name?" He gently asked. Her age reminded him of his student, who was also young and got himself in trouble. Although by her stature, she was definitely either younger or malnourished.

She cleared her throat and softly mumbled, "Ying Yun." She wanted to use a false name, but seeing how this stranger had been so kind to her and saved her life, the only thing she could offer in compensation was her name.

"Well, Ying Yun, do you mind telling me how you managed to get in a such a severe condition?" She opened her mouth to reply but paused. He noticed her hesitation and asked, "Where are your parents?" She visibly flinched. Although her eyes were closed, small tears streamed from them.

He changed his inquisitive tone to a much gentler one. "Ying Yun, can you open your eyes?" She shook her head. She had tried to ignore their pain, but her eyes were throbbing too much. Opening them, she was scared of the inevitable. That she might be really blind. "Try it so we can get them healed."

"Liar." She had overheard that her eyes were too damaged. How would he get them healed? He sighed, which made her realize that she wasn't doing the only thing he asked of her since saving her. So, despite the pain she felt, she slowly opened her eyes.

As she expected, it was completely blurry and almost fully dark. She clenched the sheets, feeling uncomfortable with such a change. Deep in her heart, she hoped that there would be a sliver of a chance that everything was a nightmare. But her lack of vision was proof that she had lost her mother and killed Old Man Li.

"What do you see?" In her bare minimum of sight, she saw a blurry figure with silver hair.

"Almost nothing." A bitter truth.

"I see." The figure in her sight turned which made her head hurt. She closed her eyes again, the darkness giving her a sense of comfort.

He turned to leave and she panicked. She got up from the bed and grabbed his arm. "Please let me stay here. I'll work, I'll do anything! Please don't abandon me!" He could hear Ying Yun's desperation and saw her shivering. He had planned to let her stay anyway, but gave her a verbal confirmation.