The bedroom door opened. Li Wushou turned his head toward the entrance.
A slender young woman entered; her face was plain, like that of any girl you might pass on a street corner. The young woman was surprised by Li Wushou's gaze.
"I thought you were sleeping, but well, this will be quicker."
Li Wushou raised an eyebrow. Of course, he was incapable of speaking, and to the young woman, Li Wushou certainly lacked the intelligence of children his age.
She carried a meal tray with her: a sort of porridge accompanied by a glass of water, which she placed at Li Wushou's bedside.
The woman's expression hardened as she looked at the child; it was clear she had no regard for him. To her, he was an object of disgust.
"This will be your last meal!"
He knew very well what the young woman was planning.
For better or worse, Li Wushou possessed hyper-developed senses; so, he did not panic. In any case, it would have been useless.
Nor was he surprised by the coldness with which this woman looked at him.
Ever since he had become aware of his surroundings, due to his condition, everyone treated him this way. Even though he was part of the prestigious Li family, no one had any regard for the child he was.
She gently pulled Li Wushou to the edge of the bed so he could sit up against it, and he offered no resistance, as if this were a scene he was used to. But the moment she tried to bring the spoon to Wushou's mouth, a hand stopped her.
A person had appeared behind her. Thinking about the reason why this girl had come to do something so useless, Li Wushou couldn't help but laugh internally.
For as long as he could remember in this life, even though everyone had turned their backs on him, he had a way out.
As soon as Li Wushou had understood his situation, he didn't think he would live long enough to accomplish his goals.
The fact that he had reached his fifth birthday was entirely due to this person's intervention. Thanks to her, he had avoided all assassination attempts; he had even been cast aside, which reduced the attention paid to him.
But one had to believe that as long as he was alive and in this state, his family would always come after him.
"??? Uh..."
The young woman had been caught off guard, and the spoon fell to the floor. The reason Li Wushou wasn't panicking was that someone was watching over him, and thanks to his senses, he knew she was nearby.
"I am just bringing the Young Master's meal. It has been a while since he ate; I thought if he didn't eat, something might happen to him..."
The young woman was trembling; her lie was obvious.
"It seems I gave a very precise order to everyone transferred to this pavilion: no one is to approach him. Only I have the right to take care of him."
"I am sorry, I just thought it would be terrible for the Young Master to remain starving for so long, please forgive me."
While the two discussed, Li Wushou merely observed. Both assumed he didn't understand what was happening; it was hard to tell if there was a trace of intelligence in his eyes.
Just as the woman was about to say something else, the one holding her wrist had had enough and snapped her neck. The young woman fell into her arms, and she lifted her up, throwing her over her shoulder.
"I am not good with these interrogations. Anyway, I already know who sent her; there is no point in keeping her alive. After all, she tried to strike a stone with an egg."
She glanced at Li Wushou.
A very formulaic family... She wondered how long this child would survive. Isolating him like this to monitor him, and constantly finding methods to try and end his life... If not for her, he would have been dead long ago, and if she were to leave, they would become more proactive. What a misfortune for this poor child.
She sighed.
"It is true that he must be hungry... Wait. I will return quickly with your meal."
"Oh? Do not worry about her. She just needs some rest; your Sechan is taking care of it. Please wait."
She walked out of his room carrying the woman with her, of course, after having laid Wushou back down comfortably on the bed. Naturally, she had no idea that Li Wushou was old enough to understand everything that had just happened.
Li Wushou was truly grateful to Sechan.
Thanks to her, he was sure to reach the age when he could start learning martial arts again. But something intrigued him: even though his current condition had changed many things, try as he might, he could not recall such a person in his previous life.
Furthermore, given Sechan's capabilities, if she had been around in his past, he certainly would have known. She was a variable totally unknown to him, and since he was isolated here, he could not gather information using his senses.
The whispers of those passing through this pavilion were mostly slander or unimportant gossip; no one possessing interesting information would waste their time here.
As a result, he didn't know who she was, where she came from, or why she was protecting him. Even though Wushou was grateful, for someone like him, not knowing this information and therefore Sechan's intentions was unbearable.
Fate was truly a joke: a person who had trusted his entourage, his friends, and his family had been betrayed; and now that he had a new chance, he had to rely on a stranger to survive.
He couldn't help but laugh. What irony of fate! But his resolve did not change.
He now wanted the days to pass quickly so he could reach the age where he could practice. He immediately immersed himself in meditation and projection as was his habit, training his mind.
One day, he would have the answers to all these questions.
That was Li Wushou's state of mind.