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.

"That's fine. We'll have to figure out something for you to do." He only added the second part to not make her feel more indebted. After all, she was just a child and he was the a powerful lord in the country of Kang. Moreover, she was almost fully blind, so there wasn't many chores she could do even if she became a servant. Even if she didn't insist, he wanted to help her. He couldn't help every orphan in the world, but seeing as she stumbled upon his path, he wouldn't abandon her.

As he walked towards the door, he heard her fall to the floor after trying to stand up. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she apathetically glanced in his direction, unsure if she was looking in the right direction.

"How would you be a servant if you cannot even walk without falling?" His strict tone reprimanded her and she began to visibly shake. He walked towards her to help her, but she ignored his helping hand and grabbed onto the nearest thing she could touch. Slowly, she stood up and began to walk as she felt the wall. Her strong perseverance made him realize that she would be an even better student than he hoped for.

"My Lord, please turn me to the direction of the servant quarters." She stubbornly said in her hoarse voice, even though uttering an entire sentence made her throat burn with pain.

His cold and handsome face finally cracked a smile. "Li Jianyu."

"Huh?"

"That's my name, but you can call me Shifu." He explained patiently, yet she was still confused.

"S-Shifu?" Did all of this servants refer to him as teacher?

"Yes, I wish to take you as my student. Do you accept?" She froze. Either he was serious or playing a very cruel joke on her since she was practically hopeless.

"Why?" The experiences she had gone through had made her doubt everything. Not just with Old Man Li, but even when her mother had been scorned by the entire village for being a single mother. Besides, she was currently disabled and practically useless. There was no medicine to heal her eyes and by the tone of the doctor from earlier, this man was a very distinguished man. What would he gain with her as his student? Perhaps as a servant, he would be getting some fame for taking in an invalid. But as a student, it was delusional.

"Because I do." Li Jianyu had no further explanation for her. He just wished that she could trust him a tiny bit. Although she had gone through a lot—in which he still didn't know what—he did save her. That should've accounted for a faction of belief.

"M-My Lord," she stuttered, falling to her knees. "Ying Yun is very grateful for being saved," she shivered as she spoke, "but please don't fool her." Her dry eyes swarmed with tears again. She had cried enough to last a lifetime during these past couple of days. She was tired of being the fool for everyone to be amused. Even if this man didn't want her to be his servant, he could've used a better excuse to send her off.

Although Ying Yun was blind, she could still sense the chilling aura that the man had released when she finished her plea. She didn't understand. Was the man angry because she refused to be a plaything for him? Because she refused to play the role of a fool and pretend to be his student?

"Ying Yun," Li Jianyu took a deep breath and murmured, "do not take my words lightly. If I says student, then that is what I mean."

Her head lowered and her eyes closed. It didn't matter if she closed them or not since she couldn't see anything, but closing them allowed her to think.

And the more that she thought about it, the more that she realized that she had no money nor family nor anywhere to live. Being his student had many benefits, such as the essentials she did not possess. Even if he was fooling her, then it didn't matter. Her mother had willed for her to live and she still had the mystery of the jade pendant and bracelet that she had found to be solved. If playing along with his game would guarantee her survival, then so be it.

She kowtowed three times and lifted her head. "Ying Yun greets Shifu..."

Some notes:

Shifu: means teacher. I'm sure you picked that up already. In this case, it would be for martial arts and such.

Li: is a surname. It's a different character and surname than Old Man Li. Li Jianyu and OML have nothing to do with each other.

Although I try to keep their conversations first person, occasionally, they will refer to themselves in third because it was a matter of respect and status. I'm not doing it in third person fully because it would've been "this servant is grateful" the entire time. And Li Jianyu would've referred to himself as "lordship" rather than "I" and it would be like that for all the characters with high status. So it's easier for you guys if I just do first person and not go the traditional route except a few times to keep the authenticity of the setting.

That should be everything, but let me know if you have any questions. See you Tuesday!

- Scarlettt

(P.S. forgive any errors since it's like 5am and I'm brain dead lol... I'll eventually find an editor for the entire novel or edit it once it's completed, so don't worry).