Your Name

"Did he wake up at all in the night?"

Sir Yi—he didn't offer a name, only that she could call him Yi—nodded at the question. "Once, but he was not lucid and fell asleep again soon."

Shu Shu nodded.

The boy had a light fever, but it was normal considering his wounds. "The fever would pass in time. Just make sure he is dehydrated and fed. He should be fine in a day or two," she concluded. "I'd offer a chicken soup if I could, but the villagers here don't have the luxury of eating meat other than for big celebrations."

Sir Yi was silent, which was fine, really. Shu Shu didn't expect him to respond.

"If you have the meat, can you make it?"

"Ah?"

Looking up from where she was preparing the boiled vegetables, Shu Shu sent him a bewildered look.

"I am asking if you have the chicken meat, can you make it?" Sir Yi repeated agitatedly.

"Ah… sure," she replied haltingly. "But where are you—"

"I'll go buy it, or hunt it. You wait here and take care of Young Master," he said succinctly, heading towards the door.

Shu Shu blinked, and he vanished. She jerked back. Had he… had he truly disappeared into thin air? She inched forward, examining the place where he'd last been. Perhaps Shu Shu was imagining it, but she could've sworn she felt a trace of life energy by the doorway.

It had a weird feeling, warm but also cold. Electrifying and heavy, but also ephemeral.

She shook his head.

It must her imagination running wild. The only life energy she had ever felt was Lu Tai Hu's, however briefly. And since she was told of her supposed goal in meditating, she began concentrating to get that warm feeling.

She could feel that she was close to a breakthrough, even though it had only been roughly a week since. Sometimes it felt like the warmth she was reaching for was just at the tip of her fingers.

"Ungh…"

Startled, Shu Shu immediately went inside. The boy laying on the straw bed was sluggishly blinking his eyes.

"You are awake," she stated in relief. Without by your leave, her hand reached out to feel her temperature. So used was she to his unconsciousness that she didn't think her action could be registered as a threat to someone so injured.

The boy's hand lashed out, as if he wasn't bogged down by his injuries, and gripped her hand tightly. His eyes—not fully alert, but showing his alarm—darted about in a bird-like manner.

"Who... you... " the boy croaked out hoarsely.

"Oh! Of course, wait, I'll get you water," feeling foolish, Shu Shu tugged her hand out of his grip and went to get a cup of water.

She slowly approached him, making sure her hands were always in his sight to show she meant no harm. He allowed her to help her up to a sitting position but refused to drink the water.

Shu Shu was confused for a second before she remembered that the boy and Sir Yi seemed to be chased by someone. Of course he would cautious of her, especially since Sir Yi was nowhere in sight.

"I am a physician. Sir Yi asked for my help yesterday, he is currently out to get you food," she explained briefly before taking a sip of the water. "See, not poisoned."

The boy eyed her suspiciously for a moment, but decided to drink the water when it was offered again.

He gulped down three cups of water before he leaned back. Shu Shu then went to plate the boiled wild vegetables, all the while she explained the extent of his and Sir Yi's injuries.

"…Sir Yi's injuries are mostly fine now, as long as he didn't put too much stress on it. His blood loss will also be fine after lots of rests and blood-replenishing food. Well, I think it'll take a few weeks until the dizziness and all-around sluggishness to disappear though…"

She put the plate on his lap with a quick smile, easily ignoring his dubios stare, probably from her rambling explanation. Eating a piece with her pair of chopsticks to prove there was no poison, she handed another pair of chopsticks for him to eat with.

Slowly, he began to eat.

If one ignored his current state of wounds and his bloodied clothes, he was actually quite handsome and, dare she said it, cute as he tried to eat the vegetables with trembling hands.

Shu Shu would have offered to fed him, but his cold and wary look whenever she got close was enough deterrent.

"The villagers named me Shu Shu."

She suddenly said out of the nowhere. The boy stopped chewing to glance at her before resuming to eat.

Shu Shu huffed.

"Your name, please? I'd like to know the name of my patient if I could," she huffed out with a pout.

She saved him, fed him, and even sheltered him! The least he could do was give her his name!

The boy once again glanced at her before looking away in silence.

"Then, since I met you in a forest, you will be Lin ge," she decided with a nod, ignoring the boy's slight frown. "Lin ge, your fever should break tomorrow or the day after, but that wound needed to be treated again in four to five days from now."

She needed to get the stitches out, actually.

It was already a wonder that Sir Yi didn't stop her when he saw her method.

"You absolutely cannot strain the wound or it'll open again and the treatment have to be repeated. It'll be tender, so moving around will hurt. I recommend bed rest."

The boy mutely blinked at her, probably overwhelmed by the sudden heavy information, but she doubted it. He seemed to not believe her when she said she was a physician, even though she made accurate examination of Sir Yi's and his conditions.

"Lin ge, I'm telling you, it was a miracle your chest wound didn't injure anything vital, though it's very deep," she informed seriously. The boy's eyebrows comically twitched at his 'name', and unfortunately for him, Shu Shu noticed it.

Her mood instantly change for serious to playful. She blamed her physical age, she really did.

"So, Lin ge, I hope you are not full yet. Sir Yi's coming with a chicken for a nourishing soup. Ah, Lin ge, have you ever ate a nourishing chicken soup? Lin ge, I can guarantee my chicken soup will taste very tasty, don't you worry!"

Alright, so, she didn't have to say that made up name in every sentence. But she was steadily getting amuses at the constant twitch in the boy's eyebrow.

He should have told her his name if he didn't want to be called 'Lin ge'! It was only fair!

She started rambling about useless things, constantly calling him 'Lin ge' and watched the already red and flushed face frown in irritation.

Unknown to her, the boy would grow up to be someone very adept at controlling his expression and his temper due to this incident. However, it was a story far in the future, and the two children were now just that, children.

"Lin--"

"Yun Tian."

Shu Shu started when the boy finally opened his mouth for the second time. "Excuse me? I didn't hear that," she did actually, she was just that petty.

The boy flushed before forcing the words out of his mouth. "My name," he muttered darkly, "is Xu Yun Tian."

Shu Shu nodded sagely.

"I see, thanks Lin ge."

...and then she shrieked in laughter as she dodged the chopsticks thrown at her by the irritated boy.