He vaguely sensed someone approaching.
A pair of aged yet strong hands helped him up from the ground.
It felt as though a cold liquid had been poured into his mouth, followed by a stream of warm spiritual energy coursing through his meridians and spreading throughout his body.
The path the spiritual energy took... felt somewhat familiar.
He frowned and thought for a moment, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not recall where he had felt such true energy before.
Forget it.
Yan Hui braced himself against the bed and rose, then staggered over to the window.
He pushed open the latticed window, and the cool early-morning air rushed against his face, carrying the scent of grass, trees, and earth. Unknown wildflowers bloomed alone in the corner, dew still clinging to their petals.
He focused his mind and held his breath, slowly extending his spiritual sense to search every inch of the entire manor.
The garden was empty, without a trace of human presence.
The side rooms were silent, without a trace of human presence.
The courtyard, the woodshed, beside the well... there was no human presence anywhere.
In this vast manor, aside from himself, there was not a single soul.
Yan Hui's brow furrowed even deeper. Where was the person who had saved him? Had they left? Or...
Something suddenly occurred to him, and he opened his mouth to call out. His lips moved a few times, but no sound emerged—
It was as if something were lodged in his throat. It was dry and raw, his vocal cords like rusted iron sheets that could not vibrate at all.
Just as he was about to call out, "Is anyone there?" he suddenly froze.
His gaze passed over the courtyard wall and landed on the bluestone path