Over Wei Junlan's situation, almost everyone had stayed awake all night. The only one who had slept without a care in the world woke in the morning to the dwarves calling outside and, for a moment, felt as though he had returned to his old world. Once people grew accustomed to the bustle of ordinary streets, they could treat it as a lullaby.
Xuanzhu waited nearby. Seeing that he had opened his eyes, she hurried to bring over what she had spent the morning stewing. "Since you're awake, have something to eat."
Little Minghui sat beside them, watching Xuanzhu set the pumpkin she had stewed for nearly two hours before Wei Junlan. She remembered discussing this with him once: he hated pumpkin more than anything. His family had been poor when he was young, so he had eaten pumpkin every day-pumpkin porridge, stir-fried pumpkin, and the like. After eating something all through childhood, even the finest delicacy would become tiresome.
With a rather twisted desire to see Xuanzhu embarrass herself, she chose not to offer a single word of warning. Her feelings toward Xuanzhu were conflicted. The woman was technically her senior sister, yet she could not help resenting the fact that Wei Junlan was dying while Xuanzhu remained perfectly unharmed.
Wei Junlan sat up and noticed the red patch on Xuanzhu's wrist and the blackened marks on her fingers. Her once-pretty fingers looked as though they had been coated in dust. He chuckled softly. "Thank you."
To Dongfang Minghui's surprise, Wei Junlan not only accepted the food, but took the bowl from Xuanzhu and ate all the steaming pumpkin without his expression changing. An inexplicable tightness settled in her chest. "Seventh Sister, I want to visit the Cass Tribe."
"Come on. I'll go with you."
Before leaving, Qian Wanyu