"Ah, being able to move around on my own feels so good."
Zhao Si stretched in the light.
Whether it was sunlight or the Erdtree's light, it felt warm on his skin.
But barely had he stretched before he grew breathless, bending over with a hand on the battlements as he coughed nonstop.
He looked like someone with one foot already in the grave.
As it turned out, Zhao Si had not fully recovered. He had merely regained the ability to take care of himself.
He thought back to lying in bed like a stroke patient, relying on others for everything from eating and drinking to relieving himself.
Helena could feed him and give him water.
But when it came to relieving himself, the Haligtree's male servants had to help.
To suffer such embarrassment at his age was truly painful to look back on.
"Getting old really is terrifying." Zhao Si panted for a long while before his breathing steadied.
He was still young, but his struggle with death had severely depleted his body, giving him an early taste of old age.
"No wonder people say you're no use when you're old. Some old people even want to die." Zhao Si felt he understood the thoughts of people of a certain age a little better.
If someone could only lie bedridden, constantly needing others to care for them, unable even to control their bowels and bladder...
Then they might truly feel helpless and humiliated, thinking they would be better off dead.
And if their mind grew muddled too, leaving them unable to recognize anyone, witless and living like a walking corpse...
They probably could not find any meaning in continuing to live, either.
Their life had not reached its end, yet they spent it unconsciously. If a serious illness struck,