He silently came down from his guard forte and walked toward the herb garden.
Jie Lan was confused about two herbs because of their similarity in many ways, she was deeply incomprehension in a comic way because of her concentration along with confusion between a selection of two herbs, that she did not focus any sliver movement around.
Just when she thought she should take both and bring them to her younger sister, she settled the rest of the herbs in her cloth pouch and rose, a dry and heavy voice broke her concentration and she moved with the fear of a ghost.
Who could it be in the complete night other than a ghost?
Her amber round eyes opened to their maximum width, and just when she wanted to scream and open her mouth for the purpose, she noticed that it was wearing a security uniform and was a soldier.
She put her both hands to muffle her scream, "Enough, what are you doing here and who are you?"
She tried to calm her throbbing heart with his sudden appearance and said in tottered words, "Maid…. Herbs…. Pain….necessary….stomach."
She had planned that if someone found her she would say that she needed herbs for her sister, her stomach was hurting badly.
But she felt breathless due to fear and could not explain properly.
"You should be careful next time, don't walk around in the night," his voice was threatening or she was weak heart, she collapsed before she could run to go back or he could complete his sentence. He was not rude or threatening to her yet she could not stand it.
"Oh" she collapsed and he scratched his head thinking what threaten her to go unconscious, what happened? He came to her but was unable to discern her condition due to insufficient light.
He ran to his guard forte and brought a pot of water and a light wooden torch.
He came and light fell on her bright face, her long black hair was spread and he could see the horror on her face which she felt before. He sprinkled some water on her, in hope that she might wake up and she showed some sign to wake, he sprinkled some more water and she quickly opened her eyes with fear, and what she saw she fell back.
She saw a beautiful young man stooping over her with an anxious gaze, he was just anxious that she might not awake but she woke up and his anxious expression got light she stared at him but then her expression got light to see that he did not reprimand her again being in herb garden she could not move her eyes from his face, she likes this soldier.
"Go back to your abode and be careful next time," this time he politely said and rose to walk back to his forte. She did not stand to her feet and was still there.
He was about to leave the garden when turned back to look that she was gone safely but to his surprise, she was still there.
"What? Why did she not go back? What was she thinking? Was she bitten by something? He came again to ask her what was wrong with her.
He came with hefty steps.
She was looking at him indeed; she prayed to look at him again but within the moment, her plea was accepted by her ancestors, and she was contented.
He was in front of her but she did continue to look at him without any reason just to look at him for long.
Was she in a coma? He asked himself, indeed she might have got hit to the ground. Torch again helped her to see his face.
"Am I gone mad?" she asked herself.
"Why did not you move yet?" he asked politely.
She rose, came close, she could see his handsome face with torchlight in his hand, just when he was perplexed, she cupped his face in her hands staring him close face, and next moment backed one step and ran toward her abode like the fast wind.
She did not move to look at him but he was left there dumbstruck. She came into her room and locked it.
Wei Lan saw her and asked anxiously, "Did someone catch you?" "No…no one," she said minded and emptied the pouch of herbs on her bed. Wei's eyes lit up to see the required herbs.
She wanted to make changes to the original herbs of an herbal formula to make hair oil.
A devil smile appeared on her face to see the herbs.
Jie Lan thought that today she was caught in, and fell asleep to see the young man in her dreams. Wei Lan saw her feet slightly bleeding but she was shocked that Jie Lan did not mention it and instead went to sleep she even did not apply liniment to cure it, did she ignore it or she did not feel that she was hurt.