Does It Matter

19

  "He fractured his leg, the surgery went well, but he will still need to stay off of it for a while." The nurse was a petite woman, probably in her early thirties, with reddish brown hair and soft features.

"How long does he have to stay in the hospital?" Pangzi, the louder than anyone needed to hear man, was every now and then throwing suspicious glances back at Zhang, who stood silently in the corner observing everything.

"Normally we would just need to keep him overnight to make sure there were no complications, but considering his other injuries, we would like to keep him here for a few more days, but of course it would all depend on when he wakes up."

"Other injuries?" That glance had daggers in it this time.

"Yes," the nurse was also looking suspiciously between the two of them, internally debating the connection between the two filthy and heavily injured young men who had stumbled into the hospital yesterday and the loud one who had run in a few hours ago.

"His ribs are heavily bruised, but on the better side of things, only one was broken." She offered them a small smile, hoping to placate some of the tension. "Those are the major ones, there are a plethora of surface level bruises and abrasions, but those should heal in a few days without an issue."

There was silence for a bit as the two processed everything, finally Pangzi nodded his head in a resigned manner, "Thank you." He said quietly and the nurse smiled and left the room.

Only when the door had fully closed behind her did he turn around to face the other who had yet to say a word.

The man, about Wu Xie's age in appearance, started back at him, also looking him over. His dark eyes stared into his soul, and Pangzi soon dropped the stare down.

"Who are you? Where is Wu Sanxing?"

The other stared blankly at him, and replied. "I'm his bodyguard." There was a barely noticeable challenge in his voice as he gestured with his head to the youngest lying in the hospital bed.

Pangzi grit his teeth, knowing that that couldn't be the whole truth. Wu Sanxing was a cautious man, and that caution did extend to his nephew, but Sanxing was not the type to assign a bodyguard. It was much more likely that this man was assigned to spy on Wu Xie since no one else could keep track of him all the time.

He almost chuckled at the thought. Wu Xie was a real pain in the ass whenever they brought him anywhere, with his penchant for seeking out trouble and his seeming ability to always come out of it alive and well, it was nigh on impossible to keep up. His bad luck and curiosity would send him tumbling down a trapdoor that no one knew how he had even activated and hence couldn't follow him into, then he would show up at home a few days later with a grin on his face and new connections he himself didn't know how he got.

So it was natural for his uncle to get tired of it and finally hire someone for that sole purpose.

What was confusing was how the two had left the tomb, without the rest and heavily injured.

"Where is Wu SanXing?" He asked again.

A dark shadow passed through the others expression. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you prick?! Ok ok fine, maybe you don't know where he is, then how about this, if you're a bodyguard why is he in a hospital now?" He pointed to Wu Xie, who actually twitched when he was mentioned.

Pangzi's eyes widened.  "Oi! Are you awake you brat?"

The anger in his voice mostly stemmed from worry, but it was still unnerving to wake up to, Wu Xie thought as he cautiously sat up, wincing in pain as he did.

"Aish you're so loud Pangzi..." He scratched his head and avoided eye contact.

Pangzi on the other hand was fuming. "What is going on here Tianzhen? Where is your uncle?"

  "I am not naive Pangzi, I don't know where my uncle is, but he's probably drinking his own health with a bunch of stolen artifacts regardless of his location. And stop yelling at Zhang as if it's gonna get you anywhere."

"Ah so he does have a name then. And since when do you speak about your uncle that way?" Pangzi was genuinely confused at this, as far as he had known Wu Xie, he had always had a huge admiration for his third uncle.

Wu Xie deflated, left hand coming up to rub circles in his temple as a headache was forming.

"It doesn't matter, let's just go home now." He threw the blanket aside but was stopped from getting off the bed by Pangzi.

"What the hell Pangzi? Move aside."

"Tianzhen you stubborn little... You broke your leg and ribs this time, you are not leaving this hospital until the doctor says you can."

Wu Xie sat back and glared at the other, to no effect as the older man just stood in the way all the same.

He huffed out a sigh and switched tactics, who gives a damn about pride anyway, he wanted out of this stupid hospital. He looked down, gathering all his willpower into forming a totally not immature pout, and looked back up with crocodile tears gathering in the corners of his already doe eyes.

Pangzi did a double take, then steeled his expression, resigned to deal with this childish idiot once more.

"Tianzhen, I'm not falling for that anymore, you are going to stay here, in this hospital, in this bed, no matter what tactics you use. Besides I've grown used to it, I don't even feel bad at all." He glanced away, looking anywhere else. Stay strong. Stay strong. It's just manipulation, and besides he's a full grown adult, doesn't he have any shame making those faces like a toddler.

He glanced back ready to argue some more, just in time to see a single tear fall delicately onto the sheet.

"But Pangzi, we have to find my uncle don't we?" The shameless creature said in a teary voice, and by God Pangzi had had it with babysitting this one.

"Wu Xie! Wipe that look off your face! Shameless, absolutely shameless. Just because you still look like a fifteen year old doesn't mean that you can just get away with acting like one. You're a grown man now so act like one. Aish." Pangzi swept a hand across his face with an exasperated sigh.

"Oh come on Pangzi, you know I hate hospitals." Wu Xie huffed, only a tiny bit of shame leaked into his tone.

"Yes you tell me that everytime you get yourself stuck in one." Pangzi went back to sit on one of the chairs in the room, wishing he could just live a peaceful life instead.