37. Unexpected trouble

After Zhan Xia read a book very carefully, she gave it back to Mei Lin and she put it away.

"I also have a book about flowers and herbs if you want to read it too. No need. I didn't know anything about herbs or flowers." Mei Lin didn't hesitate and placed her book about flowers and herbs on the table. She began to enthusiastically show Zang Xia various flowers found in the forest where she and her master resided, as well as discussing the herbs used in the tea they were currently drinking.

As one side conversation began, Zang Xia remained at the tea-house until evening, when she eventually bid Mei Lin farewell and departed. Immediately after leaving the tea-house, Zang Xia headed home.

Her father was already waiting for her and as he saw her, he start asking a questions about Mei Lin. "So what did you find out? She showed me her cultivation book. She is cultivating wood path, but with cultivation like that she can't possibly escape bandits or Feng Jing. After all he had spier from his father and this girl don't even have a cultivation bag. Father did you sea her cultivation bag? She put out her books but I didn't see from where. She don't have a storage bag, but storage ring like I have storage amulet." Zang Xia remained silent, taken aback by her father's unexpected revelation. After a moment of contemplation, she decided to immerse herself in cultivation to clear her mind of the unsettling news. As she delved deeper into her practice, Zang Xia found herself increasingly intrigued by the potential applications of Mei Lin's seemingly unconventional planting cultivation techniques for survival.

Determined to explore this further, Zang Xia made a decision. Tomorrow, she would visit Feng Jing and inquire about recent events, hoping to gain insight into Mei Lin's practices and how they could be utilized to her advantage. With this plan in mind, Zang Xia continued her cultivation, her thoughts focused on the possibilities that lay ahead.

On the other side on the caravan Mei Lin was already in her room, preparing to absorb another two drops of blood. Process was very slow but it didn't took too long. She was starting to get a hand on how to absorb natural energy from the blood. After absorbing a blood, she went to bed and start thinking about what to do next.

'After two days, the caravan will set off again, and I will have a chance to find the master. On the other hand, the Feng family will have a better chance of finding me, and Zhan Xia will certainly not stop herself from coming here again and again. Once the caravan starts its move, I will have more time to explore all the slug houses and find something interesting which could help me with my cultivation. If I manage to find the master, I will ask her about blood flowers and how to acquire them.'

After all, she had another target on her back because she was a blood cultivator, and everyone would hunt her down if they found out about it. Another very strange thing that surprised Mei Lin was why so many strange things happened all around her, despite her not trying to do anything out of the ordinary. Without finding any explanation for that, she immediately went to sleep.

The next morning, Mei Lin put on her cultivation robe and bamboo hat, then made her way to the second floor. No one was there at the moment, so Mei Lin left the tea-house to take a closer look at the slugs. She was very curious about how they would coax the slugs to move as desired. Unlike the crystal snail, which seemed to act independently as some kind of sentient being or other entity, causing their journey to be extremely slow and inefficient, these slugs appeared to be trained to follow something or someone.

Before descending from the slug wall, Mei Lin changed into the tattered robe she had acquired from the forest, so she wouldn't risk ruining her good one, and began to wander around. After a conversation with the guards, she discovered that a special kind of slave was responsible for taking care of the slugs. Without waiting any longer, she set out to find them and ask how they controlled the slugs.

When she found them, she encountered the chief of the group, who was clearly in a much higher position compared to the others. He wore clothes similar to what she had seen in the village, but unlike the slaves, he didn't have his hands cuffed with chains. Without further delay, Mei Lin approached him and began asking him questions about how they fed the slugs.

The chief of the slaves was smart and allowed her to ask about everything. Mei Lin paid him five low grade spirit stones, but she discovered that the slugs were fed normal grass, much like typical small slugs in the wilderness. Additionally, they were given normal food and fed special herbs that made them dull and more obedient, allowing them to be controlled by the largest slug with sentient intelligence.

After the explanation, Mei Lin realized that this trick would not work on the master's snail. Following their inspirational conversation, Mei left, and the chief went to observe the slugs being fed. Many other workers began feeding the hungry slugs, with each slug consuming an extreme amount of grass and other materials provided by the workers.

Unfortunately, a few workers were injured in the process, and one was bitten and lost his hand. It didn't take long before he fell dead on the ground from extreme blood loss. After the other slaves witnessed the scene, they were extremely scared and start panicking traying to run away, which handcuffs easily solved. The chief was uncompromising with them and forced them to throw the slave into the mouth of the slug. As the slug consumed the slave, all kinds of weird noises were heard as it crushed the bones of the unfortunate victim.

Mei Lin wasn't fazed by the blood or the scene and approached the mouth of the slug to study it, curious to see if the slug was at least as intelligent as the master's snail. The chief of workers was surprised by Mei Lin's behavior, while the rest of the scared slaves were disgusted. However, driven by the promise of spirit stones, the chief started beating the slaves with extreme pleasure, causing their flesh and blood to splatter all around.

As Mei Lin was deeply immersed herself in studying the slug, Feng Lian's guards found her standing next to it. As they approached, one of them, the older guard began speaking to her in a cold tone. "You need to come with us, miss. Someone wants to talk to you." His words carried the weight of authority, a reminder of the tenuous balance of power that governed their world. Mei Lin knew she couldn't go with them, so she stayed near the slug and successfully ignored all their calls.

But Mei Lin, resolute in her determination, refused to yield to their demands. With a steely resolve, she remained rooted to the spot beside the towering slug, her focus unwavering despite the growing insistence of their calls. Each attempt to coerce her into compliance fell upon deaf ears, her silence even more angered both of the guards.

As the younger guard, condensed all his cultivation base of second stage BT prowess, he closed in to Mei Lin. He moved with a calculated confidence born of years spent in the service of Feng Lian's dark machinations without feel against not even first stage BT girl. With each step, he drew closer to his quarry, his resolve unwavering despite the tension that hung in the air.

Unfazed by Mei Lin's apparent indifference, he pressed forward, his movements purposeful as he reached out to seize her. But as his hand neared her, Mei Lin's gaze remained fixed upon the hungry slug, as he was not existing in her eyes.

Undeterred by her stoic silence, the guard moved in with determined resolve, his hand closing in on her shoulder with a firm grip. Yet even as he made contact, Mei Lin remained eerily still, her focus unwavering as she continued her meticulous study of the creature before her.

In that fleeting moment of contact, a sense of unease flickered in the depths of the guard's mind, a nagging doubt that whispered of impending danger. But with his friend standing watchfully nearby, he cast aside his apprehension and pressed on, intent on fulfilling his duty regardless of the risks.

At this moment, without any signs of provocation Mei Lin's right hand stabbed through the skin of the slug with crystal knife. Knife easily penetrated into slugs skin, and the slug start suddenly twisting. Angry slug start violently moving and opened its eyes. Blind with rage, it's gaping maw gaping wide as it sought to seize anything within its grasp. He couldn't see directly in front his mouth, but that doesn't stopped him.

As the slug continued its frenzied assault, Mei Lin remained calm, her gaze fixed upon the creature with a steely determination. With a swift motion, she withdrew her knife from the slug's flesh, its surface completely clean without any signs of attack. With each passing moment, the situation grew increasingly dire as the guard's resolve tested to its limits. As he grappled with the realization that they were unprepared to contend with the fury of the angry slug. And as the creature's thrashing intensified, he knew that they were running out of time to escape the impending onslaught.

The frightened guard immediately realized he needed to get away from the angry mouth's range. He knew what would happen to him if he got caught. Mei Lin quickly started moving away from the guard, pushing his hand away. With the knife, she attempted to strike the guard's hand. The guard drew his sword to strike Mei Lin, but she swiftly positioned herself behind him, ensuring he would be the first to be eaten.

Other guards start running to them to inspect what was going on with the slug, which was just a second ago peaceful and now moving like crazy all of sudden. As chaos erupted all over the place, Feng Xue and Feng Lian descended to the ground and start watching the show from afar. Mei Lin was struggling against the frenzied onslaught of the enraged slug, her desperate attempts to break free from the guard's grasp met with fierce resistance. Her only advantage was that she was smaller than guard and she his hand with the knife.

In a sudden burst of violence, the slug's jaws snapped shut around the guard's hand, its razor-sharp teeth tearing through flesh and bone with ruthless efficiency. A primal scream of agony tore through the air as the guard recoiled in shock, his hand severed from his body that fast that it took while, until blood start splashing all around and covering all over in blood.

As blood gushed from the gaping wound, the guard's cries echoed through the space between two slugs. With each beat of his heart, his blood spilled forth in a torrent of pain and anguish, a grim reminder of the fragility of mortal flesh in the face of nature's unyielding fury.

In the midst of the chaos, Mei Lin seized her opportunity, breaking free from the guard's grasp as he writhed in agony. With a burst of speed, she darted away from the scene, her heart pounding with adrenaline as she fled from the carnage that engulfed them. And as she disappeared into the darkness, she knew that the events of this fateful encounter would linger in her memory for years to come, a stark reminder of the dangers that lurked in the shadows of the

The older guard arrived next to them and slashed after Mei Lin with sword. In his shaken state of mind, after witnessing the bizarre situation he wanted to help the other guard. The guard without a hand was attempting to throw Mei Lin into the slug's mouth.

Unfortunately for him, as he lift up Mei Lin to the air, preparing to end Mei Lin's life, his hand was suddenly cut off too. This process was done in just blink of the eye, but in reality lot of unexpected things happened before his hand was cut off.

In the worst possible moment, just as he lift Mei Lin in the air, the old guard's sword began tearing through his skin and severing his hand. He didn't have a chance to stop it, and only as the sword touched his skin did he realize his hand would be cut off. Despite that he saw as the sword was colliding with his hand, he didn't had a chance to stopped it and only looked at the sword, as it making his way through the skin a then bones of his hand. 

Mei Lin was finally free from the guard's grip, but as the swords cut off the guard's hand, the tip of the sword sliced into her hand as she fell back on the ground. She was covered in blood from the guard, with his hand stuck to herself. With a swift motion, she swept the guard's hand into her storage ring, and as the hand disappeared, the unfortunate guard fell to his knees screaming in agony. He was swallowed by the slug's mouth as if consumed by madness.

Guards from all around rushed to the scene to check what had happened. When they saw the aftermath of the fight, a few of them started to vomit. They had never witnessed such a bizarre and gruesome spectacle before. Only thing left after younger guard was his two legs on the ground before the slugs mouth.