44. Caravan under the attack

Two hours passed in a blur of ethereal energy and profound introspection, until Mei Lin emerged from her cultivation state, her spirit invigorated by the power she had absorbed. With a sense of determination fueling her, she wasted no time in beginning another session of cultivation, her focus unwavering as she continued her relentless pursuit of enlightenment.

Throughout it all, Mei Lin remained the solitary figure on the second floor of the tea-house, her presence a testament to her unwavering dedication and resolve. And just as she prepared to delve into the depths of her cultivation once more, Xu Yi arrived with fresh tea and spirit fruits, his presence a welcome interruption to her cultivation. Mei Lin looked around and saw, that she was the only one on the second floor so far.

"How is it possible that no one else is here?" Asked Mei Lin, tea-house was always full of people, but this was the first time she was here alone. "The rest of the customers are busy helping with the caravan or other tasks, so they don't have time to come here. I also need to help my father with managing everything. Many people don't like my father, because he owns a tea-house, and a lot of people want to fall" Xu Yi explained, his concern evident in his voice.

Immediately after, Xu Yi stood up from the table and went back to the first floor and then out of the tea-house. Mei Lin suddenly saw him as he ran ahead of the snail through the snow. As she watched him slowly disappear from the view of the window, Mei Lin slowly smiled and then stopped looking outside. 'Maybe we will talk more after we arrive in Peng city.'

After that, Mei didn't pay attention to anything anymore and poured herself tea and put in another drop of blood. After drinking the entire cup, Mei Lin entered a cultivation state and started absorbing natural energy from the blood. After two hours Mei Lin absorbed a drop of blood and ended the cultivation state. After pouring another cup of tea and putting another drop in she started cultivating again. It took four replenishing before Mei stopped her cultivation.

When Mei Lin stopped, it was already dark outside, but Xu Yi still hadn't come to visit her with dinner, and the entire second floor was in darkness. Mei Lin started to get nervous and began thinking about Xu Yi. 'What if something happened to Xu Yi?' They hadn't talked too much, even though she had been in the caravan for more than half a month. Mei Lin decided to wait for Xu Yi and entered a cultivation state for another hour to wait for him.

Immediately after Mei Lin ended her cultivation state, she was eager to see Xu Yi, but he was nowhere to be found. Mei Lin felt that something must have happened, and without waiting any longer, she rushed to the first floor to find out if something had happened to Xu Yi. It took a while, but after entering the first floor, Mei Lin found that no one was there. Mei Lin started to panic a little, but she was determined to find out where Xu Yi and his parents were, no matter the cost.

After scanning the first floor, Mei Lin proceeded to the kitchen. Upon entering, she heard painful screams emanating from behind the closed doors. Mei Lin couldn't recognize whose voice it was. She hesitated for a moment, torn between the fear of finding Xu Yi dead and the urgency to investigate. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, hoping the screams would cease, Mei Lin decided to enter the room.

After Mei Lin knocked at the door, no one opened it. With a steadying breath, she pushed open the doors and stepped into the room. Mei Lin opened the doors and went inside. On the bed was lying screaming Xu Yi with his mother trying to stitch his wounds with the needle. She was not as good as before when she was stitching a wound on Mei Lin's back, because of fear for Xu Yi. Her whole body was trembling. Mei Lin didn't try to interfere and started to watch as Xu Yi's mother was slowly closing Xu Yi's wounds. Xu Yi was beaten very badly, probably cut a few times, and still bleeding. "What happened to Xu Yi?" Mei Lin asked, but Xu Jie didn't answer anything and still tried to stitch a wound.

Mei Lin didn't know what to do, because she had never seen someone in such a bad state. After staring for a minute, she went back throw the kitchen and looked outside of the main door of the tea-house what happened outside.

Before Mei Lin could open the tea-house doors, she heard someone from outside running up the stairs and opening the doors before her eyes. Unfortunately for that person, Mei Lin recognized them, and because the person outside assumed Mei Lin was a non-cultivator, they rushed up the stairs without a worry.

The person outside was covered with Xu Yi's blood. To this person's disadvantage, Mei Lin was still much more sensitive to blood than the outsider. As for why the person outside didn't care about Mei Lin was because the only one who was inside the house was Xu Jie and she is a non-cultivator.

As Mei Lin felt the presence of the person outside, her body drenched in Xu Yi's blood, a surge of revulsion and horror swept through her. The metallic rings of armor covered in blood hung heavy in the air, assaulting her senses with its sickening intensity. Despite her sensitivity to blood, Mei Lin could still detect the distinct scent of greed emanating from the stranger, her heavy breaths ragged and labored.

But even as her instincts screamed at her to flee, Mei Lin remained rooted to the spot, her gaze locked with that of the stranger. There was something familiar about them, something that stirred a sense of recognition deep within her soul.

Taking advantage of the situation, Mei Lin swiftly pulled out a dagger and prepared herself for whoever had attacked Xu Yi. Despite her weakened state from the lost cultivation stage and her feeble body, she remained determined. As the outsider began to open the doors, a glint of a crystal knife appeared between the newly opened crack. Outside stood a young female bandit with short blonde hair and a pretty face covered in blood and dirt, on the verge of entering the first stage of BT.

The female bandit hadn't expected that someone who seemed as weak as a dying non-cultivator would attack her immediately as she opened the doors. As she began to open them, the blade started to pierce her chest just before she could fully swing them open. At that moment, she sensed a shift in the aura behind the doors. It was no weak non-cultivator, but a blood demon. Mei Lin, despite her weakened state, unintentionally released her bloody aura, and her straw hat perfectly covered her face, giving her a demonic appearance without a visible face. Unfortunately for Mei Lin, the female bandit had an affinity for sensing auras, which had saved her life many times before.