45. Bloodlust

As the blade started to penetrate the bandit's chest, the female bandit found herself unable to do anything to stop it, even as the crystal knife pierced through her light armor and she caught up blood. With a reflexive motion, she grabbed Mei Lin's arm, hoping to pull the blade out. Tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her face as she struggled against the pain. Their eyes met, the bandit's red with agony, but Mei Lin remained unmoved, her expression unreadable beneath the straw-hats wail that completely covered her face.

Despite the bandit's despaired attempt to get away, she couldn't. At this moment knife was stuck in the armor and the young girl slowly lost her strength and started falling forward inside the tea-house. Mei Lin didn't know what to do as she and the bandit were stacked in the doors. At the moment bandit hard was pierced her consciousness was nearly gone and her eyes were slowly closing. In just a few seconds she let go of Mei Lin's arms.

As the bandit's strength waned and her consciousness slipped away, Mei Lin found herself faced with a harrowing decision. With the bandit's hands holding hers, Mei Lin knew that she had only moments to act before the situation spiraled further out of control. I just blink off the second grip and start loosening.

Summoning every ounce of her resolve, Mei Lin moved from the doors and the bandit began to fall forward, her body slumping against Mei Lin's in a limp heap. With a sense of urgency, Mei Lin carefully maneuvered the bandit's body to the ground.

As the bandit's body fell inside the tea-house, her blood splashed, causing the crystal knife to sink even deeper into her wound. The thick aroma of blood filled the air, immediately entering Mei Lin's nostrils. Mei Lin found herself unable to control the overwhelming desire for blood that filled her mind. She couldn't tear her gaze away from the fallen bandit as blood flowed from her body, pooling on the floor.

Mei Lin's body trembled with excitement as she slowly collapsed onto the floor beside the lifeless bandit. With waning strength, Mei Lin rolled the female bandit's body to the side, her pulse quickening with anticipation. As she shifted the bandit's body, the flow of blood began to slow and Mei Lin quickly put her straw-hat into her storage ring.

With a hunger that burned deep within her, Mei Lin pressed her lips to the slit in the center of the female bandit's chest, her breath hot against the skin. She began to suckle on the girl's blood with excitement, savoring the taste that flooded her senses. In less than three minutes, the flow of blood slowed to a trickle, and Mei Lin reluctantly withdrew from the bandit's body, collapsing to the ground beside her, her body pulsing with newfound natural energy that filled her whole body. Despite that Mei Lin wasted the blood, because she couldn't absorb natural energy from it, Mei Lin didn't care at all.

Mei Lin panted heavily, her body quivering with excitement as she indulged in the girl's blood. It took over five minutes for Mei Lin's frenzy to subside, her breaths gradually steadying as the intoxicating rush began to fade. Once the bloodlust no longer consumed her, she made her way to the kitchen in search of a large pot with a lid.

After finding a suitable pot, Mei Lin returned to the bandit's side and placed the pot on the ground carefully. With her new strength, she rolled the bandit on top of the pot, positioning her carefully. With a swift flick of her sleeve, Mei Lin summoned her crystal knife, its shimmering blade gleaming in the dim light. As the knife disappeared, it opened a path for the blood to flow, the crimson liquid cascading into the waiting pot with a soft splatter.

Blood starts pouring out of the hole in her chest and bleeds to the pot. Not long after blood stopped flowing, Mei Lin turned the bandit off the pot and placed the light on top, sealing the entrance. Then with slow motion, the pot disappeared into the storage ring.

Mei Lin was happy because she obtained nearly two liters of blood. Despite that the bandit girl was a non-cultivator, her blood had traces of natural energy which helped Mei Lin to recover her natural energy in the cultivation sea.

After calming herself from the excitement, Mei Lin searched the bandit's body but found no storage bag. However, she did come across some kind of animal tender, which she promptly placed into her storage ring. Retrieving her straw hat, she placed it back on her head, covering her face once again. As she slowly stood up, the white veil stuck to Mei Lin's face now slowly turned red, soaked with the blood she had consumed. Mei Lin found the scent of blood pleasant as it emanated from the veil.

With a determined resolve, Mei Lin made her way to the door of the tea-house. As she pushed it open, she was met with the chaotic scene of a battlefield. Bandits had launched an attack on the caravan, and the fighting was still raging on outside.

Realizing that she was in no condition to join the fight, Mei Lin swiftly closed the door to the tea-house and secured it with a wooden plank placed across the two handles as a makeshift lock. While she knew it wouldn't deter determined attackers, it would serve as a warning if they attempted to breach the tea-house. With the door secured, Mei Lin hurried back to the room where Xu Yi lay injured.

As Mei Lin entered the room, she found Xu Yi unconscious and Xu Jie, armed with a knife, poised defensively. Mei Lin, covered in blood, approached them cautiously. Just before coming inside the room, Mei Lin scanned the animal tender and found out that this tender was a natural storage space full of rubbish. Mei Lin wasted to help Xu Yi so she retrieved a book about alchemy and several sealed bottles with pills from her possessions. Without knowledge of the contents of the pills, Mei Lin turned to the pages of the alchemy book in search of information about the pills. She hoped to find details about the pills and their potential uses.

As Mei Lin looked through the pages of the alchemy book, she accidentally dirtied the pages with the blood of the bandit. In a normal situation, Mei Lin would have been angry, knowing she would need to return the book someday and potentially face punishment from her master. However, in her current state, she didn't care at all. The urgency of Xu Yi's condition overshadowed any concern about the state of the book.