63. Sudden change

After trying to ignore her damaged body and the pain, Mei Lin entered the cultivation state once again and began healing the skin on her neck. Her hands were still in bad shape, but they were not as painful as her neck and ribs. To her relief, Mei Lin discovered that the skin was nearly healed, though it would take a long time to rid herself of the pain completely. Realizing this, she ended her cultivation state.

Mei Lin stood up and went to her room on the third floor to sleep. Despite having cultivated all night, her body and mind had not rested at all, and the pain persisted even after she stopped cultivating.

At noon, someone knocked on Mei Lin's door, waking her up and bringing her back to her pain and suffering. As she stirred, she heard a familiar voice. It was Xu Tian, Xu Yi's father.

"Are you awake? I am here to tell you that the caravan is safe and we can travel to Peng City. The lord of Peng City sent his soldiers to rescue us from the bandits and find the survivors of the attack."

After saying that, Xu Tian didn't hear a response, only the slow moans of Mei Lin as she tried to stand up but ultimately couldn't. He returned to the first floor, leaving her to decide whether to join him and the others. Mei Lin, after slowly shifting into a more comfortable position, eventually managed to stand up and make her way downstairs.

She entered the first floor and sat at the kitchen table, waiting for Xu Tian to return. Although the bandits were gone, the remnants of the fight remained. Broken tea tables lay scattered on the ground alongside the cultivation mats. A crack in the floor from one of the bandits' strikes was still visible, and debris was strewn everywhere, making the room look unkempt. The rich smell of blood still lingered in the air, a stark reminder of the recent violence.

Xu Tian heard Mei Lin coming down the stairs, and after she settled at the kitchen table, he went to talk to her. "Thank you for protecting the teahouse and my family. I heard that you managed to kill both of the third-stage bandits. How did you manage to do that?"

Mei Lin smiled under her veil, and seeing this without receiving a verbal response, Xu Tian didn't press further.

"We will wait here for a while, and then, after the soldiers from Peng City arrive, we will head to the city. We also need to wait for additional supplies."

"Will you stay here with us, or do you have other plans?" Mei Lin thought about it for a moment.

"I don't know yet. I need to heal my injuries first, and then I will decide."

"All right, you can stay with us if you want." Mei Lin nodded and then returned to the second floor. She sat by the window and poured herself some blood tea. After pouring half a cup, Mei Lin drank it and started to cultivate. Cultivation was much faster now that she had entered the first stage of BT, as she was gathering much more natural energy, and the absorption from the blood was also much quicker, which helped in healing her wounds and cultivation.

Fortunately, Mei Lin could now drink the blood of third-stage BT, which contained much denser natural energy. However, the amount of natural energy required to condense and reach the second stage of BT was significantly higher, so her progress remained slow. Mei Lin cultivated until the evening before ending her cultivation state.

"So, he didn't bring me dinner," Mei Lin thought, feeling disappointed and worried that Xu Yi might not speak to her after what happened with the bandits. She feared he was angry, especially since she had accidentally knocked out his mother. Determined to find out, Mei Lin stood up and went to the first floor to look for Xu Yi.

Upon entering the first floor, Mei Lin found it deserted. She searched the entire area but found no sign of anyone. However, her attention was drawn to the kitchen, where she noticed a storage bag. Surprisingly, the bag was not protected by spirit sense, allowing her easy access to its contents.

The storage bag contained almost a hundred spirit fruits of various kinds. Mei Lin couldn't determine their origin, but something felt off. If the storage bag belonged to her master, there might be poisoned fruits or some other hidden danger. "Who left it here? What the hell happened while I was cultivating?" she wondered.

Mei Lin went outside the teahouse. The house was still in the same place as before, and they hadn't moved from the crater. The slug was still hibernating and hadn't moved. After coming back inside, she put all the spirit fruits into her storage ring and returned to the second floor. She went to her spot by the window and swept her hand over the tea table and cultivation mat, making both disappear into her cultivation ring.

Unfortunately, Mei Lin didn't see the letter hidden under the teacup, which explained what had happened and why no one was in the teahouse. As Mei Lin collected everything important, she went into her room with a clear plan for tomorrow and went to sleep.

Early the next morning, Mei Lin went to the first floor to heat some water and gather wood from the storage. She started the fire and placed a pot of water on it. Soon, the water was boiling, and she carried it to the bathroom to prepare a bath.

Mei Lin repeated the process three more times, adding additional water to create a hot bath. Before stepping into the tub, she removed all her clothes and began slowly washing her sore, wounded body. Her skin was still bloody and covered with scabs, and her broken ribs made every movement painful. Her side felt like it was on fire from the torn skin and damaged muscles. Mei Lin gently touched the injured area on her chest and quickly washed it, wincing from the pain, so she resorted to pouring water over the wounds instead.

After cleaning herself as much as possible, Mei Lin carefully lowered herself into the bathtub. The water was very hot, and as she dipped her now pale legs, covered in scars, into the bath, she felt a wave of relief. She gradually immersed herself, taking breaks to acclimate to the hot water against her exposed skin.

In a few minutes, Mei Lin's skin adjusted to the heat, and she fully submerged herself. After a few minutes of relaxation, she let go of the sides of the tub and slowly sank beneath the water's surface. Mei Lin looked at the water's surface from under and felt as if her heart was slowly calming down. It took nearly two minutes until Mei Lin was out of air and went up.