54. Bandits – 5/5

With a faint nod, Mei Lin responded, her voice strained with pain but filled with determination. "I will be," she assured him, her gaze meeting his with a mix of gratitude and resilience. "Thank you, Xu Yi."

"Could you help me back into the tea-house, I got hit by the arrow and I don't feel too well. I will need to take it out when we are inside the tea-house." Xu Yi starts blushing a little and starts smiling. "Then I will help you go in."

With Mei Lin cradled gently in his arms, Xu Yi carried her back to the safety of the tea-house. As they moved through the wreckage, he spoke softly, updating her on the outcome of the battle.

"We've dealt with all the bandits," he informed her, his voice tinged with a hint of sadness at the loss of their comrades and the slaves. "Unfortunately, one of the guards is seriously wounded, and all the slaves are dead."

After hearing this news, Mei Lin remained focused on her well-being ignoring the death of the slaves, and channeling her blood to staunch the flow and prevent further bleeding. With meticulous care, she drew upon her powers, extracting as much blood as possible from around the wound, ensuring that none would escape and exacerbate her injuries further.

After entering into the tea-house, Xu Yi gently placed Mei Lin on the kitchen table, and Xu Jie sprang into action, anticipating Mei Lin's needs. With practiced efficiency, she retrieved a knife and carefully cut through Mei Lin's robe, revealing the arrow lodged in her body. Mei Lin swiftly retrieved a bottle of healing pills from her storage ring and consumed one, the potent medicine swiftly taking effect.

With steady hands, Xu Jie began to extract the arrow from Mei Lin's wound, aided by Mei Lin's blood manipulation to minimize any blood loss. Mei Lin winced slightly as the piece of the arrow was removed, but remarkably, very little blood escaped from the wound.

Once the arrow was removed, Xu Jie skillfully stitched Mei Lin's wound, ensuring it was properly closed and would heal cleanly. With the immediate treatment complete, Xu Yi assisted Mei Lin in standing up, guiding her to the fireplace where she settled into a comfortable position.

As Mei Lin relaxed and slowly situated herself into a lotus position, she sipped on a cup of spirit tea, its soothing warmth calming her nerves and aiding in her recovery. With the worst of her injuries tended to, Mei Lin could finally take a moment to rest and recuperate in the safety of the tea-house.

After calming a little, Mei Lin entered a cultivation state to heal her injuries as quickly as possible. The guards and Xu Yi started removing the bodies of the slaves. After burying all the dead bodies, everyone suddenly calmed down a little.

Xu Yi also began to cultivate, while Xu Jie couldn't go to sleep, because the image of the dead haunted her. The other guards also struggled to sleep, so they decided to cultivate through the night.

Early the next morning, Mei Lin emerged from her cultivation state and began examining her wounds. They were still severe, but she knew that with a few more days of cultivation, they would heal. After fetching water from the kitchen, Mei Lin ignited the fireplace and began heating a large amount of water for a bath. As the water warmed, she also prepared a blood potion using the second-stage BT she had acquired in the tent, along with spirit herbs. In no time, Mei Lin had brewed a blood tea in a crystal teapot, which she quickly stored in her storage ring.

After boiling the water, Mei Lin proceeded to the bathroom to prepare a bath and cleanse herself of the blood. As she removed her robe, Mei Lin noticed that it wasn't as damaged as before, almost as if it had healed itself in the meantime. Without any more thinking about something as stupid as a healing robe, Mei Lin quickly went into the bath. "Ahhhh. What a pleasant feeling." Mei Lin felt extreme pleasure from finally completely relaxing after a long time. Hot water felt very good and Mei Lin felt as blood on her body started to flow much faster than before.

After cleaning herself for a long time, Mei Lin tried to wash a white veil stained with blood and dirt, but her efforts were unsuccessful. Once she had put on a clean red robe, she quickly ascended to the second floor.

Everyone in the tea-house remained immersed in their cultivation, and Xu Jue finally succumbed to sleep. Mei Lin found herself sitting alone, contemplating. She retrieved a crystal teapot, only to stow it away again in her storage ring.

With a sense of urgency, Mei Lin hurried outside the tea-house in search of blood flowers. She ventured to the ruins of the slug house, hoping to find them, but all she encountered was death.

After a thorough search yielded nothing, Mei Lin returned to the first floor to find everyone gathered near the fireplace. As she entered, the guards stood up and approached her. 'We'll be leaving now. Once we find the merchant leader, they'll send someone to retrieve you," the old guard stated before departing.

Mei Lin was taken aback by their abrupt decision, but she knew that staying in the tea-house posed more danger than leaving. Reluctantly, she accepted their decision.

After Xu Jie prepared some food for the guards, both guards left the tea-house. Tea-house was suddenly very quiet again. The house was damaged from the outside and bloody in the inside. Blood was all over the first and second floors, doors and windows were damaged andthe smell of blood was stilltheree.

Mei Lin didn't mind the smell of blood and after the guards left, Mei Lin also went to the second floor. Her tea table was still there along with the cultivation mat, which was not stained by blood, so she decided to sit on the cultivation mat and opened the window once again. After pouring a blood tea, Mei Lin drank half a cup and started to cultivate.

As time passed, just before Xu Yi brought dinner for Mei Lin, she concluded her cultivation session. Absorbing the blood, she found herself at nearly seventy percent completion in creating the first wisp of her natural energy. Mei Lin was elated with her progress, noting that cultivation with the blood tea was significantly faster than without. Xu Yi arrived, bearing spirit fruits which he placed on the tea table.