34. Hunt after Mei Lin – 2/2

Despite the potential dangers of cultivating in public, Mei Lin remained unfazed. She understood that if someone wished to harm her, they could likely succeed, and even if not, she wouldn't be able to escape, whether she was cultivating or not. Every cultivation in the merchant caravan was at least at first stage BT, so she will have no chance to be able to escape.

After sipping the spirit tea and entering into the cultivation state, Mei Lin was surprised to find that the natural energy infused in the tea was quite helpful. Combined with her absorption of natural energy from the surroundings, her cultivation speed increased significantly. However, the downside of the tea became apparent. The amount of natural energy it provided was absorbed very quickly and needed to be refilled. Mei Lin realized that if she wanted to drink more of it, she would need to end her cultivation state.

As Mei Lin continued her cultivation, she attempted to use her blood to move her hand and take a sip of tea. It didn't take long for her to master this technique, allowing her to drink the tea while cultivating simultaneously. However, she soon encountered another problem, she couldn't pour herself tea, so she had to pause to pour herself another cup.

As Mei Lin ended her cultivation state to pour tea, she noticed that Xu Yi was no longer before her or on the second floor. As she was alone at the table, a sudden sense of loneliness emerged deep within her, and she thought about Li Wei and her master. As she pondered where her master might be and what she would do if she couldn't find her. Mei Lin realized she had everything she needed with her. She resolved to travel with the caravan until they reached the Green Jade sect, where she could seek out Li Wei if her master remained hidden somewhere.

After pouring another cup of tea, Mei Lin entered her cultivation state once again. As noon approached, she noticed a small progress in her cultivation. Cultivating with the spirit tea proved to be much faster than without it. Mei Lin found that she could convert natural energy from spirit tea into her own much faster unlike from the outside air. She decided to absorb half of the collected blood during the night for further enhancement in her cultivation.

Unlike natural energy from outside or tea, absorbing natural energy from the blood of cultivators will be much more productive and effective. That will compensate for her bad cultivation potential.

When Xu Yi arrived on the second floor, it was already bustling with people. Xu Yi took a few orders and for the last one, he went to Mei Lin, who ordered some spirit fruits and chose the tea she felt had the most natural energy within. After Xu Yi took the order, she closed her eyes and entered her cultivation state once again. The other cultivators on the second floor didn't bother her, because they wanted to cause trouble for someone so weak during cultivation.

Mei Lin continued to cultivate throughout the day until Xu Yi arrived with dinner. He brought the same spirit fruits and tea as before, as Mei Lin hadn't eaten anything else. He sat before her and began to speak.

"After five days caravan will start the journey again. When will you start looking after your master?" Mei Lin opened her eyes and started looking at Xu Yi. "If we start moving master will have no choice and enter one of the slug houses. She will probably pick one of the free rooms or stay inside a tea-house or some wine house. When I will have two months before we arrive in the next city. Once we enter the city, I don't know." Xu Yi starts smiling.

*****

As Mei Lin dedicated herself to cultivation throughout the day, the rest of the caravan buzzed with activity. Private soldiers remained vigilant, keeping a lookout for Mei Lin, while Zhan Liang diligently searched for the mysterious cultivator.

After dinner, Mei Lin persisted in her cultivation for a few more hours. During this time, a mysterious man quietly entered the second floor and took a seat in front of Mei Lin, patiently waiting for her to conclude her cultivation session.

After half an hour, Mei Lin finished her cultivation state and slowly opened her eyes. Zhan Liang observed Mei Lin with keen interest as she emerged from her cultivation state, she immediately felt that someone was sitting in front of Mei Lin. Without opening her eyes, Mei Lin sat without saying a word trying to discover who was the mysterious man in front of her.

Zhan Liang suddenly spoke. "Nice to meet you, young cultivator. You don't need to pretend to be cultivating anymore. I am not here because of you, but you may surely know more than I. Your cultivation is also very strange. You did not awaken your cultivation potential in the awakening ceremony but by yourself. Your cultivation path isn't surely one of the origin ones, it surely must be one of derivated paths." Mei Lin didn't answer his questions and looked at the cultivator in front of her.

"Indeed strange. How can someone survive bandits, then one realm higher cultivator, and then walk all day around the merchant caravan like nothing," said Zhan Liang. Just as the voice rang in Mei Lin's ears, she felt a growing sense of unease and fear. She didn't do anything wrong and still, someone found her. And the cultivator in front of her had such a high cultivation realm, that she couldn't sense his realm at all. His cultivation pressure wasn't even obvious, and he looked more likely like a mortal and not a high-realm cultivator.

Just before Zhan Liang wanted to continue, Mei Lin suddenly answered. "Then are you looking for my master?" Mei Lin immediately answered, because she already knew that her master would turn the merchant caravan upside down. "Yes," said Zhan Liang quietly, but his voice sounded clear as he was talking right in Mei Lin's ears. "Someone entered yesterday into the caravan and from that time no one saw that mysterious person. I didn't find her, but you are probably most similar to this person. Beautiful clothes, entering yesterday and making as many problems as it can." Mei Lin immediately knew who it was the say, so she answered. "Well I can't find master either, but if you find her tell my master that I will find her no matter what."

"Is there anything else than where is my master?" Said Mei Lin, with the hope that the man in from will soon leave. "Yes, the Feng family and my daughter Zhan Xia are looking for you. Feng's family wants to formally make an apology for what happened at the market and my daughter is looking for you because she wants to know how you defeated Feng Jing. Even if he didn't say it, Mei Lin knew that everyone was surely looking for her. "You better change your clothes, so you will not be so eye-catching," said Zhan Liang and stood up. "Thank you Lord cultivator," said Mei Lin and clasped her hands in a sigh of respect.