"We'll pay until the auction," Mei Lin hissed. The old man was stunned by her resolve, as even he would need to work hard to afford such a cave. As a sect member, he received annual spirit stones and additional ones for missions, which he could spend within the sect.
Mei Lin pulled a storage bag filled with spirit stones from her sleeve and handed it to the old man.
After receiving the bag, the old man immediately examined it, hoping to accuse Mei Lin of cheating the sect. But he sensed something unusual about her after finding that she had paid the correct amount.
"I need to get a token for your cave. Please wait here for a moment, miss," he said.
The old man's attitude shifted instantly as he hurried off to a small pavilion bustling with other sect disciples, who were also handling exchanges for city visitors. The cultivator in charge, a man in his late twenties, exuded the aura of a true cultivator.
*****
A few minutes later, the old man returned to where Mei Lin and Yu Lan were waiting. His expression was warm, and he smiled as he approached them.
"I apologize for keeping you waiting. Here is your token for the cave," the old cultivator said, his tone now humble and respectful, no longer concealing his admiration. Yet his gaze lingered on Yu Lan's chest, searching for even a glimpse of exposed skin, despite her being fully covered in a slightly oversized long white robe that concealed her curves. Only her long brown hair and slender face were visible. Despite a few bruises on her face, her beauty still drew unwanted attention from men like him.
Mei Lin snatched the token from the old cultivator's hand and set off to find the cave with Yu Lan. It took them a while to reach the location, and as they stood before the entrance, Yu Lan attracted several unpleasant stares. Unlike Mei Lin, she couldn't distinguish between someone merely looking at her and a more sinister intent, so she remained still, waiting for Mei Lin to use the token to open the entrance.
The cave wasn't too spacious, but it was large enough for two people to stay comfortably. A dim light emanated from yellow ore embedded in the ceiling, casting a soft glow over the interior. On one side of the cave was a bed, a table, and two chairs.
Mei Lin slowly inspected the cave while Yu Lan immediately went to bed, and as she lay there, she fell asleep.
Mei Lin, in the meantime, found the spot with the highest concentration of natural energy, which emanated from a small hole in the wall, and sat in the lotus position, preparing to cultivate.
Just before entering her cultivation state, Mei Lin took out her storage ring and retrieved the loot she had collected along the way, which was taken from bandits and a dungeon in the Li family estate.
She began by opening the storage bags she had acquired from the bandits at the Li mansion. In total, Mei Lin had obtained four storage bags, and it took quite a large amount of natural energy to break through the seal of the bags to get in.
After successfully opening all of them, Mei Lin pulled out the contents and piled them on the floor. Inside were more than fifty thousand low-grade spirit stones, two bottles of healing pills, various weapons, and other trinkets the bandits had looted from houses.
The only items that caught Mei Lin's attention were the bottles of pills and a gold pendant with a large diamond embedded in the centre. She stored the pills and spirit stones in her storage ring, placed everything else into one of the bags to dispose of later, and used her spirit sense to investigate the pendant's purpose.
Mei Lin extended her spirit sense, but aside from the complicated runes inside and outside the pendant glowing faintly, nothing happened. She couldn't discern the item's purpose, though it was meant for cultivators. Frustrated, she set it aside, deciding to examine it later when she had more time.
Her curiosity then turned to the storage bag on the table, which she had found in the cellar. It wasn't protected by any spirit sense barrier, so she opened it. When she did, Mei Lin's eyes widened in shock. Inside were a thousand mid-grade spirit stones and a single high-grade spirit stone.
The last storage bag Mei Lin inspected was the one she had taken from Lu Fey. This bag felt unusual. When Mei Lin tried to probe it with her spirit sense, she was immediately repelled, and her spirit sense was completely drained.
"What in the heavens is happening?" Mei Lin thought as a sudden, sharp headache erupted behind her eyes and spread through her head.
The storage bag slipped from her hands and fell to the ground as Mei Lin clutched her head in pain. "What is happening?!" she screamed, her voice echoing in the cave. Her outburst woke Yu Lan, who had been sleeping nearby.
Yu Lan jolted out of bed, confused by the commotion. "What's happening?" she asked, her voice trembling as she looked at Mei Lin, who was clearly in distress.
Yu Lan hurried to Mei Lin's side, concern etched on her face. She reached out, her hand hovering just above Mei Lin's head, when Mei Lin snapped, "Don't touch me! Something's wrong!"
Mei Lin pointed at Lu Fey's storage bag on the floor. When Yu Lan saw it between her legs, she instinctively jumped back, her heart racing.
"What's wrong with this storage bag?" Yu Lan asked nervously.
"It looks normal… Maybe we should throw it away," she suggested, her voice uncertain.
As Yu Lan tried to process what was happening, Mei Lin sat cross-legged in the lotus position and entered a cultivation state, hoping to alleviate the pain and calm her mind.
Her consciousness shifted into her cultivation sea as usual. As she relaxed, her mind slowly expanded across the sea, and she began to absorb natural energy, gradually regaining awareness of her body.
After a period of observation, Mei Lin discovered the source of her discomfort: her spirit sense had been drained when she tried to probe Lu Fey's storage bag, leaving her in agonizing pain.
Mei Lin began cultivating, absorbing natural energy from her surroundings, but the strange pain she had experienced from probing the bag lingered. The absorption of natural energy was painfully slow, hindered by her poor spirit root, which made it difficult for her to efficiently draw in the energy. As she slowly recovered, Mei Lin started to reflect on what had happened.
The sudden change shocked her, as she had never experienced anything like this before. 'How is it possible that I'm so exhausted after trying to open that storage bag? None of the other storage bags caused similar problems, and it was always just a matter of time to open them. Is there something wrong with that girl's storage bag?' Mei Lin tried to piece together her hazy thoughts, but with her limited experience in cultivation, she had no way of finding out the truth.
After cultivating for a few hours, the natural energy in Mei Lin's cultivation sea was more than half restored, and she slowly emerged from her cultivation state.
Though still a bit dazed, the pain in her head had subsided. She figured out the reason behind her suffering and made a mental note to avoid getting caught in a situation like this again, especially in the middle of a fight.
After storing Lu Fey's storage bag in her storage ring, Mei Lin approached the bed to explain to Yu Lan what had happened. "This storage bag is somehow special. It drained more than half of my natural energy and completely sapped my spirit sense," Mei Lin said seriously.
Yu Lan, who was lying in bed, was startled by Mei Lin's resolute tone. As her red eyes met Yu Lan's, Yu Lan noticed two streams of blood slowly flowing from Mei Lin's eyes, staining her pale face.
Yu Lan didn't know what was happening and could only watch as Mei Lin climbed into bed, her expression heavy with thought. Sensing her distress, Yu Lan gave her space, waiting until Mei Lin was ready to sit up.
Once Mei Lin had sorted out her thoughts, she decided to confide in Yu Lan.
"My parents are dead. I don't remember what my master looks like. I don't even recall how my mother and father looked. Most of my memories from before I met my master are gone," Mei Lin admitted, her voice trembling with emotion.
Yu Lan listened quietly as Mei Lin spoke, her exhaustion eventually overtaking her. She fell asleep, but the blood tears continued to flow from her eyes, slowly spreading across the bed.
As Mei Lin drifted into sleep, Yu Lan gently pulled her closer and whispered, "Don't be scared. I'll protect us, and we'll find your master, Xia, and your friend together."
Mei Lin was still a child in many ways. After excluding normal food from her diet and relying solely on spirit fruits, her body hadn't grown much. She appeared thinner yet healthier, though this was the opposite of what one might expect from such a diet.
The cave was neither too hot nor too cold, but Yu Lan lay beside Mei Lin and covered them both with a blanket, offering her warmth and comfort.