The morning graced the world with warm sunlight, as fresh cold winds caressed the land and woke everyone up from their slumbers. For Ye Jun, it came a bit later since he was used to waking up before sunrise.
As he went through his usual morning routine, he thought about the previous night. Although he did plan to sleep early, he was also curious what Meihui would do, so he stayed awake for a bit longer.
Though, it turned out to be a disappointment since after she finished dinner, Meihui sat in a lotus position, consumed some strange pills, and spent the rest of the night refining them.
He had hoped to get a glimpse of her techniques or at least get attributes from her. Sadly, she didn't drop any Attributes, which certainly confused him for a bit.
'Was it because she was just refining the pills?'
Whatever it was, he had no clue about it, so he ignored it for the time being.
Once his morning routine was done, he fetched water from the Mercy River, did a few chores around his hut, and then went to the Wilderness to hunt some animals.
Fortunately, he didn't run into any powerful ones, so it turned out to be an easy task. Especially since he already had experience with hunting in forests.
'That damned old man was cursed. But he did teach me many valuable life skills.'
By the time he came back, Meihui had ended her meditation session and all of her external injuries had healed by then. Even her presence was more firm.
He prepared meat for their breakfast and ate in silence with her.
"How do you plan to spend your day?" Meihui asked once they were done. "And what are your future plans? How do you plan to grow stronger like this?"
"In almost a month, the Three Vassal Sects will come to take disciples," Ye Jun replied. "I plan to reveal my strength then and join one of them."
"Are the sects stronger than your clan?" Seeing him nod, Meihui understood his intentions. "I see. But surely they don't take someone like you."
"You'll be surprised by my progress, Miss Bodyguard," Ye Jun chuckled and said. "You don't need to worry about that. I have everything planned, and if it works, I'll dominate the Martial Exchange and get into the best Vassal Sect."
Meihui was still skeptical about it, but didn't bother arguing further. "So, what about today? Practicing all day?"
"Hmm. Kind of?" Ye Jun nodded. "I'm leaving for the training grounds. After returning from there, I'll practice here since I have a few things to test. What about you? Will you be fine alone here?"
"I'm much fine! I've already recovered my Soul Sense, so if someone approaches, I'll know of it instantly." She crossed her arms. "And I need a lot of time to recover, so I'll spend my free time healing."
"That's good," Ye Jun was happy with the arrangement. He stood up and said, "Alright, I'll leave then. I don't think they'll harm me right now, but can your Soul Sense spread to the training grounds?"
"Caution is great!" She smiled. "Yes, it's enough to cover the entire Ye Manor, so remain worry-free."
Ye Jun had actually no clue about Soul Sense or how far it could stretch, but he could guess its functions, so he was happy hearing that. With this, Meihui could protect him while staying here.
"Noice!" He beamed in joy. "Also, only take action if I'm really dying, otherwise no. Even if I'm basically being beaten up and humiliated. You interfere only if I'm dying."
Meihui frowned at his request, but still nodded. "Understood."
With that, Ye Jun waved his hand and left the hut while Meihui watched everything from the door. Her brows were still knitted as she considered his words.
After a moment, she sighed. "Can you come out? Or are you planning to play hide and seek forever?"
With a sudden gust of wind, a black-robed figure appeared beside her, leaning her back against the mud wall.
"You're strong," the figure said in a low, feminine voice.
"Who are you?" Meihui asked. "You're not after me for sure, so are you here to target him? Or protect him?"
"The latter one," the figure replied. "I was ordered by someone to protect him. Though, he doesn't know that."
"Clearly," Meihui scoffed. "If he knew a Soul Tempering Realm cultivator was protecting him in secret, he would have killed me yesterday."
"Surely he was just pretending," the figure said, glancing at her through her slit-like eyes. "He hasn't killed a single person in his life."
"Seems like you don't know him properly," Meihui shook her head.
"What about you? What are your intentions?" the figure asked. "I might not be your match, but my mistress can be. That man is very important to her."
"Relax! I stand by my words. If I have chosen to accept this deal, then I'll see it through," Meihui shifted her weight. "I'm more curious about his lifestyle here. I feel like he's hiding more from me, which is understandable, but I need to know more to protect him better."
The figure stayed silent, as if considering her words properly. She continued to stare at Meihui for a bit longer before sighing.
"He has lived a pitiful life. At first, it was fine because his mother was there, who loved him a lot. Then, she caught a strange sickness and her health began to dwindle. That was also when it was revealed that he had broken meridians."
Meihui listened carefully.
"From that day, his life became hell, and the first to suffer in that hellfire was his mother. Nobody knows what happened between the clan head and his wife, but she died suddenly and nobody even found her corpse. In reality, Ye Zhong had thrown her body to wild hounds."
Her voice took a dangerous turn as she added,
"He did it in front of Ye Jun. He forced that little kid to watch his mother's body being torn apart and eaten by wild hounds to break his mind. That way, he could have removed him from his status."
Meihui's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. Then, rage built up inside her as her blood boiled.
"What kind of father can do this to his own child?"