Yun Family's library was massive. Bookshelf after bookshelf appeared in Yun Lei's eyes. Just the ground floor was enough to intimidate yet the pavilion had a total of three floors.
With a single glance, he figured that there would be thousands of books there. Tens of thousands even.
And I have to find one specific book in all this? Talk about a needle in a haystack.
Nothing could be accomplished with just complaints though, so he quickly got to work.
Yun Lei had two main goals there. One was to find the book the Emperor wrote, the other was to find more information about Soul Cultivation. Along the way, gathering more information about the Kingdom and the greater world would also be a nice bonus.
Ren Lei had never cared about any of that. He was detached from most matters of the world. Simply put, he knew his place.
While a respected figure in Ether Cloud, even his father would just be a slightly bigger ant outside it. And he was a cultivator in the 9th stage of Energy Sensing Realm, unlike Yun Lei, who was a cripple.
So why bother with all of that useless stuff like history, politics, economics? He would most likely spend his entire life within the corners of the Ren Family's manor. He would much rather read the storybooks that whisked him away from his depressing reality, into a colourful magical world.
Magical worlds where people travelled amongst the stars in great, metal ships, worlds where every human was born equal and had a chance of pursuing their dreams.
He read stories of romance, of adventure, of discovery to escape the fact that the only world he knew was the world within the walls of his Family home, where his treatment was worse than that of a dog.
A world where love and affection was a foreign concept; where one of his brothers would have already stabbed him to death were he not a cripple. Such was the world Ren Lei was born and raised in.
However, Ren Lei was dead now. All that remained was Yun Lei and Yun Lei was not the type of man who would live with his head bowed. Since he would never have great personal strength, he would work his hardest to gather every bit of knowledge he could.
He skimmed through book after book after book. In the past, reading so fast was an impossible feat. Yet now, it was as natural to him as breathing. Not only could he read that fast, but he could also even remember every bit of it.
Art of war, read.
History of the Selan Empire, read.
Basic Herbs for Beginner Alchemists, read.
He picked up a book, flipped through it and put it down. It was almost therapeutic, how efficient his reading method was.
I guess that accursed poison was a blessing in disguise indeed! Yun Lei thought, being optimistic. However, the moment he remembered the pain, he felt his body start to sweat. Was all that pain worth it? He couldn't help but ask.
Meanwhile, the old man was watching the son-in-law of the Yun Family pick a book, casually flip through it and set it down before moving to the next one.
After the initial encounter, the old man had been very intrigued by Yun Lei. It wasn't every day that someone, not even a quarter his age, could make him fall on his ass by simply staring at him.
The feeling he had gotten when looking into Yun Lei's eyes had made him feel a great sense of danger. His body tensed and his mind was taut, ready to spring at a single moment. It was like looking into the abyss, something that had no bottom and could not be predicted.
Seeing his current behaviour though, the old man couldn't help but think that the young man flipping through books was simply a madman who knew no fear or restraint.
Although he wanted to go in there and stop Yun Lei from desecrating the library any further, his leg didn't seem to want to move. He could rationalise all he wanted in his head but he instinctively feared Yun Lei and nothing could change that fact.
"Gosh, if you're going to barge in here, at least read the books properly!" The old man said in a huff but was not loud enough to disturb Yun Lei who had a very serious look on his face.
Situ Yue, who was standing outside of the library courtyard saw three people rushing towards her and quickly bowed.
Well, two people were rushing, one was kind of just trailing behind. It was the Princess, a maid, and Granny Chu.
"Where is he?" Yun Meili inquired from the bowing maid.
"Reporting to Young Lady Yun, the Young Master is in the library."
"And Uncle Shu just let him in there?"
The maid immediately noticed the disbelief in the Princess' voice. However, the matter at hand was a bit hard to explain. Even if it was easy, speaking the truth might not have been the best idea.
Yun Shu was the Governor's only younger brother, after all.
"This..." As Situ Yue was pondering how she could explain things to the Princess, Granny Chu had finally caught up, out of breath.
"Oh, you're working this old lady like a horse! I expect a pay raise, you hear me!" She spoke in between deep breaths.
"Yes, yes, Granny Chu, whatever you ask for."
"Where's the little brat?"
"Inside the library, apparently." Yun Meili spoke. "I'll go fetch him."
"He just walked right in?" Granny Chu asked Situ Yue in bemusement. The latter only nodded her head.
Although it didn't look like it, the library was one of the most heavily guarded places in the entire manor. There was even a Blood Cleansing Realm Cultivator stationed there.
Blood Cleansing Realm was the Realm after the Body Tempering Realm. Yun Meili's father, the most powerful man in Ether City was also in the same realm. This fact alone was enough to demonstrate how important the library was to the Yun Family.
Yun Meili saw her uncle standing at the entrance of the pavilion with a frustrated look on his face. Inside, Yun Lei was still doing the same thing, except he had moved onto another shelf.
"Uncle." She greeted the old man with a bow.
"Ah, Mei'er, this husband of yours is truly a character."
She too had seen Yun Lei's strange behaviour and was a bit puzzled. She knew he liked reading but did he like reading so much that it was the first thing he had to do after waking up from a nearly eight month long coma?
And could what he was doing even be called reading? He was just flipping through the pages, barely looking at them. After ten or so books, Yun Lei had discovered that he could still read even if he went at it faster and slowly increased his pace.
If at the beginning he was walking slightly faster, his current speed could only be described as a full-on sprint.
"Young Master Ren?" Yun Meili's enchanting voice reached Yun Lei's ears. The flipping stopped as he looked towards her briefly before completely ignoring her and continuing.
"Young Master Ren, please come with me. You have to let Granny Chu look at you." She spoke in a tender, almost pleading tone.
Right beside her, Yun Shu was receiving the shock of his life. His tyrannical little niece didn't even treat her own father with so much tenderness. Is this what marriage does to a woman? He silently thought. How terrifying.
Yun Lei just squinted his eyes in displeasure before he picked up another book. He finished flipping through it in a few moments before setting it down in its place.
"Ren Lei is dead. There is no one here with the surname Ren. My name is Yun Lei." He looked straight into Yun Meili's eyes, making her heart skip a beat. "If you wish to call me something, I would much rather it be Dear Husband."
"Ugh! Can you not flirt in front of this old man!?" Yun Shu hurriedly fled the scene. He couldn't tolerate it any further.
At the same time, Yun Meili had turned a bright shade of red. Yun Lei would have enjoyed the scene much more if the lighting was a bit better.
Several ripples were going through her heart. How could her polite and well-spoken husband have turned into such a beast?
She might have been a mighty Cultivator in the 8th stage of Body Tempering Realm but when it came to the matters of love, she was just a young maiden. Well, she was a maiden no more but her temperament very much belonged to one.
"Though, you can call me by my name too. Whichever you prefer." He walked towards Yun Meili before holding one of her hands with his own. "Guide me then, I'll go wherever my dear wife wishes to take me."
The simple act of holding hands shouldn't have gotten her so flustered but she couldn't help it. It reminded her of what had happened on their wedding night. Yun Lei's mannerisms didn't help matters either. He was flirty but there was just enough seriousness in his voice to make one question his sincerity.
To everyone's surprise, the two walked outside the library courtyard, hand in hand. The maids weren't particularly shocked; they knew how well Yun Meili treated her husband.
On the other hand, Yun Shu and Granny Chu almost couldn't believe their eyes. They rarely had the time to ponder though, as Yun Lei immediately let go of the Princess' hands after he saw the group of people outside the courtyard gate.
"Granny Chu! I hope you are doing well." Yun Lei greeted her with a slight bow. The bow was so slight, it might as well have not existed.
"Yes, yes, I'm well. Now let me see you." She extended her palm forward upon which Yun Lei placed his hands. While this was happening, she didn't fail to notice Yun Shu move slightly back, away from the young man.
Even she had noticed something was off about him. Physically, he was fit and fine. A healthy young man. Perhaps, a bit on the weaker side but it was excusable for a mortal. She couldn't place her finger on it but he seemed very different from what she remembered.
"He's fit and fine, Princess. You need not worry. Maybe don't let him run around too much."
"Thank you, Granny Chu. I will keep that in mind."
It was quite late by the time the two reached Yun Meili's room, still accompanied by the two maids. The rest of the maids were standing at the usual spot around Yun Lei's chair. Su Ning was sleeping peacefully on the bed.
"I would like to be alone with my wife." Yun Lei spoke to no one in general but the maids were smart enough to immediately move out, led by Situ Yue.
"Thank you."
It was simple words he had spoken but the weight behind them was more than enough to tell Yun Meili how serious he was being.
"I'm sure you know a lot about why Ren Lei chose to do what he did."
Yun Meili nodded her head.
"I misjudged you." Yun Lei continued speaking, gently and tenderly. "I thought you just wanted a pretty toy. I thought you would separate me from Ning'er."
Yun Lei stepped closer and closer to her as he spoke and only stopped when their noses were practically touching. Yun Meili was quite tall and older than him too so he was barely taller than her.
"I was aware of what was happening most of the time. Even before you found out, I was aware of what was happening. I've realised now that the feelings you have for me are genuine and the surer I was of this realisation, the deeper my feelings for you became.
"I wish to live a life where I no longer have to bow my head to anyone and I want you to be a part of my life as much as I want Ning'er to be. You will not think of me as selfish, will you?"
Yun Meili's eyes moistened a little as she shook her head from side to side.
"After what you have done for me, you deserve to be selfish." She was on the verge of tears but she continued. "You might not remember but I owe you a debt of life. Whatever you wish to do, however you wish to live your life, I will always be by your side. I won't complain even if you bring a thousand concubines home."
The pained smile on her face didn't agree with the last part of what she had said. Regardless, she would keep her word, no matter how much it hurt her.
The sudden revelation of a debt surprised Yun Lei but it made sense. Why would she care about him so much, otherwise? They had barely even interacted before their marriage.
He finally pulled himself back from her and sat down on the bed. It was quite comfortable.
"I'm sorry for barging into the library. I would like to spend more time there, please arrange that for me."
Yun Meili nodded. While it was true that no outsiders were allowed there, her husband was no longer an outsider.
She could tell that he was no longer the same man he was before. She wasn't even sure if she liked this transformation of his but regardless, she would be with him till her dying breath.
"It's late. We should sleep." Yun Lei said, looking out the window.
Yun Meili nodded and walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?" He asked in confusion.
"I'll go sleep in one of the guest rooms."
"Why?" There was even more confusion in his voice.
Yun Meili on the other hand was getting a bit frustrated. It's because Sister Ning is sleeping here, isn't that obvious!? She thought in her head but of course, she couldn't bring herself to point it out.
"The bed is big enough for the three of us. I don't want to send out my wife from her own room. The servants will gossip."
He could already imagine what kind of rumours would start floating about the manor if she slept in a guest room. Although reluctant, Yun Meili could see his point.
"But Sister Ning..."
"She won't mind. Come on." Yun Lei tapped the spot beside him on the bed.
A large grin was plastered on his face.