Strange things kept happening to Yun Lei as of late. First, he suddenly woke up in a forest with extremely nasty wounds and now, he found this strange room.
Is this someone's closed cultivation cave? That was the best guess he had been able to come up with. There was hardly anything there that pointed to the identity of the owner or even what the purpose of the room was.
He had tried reading a book from one of the shelves only to find that it wasn't written in a language he could understand. He picked up a few more books before concluding that he wouldn't find anything he could read.
The sound of the raindrops hitting the trees was a pleasant thing to have in the background. He had looked around the room for a spare set of clothes but he didn't find it. There was wood still remaining in the fireplace so he had lit up a fire to warm himself up.
He removed his wet clothes with much difficulty. The wound on his thigh was visible after there was nothing to cover it but that wasn't all. His entire body was full of bruises and it was especially bad in his abdominal region.
Although he couldn't say it for certain, it was as though he had been repeatedly beaten up in the past.
The fire warmed his body as the sounds of crackling wood filled up the room. It was quite pleasant, relaxing almost. If Yun Lei's stomach was full, he had no doubts that he could fall asleep in that place quite easily.
He had found a big jar of water as well as an alchemical cauldron in one of the cupboards. He looked around and even found some profound crystals. They were of rather poor quality but it would be more than enough to make a few pills.
Since he had nothing better to do, he quickly got to work and made two Blood Clotting Pills before sitting down in front of the fire.
Yun Lei looked at the wound on his right thigh with a profound crystal in hand. The wiggling maggots sent waves of nausea through his body but he endured it. He had found a piece of cloth which he bit down on before getting to work.
He extracted some profound energy from the crystal, shaping it like a blade before plunging it into his flesh. He carefully cut off all the maggot-infested dead flesh from his body before tossing it in the fire. He was bleeding quite severely so he swiftly consumed one of the pills.
The pill he had made was a lot better than the average Blood Clotting Pill. He already knew this but seeing his body react to the effects of it only reconfirmed that fact. Not only did his wounds stop bleeding almost immediately, but he could also see the flesh in his thigh regenerating.
How is that even possible!? Yun Lei couldn't believe his own eyes. No matter how well he had made it, it was just a Rank 1 pill, it shouldn't have been able to regrow flesh. Yet, it was happening right in front of his eyes.
Of course, only a small amount regenerated but given his current condition, that was better than nothing. Will this gaping wound fill up if I eat enough pills? He had the thought.
Eating that many pills would fill his body with impurities but since he couldn't cultivate, that hardly mattered to him. A functional leg was far more useful.
He popped the remaining pill in his mouth as well and it worked its magic once more. Another tiny bit of flesh had regrown and most of the bruises from his body had all but disappeared. He was feeling a lot better.
Although he was feeling better, the issue of food still remained. He found nothing edible in the little cave room. All he had were the wild vegetables and berries he had gathered but that was neither enough to fill his stomach nor would it last him very long.
He chopped up the vegetables with his knife before dropping them in the boiling water. The soup was plain and bland since it didn't have any condiments. Salt, which was something all nobles took for granted, was a rarity in the homes of most commoners. Yun Lei was experiencing what a typical meal in their home was like.
It felt like life was slowly returning to him with every spoonful of soup he drank. He couldn't be bothered to pour it into a bowl so he had just grabbed a spoon and dug right in. His tongue was scalded as he put the almost boiling food in his mouth but he didn't even care as he scarfed it all down.
After having his hunger tended to, his exhaustion was catching up to him. The tunnel that led in and out of the room didn't have a door and he didn't feel safe going to sleep with it completely open. So, he flipped over a table and pushed it against the entrance.
As he laid down on the bed, he noticed how bright it was. He looked up at the crystals that were the source of light inside the room and wondered if there was a way to shut them off.
He could vaguely sense that the crystals somehow turned profound energy in the atmosphere into light but since he wasn't perfectly knowledgeable about it, he didn't want to tamper with it.
In the end, he just covered his head with the blanket before falling asleep.
Sleep wasn't very comfortable. He kept having nightmares and waking up in cold sweat but at least, he felt a little rested.
The clothes he had been wearing stank so he had just been naked the whole time. He was used to people seeing him naked so he wasn't uncomfortable about it but it still made him feel a bit vulnerable. The fire had gone out at some point.
It was a warm and sunny day. Yun Lei fashioned a makeshift skirt with the blanket before he headed out of the room-like cave. His bow was slung across his shoulders and the quiver hung at his hips.
He didn't have any objectives besides survival. He would have liked to make as many Blood Clotting Pills as he needed to completely fix his leg but unfortunately, the cave didn't have enough ingredients for it. There were enough ingredients to make higher rank pills but he didn't have the confidence to try it.
He had also checked the pills in the closet but he couldn't determine what they were. They didn't even have a smell so he just left them alone. He had made two more pills with the remaining ingredients. It was safely stored in the cloth pouch tied around his torso alongside the fruits he had picked up the day before and the small knife.
He also had a few profound crystals stored there which had many uses like starting fires and even strengthening his body temporarily.
His primary goal that day was food. And not just vegetable soup, he needed nice, nourishing food. Hunting some game would be ideal but like everything in the wild, it came with risks. The smell of blood could attract predators.
Yun Lei was willing to take that risk. Although his leg wasn't fully useable, it was still better than before. He would be able to climb a tree at the very least even if it was with a lot of difficulty. But before that, he needed to do something else.
He dunked his dirty clothes in the river in order to 'wash' them. However, as someone of noble birth, he had no idea how clothes were washed. His actions were clumsy and unpractised but as long as the clothes didn't smell terrible anymore, he would be satisfied. After he was done, he strung the clothes on one of the nearby tree branches.
The rain had made the forest floor quite muddy. It meant that it was a lot easier to find tracks on the ground; an ideal time to go on a hunt.
He didn't want to stray too far from his cave so he started searching around the entrance first. He found no tracks but he did find some edible fruits and useful herbs.
The gentle rustling of the leaves with the cool forest breeze was quite delightful. Yun Lei made small marks on the tree barks to keep his bearing as he walked forward, enjoying the solemn atmosphere of the forest.
The feeling of being surrounded by trees on all sides was isolating but also secure and comforting in a sense. He didn't find any traces of prey but there were no traces of predators either.
Yun Lei slowly moved south from the cave, down alongside the river. He could walk easier so he was moving quieter than before, even without trying too hard. As he continued searching around for something to hunt, he heard a noise further south from him.
He went instantly alert as he focused on his sense of hearing. He was definitely hearing the rustling of the leaves but the cause was not the wind. It was the sound of something brushing against a bush.
An arrow was already nocked in Yun Lei's bow as he slowly made his way towards the origin of the sound. The wind was moving towards him so he wasn't worried about his smell being carried towards whatever was responsible for creating it.
He crept closer, careful not to step on any fallen leaves or branches. The creature making the noises wasn't staying still and was moving away from him slowly.
His heart was pounding as he got closer and closer to his target. If it was a predator, he needed to be quick in his escape so the tension was quite high.
The rustling of the leaves became louder and louder until finally, a deer entered his vision. He couldn't see it fully through the bushes but the animal was completely white, standing out like a sore thumb in that sea of green.
The deer was obscured by the plant life so he couldn't take the shot. Although he was killing the thing, he didn't want it to be in pain. He wanted to kill it with a single arrow. After all the pain he had been through, he would rather not inflict it on an innocent animal.
Yun Lei stalked his target as it moved towards an area with no trees. The deer with a snow-white coat looked full of majesty as it sat down in the middle of the small clearing.
He pulled back on the string with steady hands, aiming for the spot between the creature's eyes. There were no antlers on its head so it had to be a doe. Because he was upwind, he had to adjust his aim to account for it. Finally, he held his breath, ready to take the shot.
However, he didn't let go of the arrow. The wind had made him realise something was wrong. He could smell blood.
He observed the animal carefully before noticing an arrow sticking out of its hind leg. That explained why the thing was moving so slowly. From what he could see, the arrow had entered quite deep. The deer probably wouldn't be able to run even if he showed himself.
As he was observing the prey, their eyes met. The creature was looking straight at him with its dark eyes, full of pain and irritation but also intelligence.
All he needed to do to end that deer's life was let his arrow fly but he felt a great deal of hesitation. Perhaps it was because he had never taken the life of another creature with his own hands. Perhaps it was something else.
He thought a look of resignation had appeared on the creature's face the more the two stared at each other. He could feel the weight of the arrow nocked on his bow, the weight of the arrow that would end a life.
"Why do you not shoot, hunter?" A calm female voice spread through the quiet forest. Yun Lei's eyes shook as he heard it. His heart which seemed to want to jump out of his chest almost stopped as he froze up in shock.
"Why do you not kill me?" The same calm voice arrived in his ears again.
The voice that had escaped from the lips of the doe he was pointing his arrow at.