"What do you mean, a coma?" Yun Meili asked with concern.
"I'm so tired, it might seem like I'm in a coma after I fall asleep." Yun Lei said with a chuckle before laying down his head on the pillow.
A lot was going through his mind. He knew for a fact that he had spent at least two days in the forest of endless trees. And he couldn't even say that it was all a dream. He had returned to the exact moment he had tried to relock his body and enter his soul form. He couldn't have dreamt all that in just a moment, after all.
"Perhaps, it would be best for you to not jest about matters regarding your health." Yun Meili said in a rather stern voice.
"Yes, yes, my dear wife. I shall keep that in mind."
For the first time in days, Yun Lei felt like he would fall asleep without much difficulty. Ah, nothing beats a warm bed. He thought, as he made himself comfortable under the blanket. Before he even knew it, he was already asleep, softly snoring with a smile on his face. It looked like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"He will be all right, won't he Sister Meili?" Su Ning asked the Princess who understood Yun Lei's situation far better than her.
"He is just asleep." Yun Meili replied calmly. Although she didn't show it, she was just as anxious as Su Ning.
After the night passed and the morning greeted Ether Cloud, Yun Lei got up from his sleep, completely refreshed. It was as if all of the strain his soul was under was erased. Of course, it wasn't entirely gone but it felt much better than it usually did.
Only after getting out of bed and stretching did he notice that his bed was empty. Which was strange, since he always slept with both Yun Meili and Su Ning.
"Young Lady Yun and Madam Su didn't want to disturb your sleep." One of the maids answered when Yun Lei looked towards her with a questioning gaze. "They also ordered me to not let you out of the room without being looked at by Granny Chu."
"Go call her then." Yun Lei said leisurely. Although he felt completely fine, it wouldn't hurt letting Granny Chu take a look. Besides, he had something else he wanted to do.
"Ah, ha." He softly muttered after opening the 'How to be a Scumbag'. The black book was quite similar to how it usually was. The first page contained the title, the second page contained some text and the rest of it was empty. Only, the text on the second page that had told him to learn archery was replaced with something else.
"Well done." The page said. Followed by another phrase in a language he couldn't understand. He could tell that the phrase was written in the language Zuzhou Nuo could read but other than that, he had no clue what it was supposed to be.
Does this book have something to do with why I ended up in the Forest of Endless Trees? He had that thought. After all, the entire experience felt somewhat off to him.
He had suddenly woken up in the middle of nowhere, with a body that was undoubtedly his yet, it carried a stench of blood that his real body clearly shouldn't have had. Not only that but he had a vague feeling that he and the White Deer Tribe weren't speaking the same language, yet, they had no difficulty understanding each other.
Something weird was happening to him and he didn't know what. The thought itself was scary enough on its own but the fact that he might end up someplace else just by going to sleep unnerved him greatly.
What if I get dropped in the middle of a dangerous situation and end up losing my life? What will happen then? It was a thought he didn't want to have however, he had no choice but to have it. Only the gods knew where he might end up and when. Whatever came his way, he had to be prepared to face it.
Of course, the incident could have just been a one-time, isolated incident. But his intuition was telling him that that wasn't the case and his intuition had rarely led him astray.
He picked up a blank piece of paper and wrote down two sentences in the two languages he had found in the little cave before carefully folding it. That parchment would be sent to Senior Mo. He wanted both of those languages identified so he could learn them both.
He had returned to Ether Cloud without learning how to read from Zuzhou Nuo so he was still unaware of what the Soul Splitting Art was all about. If possible, he wanted to get to know it as soon as possible.
"Boy, you look as fit as a horse!" Granny Chu's voice echoed throughout the entire room as she practically burst through the door. Behind her came Yun Meili, holding Su Ning's hand.
"Yep. Fit and fine. So, I can leave the room now, right?"
"Hold your horses, kid." Granny Chu extended her palm upon which Yun Lei placed his own. "You know, these days, it's almost like the Yun Family hires me just to take care of you!" The old lady let out a loud laugh while Yun Lei let out a cough of embarrassment. He did seem to get injured quite often.
"Well, nothing to worry about. Your soul still looks pretty bad but you'll live. Don't go fighting any cultivators. I might lose my job if you end up dying, haha!" After letting out another loud laugh, Granny Chu left the room.
Almost immediately after the old healer had left, a servant Yun Lei had never seen before entered the room and bowed deeply in front of Yun Meili.
"Young Lady Yun, the third daughter of the Zhang Family patriarch has asked for an audience with Young Master Yun."
"The Zhang Family?" Yun Meili looked towards her husband in confusion only to receive an equally confused look back.
Yun Lei was completely unaware of who the Zhang Family even were, let alone the fact that his company was rivalling their business.
Just as the husband and wife were looking at each other, an old man entered the room in haste. This old man was, of course, Senior Mo.
"You've awoken, Young Master."
"Yes, yes. And as you can see, I am perfectly fine. By the way, who are the Zhang Family? Apparently, the third daughter of the Zhang Patriarch wants to meet me."
"The third daughter of the Zhang Patriarch?" Senior Mo looked taken aback after hearing Yun Lei's words but he suppressed his shock and started explaining the situation to the Young Master.
"The third daughter of the Zhang Patriarch is the owner of the Flower Garden Pavillion. On the surface, the restaurant belongs to the Zhang Family but the Third Young Lady has been running it for nearly seven years."
"Do you suppose she found out that the Thunder Cloud Company is opening a restaurant?"
"You're opening a restaurant?" Yun Meili asked in surprise. She knew that her husband had opened a company but she didn't know much of the details behind it. As long as Yun Lei wanted to do something, she would wholeheartedly support him. She didn't look further into it than that.
"It's been in the works." Yun Lei said with a smile before turning towards the old man. "Senior Mo, why do you think the Third Young Lady wants to meet me? And why me and not someone from the Yun Family?"
"The Third Young Lady is as prideful as she is smart. It seems out of character for her to seek an audience with anyone, let alone with Young Master Yun, instead of the Young Lady or the Patriarch."
Yun Lei smiled at Senior Mo's words but didn't say anything in response. He simply gave the old man a look that said 'continue'.
But before Senior Mo could even open his mouth, Yun Meili had spoken once more.
"She feels threatened."
"What do you mean, Young Lady Yun?"
"Do remember the last time the Third Young Lady of the Zhang Family visited Yun Estate?"
"During the last Young Star Martial Competition, four years ago... Ah!" Realisation dawned on Senior Mo's face as he turned toward the Young Master who had raised one of his eyebrows. Yun Lei had no idea what the two were talking about and he wanted to know.
"It seems the Third Young Lady of the Zhang Family realised that Young Master Yun is the one who controls Thunder Cloud, not the Yun Family. She also seems to regard you highly since she wants to meet you herself."
"Oh well." Yun Lei only shrugged his shoulders. "If she wants to meet me, she can. I'm quite curious about what she wants to say to me. I'll be free all day, tell her she can come to see me today if she wants. Also, Senior Mo, I want to know what languages these two sentences are written in. I would also like it if you could provide me with documentation that would help me translate it."
Senior Mo unfurled the piece of paper before shaking his head. "Languages are not my forte and these kinds of scripts aren't something I have seen before. I shall pass this on to the relevant scholars and let you know the results as soon as possible."
"You do that then, Senior Mo." Yun Lei stretched once more as he finished speaking. "I'll go get some fresh air."
"Where are you going?" Yun Meili asked, like the concerned wife she was.
"The training ground." Came the reply.
Yun Lei had realised one fact during his time in the Forest of Endless Trees. His body was far too weak. So weak, in fact, that without his abnormal soul strength, forget saving the White Deer Tribe, he would have gotten himself killed while trying to go against the hunters.
He couldn't cultivate his profound energy but that didn't mean he could not train his body with the same methods the mortals used. Even if he trained his body to its limits, he couldn't hold a candle against cultivators without his aura. However, something was better than nothing. He would be as prepared as possible for anything that would come in the future.
"The training ground? Why?" Yun Meili asked.
"To train." Yun Lei spoke as if it was obvious.
"I'll fight for you. You need not worry about such needless things as long as I am around."
"I'm not training so I can go fight, dear wife. A healthy mind resides in a healthy body. I might not live as long as you but I still wish to live a long and happy life. Consider training to simply be an effort to fulfil that wish."
"Does the Young Master need me to find some capable trainers?" It was Senior Mo who spoke this time.
"No. I just wish to train like the common soldiers. The trainers you find might be too scared to train me properly." Yun Lei laughed. "You don't need to worry too much. If I can handle Ren Feng, I'm sure I'll be able to handle a drill instructor or two."
"If the Young Master thinks so."
Yun Lei simply nodded as he began walking out of the room. He was wearing very simple robes and his hair was loosely tied up. He didn't even have his identification plate on his belt. His handsomeness was difficult to hide but at least, no one would be able to immediately recognise him as the son-in-law of the Yun Family.
"What weapon should I learn?" Yun Lei asked the maid who was silently following behind him. She was the same maid who had supported him on the carriage the other day.
"I think the bow and arrow would quite suit the Young Master's figure." The maid answered with a bowed head.
"Bow and arrow, huh?" Yun Lei let out a chuckle.