Chapter 28: Weakness

George forced his body up to observe the environment of the second floor. Unlike the first floor, the second floor felt much more spacious. That was not truly spacious; in fact, the space of the second floor was even smaller than the first. But why did the first impression given to George feel like that? With doubts in his mind, George began to observe carefully.

First to catch his eye was still the altar in the center of the tower. It had the same white marble base as the first floor, with patterns in the center that George could not understand. He turned his head to look around; the inner walls of this floor seemed to be curved. The few large doors from the first floor were gone, replaced by floor-to-ceiling windows and railings extending outward. From here, one could see the space outside the tower, which seemed to be a night sky filled with stars. The biggest difference was that the various murals and symbols on the walls of the first floor were completely absent here. Perhaps this clean white wall was the reason for the feeling of spaciousness.

Enduring the discomfort, George came back to his senses and exited the pagoda. Opening his eyes, he tried to stand up. However, the weakness in his whole body and the extreme fatigue in his mind made him almost fall forward with a “plop” as soon as he stood up. Fortunately, he managed to support himself with his hands against the inner wall of the carriage; otherwise, he would have landed face-first, which would have been a huge embarrassment.

George called out in a weak voice: “Ilena! Are you outside?”

Ilena’s reply came with a trembling tone: “Young Master, are you okay? Your voice sounds very strange.”

“It’s just that I feel a little uncomfortable. Come in and help me organize my Sleeping Bag!” George leaned against the inner wall of the carriage to help himself sit on the chair.

“Slap,” the car door opened. “Clang! Clang!” Ilena stepped onto the carriage using the footrest. Her face was full of worry as she asked hurriedly: “Young Master, what exactly is wrong with you? Should I go find Mr. Val or Mr. Coke to check on you?”

George waved his hand: “No need! It was just a small problem during meditation last night. I just need to rest for a night, and I’ll be fine. I don’t need to trouble those two for such a small matter; they are very busy right now. Sir Val needs to arrange the town’s defense, and Mr. Coke is probably still taking care of the wounded.”

“But! But Young Master, you look very unwell. I’m worried! I’m worried something might be wrong.” Ilena’s big blue watery eyes were filled with tears.

George reached out and gently patted Ilena’s shoulder: “It’s okay! Don’t forget that I am an Elite Rank Squire. I know my own body very well. I’ll be fine after a night’s rest. But if you don’t hurry up to prepare, it might be too late.”

After saying this, George also patted Ilena’s head. After George stopped, Ilena flipped down the recliner opposite him. The recliner unfolded like a foldable sofa bed. Then, she pulled out a folded Sleeping Bag and blanket from a cabinet nearby and began to adjust them. In no time, a fairly comfortable bed appeared before George.

“By the way, help me take off my clothes,” George reminded her. This sentence truly showed his weakness in front of Ilena.

After Ilena helped George change his clothes, George forced his way into the Sleeping Bag despite his fatigue. Ilena then blew out the lantern in the carriage and sat on the chair to watch over George.

“If I fall asleep directly like this, I probably won’t recover by tomorrow morning. I need to think of a way.” Having made his decision, George began to regulate his breathing while visualizing the rhythm of waves surging under the night sky in his mind. Slowly, following the rhythm of the waves, the scene in his Visualization changed into a giant Dragon coiled in the deep sea, with the waves rising and falling continuously with the Dragon’s breathing as it slept. After a while, George fell asleep peacefully along with the scene in his mind. If a knowledgeable bystander learned about this situation, they would praise, “The Zhe Long Shui Dan Gong is indeed well-deserved.” The “Zhe Long Shui Dan Gong” is a specialized sleep technique, said to be created by the Song Dynasty immortal Chen Tuan. It emphasizes the wonderful principle of “Great Stillness and Void,” which is the core of the Wenshi and Donghua schools and the mysterious key to the nine returns and seven returns. It is a very practical technique.

The sleeping George did not know that his body and mind had undergone huge changes that night.

In the morning, the chirping of birds “Chirp! Chirp!” came from outside the carriage. Accompanied by the sunlight shining on George’s face, he woke up from his deep sleep.

“Ahhh,” George slowly got up and stretched. He felt his condition was much better. Although he had not recovered to his best state, it no longer affected his daily life or training. He turned to look at Ilena; she was lying by his bed, and her gentle breathing showed she was sleeping soundly.

George smiled and quietly got up to change his clothes. With George’s control over his own muscles, not waking up a little girl like Ilena was a piece of cake.

Stepping out of the carriage, George immediately felt the air was much fresher today. The strong smell of blood that had filled the air yesterday had gradually faded. Finding a piece of empty ground in the camp, George began to use the movements from the “Yi Jing Xi Sui Jing Zhu” to loosen his muscles and bones, preparing for further training later.

When George felt he had basically finished warming up, the voice of Sir Bart came from beside him.

“George, your movements today seem a bit off,” the other asked with concern, showing he had been observing for quite some time.

George answered with a calm face and steady heart: “Something went wrong last night when I was cultivating my mind through meditation, but I have recovered almost completely now.”

“But this is not a small matter! Especially for a Squire like you, it directly affects whether you can advance to the Knight Rank. The saying that ‘there are no small matters above the mind’ is not just talk. You know, not only for someone like you, but even Formal Knights have dropped in Rank because of this…” A long stream of words kept pouring out of Sir Bart’s mouth.

Although George knew the other was well-meaning, these irrelevant words fell on his ears like five hundred ducks quacking endlessly, which was so annoying. However, George could not refuse or stop him; he had to pretend to be a student receiving instruction, making him feel a bit bitter in his heart. “Sigh! This is the price of lying. The System is George’s biggest secret and cannot be revealed to anyone.”

“Next time, you must be more careful. Although borrowing methods from Mages to temper the mind has been verified by many people, it is not originally part of Knight cultivation. It is better to be careful.” Sir Bart finally finished his long lecture with a serious tone, and George sighed with relief in his heart.

“I understand. I will be careful next time,” George pretended to accept the advice humbly.

Seeing George like this, Sir Bart seemed to feel relieved: “That’s good. I originally wanted you and Hiren to spar today, but it seems we should skip that for now. If you have time, take a walk around and outside the town to clear your mind; it should be good for your condition. Remember not to go too far from the town. Since that night’s incident, I feel things around here might not be peaceful.”

“Thank you for your concern. Since there is no sparring practice, I will go have breakfast first.” George pretended to rub his stomach, using this chance to slip away quickly.

Since he said he was going to eat, he should at least make a show of it. Otherwise, if Sir Bart asked later how his meal was, and the Cooking Troops replied that they hadn’t seen the Lord this morning, it would be quite amusing. At least for the next one or two days, the two would have to face some awkwardness when they met.

Actually, it was not yet breakfast time in the camp, but the Cooking Troops had already woken up. Although being away from home was not the same as being in his own Territory, George, as a Noble, still had some privileges in the group. After he informed his needs, Babbus, the Cooking Troops, stopped his other tasks and focused on preparing breakfast for George.

Unlike most territories at the time, the Cooking Troops of Bolerum Territory were professional soldiers. In other armies, those responsible for preparing food were often temporarily conscripted farmers, or temporarily recruited from Mercenaries or Adventurers. Even worse, some directly let merchants following the army to collect Loot or women providing special services be responsible. Not only could the quality of the food not be guaranteed, but there were also safety hazards.

After years of online debates before his transmigration, George always believed that in both ancient and modern armies, the role of the Cooking Troops was irreplaceable. They provided meals and drinks for the army, improved their lives, and boosted their combat effectiveness. When the army suffered heavy casualties or encountered difficulties, they could also directly join and engage in combat. In folk legends, the Cooking Troops of Xue Rengui were all extraordinary in martial arts.

Of course, legends are just legends. George did not expect a character who could turn the tide of battle to appear in his team’s Cooking Troops. His requirement for the Cooking Troops was to provide timely, safe, and palatable food (even if not delicious) to stabilize the army’s morale, and to be able to pick up weapons to defend themselves when necessary without needing others to take care of them. If their strength was good enough to join the reserve force, that would be even better.

Watching the burly man in front of him busy preparing food for him, George always felt something was strange. Perhaps in his mind, the profession of a chef was always round and chubby. Speaking of round and chubby, George thought of Baroman at the port. He wondered how the port’s operations were after his two-day absence. Sometimes George even admired the amazing twists in his own train of thought.

“Fried lamb chops, and grilled onions and potatoes,” George was startled by the dishes in front of him. He never expected to eat such food in the camp.

George quickly stopped Babbus, who was turning around after serving the food: “Babbus! Where did you find these raw materials?”

“These were bought from the town this morning. Lord! After the ambush that night, the price of food in the town has risen quite a bit in the last two days. And there was not much stock, but this morning many people came to the camp entrance to sell things voluntarily.” Babbus wiped his hands with a cloth and continued, “It was a stroke of luck. I was just handling the fat sheep I bought, and you came. This is just the right time to treat you to a good meal.”

“Okay, there is nothing more to do here. Hurry up and get back to your work.”

“Okay! Lord, please enjoy your meal slowly. I will leave now.”