Chapter 5: Recovery

“The doctor said you must not eat hard food. Young Master, I know you dislike porridge, but you have to wait until your body recovers. Then you can eat whatever you want,” Ke’er said as she brought a spoon to Su Tang’s lips.

Su Tang’s lips could move slightly, but his jaw was still uncontrolled. Only a small portion of the thin porridge flowed into Su Tang’s mouth, while most of it dripped down his cheeks.

Su Tang felt conflicted. He had just learned that he had been unconscious for six whole days, and his vital signs must have become very weak, which was why Zhu’er had already prepared a coffin for him.

In fact, Su Tang had done something extremely dangerous by forcing the refinement of a Spirit Tool while his body was very weak. Fortunately, he had already opened his Spirit Aperture; otherwise, he would have died long ago.

Ke’er wiped the porridge stains from Su Tang’s cheeks with a towel. Su Tang’s inability to eat made her very anxious. After frowning and thinking for a while, she suddenly had an idea. She first took a small mouthful of porridge, then leaned close to Su Tang’s lips. After their lips met, she used the tip of her tongue to push open Su Tang’s jaw and poured the thin porridge in bit by bit.

Seeing that her attempt was effective, joy appeared in Ke’er’s eyes, and she took another mouthful of porridge.

This way of feeding was too intimate, but perhaps because she was still at an innocent and naive age, Ke’er did not think much of it.

Actually, even if she understood, Ke’er would not have cared.

There was something called ideology. Ke’er’s environment, as well as the overt and even latent education she received, had created a perception in her that she believed in wholeheartedly: that everything she possessed belonged to the Young Master, including her body, her heart, and her soul.

Also, there was another important point: Su Tang was kind-hearted. Ke’er was only six years old when she was sold to Little Forest Castle. Arriving in a strange land and facing a group of strangers, her fear was understandable. Su Tang was eight years old at the time and treated her only as a little sister, always bringing her along to play.

As she grew a few years older, Ke’er gradually became sensible. She heard the other maids talk about the miserable experiences of servants in other places, where enduring silence, beatings, and scoldings were daily occurrences. Thinking of Su Tang’s kindness to her, she realized deeply and had long since regarded Su Tang as the true master of her fate.

Su Tang was in no mood to enjoy the erotic feeding. The feeling of being unable to move his body was terrible. He had been working hard, trying to regain control as quickly as possible.

Soon, the bowl of porridge was finished. Ke’er breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, Zhu’er appeared at the door and motioned quietly to Ke’er. She looked as disheveled as Ke’er; seeing the Young Master unconscious and in critical danger, how could they have the heart to dress themselves up?

After the bowl of porridge, Su Tang felt much better. He projected his consciousness into his mind and discovered that the rune Grand Formation had changed. Only two runes emitted light, while the other runes had disappeared.

He had already seen the first one; the second rune should have been refined by that Mask.

Fragmented Spirit Soul: Level 0.

Su Tang immediately noticed the difference. Level 0? The previous Spirit Soul didn’t have a level. What did this mean? Could Spirit Souls be upgraded? But… by what method could they be upgraded?

Low voices of conversation came from outside. Zhu’er and Ke’er had tried their best to keep their volume down, but Su Tang’s senses were exceptionally sharp, and he heard them clearly.

“Ke’er, whatever you do, do not mention the Black Forest to the Young Master, understand? And Qian Biao, absolutely do not!” Zhu’er said. “The doctor said the Young Master fell ill because of a great shock. If he remembers the things in the forest, I fear he will fall ill again.”

“Sister Zhu’er, I am not stupid. Why would I mention that bastard for no reason?” Ke’er said. Both Ke’er and Zhu’er hated Qian Biao, who had not stopped Su Tang from acting recklessly and had failed in his duties, so much that their teeth itched. It was a mercy that he hadn’t returned; if he dared to come back, he would certainly be beaten severely and then kicked out of Little Forest Castle!

“That’s good,” Zhu’er said. After saying a few more words, she left quickly. During the days Su Tang was unconscious, she had no mind to manage the castle’s chores. Moreover, the servants all knew Su Tang might not survive this crisis, and Little Forest Castle would change owners. As the saying goes, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; the ugly side of human nature revealed itself, leaving the place in chaos. Therefore, she had to make Little Forest Castle return to normal operation as soon as possible.

…

Su Tang’s recovery speed was unexpectedly fast. By the second day, he could get out of bed and walk. While Ke’er was joyful, she was also somewhat worried and firmly refused to let Su Tang leave her sight.

In the garden, Su Tang walked slowly. In truth, he hadn’t been sick. In the terms of another world, it was because the energy consumption had been too violent, causing a short circuit in his bodily functions and operations. With Ke’er’s careful care, the nourishment from food, and the nourishment of the Spirit Soul, he would be fully recovered in a few days.

But Ke’er was not at ease and followed closely behind Su Tang’s every step.

A woman around thirty years old walked over carrying a food box. Ke’er hurriedly said, “Young Master, it is time to eat. Would you like to eat in the garden or go back?”

“Right here, the air is good here,” Su Tang said. He scanned his gaze and saw a wooden lounge chair in the pavilion, so he walked slowly toward it.

Ke’er took the food box and followed him into the pavilion. Although she did not understand the meaning of “air,” she always had to listen to what the Young Master said.

Su Tang found the most comfortable position, then pointed to his mouth and closed his eyes.

“Young Master, why are you like this!” Ke’er cried out coquettishly. The same scene had already played out once at noon. Su Tang refused to feed himself and insisted that Ke’er feed him, and moreover, it had to be by mouth, otherwise Su Tang would clench his teeth.

Of course, if Su Tang could not move, Ke’er would be willing to serve him in any way. But Su Tang had just been talking to her, and in the blink of an eye, he ‘fell ill’ and could not take care of himself. Was this not intentionally teasing her?

Su Tang ignored Ke’er and simply smacked his lips a few times. The meaning was clear: I am a bit hungry, hurry up.

Ke’er placed the food box heavily on the table, then put her hands on her hips and widened her big eyes, her small chest pushing forward. She wanted to gather her courage to say a few very stern words to prove that she, Ke’er, was not so easily teased. But she soon discouraged herself, helplessly opened the food box, took out the bowl of porridge, took a small mouthful, and leaned close to Su Tang.

After drinking Ke’er’s porridge, Su Tang chuckled and rubbed Ke’er’s head with his hand, then took the porridge bowl.

“Hmph!” Seeing Su Tang’s smug smile, Ke’er responded with a nasal sound.

While eating the porridge, Su Tang’s eyes were never idle. Sometimes he admired the scenery of the garden, and sometimes his gaze wandered over Ke’er. While remaining conscious, no matter what he saw, he had a complex feeling that was both familiar and fresh.

It was familiar because he had seen it too many times, and fresh because he could always find things he had previously missed or ignored.

Take Ke’er beside him, for example. Every winter, her duties would include one more item called warming the bed.

The houses in this world had almost no cold-proofing measures, and the building materials were mostly wooden, so winter nights were very cold. Before Su Tang went to sleep, Ke’er had to strip naked and lie in Su Tang’s bed for a while. Also, she could not rest during the night and had to get up at least three or four times to check the fireplace and the brazier.

Recalling the scene of Ke’er’s small buttocks poking in and out of the bed in his mind, Su Tang’s gaze became a bit strange. He had actually never taken any substantial action; he had matured far too late. It was truly incomprehensible…

After finishing the porridge, Su Tang leaned back on the lounge chair contentedly and closed his eyes.

In the Black Forest, he had been reborn and possessed many memories, as if he had lived for several lifetimes, but not all memories were pleasant to him.

For example, he hated mechanical coldness and cruelty, and he did not want to endure the pressure of struggling on the edge of life and death for years. Compared to that, the leisurely and happy days he had now were the state a natural life should enjoy.

However, the memories of the ancient tree interested him greatly. The ancient tree had existed for tens of thousands of years. Its pursuits and ideals were clearly more advanced than the previous two; that was the ultimate evolution, the realm of immortality!

If he could live a life of peace and harmony with the world while quietly evolving and cultivating, wouldn’t that be wonderful…

But there was a saying in another world: the ideal is beautiful, but reality is skeletal. Could he really continue this way?

Su Tang’s breathing became slow and deep. In addition to having an endless brain domain, he had also obtained a mental method called the General Internal Breath Decree, which worked in coordination with the Spirit Refining Method.

The General Internal Breath Decree was very simple: place a goose feather in front of the nose and keep it still while breathing; that was the frequency of the internal breath. Su Tang had experimented in the morning and felt suffocated after only two minutes, unable to persist further.

True internal breath was not about maintaining it for a few minutes or hours, but continuing it indefinitely, simply replacing normal natural breathing.

At this time, Zhu’er’s shout came from the distance, sounding somewhat exasperated. Su Tang opened his eyes and smiled at Ke’er: “Your Sister Zhu’er is throwing a tantrum again.”

“They deserve to be scolded. They have been too outrageous these past few days,” Ke’er said.

“Come, let’s go take a look.” Su Tang stood up. He was the master of Little Forest Castle and could not put all the burdens on Zhu’er. He didn’t understand before, but now he should try to manage things.

“Oh,” Ke’er answered and followed Su Tang’s pace.

After walking a few steps, Su Tang looked back at the lounge chair. Under the handle of the chair, a barely perceptible crack had appeared. That was caused by his full-strength twisting just now. The two shining Spirit Souls in his brain domain allowed him to clearly feel that his strength was much greater than before. In a couple of days, he should find Blacksmith Zhao in the castle to test his strength…