Hidden Base

(I'm sorry for the long absence, I plan to continue working!)

***

Xia Tao

In the morning, I felt fresh and full of energy, eagerly anticipating what Mei wanted me to choose. Stretching on the bed and groping to the side, I once again found no one there. Ah, my diligent maids. At first, after our nightly escapades, they would sleep like the dead in the morning. But over time, they adjusted and went back to their routine of waking up earlier than me and going about their duties. I wonder if they take naps during the day, or if I simply sleep too long. I'll have to ask later, just out of curiosity.

Throwing on a robe and getting out of bed, I walked to the window and noticed that today we had unusually cloudy weather, with even a bit of drizzle. For a region near the desert, this was quite rare. Despite being in the mountains, where I had heard it rains more frequently, cloudy and rainy days are uncommon here.

Stepping out onto the porch, I was greeted by the sight of Xia Lina walking with her arms outstretched under the rain, her head tilted back, and a slight smile on her face. It was interesting to see her show such emotion; it was a rare and unusual sight. Not wanting to disturb her, I sat down under the covered awning and began to watch my little vampire. Today, I felt a sense of goodwill and tranquility wash over me, as if I had achieved some sort of enlightenment! Haha!

Glancing at the branch we were nurturing from a stump, I was pleased to see that it had blossomed and was now bearing fruit. This was wonderful! It seemed that soon we would have our own fruits, too. Unfortunately, the local fruits aren't very diverse and lack strong flavors.

As I sat there, smiling at my thoughts, Xia Lina finished her activity and, noticing me deep in contemplation, walked over. Her wet clothes clung to her as she stood by and quietly leaned against the wooden wall.

"I didn't know you liked walking in the rain" I said, looking at her with curious eyes.

"I didn't know either. Today, as I was going about my errands and got caught in the rain, I realized it made me feel quite pleasant, filling me with a warm and bright feeling" she replied.

"Interesting" I said thoughtfully. "Have you ever felt that way before?"

"No, Master, I haven't noticed it before. I think it was just a sudden whim."

"Really? Aren't you cold standing there in those wet clothes? Even though there's no strong wind, it can still be chilly."

"No, Master, I feel very comfortable."

"Well, I'll have to ask Mei about this. She might know something." I tapped my fingers on the armrest of my chair, lost in thought, while Xia Lina stood there.

"Have some breakfast, please" I said, snapping out of my reverie and extending my hand to her. She pulled another chair out of her spatial ring, placed it beside mine, sat down, and bit into my arm, beginning to drink.

Curiously, I had begun to notice that I didn't always need to take a pill when feeding Xia Lina. Every second or third time, like today, I could skip it, and I would only experience mild dizziness for a minute or two before it normalized. Interestingly, I discovered this by accident, simply forgetting to take the pill once.

Since it was raining today, I decided to visit our hidden base, which we were excavating in the mountains, far from prying eyes. I was curious about the current progress and expected to find Mei there, as I hadn't seen her in the mansion. She was probably teaching the students or supervising the expansion work.

After waiting for Xia Lina to finish her meal and for the dizziness to pass, I stood up, patted her head a couple of times, and said, "I'm going to the excavation site. Do you want to come with me?"

"May I decline, Master? I'm feeling so good here right now that I don't want to lose this feeling," she replied.

"Interesting," I said, tilting my head. She rarely showed such initiative before. "Of course, enjoy this lovely morning" I said, leaving her alone as I headed towards the cave. We had decided not to create a direct passage from the house yet, although Mei hadn't fully explained why. No matter, it wasn't far, and the rain wasn't heavy enough to be bothersome.

Walking and feeling a sense of peace that I hadn't experienced in a while, I too enjoyed the rain. Lately, it had been all about chases, intrigues, the protagonist, and other issues. But this morning, my soul felt calm and content!

Upon reaching the cave, which was well-hidden by the natural formation of rocks and difficult to notice unless you knew what to look for, I entered through the narrow passage shaded by a bush. The last time we checked, we had excavated about 30% of the cave. The main challenge was to proceed cautiously, installing reinforcing arrays on the walls and beams to prevent a collapse, which would be disastrous.

As we progressed, it became easier, especially after discovering a network of natural caves. Among the new recruits was a student with a talent for sensing the earth, which greatly aided in planning the excavation and reinforcement. This talent isn't extremely rare—about one in a thousand cultivators possesses an elemental affinity, and his happened to be earth. This meant he could more easily use earth techniques and sense stress points in the rock with the help of a special device, guiding us on where and how to dig safely.

When I first envisioned an underground complex, I was troubled by how to excavate it safely while ensuring it wasn't just a series of caves but a large internal space. Mei gathered all the necessary details, and it turned out my desires, though uncommon, had long been addressed with established solutions. These included earth reinforcement arrays, consolidation techniques, and a device that helps place them effectively. Finding a student with earth talent accelerated our progress significantly, but even without him, it would have been manageable, though more challenging.

As I walked through the entrance, the cave's familiar scent and atmosphere welcomed me. The ambient light from the installed crystals lit my way as I moved deeper, eager to see the latest advancements in our excavation project.

Walking along the perfectly smooth floor of the cave, illuminated by the glowing stones set into the ceiling and walls, I pondered how they had managed to level the floor so perfectly that it almost looked like a mirror—so much so that it was somewhat unsettling. Just a few days ago, the floor was not nearly as even. I would have to ask if we could make it matte and perhaps level the walls as well.

After about two minutes of relaxed walking and various musings, I arrived at the expanded section with a door. In front of the door sat two students: one meditating, the other sleeping blissfully on the ground with a contented smile.

"The net of the sleeper catches fish" I thought, amused by the sight. Quietly, I opened the door and entered.

Passing through a spacious hall, I approached another desk where a different student was playing the role of a secretary. She was a short, blonde girl with an appearance reminiscent of a stereotypical bimbo—plump lips, large chest, and even small pink decorative elements on her student robe. Despite this, she had a very serious expression while studying some papers, creating a rather jarring yet comical contrast. I wondered what she was reading.

Trying not to make a sound, I peered over her shoulder to see that she was examining some diagrams of the spiritual structure of the human body and energy flow. Curious about what Mei had assigned her, I carefully observed before softly saying,

"Hi Beautifull."

She jumped slightly, turning around, and upon recognizing me, asked

"Oh, hello, Master. I didn't see you there. How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Mei."

"The last time I saw her, she was in Ritual Room Number Three," she said, pointing to a map carved into the wall beside the desk, and then returned to her papers.

"Convenient" I remarked, smiling. "Thank you."

I walked over to the map, found the room, and headed in that direction.

***

Mei

Standing next to the array, which I had triple-checked, I sighed with satisfaction. Finally. Soon we would be able to unlock that spatial crystal. As usual, I periodically scanned the surrounding space and noticed the master approaching. Perfect timing!

"Greetings, Master" I said, blushing slightly as I recalled last night's events.

"Hello, my darling" he said, coming over to hug me and burying his head in my chest. His short stature could be quite convenient at times.

"What do you think of the updates to this place? Do you like it?" I asked.

"Overall, it looks much better. The only thing is that the surfaces are too reflective for my taste. It's a bit harsh on the eyes, especially with this lighting" he replied.

"Hmmm, we'll think of a way to solve that problem" I said, making a mental note.

"But otherwise, it's cool. I like it. Though I think the students need some discipline work. One was sleeping, and the other was deep in meditation. Anyone could just walk in and take whatever they wanted." he remarked with a sad face.

"Luckily, the girl in the hall pointed me in your direction. By the way, what was she studying? She looked so focused that I got curious" he added.

Listening to the master, my face remained fixed in a sweet smile, betraying none of the fury boiling inside me. Sleeping and meditating on guard duty at our secret base? I'll deal with them appropriately.

Unnoticed, I took out an emergency communication crystal and contacted Lin Qing, relaying what the master had told me. I was confident she would handle the problem swiftly and efficiently.