Deng Ruan came by a little later to check on Meng Fei's condition. The Sect Elders also tasked her with monitoring him to see if he would recover in time to see them on the appointed date. The doctor was not one to let personal matters interfere with her work, so she gave a very frank answer to them.

"Don't expect the average person to be well enough in two days after losing so much blood. But I believe it will come anyway."

She arrived punctually at the Imperial Crane Residence and one of the servants led her to her room. Li Jiong had given Meng Fei the first volume of Study of Arrays, only to his dismay he found that it was in a style very similar to ancient Chinese. Of course, those enrolled in the transmigration matrix were also in this configuration.

Meng Fei felt a headache and thought that he would collapse at any moment. He was always taking a step forward and going backwards. Li Jiong was bewildered and was looking for a way to console him.

"I'll teach you to read this, and when I'm not around, I'll have someone else do it."

"Yes, yes, I'm not worried about that at all, hehe, learning ancient Chinese... doesn't stop being Chinese in the end." Meng Fei laughed bitterly, he didn't want to bring trouble to Li Jiong.

Now he knew how Li Jiong felt seeing the books he bought. A great mix of confusing ideograms...

The cultivator held his hand and the jade-cold touch startled him.

"Don't be like that, you brought me back here like you promised, didn't you? I'll also do my best to help you."

Deng Ruan "..............."

The servant had just brought her in and she witnessed this unexpected scene, seeing Li Jiong holding that man's hand so affectionately.

Oh! I think I came at the wrong time…

"Oh, is there a problem? Meng Fei seems a little... er, desperate?"

"Ah, Dr. Deng, I'll have to learn your spelling, but at least the phonetics are similar... although there is a bit of an accent in the pronunciation."

The doctor walked over and picked up the book, wiping her forehead with a thin handkerchief.

"Are you saying you can't read this?"

"Don't talk like that, it looks like I'm illiterate." Meng Fei smiled, making fun of the situation always helped him recover. The doctor took her pulse for a while.

"You look so much better after you've slept a whole day."

"Usually I don't sleep that much..." Meng Fei scratched his head in embarrassment.

"That's what it looks like. But you better sleep anyway. We've started to unblock some of the acupuncture points and the meridians are gradually widening. During sleep the process is facilitated due to relaxation. Problems taking medication you too don't have..." She wrote down her observations and then began to undo the bandages.

Li Jiong accompanied her in silence.

"The wound looks much better, let's keep cleaning and applying the medicine once a day. It won't be completely healed until the meeting with the Elders but you'll be able to go." After seeing that the wound wasn't infected, she started cleaning it and then medicating it.

Meng Fei nodded with extreme ease, and both cultivators were taken aback.

"You don't seem worried about it." The doctor commented, arching her eyebrows.

"It must be like a job interview, it just makes you nervous at the time." Meng Fei flipped through the book in his hands. Something he might try to deduce from these patterns.

"I'll get the prescription ready, and avoid spicy foods for now." Deng Ruan collected her accouterments when she finished. Meng Fei called out to her when she was about to leave.

"Ah, Dr. Deng. Thank you for taking care of me." He smiled gratefully. The corners of his eyes curled slightly. The doctor nodded.

"It's my job. No need to thank me."

Li Jiong escorted her out of the room. "I also want to thank you, cause you he's fine."

"Li Jiong… you're right next to him… be careful not to harm yourself with this." Deng Ruan squeezed her shoulder as she spoke, her head bowed.

"I owe this person a debt of gratitude. I can't abandon him like this. During the time I lived with him, I could see that he was not dangerous." Li Jiong responded.

"He may not be as dangerous as you're thinking, but he's cunning and smart. Don't get caught up in his plans." She gave him two friendly pats on the shoulder and left, leaving a troubled mind behind. However, the day passed and the other followed without Li Jiong showing any change in his dealings with Meng Fei. He was engaged in learning the ancient language, sometimes from the master of the house when he was not busy, sometimes from one of the servants.

Seeing him so focused, Li Jiong was afraid that he would get too tired and took him to see the lake and the ancient tree he had mentioned. It was a gigantic ginkgo biloba that grows by the lake. Her leaves were all yellow and covered the dark, calm waters of the lake next to her.

The dazzling sight left Meng Fei's mind blank. Any image linked to nature moved him and seeing that imposing millennial tree reminded him of an old memory.

"It's a ginkgo biloba... I remember that in my first project I remodeled the whole plan of the building just to not cut one like this one..." He walked around the tree caressing the trunk.

"They thought I was crazy and that it was a waste to keep that tree... but then the project even won an award, and then everyone thought I was a genius when I only wanted to preserve a tree."

He shook his head. "There are very beautiful landscapes here. So you don't even want to go back to that world of cement and asphalt."

Li Jiong's eyes lit up, if Meng Fei liked nature that much, he could probably also like the way of life and customs there. If all went well in the Hall of Elders, they could have a little more freedom and visit the village near Seita. He could even create some link with this world.

"Your world seemed to me... a little chaotic. Despite the problems you've already seen here, we still have some very peaceful places. After the meeting with the Elders, I can show you some pretty beautiful landscapes."

Li Jiong took the opportunity to point out some of the beauties he knew, exaggerating the description a bit, trying to make them more attractive than they were.

If the Elders dropped their suspicions about Meng Fei and he gave up on returning… Li Jiong was daydreaming.

"Meng Fei..." He let the other's name slip softly past his lips like a whisper. Until then the other was paying attention to everything he said without speaking as he admired the small golden fans floating on the water. Upon hearing his name, he reacted, turning to Li Jiong with a smiling expression, "Yes?"

"If… by any chance we don't get the matrix to send you back… would you agree to stay here at the Sect?"

"Hmm... in the Sect maybe I'm not useful since I don't have any power. It's good that I think about it anyway. If I can't go back I need to look for something that I can do here, there doesn't seem to be much service construction..." Meng Fei crossed his arms thoughtfully.

Li Jiong managed a sly smile. "You can form a spiritual core too, it will be even better for you to design the matrices."

Meng Fei stared at the sky that was starting to take on the dark blue hue of night. Tomorrow he would talk to the Elders and his life would be decided in a way after this step.

"Who knows. Worry never beats fate and I'm a flexible person after all."

Li Jiong approached carefully, following the other's gaze to the rising stars. And persistence accomplishes the impossible. He reflected silently.

Author's Note:

Li Jiong is already pulling his strings to try to convince Meng Fei to stay... so cute to see that he is already starting to think of the other in a different way 🥰.

I love couples who start relationships based on trust. Li Jiong now trusts Meng Fei with his eyes closed.