Twelve hours of sleep felt like twelve seconds when Mei shook Hunter awake with unnecessary enthusiasm.
"Elder Feng is here. Nascent Soul spiritual pressure incoming. You should probably be standing when he arrives instead of looking like corpse recovering from terrible life choices."
Hunter's body immediately lodged formal complaint about consciousness. Foundation Mid worked theoretically. His meridians disagreed with theory. Hidden injuries whispered suggestions about extended unconsciousness. Every muscle ached from fighting Core Formation beast while damaged.
"How long do I have?"
"Two minutes. Maybe three if spirit crane circles for dramatic entrance." Mei held up Gerald. "Also Gerald says Elder Feng already knows everything through Liu Mei's reports so trying to look functional is pointless deception but culturally expected. Politics requires performance."
"Tell Gerald I appreciate the encouragement."
