Chapter 20: Hot Spring

Chapter 20: Hot Spring

He twitched his fingertips, and a drop of water shot out invisibly. The next moment, an egg-sized stone on the ground a hundred steps away split cleanly in half without warning.

That was enough to handle ordinary wild beasts.

Lin Su was reassured and let Fu Yun run ahead within a hundred steps—the maximum range of his superpower, allowing him to intervene in any emergency.

He followed leisurely, holding a straight stick two fingers thick in his hand, occasionally using it as a walking stick. But his expression was relaxed, exuding a carefree laziness, as if the stick were not a simple branch but a legendary sword of a martial arts master.

Fu Yun turned around and shouted, "Brother, hurry up! We need to get home before dark."

"Yeah, yeah."

Lin Su responded casually, quickening his pace by an imperceptible amount... just a smidge.

Seeing this, Fu Yun got anxious and ran back to push Lin Su from behind.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" He was so impatient!

Having witnessed Lin Su's astonishing recovery, Fu Yun realized his brother was simply being lazy rather than held back by his leg injury, so he no longer held back, acting without worrying about the injury.

Lin Su let himself be pushed along, even leaning into it to save some effort.

Though it was winter, withered leaves covered the mountain, but the south still kept its greenery. Tall evergreen trees stood, their bark covered in moss and lichen like a fuzzy coat. Creeping vines wrapped around the branches, bearing simple five-petal flowers that were surprisingly lovely, their petals as translucent as ice crystals.

Walking through the dense forest where few humans had set foot, the old paths had long been overgrown.

After asking for directions, Lin Su carefully cleared the plants along the way, letting Fu Yun pull at his clothes and lead the way.

They wound up and down for ages, and after an hour and a half, they finally reached the treasure-hiding spot Fu Yun had mentioned.

As soon as they entered, Lin Su felt the temperature rise. He looked up.

It was a valley enclosed by several large mountains. The temperature inside the valley was much higher than outside.

The most obvious sign was the many flowers and plants blooming in the valley, and even spring orchids were in full bloom on the tree trunks. Numerous out-of-season wild fruits hung red and heavy from the branches.

It was as if two different worlds existed inside and outside the valley.

Lin Su observed carefully. The surrounding mountains formed a container with a small opening and a wide belly. A pool of spring water overflowed from one side of the mountain wall, above which a thin layer of mist lingered. The vegetation around the spring was dense and lush.

It turned out to be a hot spring.

Underground geothermal heat was abundant, and the valley's small opening trapped the heat, explaining the unusually high temperature inside.

Fu Yun ducked into a cave, but Lin Su didn't follow. Instead, he walked over to the hot spring.

There was no peculiar smell of sulfur. Taking a deep breath, he was met with fresh, natural air carrying a gentle warmth.

It was a non-volcanic hot spring with a moderate temperature, probably in the low forties Celsius.

Perfect for a soak!

At that thought, Lin Su's skin tingled with anticipation.

The hot spring water lapped at the grass at the edge. Lin Su found a dry stone, stripped off his clothes, piled them on the rock, and stepped naked into the spring.

The bottom and sides of the spring were lined with uneven rocks. The water was shallower near the edge, reaching only waist-deep, but grew deeper toward the mountain wall, with the water color shifting from clear to greenish.

The slightly warmer water sent a shiver through Lin Su's skin. He let out a satisfied sigh, relaxed his body, and after adjusting, took a few steps inward. When he reached the center, he suddenly stepped into nothing.

The depth suddenly became uncontrollable. An ordinary person would panic in such a situation, possibly even drowning.

Indeed, as the old saying goes, "Clear water is shallow; green water is deep."

But Lin Su was not afraid of water at all.

He held his breath and let his body sink to the bottom. The water was surprisingly deep, with jagged rocks breaking up the space. Further in, it faded into darkness.

Under the hot spring, a narrow cavity led into the mountain.

It looked a bit terrifying, especially since Lin Su's superpower sensed living creatures inside. But they seemed to be creatures that shun light, so there was no need to fear.

After thoroughly exploring the pool's bottom, he was about to surface when a splash sounded and someone crashed into his arms heavily.

"..."

As soon as Fu Yun hit the water, he sank rapidly, gripping Lin Su's arm tightly, as if trying to drag him out.

Lin Su thought Fu Yun had seen him underwater too long and assumed he was drowning. He was about to let Fu Yun pull him ashore and explain later, but then saw Fu Yun, who had just mustered his strength, suddenly sink.

Bubbles were streaming from his mouth nonstop.

Lin Su looked closely—oh, dear—the little fool had jumped into the water wearing a brand-new winter coat.

The soaked cotton clothes were as heavy as a small mountain, and the water resistance was strong. It took Lin Su some effort to bring him back to the surface.

When they broke the surface, Fu Yun took a deep breath and wrapped his arms and legs around Lin Su.

Lin Su: ...So heavy!

"Take off your clothes."

He scolded him irritably, "Jumping into the water in winter clothes, are you trying to kill yourself?"

Fu Yun slumped weakly on Lin Su's shoulder, silent, completely losing his usual vitality.

Sensing something was off, Lin Su paused for a moment, then carried him to the edge of the pool.

With all the clothes soaked, getting out of the water would lead to catching a cold. He set Fu Yun on a smooth stone at the bottom, felt underwater to remove the wet clothes, and tossed them onto the bank.

He sat beside Fu Yun, the warm water enveloping both their bodies. Without the chilling coldness of river water, Fu Yun seemed to recover a bit.

Lin Su gently patted Fu Yun's cheek and spoke softly to soothe him, "Don't be afraid, I'm fine."

Underwater, his hand accurately found a trembling one and held it firmly.

In the past month, they had crossed rivers by boat every day without seeing any abnormality in Fu Yun, so he clearly wasn't afraid of water.

He guessed that his own prolonged time underwater, coupled with the greenish transparency of the pool making it look like drowning, had triggered Fu Yun's childhood memories—his adoptive parents had drowned in a flood.

It seemed that Fu Yun's traumatic memory had been stirred by him.

Fu Yun blinked, his dull gaze focusing on Lin Su and instantly rippling with emotion. He choked out, "Big brother, don't leave me."

"I'm a good boy. I can do a lot of things. I can take care of you. Don't abandon me..."

His eyes were red, and his sobbing tone made Lin Su's heart ache.

When Lin Su thought of Fu Yun's experiences—witnessing his family's tragic death as a child, fleeing for days without a word of complaint, only to be given away by his own brother to be raised by others, then his adoptive parents drowned, and even Lin's parents, who took him in as a child bride, dying young three years ago, while the original Lin Su harbored malicious intentions toward him.

In his short life of eighteen years, he constantly experienced parting and abandonment.

With his mind damaged and mental state regressed to that of a child, the deep-seated insecurity within him expanded, and his dependence on Lin like a newborn bird was so strong.

Lin Su closed his eyes. Never before had he so clearly realized that, since coming to this new world, he, who should have been alone and carefree, had already shouldered a burden.

He should have felt annoyed.