In this situation, taking a hot spring bath together, Lu Zhe felt that if there was no way to vent his fire, he would definitely have problems holding it in!
Therefore, he still said in a slightly reluctant manner: “Forget it, you two can bathe first! I’ll bathe after you’re done.”
Lin Qianqian said: “But that would lessen the sense of anticipation!”
“What sense of anticipation?”
Lin Qianqian thought for a moment, and said very seriously: “Um... the anticipation you feel towards the comfort of experiencing a hot spring for the first time!”
“Qianqian, do you know how I’ve managed to live until now?”
“How?”
“Half by asking ten thousand whys, and half by reciting the Emperor's Order to Leave the Passes.”
“Emperor's Order to Leave the Passes?”
“I now understand why Ah-Dou has lived so long. Reciting the Emperor's Order to Leave the Passes when I have nothing to do not only nurtures my temperament, but also stimulates my blood circulation and prolongs my life. Without this piece, just watching over you few sly little vixens, I'd probably have had to end my own glorious life prematurely like the Jiajing and Xianfeng Emperors. I recommend you recite it from time to time too, Qianqian.”
Qianqian nodded blankly: “I’ve nearly forgotten it all.”
Shen Bing couldn't help but chime in with a laugh: “Alright, stop teasing Qianqian! Let's do this - Qianqian, you go in first, then Lu Zhe goes in, and I’ll be the last one.”
Qianqian said very dejectedly: “Bathing separately, you must all dislike me...”
“Qianqian, listen to Sister Bing.”
Although somewhat unwilling, she still shyly went in. But soon, Qianqian’s shriek came from inside.
“What’s wrong?”
The two rushed in together, only to see Lin Qianqian looking at her arm with a face full of horror.
On her dirty little arm, a leech was attached, sucking blood.
Shen Bing said: "Burn it off with a fire stick."
"No need!" Lu Zhe grabbed Qianqian's arm and pressed it into the sulfur pool. The leech stiffened, and after ten seconds or so, it floated up dead.
He fished it out and threw it away.
Sure enough, the sulfur spring had an insect-killing effect.
Shen Bing pondered: “They probably got attached when we fell into the marsh.”
Lu Zhe solemnly said: “There may be more on the rest of our bodies too. We can't be shy about this anymore - everyone take off your clothes and check each other!”
Qianqian took off her filthy jacket, and surprisingly had six leeches on her body.
Shen Bing took off her jacket, and she had even more, a full eight.
"Oh my god, this is too horrifying..." The two girls couldn't help screaming. Forget Qianqian, even Shen Bing was scared numb!
"What about you, Lu Zhe?"
Lu Zhe took off his shirt, and only had one on his waist.
It slowly crawled down Lu Zhe's skin. It seemed it hadn't bitten through Lu Zhe's skin. Lu Zhe lightly flicked it off, and the leech flew out of the cave entrance.
Qianqian also wanted to follow suit, but Lu Zhe hurriedly stopped her: "My skin is thick and it didn't bite through, but your skin is delicate, you absolutely can't do that!"
Shen Bing breathed a sigh of relief: "Given the situation, let's not stand on ceremony. Let's just go in and wash together."
"But I don't have any!"
"What if there are some in unmentionable places!"
"Just thinking about it makes me shudder!"
Shen Bing thought for a moment, then moved closer to Lu Zhe and said: “Don’t mind this, if it’s really unbearable I’ll help you later!”
“You’ll help me? How?” Lu Zhe subconsciously glanced at Shen Bing’s chest.
Shen Bing whispered in annoyance: “You nasty boy, what are you thinking? At most I’ll use my hands.”
“Okay!” The three took off their clothes and pants, only wearing undergarments as they entered the hot spring.
A warm current washed over them, and their whole bodies felt pleasant.
Outside it was over thirty degrees Celsius, with an oppressive, itchy heat.
But soaking in the 40 degree Celsius hot spring water, there was no discomfort at all.
It opened all the sweat pores, cleansing the skin and spirit.
At this time, the leeches floated up one by one. They fished them all out and threw them away!
Even if some bugs were still clinging to their bodies, they basically couldn't survive now.
Qianqian agreed: “We should still check each other, Sister Bing I’ll scrub you.”
“No need, no need, I can do it myself!”
“Then Lu Zhe, I’ll scrub you.”
As she spoke, Qianqian moved closer to help Lu Zhe check that there were no lingering bugs on his body, with the sweet fragrance unique to the campus belle.
“Girls and boys should all be squeaky clean! We should wash our undergarments later too.”
What could Lu Zhe do?
He could only recite the Emperor's Order to Leave the Passes again.
After a while he really couldn't take it anymore: “I’m going out for a bit...”
Shen Bing also said: “It’s a bit stuffy, I’m done washing too. Qianqian you should hurry up too!”
“Okay...”
With her hair tied up, Shen Bing's clean look was extremely charming: “It’s getting late, let’s wash our clothes again. If we can get them dry before it rains, we can head back.”
Lu Zhe nodded: “Okay.”
“Oh right, hot springs mean there’s magma, but it doesn’t necessarily mean this is an active volcano right?”
Lu Zhe nodded: “That’s right. Many dormant volcanoes and volcanoes that erupt once every few hundred years still have magma activity, and also have sulfur springs. This is very normal.”
“So do you think this volcano is dangerous?”
“It certainly seems very safe now, but I won’t feel at ease without looking down into the crater to confirm.”
“Will we come again tomorrow?”
Lu Zhe shook his head: “There are still many things to do at the campsite, charcoal burning, building fences, cattle sheds, stocking up on forage, and we still need to explore the areas around the campsite. Let’s come back after a few days.”
Shen Bing nodded: “Okay, then I’ll go tell Qianqian.”
After speaking, Shen Bing entered the hot spring cave.
A few seconds later, Lu Zhe heard her shocked cry: “Qianqian, Qianqian!!”
Thinking Qianqian had fainted, Lu Zhe rushed in!
But she hadn't!
The pool water was like a mirror, with only Shen Bing searching around in the pool.
“Where’s Qianqian?”
“I don't know, she was already gone when I came in.”
“How is that possible?”
Lu Zhe's first reaction was also that Qianqian had drowned. He immediately jumped into the water to search with Shen Bing.
But in such a small hot spring pool, where could a person go?
“She’s not here!”
“Did she run outside?”
“Impossible, there's only one exit right?”
“Not necessarily!” Lu Zhe pondered for a moment, then dove into the water. He slowly searched underwater, and finally at the bottom of the pool near the volcano's center he touched a hole!
He quickly felt his way along the hole. After groping about 10 meters or so, the hot spring grew deeper, and there was no longer a stone ceiling over his head. He carefully poked his head above the water's surface.
In the dimly lit stone cave, the rocky shore grew increasingly deep!
Stalactites of various shapes and sizes, and unknown glowing green mosses growing on the walls.
It was like stepping into another world!
The sound of water rang out, and Lu Zhe looked towards the sound. An exquisite silhouette of a young girl was actually crouching between two stalactites.
A stream of water outlined a beautiful curve as it fell into the water, emitting a melodious sound like copper bells.