The quiet little river bend was surrounded by tall reeds. Several kingfishers, startled by Lin Qi's voice, chirped crisply from their nests. On the distant riverway, several furtive little barges were speeding downstream beneath the cover of night.
In the shallows of the river bend, Lin Qi, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, gripped a large bar of soap and scrubbed Wood and the others with all his strength.
After crawling through mud and filth year after year, Wood and the other five had accumulated a thick layer of grime over their bodies, a filth like a layer of callus. Lin Qi first scraped them viciously all over with a dagger before he finally managed to peel away that age-old crust of dirt.
Then he liberally smeared powerful disinfectant powder over all six of them, thoroughly killing the dense swarms of fleas and lice on their bodies. After that, Lin Qi used his dagger to shave off every last hair on them—their tangled hair, beards, luxuriant body hair, and armpit hair alike. Only then did the six of them look somewhat human.
By then, the clear water in the river bend had turned pitch-black.
Lin Qi surged his battle energy and sent the black river water into the main channel. Fresh water from upstream swiftly filled the bend, and only then did Lin Qi take out the soap and begin meticulously washing the completely naked Wood and the others.
From their ears to their scalps, from their necks to their armpits, even between their toes, Lin Qi carefully washed Wood and the others one by one. Donkey lay on the bank of the river bend, staring blankly at Lin Qi's movements. A hazy glimmer flashed through his eyes as he muttered softly.
"Where are you now, the one who