Looking anything but lazy now, he took his wooden staff and quickly headed toward the stream. He plunged both hands into the water, splashed several handfuls over his face, and felt his whole body grow much more comfortable, as if he had come back to life.
He shouted loudly to Qin Xi, Di Qun, and the others behind him, "Hurry over! The water here is really good."
Then he cupped another handful of water to his mouth and began to drink.
Qin Xi and the others walked over and saw that the water really was very clear. Though the stream was tiny, a place like this was already very good for them.
At noon, they prepared to rest there for a while. Di Qun took two very clean flatbreads from her bundle. These were baked flatbreads they had prepared earlier; in the forest, when it was inconvenient for everyone to eat, they could use them to stave off hunger, and they were easy to store.
She took one flatbread, placed it near Qin Xi, and said to him, "Qin Xi, have one to take the edge off your hunger."
Then she put a water bowl into the stream, filled it with water, and set it on a rock on Qin Xi's other side. Qin Xi said to her, "Thank you."
He looked toward Daoist Yangmei. The man had already finished washing his face, and his hair was wet and dripping with water, but his spirits were much better now.
Di Qun also took a flatbread and said to Daoist Yangmei, "Daoist Yangmei, you should eat some too."
Daoist Yangmei looked in her direction and said, "Thank you."
He found a large rock to lean against, and his whole body suddenly seemed to go limp, as if he had no bones.