Jungle Exploration

The day after the rain, the ground had yet to dry completely. When the morning sunlight shone into the yard, a layer of fragmented reflections still lingered on the puddles. The dripping from the eaves had slowed considerably; only an occasional drop fell, making a soft sound against the base of the wall.

Krillin stood at the yard gate, holding an old rolled-up map. Its edges were worn, the paper yellowed, and tiny cracks ran along the folds, as though it had been unfolded and refolded countless times. "Master said there's an old road in the woods to the north. People used it before, but it was abandoned later. No running this morning. We'll go see whether the road's still there."

Lin Chen came out of the house and straightened the collar of his gi jacket. "How far?"

"About forty minutes on foot." Krillin folded the map and slipped it into his shirt pocket. "If the road's still there, we can add another route later."

Master Roshi sat beneath the porch, whittling a wooden stick with a small knife. The scrape of the blade against bark sounded especially clear in the morning air. "That road used to lead to an old outpost. It was abandoned afterward. Just take a look, don't go too far. We still have training this afternoon."

The two followed the coastline for about twenty minutes before turning inland. The ground gradually changed from sand to grassy slopes mixed with loose stones. The vegetation grew denser, with low shrubs and small trees appearing ahead, their branches interweaving. Some hanging vines nearly touched the ground. Plants had begun reclaiming the land, and in some places the traces of the old road had almost been completely covered. Only occasional signs of human maintenance remained—a tree stump cut flat, or a stone deliberately set upright. Krillin did not walk quickly, but his steps were steady. He examined the ground and the vegetation on both sides as he went, occasionally brushing aside grass with his foot to confirm the outline of the road beneath.

"This way." Krillin pushed aside a cluster of low bushes, revealing a stretch of dirt road covered in fallen leaves. Its surface lay slightly lower than the surrounding ground, and it was about two meters wide. The trees on either side were more evenly spaced as well, as if they had once been deliberately cleared. He continued along the road, his footsteps crunching dryly through the leaves.

After about twenty minutes, the trees ahead began to thin, revealing a clearing. A low stone building stood there, its walls piled from rocks of uneven sizes and covered in dark moss. It had only one door. The door panel had rotted away and hung crookedly from the frame, leaving a gap. Part of the roof had collapsed, exposing the beams and a pile of fallen tiles within, forming an uneven mound beneath the opening.

Krillin stopped at the entrance and pushed the door panel with one hand. It gave a dry creak but did not fall, as though something had jammed it in place. "An outpost," he said. "Master said people used to live here before it was abandoned."

Lin Chen stood in the doorway. Sunlight fell through the gap in the roof, forming a slanted beam inside that illuminated the dust on the floor and several scattered fragments of broken tiles. Some old marks remained on the interior walls—irregular lines that seemed to have weathered over time. It was impossible to tell what they had originally depicted; only vague outlines remained. Near the corner lay a stone slab. Its edges were smoother than the rest of the floor, as though it had been deliberately worked. It differed from the other stones around it.

[Ding! Ancient Information Fragment ×1 acquired. Current Unknown Information Database: 0.1%.]

He felt a faint warmth rise from the soles of his feet, spreading upward along the insides of his legs. It weakened when it reached his waist, but did not fade completely. He lowered his head and looked at the stone slab beneath his feet. Its surface was darker than the surrounding soil, as though something had seeped into it. Under the light, it carried a dim sheen.

Krillin was also looking around the room. He crouched beneath another section of wall, where dry leaves, dust, and small stones had gathered along the foundation. Using a broken branch, he brushed aside the top layer and revealed a square stone embedded in the base of the wall. "This stone doesn't belong here," he said as he stood. "It may have been moved in later. But it's too old to tell what it was originally used for."

He stood nearby for a while, then turned toward the entrance. "Let's head back first. We'll mark the route when we get back. Next time, we can bring tools and clear the entrance."

Lin Chen gave the stone slab one last look before following Krillin out of the outpost. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the canopy, leaving mottled patches of light and shadow across the ground. The shadows of the trees swayed from one stone to another, their edges blurring as they moved before sharpening again with the shifting branches overhead. In the afternoon light, the old road looked somewhat faded, like a trace worn smooth by time.

It was nearly noon when they returned to Kame House. Krillin spread the map across the stone table in the yard and marked a new route with a pencil. It extended northward from Kame House, followed a stretch of coastline, then curved inland, ending in a small circle at the outpost's location.

"We can add this road to the running route later." Krillin folded the map. "It isn't far, but the terrain is complicated. It's good for practicing reactions and footing."

Master Roshi came out of the house carrying a basin of washed vegetables. He set it beside the stone table. "Found the road?"

"We found it," Krillin said. "There's an old outpost there. It's been abandoned for many years. There wasn't much inside, but the foundation is still fairly intact."

Master Roshi nodded without asking further questions, then carried the basin into the kitchen. Krillin put the map away inside the house. When he came back out, he held two cups of water and handed one to Lin Chen. Lin Chen took it and drank a sip. The water was not cold and carried a faint rusty taste, as if it had come from a storage barrel.

The afternoon training continued as usual. After completing a set in the Gravity Room, Lin Chen stood in the yard and stretched his arms. He could feel that his muscles had grown firmer from the ongoing training, while his joints could move through a greater range than before. The sea breeze blew in, carrying the afternoon warmth and the scent of distant plants. It stirred the edges of the fallen leaves by the wall, leaving a shifting curved outline on the ground.

In the yard, Krillin was sorting out an old rope. Its surface was worn, with several loose threads where the fibers had come apart, as though it had been used for a long time. He ran his hand along the rope's texture, checking where and how badly it had worn, then coiled it up and hung it from a nail beside the wall.