Back in the mountains again, Li Long first dropped the supplies off at Harimu's Winter Camp. There was still no one there. He did not mind, and after unloading, he returned to his own Wooden Cabin.
After putting away his bicycle, Li Long checked the Dried Meat hanging on the poles. The blazing midday sun had left it half dry, but some flies were still buzzing around it, so he dissolved some salt in water and sprinkled it over the meat. With salt on it, the flies would not be able to crawl over it or leave maggots.
Once he had finished these tasks, he took his rifle to the Hot Spring again. Perhaps he could pick up another easy catch?
Even if he did not, washing up and soaking in the hot spring would be nice. After all, he came back reeking of sweat every day, and a soak in this natural hot spring would do him good.
He remembered hearing during a hot spring trip in his previous life that less than half the water flowing into the pools was hot spring water. Most of it was heated in boilers. The locals also said that decades ago, they could soak freely in the hot spring pools, but now they could only look at them. Every place with a hot spring had been leased out, and even locals had to pay steep prices to bathe. They could no longer afford it.
When he reached the Hot Spring, there were indeed no animals in sight. This time, Li Long did not bother lying in ambush. He simply took off his shoes and clothes and set them aside, placed his rifle on top of his clothes within reach, then climbed into the pool for a soak.
There were more small stones