The pool was clear enough to see the smooth pebbles at the bottom.
Wisps of white mist curled above the water, and a faint scent of sulfur filled the air. Tiny bubbles rose steadily from the spring at the bottom, and the water was just the right temperature.
"Wow...! Taoist, there really is a hot spring in our mountains!" Wen Zhixia was the first to cheer.
"No wonder I thought the streams here didn't seem very cold. There's a hot spring so close by," Li Wanyin said in surprise.
Lin Meng Qiu blinked too. She hadn't come here last time. If she'd known, she would have asked Chen Shi'an to soak in the hot spring with her...
Chen Shi'an set down the bamboo basket and smiled. "Well, here's the hot spring. The water quality is very good, and soaking in it is good for you too."
"This water feels so hot!" Wen Zhixia crouched down to test it.
"Yes, it should be around forty-two or forty-three degrees. Better for winter. It's a little hot for now, but still fine. A nice hot soak will ease the fatigue."
"Shi'an, did this pool form naturally, or did you build it?" Li Wanyin asked curiously.
The pool wasn't large, probably only eight or nine square meters. Although there were no modern building materials like concrete or tiles, it clearly showed signs of human work.
"There was already a hot spring pool here. A few years ago, my master and I tidied it up a little, lined the edges with mountain rocks, and paved the bottom. We'd take a bath whenever we had nothing else to do."
"So that's how it came about!"
"Do other people usually come here?" Lin Meng Qiu asked too.
"No. This is deep in the mountains. What outsider would