Chapter 3 (continued)

Shan Heyuan sat up straight and met Shen Duheng's gaze.

Shen Duheng frowned.

Seeing that he had nothing else to say, Shan Heyuan said, "The food's getting cold. Let's eat lunch first."

Shen Duheng said, "Five hundred thousand spirit beads. I'll solve the problem of your blocked meridians."

Five hundred thousand!

Shan Heyuan's eyes went round. He had only a little over five hundred spirit beads on hand!

He said, "For materials? I don't have that many spirit beads."

Shen Duheng said coldly, "My fee. If you don't have it, you can owe me for now. Pay it off within three years."

Shan Heyuan said, "Senior! Brother Shen! Three years..."

Shen Duheng glanced at him, and he immediately changed his tune. "Three years it is! Thank you, Brother Shen!"

Shan Heyuan hadn't expected Shen Duheng to actually have a solution. After the pain of parting with the money passed, he couldn't help feeling delighted.

He quickly finished lunch, then took the bowls and chopsticks to wash, humming a little tune.

When he came back, he asked, "Brother Shen, what can you do?"

Shen Duheng said, "Pack your things. Get ready to go into the mountains."

Shan Heyuan asked, "What are we going into the mountains for? How long will we be gone?"

Shen Duheng said, "That depends on your luck."

With that, Shen Duheng smiled and said gently, "Maybe you'll never come back, and you won't have to repay the five hundred thousand spirit beads."

Shan Heyuan shuddered.

Shen Duheng said they would leave that afternoon, but Shan Heyuan put it off until the next morning.

His reason was perfectly sound—he didn't know how long he would be gone, so he had to tend to the earth spirit ginseng on the mountain beforehand.

If the earth spirit ginseng died, he wouldn't be able to repay Shen Duheng's spirit beads.

Early the next morning, Shan Heyuan put on a backpack, dressed himself properly from head to toe, and headed into the mountains as Shen Duheng had instructed.

Jingzhishan Town was a small mountain town, surrounded by mountains on all sides, with only one road leading out.

The mountains here were neither high nor unusual, neither perilous nor steep. The trouble was that there were simply too many of them, range upon range. Once you crossed one, another lay ahead.

There were also all kinds of Demon Beasts in the mountains. Though none were particularly formidable, they were still beyond the ability of a mortal like Shan Heyuan to challenge.

Knowing he was going into the mountains, Shan Heyuan was deeply apprehensive, but he had no other choice and could only gamble with his life.

Otherwise, he would either be sucked dry by the spirit sword in a few months or die of old age decades later. Either way, he would die.

It was extremely easy to get lost when one was unfamiliar with the mountains.

Even though Shan Heyuan had brought a direction talisman, after walking all morning he could no longer tell which way was which and could only follow close behind Shen Duheng.

Shen Duheng led him over mountain ridges and down into river valleys, gathering all kinds of spirit medicines and minerals along the way, and occasionally some Demon Beast materials as well.

Shen Duheng really was powerful. None of the Demon Beasts they encountered on the way lasted a single exchange against him.

Shan Heyuan saw it clearly and knew that Shen Duheng really had gone easy on him. Thus, throughout the journey, he was as docile as a quail, doing whatever Shen Duheng told him to do.

The two spent six days and five nights wandering through the mountains. When Shan Heyuan was thirsty, he drank mountain spring water; when he was hungry, he ate a Grain Avoidance Pill; and when he was tired, he found a rock or a large tree and dropped off to sleep. He was as haggard as a wild man.

On the afternoon of the sixth day, they found a hot spring.

The spring water was a lustrous white, with steam rising from its surface. Shan Heyuan smelled sulfur.

Shen Duheng stopped and surveyed their surroundings.

Shan Heyuan ventured, "Are we camping here today?"

Shen Duheng pointed at the hot spring. "Didn't you want to clear your meridians? This is your chance."

Shan Heyuan looked at the steaming hot spring, then at Shen Duheng.

Shen Duheng gave him no chance to ask questions. "Go scrub yourself clean in the river in the valley, then come back."

Shan Heyuan nodded, took a fresh set of clothes from his backpack, picked up a cleaning pellet and a knife, and slowly walked down.

The river in the valley was less than fifty meters away. Though called a river, it was really a mountain stream, and the water didn't reach his knees.

He stripped naked and stepped into the water. The icy mountain spring water turned his legs red.

The water was bitterly cold. Gritting his teeth, he splashed it over himself and used the cleaning pellet to scrub thoroughly from head to toe.

Afraid that failing to wash himself clean would cause trouble, he also cut a handful of grass, rolled it into a bundle, and scrubbed himself again.

Half an hour later, he returned to the hot spring in a fresh robe, dragging his freshly washed cloth shoes.

Shen Duheng's gaze swept over his still-dripping hair, his slightly darkened lips, and then his long, slender calves, which had been scrubbed almost to a shine. He gave a slight nod and gestured for him to wait at the side.

Shan Heyuan stood nearby, watching Shen Duheng toss various spirit medicines, minerals, and Demon Beast materials into the hot spring.

Shen Duheng must have already thrown in a batch earlier. The spring water had turned dark and gave off a strange smell, part fragrant and part foul, that was pungent to the nose.

As Shen Duheng threw in more and more materials, the spring water changed faster and faster, now purple, now green, before rapidly turning black.

After throwing in the last spirit medicine, Shen Duheng turned to Shan Heyuan and said, "Strip naked and submerge yourself. Don't come up until I tell you to."

Shan Heyuan said, "Oh, all right!"

Shan Heyuan undid his belt, quickly stripped off his clothes, and jumped in as Shen Duheng had instructed.

The moment Shan Heyuan jumped in, he was assailed by itching, pain, and scalding heat.

He cried out and pushed off the bottom of the spring, reflexively trying to leap back out.

But before he could stand up, a force pressed down on his head and shoved him hard into the spring, forcing his whole body beneath the water.

His cry was only half-finished when he was pushed under. He abruptly choked on a great mouthful of scalding water, both acrid and bitter. The choking made the root of his tongue tremble, and he immediately began coughing violently underwater, tears and snot streaming down his face.

The only reason he didn't lose control of his bowels was that there was nothing in them.

He struggled desperately beneath the water, but the force holding him down was immense, like a mountain, giving him no chance to escape.

Intense pain exploded throughout his body, even in places he couldn't bring himself to name.

His mind was in chaos, unable to piece together a single coherent thought. He fell into a frenzy.

He wasn't clearheaded, but neither did he faint. His vitality was exceptionally tenacious.

Shen Duheng stood on the bank, quietly watching him struggle in the water. His gaze gradually grew somewhat complicated.

The water in the hot spring slowly changed from black to a transparent gray, then to grayish brown.

When the water had completely turned grayish brown, Shan Heyuan felt a force pull him up and fling him onto the bank.

He lay on the ground, coughing violently, water streaming from his nose, eyes, and ears.

After coughing for a long time, he gradually regained his senses and finally saw Shen Duheng clearly before him.

He reached out, pulled over the robe beside him, and covered his waist and belly. Lying on the ground, he let out a breath and said hoarsely to Shen Duheng, "Brother Shen, you were too ruthless."

Shen Duheng asked, "Do you have any cleaning pellets left?"

Shan Heyuan said, "...Yes."

Shen Duheng said, "Go wash again."

Shan Heyuan said, "Let me lie here a while."

There were pebbles and grass stalks on the ground, digging painfully into him. Yet compared with the pain in the hot spring, as if all the skin on his body and his internal organs were splitting apart, this was almost sweetly gentle.

Shan Heyuan lay on his back, watching the sunset red as blood, the evening clouds like fire, and the green leaves drifting in the wind.

There was something more in the air. He could neither see nor touch it, but he could feel that substance slowly passing through his skin and merging into his body bit by bit, gradually restoring his strength.

He could also feel something lodged in his lower abdomen, where his Dantian was. He couldn't touch it or take it out, but it felt a little swollen.

For as long as he could remember, his body had never felt so good. His vision was as clear as if it had been washed with water, his five senses were unbelievably keen, and the world was unbelievably rich.

So this was what it felt like to become a cultivator.

After lying there for a long time, he sat up and said to Shen Duheng, "Brother Shen, you saved my life."

Shen Duheng said, "Five hundred thousand spirit beads."

Shan Heyuan smiled. "I haven't forgotten."

Shen Duheng said, "Go wash."

Shan Heyuan had no choice but to tie his robe around his waist, take a cleaning pellet, and go back down to the mountain stream to scrub off all the stickiness on his body.