Following the direction in which the peach blossom branches grew, Yun Mu tapped his cane as he strolled forward.
For some reason, he had felt considerably lighter these past few days.
So, without realizing it, he had picked up an old childhood hobby again—writing poetry.
“On moss-covered stone quietly grows… in that quiet place, peach blossoms fill the tree… fragrance fills the forest, if you ask why I have come here, I’ll just smile and say it’s because my heart is at ease.”
He walked along, murmuring his verses, stumbling slightly but managing to compose a poem.
Though it lacked rhyme and tonal harmony, it still made his steps feel noticeably lighter.
Compared to the cold atop Qingqiu Peak, this peach blossom forest gave him an overwhelmingly warm sensation, even tinged with a misty, moisturizing feeling like gentle water vapor.
This feeling reminded him of some books he’d once read about the continent’s geography.
“Though there’s no sound of flowing water, I can still sense rippling waves. Coupled with this abnormal temperature… could it be… that this is the hot spring mentioned in the books?”
Muttering to himself, a flicker of hope ignited in his heart.
A clear spring gushing from underground, heated by buried thermal substances, its temperature far higher than ordinary springs.
This was one of the few things he knew about what this world called a hot spring.
“Hmm hmm hmm~”
Humming softly, his steps light and brisk, behind him trailed a girl who was clearly suffering—
Shangguan Xunyi.
At this moment, she was standing beneath a peach tree, one hand resting on the trunk, the other clutching her chest as she gasped for breath.
She glanced back at the mere dozen or so steps between them, then looked toward the boy steadily distancing himself, saying nothing but forcing herself to summon her Star Force to press onward.
In her mind, Sha Qianmo was already furious, cursing loudly as he helped her regulate her Star Force to resist the dense yet oppressive pressure.
[What the hell! What’s wrong with this damned place!? That brat Yun Mu is walking on air while we struggle with every step!]
Having spent her recent idle moments reading, her vocabulary had noticeably expanded, though she sometimes slipped into family matters.
Her words had become much more precise.
Gritting her teeth, her complexion pale, given the symbiotic connection they shared—when one suffered, so did the other—her soul body was enduring the exact same pressure as Shangguan Xunyi’s physical form.
[Damn it… If I catch Yun Mu… I swear I’ll suck enough blood to replenish everything I lost…]
Shangguan Xunyi didn’t reply to that thought.
Her eyes fixed fiercely on the distant figure.
The immense pressure made her restless heart waver, and her eyes gradually turned bloodshot.
At this moment, the girl could no longer smell the fragrance of peach blossoms; instead, lingering in her nostrils was the unmistakably delicious scent unique to Yun Mu.
Her power was spiraling out of control once again.
***
As the peach blossom forest deepened, the sound of rippling water gradually grew clearer from afar.
Yet, he found no sign of any hot spring, only feeling the earth beneath his feet grow increasingly soft.
“Strange… The sound is so close now, but there’s nothing here…?”
He spun around on the spot, trying to locate the source of the sound by ear.
He circled several times, nearly dizzy, but still couldn’t discern where the sound came from.
Resigned, he tapped the ground gently once more and drew upon the extra power bestowed by Tushan Yunxi.
The Star Force within him slowly flowed out from his acupoints, first condensing above the white satin, then extending downward into his cane, before finally spreading out around him like ripples of sound.
“Hum—”
Then, a low hum resonated.
The originally quiet, almost serene peach blossom forest suddenly began to tremble violently with the ripple of his Star Force.
After just a few breaths, a roar akin to a tiger’s howl—but far more majestic—exploded through the air.
This was a sound Yun Mu had never heard before.
He froze where he stood, his body trembling uncontrollably.
This instinctive fear made him completely oblivious to the fact that the space around him was shifting.
Right before his eyes, the steaming hot spring he had been searching for appeared in full view.
His Star Force continued radiating outward until it suddenly halted upon touching the tall, graceful silhouette standing nearby.
Snapping back to reality, a vaguely familiar figure quietly surfaced in his mind.
But before he could get a clear look, it was instantly replaced by the towering shadow of a giant.
In the dim light, Yun Mu caught glimpses of its features.
“Antlers like a deer, neck like a snake, paws like a tiger…”
He murmured lines from his book, thinking of the legendary “Dragon.”
“Are you the little blind boy that Tushan Yunxi wants to adopt?”
A somewhat androgynous voice spoke, accompanied by the rustling sound of clothes being loosened, fabric brushing against skin.
“Ah, that’s me. And you are… Sister Eleven?”
“Sister? You can tell my gender by my voice?”
“Yeah, although your voice is somewhat ambiguous, I can still tell you’re a woman.”
“Is that so? Your hearing is quite good.”
Hearing this, Eleven’s tone carried a hint of praise, yet she didn’t pause her movements.
She raised her hand to remove the last layer of her stomach cover.
Through the misty steam, her jade-like, smooth skin glistened with dewdrops.
Then, her delicate feet lightly touched the hot spring’s surface, her body gently “melting” into the water, causing only the slightest ripple.
“Um… though this might be a bit sudden, may I ask if you are bathing in the hot spring?”
Having caught some hint of the situation, Yun Mu asked plainly, calm and composed, without any trace of nervousness.
But if one looked closely, it was clear he still maintained proper courtesy, turning his back respectfully.
“Mm… bathing in the hot spring can relieve fatigue. Would you like to try?”
“No need, thank you. I’ve already intruded upon you unexpectedly; if I pressed further…”
“What makes you say that?”
“Ah?”
Yun Mu was slightly taken aback by Eleven’s counter-question, something he hadn’t anticipated.
After all, in his view, a man suddenly barging in on a woman bathing in a hot spring and talking to her for so long was inappropriate.
Yet here she was asking why he thought so, leaving him at a loss for words.
“Uh… well, I’m the one at fault… If you’re unhappy, I’ll accept your judgment, but I should leave now.”
Speaking, he tapped the ground with his cane and prepared to turn away.
“Don’t worry, I can’t leave Qingqiu Mountain for now, so there’s no need to worry about me running off.”
His steps remained unhurried.
By his ear came the soft sound of water gently rippling beneath her fingers.
“Little blind boy, no need to rush off like that. After all, if I hadn’t let you in, you wouldn’t have found this place. So, it’s not entirely your fault.”
As soon as the words fell, Yun Mu suddenly felt his waist tighten.
A powerful force coiled upward, pulling him off the ground like a leek being uprooted.
Then, the rush of wind roared past his ears, followed by the sound of splashing water.
Only, he did not fall into the water.
“Eleven… umph…”
Before he could ask anything, something soft yet firm, like a rope, covered his mouth and ears.
Am I about to be executed?
This was the only thought running through Yun Mu’s mind at that moment.