12. Wet water trickled down his back…

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled light across the surface of the water. Warm mist rose from the hot springs. There was a bubbling sound of water pouring into the pool. Piles of clothes were dropped messily on the surface of a dry rock. A figure descended into the water, broad shoulders, slim back, and long black hair that floated across the surface. It could be seen from the back that he was naked.

The man dipped his head under the water and rose again, flicking droplets of hot water. He let out a low sigh and leaned back against the water. Water trickled down his face, his eyelashes dark with wetness.

Wen Zhihao settled into a comfortable position in the hot springs.

The surfaces and floor of the hot spring were fairly smooth and even. It was probably human-made, but there wasn’t anyone around. Wen Zhihao had checked—or else, how could be brave enough to enter naked?

The hot water was like a warm hug, washing away the grime of the last few days; any impurities seemed to just dissolve away.

In fact, Wen Zhihao had been out on this secluded mountain for a few days already. His “nap” turned out longer than expected, and he didn’t wake until some inquisitive birds landed on his face and tried to peck at his hair the next (?) day. He could now see why and how cultivators could go into seclusion for so long. They probably slept for ten days at a time. Anyway, since cultivators live longer than mortals, ten days was nothing.

He had spent the following days exploring the area on foot and on sword, napping whenever it took his fancy, sat on grass, on tree branches, on his sword, and nibbled on steam buns kept warm and preserved in his spatial storage space.

Sitting/floating in the hot pool, Wen Zhihao’s mind easily slipped into thoughts.

Like what to do when he went back to the Sect.

With inedia, he didn’t have to eat often, which cut down on food expenses. If he wanted to stay in the Sect, he needed to contribute somehow, or train in order to contribute in the future. Since he didn’t want to be a sword cultivator, Wen Zhihao needed to think of what was the minimum he needed to do to live relaxedly.

Wen Zhihao tilted his head back into the hot water. The feeling of long wet hair was amusing. There also had to be some kind of cultivation magic that kept it from tangling.

His coding skills from modern earth would not get him a job here. But maybe he could be a delivery guy. A flying sword was obviously very convenient.

En, not a bad idea.

With that problem solved, Wen Zhihao washed his clothes and idled the rest of the day away in the hot springs.

It turned out that he could indeed fall asleep in a bath as well, and apparently hold his breath for a very long time by using qi to refresh the air in his lungs instead… (phew! or maybe he would have died and transmigrated again to somewhere worse…)

When he finally exited the hot springs, his skin glowed and was not wrinkly at all. Dressing in his now dried clothes, Wen Zhihao wondered where he should go next.

He took flight into the air, eyes widening when he spotted three golden robed cultivators flying his way.

Their impressive auras reached Wen Zhihao before they did. The three of them slowed down upon approaching him, and all three of them gave him a look.

The tallest of them had sharp eyebrows, stern eyes, thin lips, and perfect posture. Lin Yijun was the top disciple of the Golden Sun Sect, just below the Elders. “Outer sect disciple, why are you here?” he demanded.

Wen Zhihao put his hands together. “Greetings to seniors,” he said politely. “Shidi was practising flying. Please excuse me, I have to return back to the sect now.”

Lin Yijun narrowed his eyes. “Very well.”

Wen Zhihao bowed again and flew away.

“Tch,” one of the other cultivators said. “If he was flying, then we would have spotted him earlier.”

“A spy?”

Lin Yijun watched until the outer sect disciple truly entered the sect area. “Later,” he said decisively.

He continued his flight down to the Clear Heart Hot Springs, whose water contained highly concentrated fire and water qi. Its harmony, without being explosive, made it have special healing and cultivation properties. Vials of the water were specially preserved to use to wash wounds, and a soak in the pool could heal the majority of wounds and enhance cultivation. A too-long soak though could cause cultivators’ minds to wash away, with multiple accounts of cultivators completely changing after staying in too long. It was a powerful place to advance cultivation but deceptively dangerous at the same time.

A powerful array surrounded the area that prevented cultivators looking for it to find it: Lin Yijun and his two fellow cultivators had special tokens that allowed them access, tokens that were never handed to outer sect cultivators.

Lin Yijun put the matter of the outer sect disciple out of his mind as he and his two friends descended into the pool. He had more difficult matters to think about.

Meanwhile, back at the Golden Sun Sect, Wen Zhihao dropped by the Clothing Hall.

There was one main cultivator in charge, and he gave Wen Zhihao a cold look. “Yes?”

“Sorry to trouble you. Do you have any soft pillows?”

“Soft pillows?”

“...Or blankets? I’m cold…”

“Cold.” The cultivator’s gaze became disdainful. How weak. He must have been a soft young master.

Wen Zhihao nodded.

“...Very well.”

Because Wen Zhihao wanted “normal”, i.e. uncharmed blankets, the price was cheap, and he had more than enough sect tokens to exchange. Wen Zhihao stuffed all of them into his spatial storage and headed back to his room to make the comfiest blanket nest.

Author: *cough cough* I just wanted to have one of those “intense descriptions of a person (typically the love interest)” that a lot of stories seem to have, except it's not a love interest, just our plain MC~

Wen Zhihao: ........(doesn't know how he should react, eventually walks away)