1614 The Strange Occurrence while Soaking in the Hot Spring

The Holy Spring’s entrance was in the central plaza of the city, locked behind a big metal gate. Mousse took a set of keys and opened the chained lock around the gate. In front of him was a flight of ancient stone steps. Due to the moisture over the years, these stone steps were covered in moss and were very slippery. It was obvious that not many people would often make their way down them.

Mousse turned on a switch, and the crystals hanging above their heads promptly gave off light and warmth, lighting a direct path that led deeper down.

“The god of the Holy Spring has been protecting our city this whole time,” Mousse explained. “Because we’re afraid of mischievous children disturbing the god’s rest, we decided to lock the sacred pool up. The citizens will only visit the pool twice in their lives; once when they are born and the second time when they die, accepting the blessing of the god. But because you’re our honored guest and will be staying in our city for a short period of time, you’re all allowed to freely visit the sacred pool.”

Traveling Buddha wrinkled his forehead, “How could spring water protect your people? Are you telling me that this pool can shoot missiles or something?”

Mousse shook his head. “It is not the holy spring water that protects us, but the god living in the spring.

“You three should have seen plenty of small creeks around our city, as well as the six-meter wide moat that surrounds our city walls. Every time our enemies mount an attack on us, the God of the Holy Spring will move with the water to the moat and defeat the invasion force.

“No enemy of ours has ever made it into the city since it was founded, so as long as we don’t leave the city, we would all be very safe. As for beyond the city walls, it is just darkness everywhere. The various major tribes in the buffer zone are already in the territory of the Demi-dragons. Right now, the relationship between us and them is one of mutual non-violence, because they know that invading Holy Spring City would provoke the god living in the spring.”

Xia Fan nodded and let out a soft sigh, “So what you mean to say is, were it not for the exploration assignment, the Shimmers could very well live long lives, since there are no external forces that could invade this city.”

“That’s true,” Mousse agreed.

“But when we entered the city, none of us felt this so-called god attack us.” Traveling Buddha was an atheist, so he continued his questioning by getting straight to the point.

“I have no explanation for that myself. In any case, our god is easily able to differentiate between friend or foe,” Mousse chuckled bitterly. “It is just a pity that due to our strange looks, all the tribes of the buffer zone view us as mutants, which is why we actually have no allies. The closest thing to a friend we could consider would probably be the Demon Slayer Legion.”

Everyone was silent. The awkward atmosphere pervaded. Due to the covenant that was based upon a lie, no matter what they talked about, the conversation would easily end up reaching the point where both sides would be left wordless.

“Since it’s a place where a god resides, there ought to be some rules in place?” Xia Fan broke the silence.

“There are some, but the rules are all on how to treat others. The metal gate and padlock can keep out mischievous children, but if the God of the Holy Spring wishes to come out, there’s no one who could stop him.

“Honestly, the God of the Holy Spring spends most of his time sleeping. Whenever he wakes up, he will be like a cheeky little kid, and also enjoys playing with the children. There’s nothing we can keep from the god, and he already knows of your arrival. If he decides to meet you, he will naturally appear, but if he does not wish to see you, there’s no way for any of you to find him, no matter how hard you try.

“Head down the stone steps and you’ll see the bathing pool. Here are some food and washing necessities. Please head on down.”

Mousse gave them a basket filled with food and water, as well as several white towels, before gesturing them onward.

—

After going down the stone steps, Xia Fan soon saw the bathing pool. It was built with white marble, with an aqueduct where water was directed into the pool. There was another aqueduct in the corner that led deeper underground. That way, the bathing water would flow along the downward conduit so the used water would avoid polluting its source.

The design of the place was reasonable. There were small cubicles that could be used as changing rooms, lights hanging above their heads, and a changing rack for them to hang their towels on. Everything they needed was provided, aside from the fact that there was no one around, which made the large pool seem somewhat forsaken.

Nikai went to change in one of the cubicles, while Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan directly tossed their battered combat suits away right there, changing out to their trunks and making a dash for the pool

Because each of them had their own spatial ring, they did not have any problems with having a change of clothes or spare combat attire. It was just that in their haste escaping, all of them were in a state of hypervigilance, so they did not have much time to care about how they looked, leaving them all quite dirty.

*Splash!*

Traveling Buddha cannonballed into the pool, causing water to cascade everywhere.

“This is great!” Traveling Buddha stood up and swept his hand through his wet hair in excitement.

Xia Fan and he relaxed their bodies entirely, looking up toward the sky and allowing themselves to float in the water. The weariness they had accumulated from their escape gradually caught up to them, lulling them into a state of languor that nearly had them dozing off in the silky spring water.

That was when a pair of perfect snowy white legs came into view, with slender calves and ample thighs. Even the feet of those legs looked pink and tender, reminiscent of a baby’s skin.

The originally relaxed Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha immediately tensed up again. Humans were just such strange creatures. The two men had always been bold and reckless, with plenty of lives staining in their hands, yet these two daredevils suddenly turned timid the moment they set their eyes on Nikai in her swimsuit. It was truly inexplicable.

Perhaps it was because seeing something so perfect naturally gave them a sense of sacredness, a purity that was too overwhelming to profane.

Nikai’s cheeks flushed red, as she quickly plunged into the pool and shrank toward a corner, her hands hugging her legs so only her nose and eyes poked out of the water, leaving the rest of her body submerged.

“Here, let me give you a rub!” Xia Fan had pulled out a tissue from thin air and handed it to Traveling Buddha.

Traveling Buddha’s face was red all over and he was sweating profusely. He took the tissue from Xia Fan and wiped his temples.

“Not your sweat. Wipe your nose. You’re bleeding all over the place,” Xia Fan teased him.

Traveling Buddha was so embarrassed that he wanted to find a crevice in the ground and just bury himself in it.

The Little Old Buddha had seen plenty of the world, yet he still could not stop his nosebleed the moment he saw a goddess like Nikai. It was utterly humiliating!

But how could he not have been stirred? As a man with blood pumping in his veins, would it not be abnormal if he was completely unresponsive when blessed with a view of a goddess like Nikai wearing nothing but a swimsuit that accentuated her aesthetically perfect curves?

Traveling Buddha swiftly wiped his nose and began swimming in the water. Despite his chubby physique, he was surprisingly athletic, like a plump but lively fish. With two hands continuously cutting through the water, he very quickly swam all the way to the opposite end of the pool.

“Ah, it turns out there’s still another canal here, and there’s an even larger pool inside. Let me go and take a look!” Traveling Buddha said.

Xia FAn knew that Traveling Buddha must be feeling embarrassed and was looking for an excuse to slip away. Thus, he ignored him, instead turning to Nikai and saying, “Looks like we’ll be staying here for a few days. After all, none of us are cast from iron, and we’ll need some time to recuperate.

“In addition, the information that the Shimmers gathered for us is quite valuable. There’s a need for us to investigate the various tribes out here in the buffer zone, find out if they’ve come into contact with the Demons, and if they have come to some sort of agreement in private.

“Do you still recall that the Scarlet Blaze Demon King Stanley had once said that the reason why he had appeared on the first level was because he was on a mission? It was why he and Flame Soul departed the Demon Palace immediately upon their awakening, leaving Flame Soul’s son alone there. I suspect that Stanley has been to the buffer zone.

“After all, the sudden collapse of the North Sea is simply too peculiar, no matter how you look at it. If Stanley’s Demon Palace originally had this passageway to the buffer zone, then everything would make sense!

“Perhaps Stanley felt that blowing up the Demon Palace for us was going far too easy on us, which was why he resorted to the even crueler method of blowing up the support structure between the North Sea and the buffer zone, causing the entire North Sea to drain away. This way, not only would we die from being trapped under the Demon Palace, Cotillard and anyone else that was still above at sea would also be gravely affected by his actions.

“This is all still just my speculation, and we’ll need to delve into the various major tribes out there before we can fully grasp the truth of the matter. A few days from now, after we’re all done with resting, we’ll immediately set forth to investigate the buffer zone, and your role in all this will become even more important when that time comes.

“After all, Stanley has planted the Seed of Darkness in Traveling Buddha, and though I’ve not made mention of it, I can very clearly see that the injury in his arm is worsening as time goes by.”

Upon saying this, Xia Fan’s voice turned low, as if he was shrouded in sadness. Traveling Buddha was his best friend, and yet he was slowly being consumed by darkness. Xia Fan was suffering, too.

Nikai stared fixedly at Xia Fan. In front of her was a topless man. Though slim in figure, his muscles were very clearly defined, as if he had been sculpted from marble. She could only imagine just how hard he must have trained from childhood compared to anyone else to get a body like that.

Nikai also admired his quick thinking and keen observation skills. While holding a casual conversation, Xia Fan had managed to link what had happened to the North Sea with the information from the buffer zone, and though it was just speculation on his part, the logic was impeccable. This sort of tactical ability at a commander’s level was normally not something a man his age would possess.

When speaking about Traveling Buddha, Xia Fan’s uncontrollable sadness was definitely an expression of his true feelings. A really strong warrior would not only have to be decisive when killing, but they ought to be righteous and affectionate. If a warrior had none of those qualities, then they would be no different from a killing machine.

Women were emotional creatures who enjoyed comparisons. Nikai could not help but compare Dongfang He, Jia Yuntian, Xia Fan, and even her own father with one another. The result of that round of comparison, aside from Xia Fan not coming from a Demon Slayer background, was that he was indisputably ahead of everyone else. Thinking about how Xia Fan’s voice that accompanied her while she was all alone, being humorous and witty, along with his incisive judgment, Nikai’s eyes gradually turned scorching hot.

“F*CK ME! You actually dare to headbutt yours truly? See if I don’t headbutt you to death!”

“Oh ho ho, you’re pretty strong, huh? Stay there if you’ve got the guts, this Old Buddha isn’t done with you yet!”

Traveling Buddha’s voice could be heard from a distance. Xia Fan glanced over and saw Traveling Buddha all jockeyed up, as if he was a bull locking horns against something in a competition of strength. His shoulders were down and his head was forward.

In that pose, Traveling Buddha was slowly being pushed out slowly by his opponent. It seemed like this other being was far stronger than Traveling Buddha, who was already using all his strength without activating his Battle Buddha’s Golden Light, his skin and face red from exertion.

Xia Fan was alert, and he slowly stood up to watch.

A strange occurrence. Traveling Buddha had widened his stance and was headbutting someone, but his opponent was anything but human!