PCJ – Chapter 596 The Hot Spring

“Will we ever come back to this place?” Ji Jiaxin asked reluctantly, her eyes lingering on the flowers and plants within the secret realm. After spending just one night here, she had already developed a deep sense of attachment.

“If you want to come, you can come back anytime,” Zhang Jiaohua said. “Actually, this place isn’t that far from Meizi’ao.”

“Jiaohua, you have to keep your word. I definitely want to come back here,” Ji Jiaxin said, reluctantly following Zhang Jiaohua out of the secret realm.

Outside, the sky was already bright. Early morning was the liveliest time for birds, and the forest was filled with their chirping.

Some birds had sweet, melodious voices, while others were loud and clear, their calls carrying over long distances…

The group continued deeper into the forest. Although the mountains were the same ones, Zhang Jiaohua found that the scenery no longer resembled what he had seen years ago. Even dense forests change constantly.

He could only rely on his memory of the general direction. The further they went, the harder the path became. The mountains grew steeper, and they had to hack through thorny underbrush with machetes.

“Ow!” Ji Jiaxin cried out in pain — a thorn had scratched her hand, leaving a gash from which blood quickly welled up.

“You’re hurt?” Zhang Jiaohua asked with concern.

“It’s fine. Just a small cut,” Ji Jiaxin said as she pulled out a tissue and wiped away the blood.

“How about I take you back to the secret realm? You and Yuanbao and Dumbie can wait there while I go on ahead. I shouldn’t be gone too long,” Zhang Jiaohua suggested. He was worried she might get more seriously injured along the way.

“Zhang Jiaohua, am I just a burden?” Ji Jiaxin asked, feeling ashamed.

“No, not at all. You’re doing really well,” Zhang Jiaohua said while applying some medicine to her wound. Even though Ji Jiaxin had used “Iron Ox Water,” that didn’t make her indestructible. She could still get hurt, though her pain tolerance and stamina had improved. Compared to city kids her age, Ji Jiaxin was already doing great, even if she couldn’t match the adaptability of people like Zhang Jiaohua.

“But I’m slowing you all down,” she said softly.

“That’s nothing. Even without you, we wouldn’t be moving any faster on this terrain. I’m just worried you’ll get hurt,” Zhang Jiaohua reassured her.

That finally brought a small smile to Ji Jiaxin’s face. “Don’t worry. I’m not afraid of getting hurt. I may have grown up in the city, but I’m not some pampered princess. I’ll keep up with you all!”

Truthfully, even Zhang Yuanbao and Dumbie were finding the journey tough.

“Jiaohua, how much farther? Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Zhang Yuanbao asked anxiously. In the mountains, a wrong turn didn’t just mean a detour — it could mean getting completely lost.

“Yeah, if we’re going the wrong way, we’re done for,” Dumbie echoed.

“Relax, I’m certain about the general direction. It’s just been so long I can’t remember the exact route. But don’t worry — we’re not lost,” Zhang Jiaohua said confidently.

He kept mentally comparing their route with the terrain in his memories. Although the forest had changed somewhat over the years, the basic geography remained. As long as there hadn’t been a landslide, the shape of the mountains hadn’t changed. With his sharp intuition and observation, Zhang Jiaohua could reconstruct the landscape.

“Good. I just don’t want to have to backtrack,” Zhang Yuanbao said. He had been hacking at thorns for so long that his arms were getting sore.

Along the way, they encountered no wild animals. The presence of so many spirit beasts around them scared off any regular wildlife. Unless a beast was even stronger than the ones traveling with them, it wouldn’t dare show itself.

Suddenly, they saw fog swirling over the summit of a nearby mountain. Zhang Jiaohua’s eyes lit up. “There it is! We’re close!”

“Where? Where?” Zhang Yuanbao immediately perked up.

“Is it that fog-covered mountain?” Dumbie asked, peering ahead.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded. “That’s the one. That’s our destination.”

Ji Jiaxin brushed aside a strand of hair stuck to her sweaty forehead. Tiny beads of sweat rolled down her face, gathering and forming droplets that slid down her cheek. Her fair face was now streaked with dirt, looking like tribal face paint.

“Finally,” she sighed in exhaustion.

“Don’t get too excited yet. ‘Seeing the mountain is easy, climbing it is hard,’ as they say. Just because you can see it now doesn’t mean we’re there — it’s still a long way off,” Zhang Jiaohua warned.

“Still, it’s better than wandering the mountains without knowing where we’re going,” Ji Jiaxin said. She squatted for a moment, then mustered her energy and caught up with the others.

Zhang Jiaohua remained light on his feet. Even with heavy gear on his back, it didn’t slow him down at all. In these steep mountains, he moved as if he were walking on level ground.

As expected, what looked close took them another four or five hours to reach — and it still looked just as far, only a bit bigger.

“I can’t go on… I’m beat! Jiaohua, there’s a river here. Let’s eat here and rest. I don’t think we’ll make it before nightfall,” Zhang Yuanbao said.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded. “Alright, we’ll make camp here. Rest for the night and continue tomorrow.”

Dumbie and Zhang Yuanbao quickly pitched tents on high ground near the riverbank.

“Zhang Jiaohua, the water’s warm!” Ji Jiaxin, who had gone to the stream to wash her face, cried out in surprise the moment she dipped her hand in the water.

Zhang Jiaohua rushed over. The water was crystal clear and looked ordinary, but as soon as he touched it — it was hot!

“A hot spring?” Ji Jiaxin asked.

Zhang Jiaohua realized this must be runoff from the hot spring in the nearby mountain — and surprisingly, it was still hot even after flowing such a distance.

“No wonder there aren’t any fish in this stream,” Zhang Yuanbao joked. “Any fish that made it here probably turned into fish soup.”

“No fish? Then what are we eating tonight?” Dumbie asked, seriously concerned.

“In the mountains, you’re worried about food? With Leopard, Xiao Jin, Fat Cat, and Fat Monkey around, we’ll find something. Too bad there’s no fish soup tonight,” Zhang Yuanbao said, laughing.