To the boy's surprise, it was easy to find the water he desperately needed.
Just take a few steps into the forest and you can hear the loud and clear sound of running water.
It seems that the resting point Zeref chose was near a water source.
This is much more convenient.
The boy followed the sound of running water and soon saw a clear stream.
Because this is in late autumn, the water level in the river is usually very shallow in autumn.
Moreover, there are rarely heavy rains in Kamode, and the woods are dense.
There is no problem of soil erosion here, and there are very few impurities in the nearby streams.
The boy can clearly see the pebbles at the bottom of the stream and the small fish swimming freely in the stream at a glance.
This kind of pure natural water quality is really rare based on the experience of a young man.
The young man felt guilty at the thought of washing the horse manure off his clothes in such a stream.
But it's impossible not to wash off the dirt on your clothes, and the smell of grass on your body must also be washed away.
Before walking towards the creek, the boy took another look at his surroundings.
After confirming that there were no dangerous beasts here, there were only a few small squirrel-like beasts crawling on the shore to drink water before moving forward.
As soon as he approached, the little beasts all fled in all directions. Apparently, he, the "uninvited guest", frightened them.
I also thought that the smell on my body would make those small animals that rely on their sense of smell to identify danger get a little closer, but it seems that I am still not welcome by them.
The young man walked to the shore, put the clothes in his arms on the ground, and stretched out his hand to test the water temperature.
“It’s so cold!”
As expected, the water in this creek was indeed very cold, and it felt like putting your hand into ice.
"Start washing..."
But it's useless to be cold. Naturally, it's impossible to expect hot water at this time.
What's more, he would have to jump into the creek to take a good bath later, and have full-body intimate contact with the water at this temperature.
After finding a solid rock to squat on, the boy began to rinse the clothes.
Because there is no such thing as soap here, you can only rinse directly with water.
The boy used the smooth rocks on the shore as a washboard, and used the water flowing slowly downward from the upstream to wash away the dirt on it.
Halfway through the wash, I found it was still a little dirty.
There was still a lot of horse manure residue in the cracks of his jacket. In fact, it wasn’t just horse manure, there was also a lot of dirt on the clothes.
Now that you've come to wash, you can't do it hastily.
The young man thought about it and realized that he seemed to be missing a laundry mallet.
There should be a replacement in the carriage, but it would be troublesome to go back and get it now.
The young man simply took off the dagger from his waist, tied the scabbard and sword body with the cloth he brought, and wrapped them into a mallet shape.
This thing is very easy to use. After a few hits, all the dirt on the clothes was hammered out.
I just don’t know what Wei Nakodo himself would think after seeing the young man’s usage...
After a while, all the clothes were washed.
Now, it's time to wash yourself well.
He sniffed the smell on his body again. The grassy odor had dissipated a little compared to before, but it was still very strong.
It's impossible not to take a shower. The smell alone makes me unbearable.
"Wash, wash it!"
With no choice, the young man swallowed, gritted his teeth and took off all the clothes that were one size too big, leaving only a pair of underwear to cover his shame.
Although it is said that this is an inaccessible forest, the possibility of running into people is very small.
But it's probably not necessary to strip yourself down to nothing.
So the boy still kept a pair of underwear and jumped into the creek.
Along with the loud "plop" sound, there was a big splash on the water surface, and the fish were frightened and ran around.
If you want to count the water level, it should be... zero points, right?
"Ugh!"
The young man jumped up directly from the bottom of the creek, with water droplets on his body sloshing around.
It's too cold!
Although people will get used to the temperature after soaking in cold water for a long time, the same is true for winter swimming.
Some people feel that there is a different kind of stimulation when taking cold showers and winter swimming.
But for the young man who just jumped in, he felt the excitement, but at the same time, at the moment when he was wrapped in this low temperature, you would also feel the sourness coming from the bone marrow.
But there is nothing we can do!
At this point, there is no other option but to endure.
The young man could only endure the pain until it turned into enjoyment.
He stretched out his trembling hands and took off the cloth wrapped around the "stick" on the shore.
Then he spread it out and placed it in the water. He felt that it should be clean, so the boy took a cloth and rubbed his back.
In fact, the boy had experienced the coldness similar to that of a stream not long ago.
That was when he pulled the girl across the river a few days ago.
The river water at that time was no less cold than this creek, and the water flow was also more rapid.
But at that time, the young man who was just running for his life had no time to think about this, so he didn't have any unnecessary feelings.
Only now, when I feel the cold with my whole body, do I understand the power of nature.
"Ha~ Clear water and some snacks~"
"Um?"
Did you hear it wrong?
The young man submerged in the water felt that he vaguely heard singing, but would anyone sing in a place like this?
"Sing praises ~ the gift of water and light ~"
Just when he was wondering if he was hallucinating, the young man heard the singing voice again.
"Who's singing?"
The song sounded a bit familiar, but the boy couldn't remember who the owner of the song was.
It is estimated that it is not very far away, but the singing voice is very small, and the person singing is probably just humming the song casually.
If the surrounding environment wasn't very quiet and the young man submerged in the water was more sensitive to sounds, he wouldn't have been able to hear it at all.
"A child who loves to look at the stars~"
The voice reached his ears again, and now the boy was sure that he heard correctly.
"Let's take a look."
Out of curiosity, the boy decided to approach the source of the sound.
The singing is a bit nice, with a fairy-like dreamy quality, but the lyrics are a bit far away, so I can’t hear them clearly.
The singing came from upstream, and it took a lot of effort for the young man downstream to swim against the current.
Fortunately, the slope is not steep and the current is not fast. And the farther upstream, the shallower the stream becomes, and the boy will soon be able to step on the pebbles at the bottom of the water.
"Smart little fish~you swim quietly~"
The young man swam upward for a while, and finally the singing was no longer intermittent, and he could hear the content of the singing clearly.
Maybe it was because I swam for a while that my body was no longer stiff from the cold stream water.
Moreover, the trees in front no longer "block out the sky and sun". The solar energy shines on the water, and the water temperature is much higher.
"I think I can guess who it is..."
The young man already had an answer in his mind, he just needed to confirm it.
He kicked his feet in the sand and gravel at the bottom of the water, using his strength to climb over a slope.
He discovered that the upper reaches of this creek was actually a small lake, which was not very large in area.
But the lake water is very clear, and with the sunlight shining overhead, it can actually reflect a rainbow.
Then, with his keen sense as an archer, the young man quickly found the source of the singing.
"Nia?!"
He is indeed who he thought he was.
The boy had heard her singing before, so he still had some impression of her.
In addition, if you want to say that the girl you are most likely to meet around here...it should only be Nia who is traveling with you, right?
However, the young man didn't think that now was the time to go up and say hello.
And now he not only couldn't feel the cold at all, but also broke out in cold sweat all over his body.
Want to ask why?
This is not the result of exercise.
This is because the girl who is singing happily in front of me is also taking a shower!