novelSilver Fish, Hot Spring and Ice Grass
| ← Ch.129 | Ch.131 → |
Most people never get the chance to experience the feeling of taking a breath on a 2000-meter-high iceberg.
The air is thin so it is difficult to breathe. The second you breathe out, the warm breath will freeze.
Though it is almost summer, the four seasons are not so distinctive at the North Pole. At least the freezing iceberg doesn't feel like summer at all.
The sound of running water comes. Lin Luoran stamps her feet and thinks positively that even at the North Pole, ice melts into water in summer. Maybe that's the difference between summer and winter in the North Pole.
Moss grows on the glaciers in summer so that sheep and deer can survive here. However, on the iceberg, there is not even a trace of a mouse.
Lin Luoran follows the sound of running water.
In summer, air temperature rises and ice melts. Small streams of ice water merge into rivers. Lin Luoran finds a river like this.
It is crystal clear. Round pebbles are lying at the bottom of the river. Sun shines on the water and the sparkling wave makes the pebbles look even cuter.
Lin Luoran walks down the river. Soft moss which is said to be the favorite food of Arctic deer covers the ground.
Lin is walking quietly along the beautiful river on the iceberg. She would definitely film all of this if she had a camera.
While she is immersed in the view, she sees a silver light flashes pass her in the river.
What? Fish can live in ice-cold water?
Even her eyes are sharp, Lin doesn't see the thing clearly. It is so fast!
Lin Luoran is interested. She runs towards it.
The fish is jumping and swimming fast like lightning. Lin Luoran runs at her top speed and she is still far behind. The fish leads her into a valley. Lin stops when she discovers that the temperature here is different from the outside.
She can't remember how long she has been walking. It seems that she has crossed over the highest iceberg and arrived at another mountain. She is now in a valley where the rivers converge into the lake at the center of the valley. The odd fish should be in the lake.
Lin Luoran feels that the valley is extremely cold. Normally, temperature in the high altitude should be lower than that in the low altitude. However, how can the lake be covered by a thick layer of ice when the ice on the top of the iceberg is melting?
At first, Lin Luoran thought that the low temperature is caused by the lingering cold air. As she walks closer to the lake, she realizes that the coldness is actually coming from the lake.
This is weird. Lin Luoran hovers about the lake.
What is so special about this lake?
The layer of ice is thick and it is safe for Lin to walk on. She takes a few steps to the center of the lake and sees a faint stream of smoke. A creature in the size of chopsticks jumps out of the water — it is the fast and odd fish!
Lin Luoran is delighted. She forgets about the smoke in the center of the lake and rushes at the fish. Then she discovers that there is no ice on the center of the lake. A surge of warmth comes at her face. The second her feet touch the ice, it breaks. Turns out the ice on the center of the lake is thinner! Also, the water in the center is warm?
It should not be a problem that Lin Luoran accidentally broke the ice. However, the silver fish jumps out of the water and bites Lin on the finger. Its teeth are so sharp that they leave two little holes on her finger.
Lin Luoran is furious. Instantly, half of her body feels numb.
She has just jumped up from the shattered ice. The numbness makes her lose all the strength and fall into the lake—
The fish which bit her is gone. In the lake, Lin Luoran is having mixed feelings. She has just thought that hot spring is rarely seen at the North Pole, and the water in the center of the lake turns out to be hot.
Certainly, Lin Luoran would enjoy the hot water better if her body were not numb and strengthless.
She puts together her last effort and makes a water dome around herself. Then she starts sinking.
That odd fish is so strange since it can numb a cultivator with one bite. Lin Luoran now has no strength to cast more spells. She sinks to the bottom of the lake like a stone.
Lin scolds the silver fish in her heart. She forces herself to keep her eyes open and helplessly continues to sink. Being inside of the dome, Lin can feel that the water is getting hotter as she sinks, and it is almost boiling.
She is feeling dozy. Soon, she is not able to keep her eyes open — something comes to her mind. Will she end up like the pot of fish soup?
******
Lin Luoran dreams of lying on the rocking chair at the back yard of her house and enjoying the sunshine. In the dream, she is sleepy, and Luodong runs into her arms with a big smile. Lin Luoran wakes up with a start and becomes sober!
The reality is, after waking up from the dream, Lin finds herself still inside the water dome. Luodong is nowhere around, and it turns out the silver fish which bit her before is bumping against the dome.
Though the fish is small, its teeth are sharp and it is strong. Lin Luoran senses that she has regained her power so she makes a funny face to the fish — and she successfully scares the silver fish which has round eyes and translucent body away.
Lin Luoran starts to check on her surroundings. There is no doubt that she is at the bottom of the lake. Looking up, she can see light shining from the above. It's almost dark. She doesn't feel hungry, therefore, she assumes that it has only been half of a day since she passed out.
The silver fish is nowhere to be found. It swims so fast that she probably has no chance to avenge herself. Reiki are flowing as usual in her body. Lin Luoran comforts herself that this slight suffering will be a blessing.
She has seen an odd fish which can live in ice water and boiling water. This will be a nice story to be told to her family.
Lin Luoran is optimistic. She prepares to go ashore from the boiling lake only to find that the night has fallen and there is absolutely no light.
In the darkness, Lin Luoran sees that something blue is glowing under her water dome.
She takes a closer look. It is a single grass swaying with the water. The grass has five leaves in various shapes, and it seems to be living healthily in the boiling water.
Lin touches the glowing leaves through the water dome and her fingers are almost frozen off!
The water is boiling. Why is the grass so cold?
Lin Luoran is stunned. She uses her clear eyes to look at the grass again. She is so surprised by what she is seeing that she covers her mouth with her hands then pinches her thigh — ouch! This is not a dream!
Though she has planted various kinds of spirit herbs in her space, Lin Luoran never saw such a huge amount of pure Reiki in one grass except for...
| ← Ch. 129 | Ch. 131 → |