Chapter 109 Delicious Spring Water

"Whoa! You can talk!" Lu Zheng was surprised to find that the voice of the Zhi Ma echoed in his mind.

"Spare me! Spare me!"

"Hmm, what else can you say?"

"Spare me! Spare me!"

So this Zhi Ma is a simpleton?

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

This sound was uttered in the real world.

"Spare me! Spare me!"

This sound resonated in Lu Zheng’s mind.

Lu Zheng understood, the Zhi Ma couldn’t talk but could express simple meanings that translated automatically in the listener’s mind.

Just that...

Lu Zheng shook the rope bundle already tied like a net.

"How could I possibly let you go?"

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

"Wah wah wah—"

And now it’s crying?

Wait, can it understand human speech?

Lu Zheng’s eyes flashed as he fiercely said to the Zhi Ma, "Stop crying or I’ll eat you!"

"Chirp!"

"Hiccup!"

The Zhi Ma hiccupped, suddenly silencing.

"How amazing!" Lu Zheng’s eyes widened, as if he had discovered a new world.

"If I send you to the research institute, I wonder if you’ll be the talk of the town, and I could walk around like a king in the country!"

The Zhi Ma remained silent.

"Tsk tsk, the researchers will slice you up for study~"

The Zhi Ma kept silent, shaking with fear.

"You’ve become a mystical creature, yet apart from running fast, you have no magical power, even a common wildcat can trap you?"

The Zhi Ma said nothing, but the reishi on its back looked noticeably wilted.

"How long have you been a spirit?"

The Zhi Ma kept silent.

"If you don’t speak, I’ll eat you!"

"Chirp chirp!"

"I don’t know!"

"Besides saying spare me and I don’t know, what else can you say?"

"Chirp chirp!"

"I don’t know!"

So still a simpleton!

...

Having caught the Zhi Ma and collected a lot of medicinal herbs, the purposes of entering the deep mountains were fully achieved. Now over a hundred miles from Tonglin County, Lu Zheng wasn’t planning to go further; it was time to return.

Lu Zheng turned to leave, but the Zhi Ma in the net sack suddenly moved again.

"Chirp chirp!"

"Water! Water!"

"What? Water? You want to drink water? You can drink water?" Lu Zheng paused, thinking it really wasn’t fashionable to mistreat captives these days.

Looking down, he saw the Zhi Ma turning its head and staring at the small valley.

"Hmm?" Lu Zheng’s eyes flashed.

Ginseng People and Ginseng Horses, as passed down, were spiritually astute and moved like the wind, typically wouldn’t be trapped.

Logically, it shouldn’t step into a dangerous place with only one exit where it couldn’t escape.

Unless...

Something in there attracted it, making it take a gamble?

Could there be additional rewards?

Lu Zheng’s eyes lit up as he carried the net sack and walked into the valley.

The small valley wasn’t large, oval in shape, surrounded by cliffs with slopes of seventy degrees or more, entirely gray-white, with sparse flora growing in rock crevices, accentuated by threads of green.

The valley had only one entrance, and upon entering, Lu Zheng felt much cooler; though windless, a chill permeated his body.

"Chirp chirp!"

The Zhi Ma indicated Lu Zheng to go further inside.

In theory, creatures like Zhi Ma facing life-threatening situations would prioritize survival.

Thus, in the face of a wildcat blocking the exit, it would try to escape.

But now, captured by Lu Zheng and losing hope of escaping, it became interested in what attracted it.

After all, dying full is better?

Lu Zheng carrying the Zhi Ma approached the innermost part of the valley.

Upon seeing the white cliff, a line of clear water flowed down the rock face.

Lu Zheng sniffed and upon closer proximity, detected an aroma.

Lu Zheng lifted the net sack, opened a gap, let the Zhi Ma stick its head out, and brought it to the water line.

Then the Zhi Ma stuck out its little tongue, licked the water, like a puppy.

After a while, it smacked its lips, exhaled, and calmed down.

Lu Zheng thought for a moment, brought his own tongue to the place where the Zhi Ma had licked, twenty centimeters above, and tasted the water.

Oh, sweet!

And the True Qi and Blood Qi within him jumped, circulating more actively.

A good thing!

Lu Zheng wasn’t a Zhi Ma, of course, he wouldn’t just lick the cliff; he sought the source.

He looked up, estimated the cliff’s height as fifty or sixty meters, emptied his backpack, put the Zhi Ma in, and began climbing.

Following the water line upwards, after twenty meters, the line disappeared.

Lu Zheng frowned, was the water flowing from within the mountain?

That would be troublesome; he couldn’t just start digging, unable to lift a digger now.

Could it be from the mountain top?

Undeterred, Lu Zheng climbed a few more steps.

Suddenly, the Zhi Ma inside the backpack started jumping madly.

What the—?

Lu Zheng’s eyes focused, immediately slid downwards.

The Zhi Ma behind him gradually calmed down.

Lu Zheng slid down silently.

He patted the backpack, "Is there danger above?"

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

"Scared to death! Scared to death! Scared to death!"

Lu Zheng, "..."

He couldn’t ascertain if the danger frightening the Zhi Ma was a threat to him.

After all, for the Zhi Ma, even wildcats were lethal.

But...

This spring water definitely wasn’t ordinary.

Thinking of Daoist Mingzhang’s advice, Lu Zheng decided to be cautious.

Returning to modern times, he emptied several mineral water bottles and started collecting water directly from the cliff.

The water trickled only sparingly, and by nightfall, he had filled just three bottles, and the flow decreased, soon stopping.

"Bring one to Master and see if he’s interested; it would be safer to bring him along." Lu Zheng muttered to himself.

Never mind about Namo Gatling Bodhisattva, what if it involved the Divine Soul System?

Night had fallen, but Lu Zheng dared not cross over here; he left the valley and returned to a previous ordinary hill, climbed a big tree, and crossed back to modern times.

Placing the backpack by the bed, Lu Zheng washed up and fell asleep.

...

Instead of heading directly to White Cloud Temple, Lu Zheng went to Peach Blossom Plain first.

"Lu Lang!" Shen Ying greeted him, "Qingyan said you went into the mountains?"

Lu Zheng nodded, "Just came back, haven’t entered the city yet."

Shen Ying’s smile blossomed like flowers, coming forward to link her arms through Lu Zheng’s, "So why come to me first?"

"I wanted to ask you something." Lu Zheng patted the backpack behind him.

The Zhi Ma gave an assertive shake.

Shen Ying glanced at Lu Zheng’s backpack, suddenly sniffed the air, "Such a fragrant smell, did you really catch the Zhi Ma?"

Lu Zheng nodded, "I’m just wondering, if we keep the Zhi Ma in the Peach Grove, can you keep this little creature contained?"