39: Chapter Thirty-Nine: What happens when there's too much water?

What Zheng Jing held in his hand was exactly as he had expected: a gold nugget, weighing a full eleven or twelve grams!

Even if he had to refine it to remove impurities, there would be at least eight or nine grams of pure gold remaining.

At current exaggerated gold prices, that was nearly ten thousand yuan!

Ten thousand yuan was the amount of money many people had to labor and toil for two whole months to earn.

After confirming once more that it was undoubtedly gold, Zheng Jing carefully hid the gold nugget inside a small iron box in the inner lining of his clothes.

Obtaining such a huge treasure was satisfying, but he was also truly exhausted.

Zheng Jing lay down directly on the ground, not caring at all about his image, stretching out his limbs and panting heavily to rest, though his eyes kept a watch on his surroundings.

Since he was already covered in mud and sweat, it didn't matter if the ground was dirty, as long as there were no dangers like venomous snakes.

After lying there for a full twenty minutes, his overdrawn stamina finally began to recover, but his throat felt as if it were burning, with waves of thirst rising up.

He picked up the water bottle he carried with him and shook it, but regrettably, he couldn't hear the slightest sound of water.

He had previously exhausted himself digging the pit, consuming a great deal of energy, and the tea in his large kettle had long since been mostly drunk. Just a moment ago, he had used up the last bit of tea at the bottom of the kettle to wash the mud off the gold nugget, so now the kettle was empty, and not a single drop of water could be poured out.

"Damn it..."

Zheng Jing licked his parched lips; he was too thirsty to endure it any longer and had to get up to look for a water source.

Fortunately, the Northern Fujian region is filled with mountains and dense forests, so naturally, there are many small streams, meaning he didn't have to worry about not being able to find a water source.

Sure enough, after walking through the mountain forest for about ten minutes, Zheng Jing encountered a shallow, clear mountain stream.

Zheng Jing's eyes lit up instantly.

When a person is this thirsty, they naturally don't care about whether there are bacteria in the stream water. Besides, Zheng Jing believed that mountain spring water flowing from such deep mountains was inherently pure and clean, far better than the tap water in the city. He immediately leaned down, cupped the stream water in his hands, and gulped it down.

The sweet, clear spring water hit his throat, instantly dispelling the heat and thirst, and he felt as if he had come back to life.

"Oh..."

Zheng Jing felt incredibly refreshed and couldn't help but moan, a sound quite soul-stirring.

After drinking his fill and sitting by the stream for a while to recover, the predicament of being parched was finally resolved.

However, another uncomfortable issue arose—the sweat mixed with mud was stuck tightly to his skin, making him feel stifled, damp, and sticky. It was agonizing to have it clinging to his body, making him feel completely uncomfortable.

Zheng Jing really wanted to take a good bath and wash away all the dirt, but when he looked down at the stream in front of him, he could only shake his head helplessly.

The flow of this stream was gentle, and the depth barely covered his ankles. At most, he could wash his hands and face; let alone jumping in for a bath, he couldn't even properly wipe his body down.

Sighing helplessly, Zheng Jing muttered to himself:

"Forget it, forget it. If I can't wash, then I won't. I've been busy for so long today, my stamina is completely drained. Plus, I dug up a gold nugget today, which is a considerable income—it counts as a very fruitful harvest."

Having made up his mind, Zheng Jing planned to follow the stream downwards and return to the vicinity of his campsite, where the stream would be deeper, and he would definitely be able to soak in the water to wash the mud off his body.

But who would have known that just after walking a short distance downstream, a faint sound of water splashing against rocks suddenly reached his ears. Listening to the crisp noise, it was clearly the sound of water falling from a height.

Zheng Jing's heart stirred, and he continued to walk forward, following the sound. Before long, the view suddenly opened up, and he unexpectedly stumbled upon a secluded and elegant small mountain waterfall.

The water flowed slowly down the cliff face, and after years of erosion, it had accumulated into a clear pool below.

"As the ancients said, clear water is shallow, green water is deep, black water is an abyss, and too much water is... seductive—ahem, shut up, talking too much."

Looking at the color of the pool, he could tell it was quite deep.

But as his gaze swept across the clearing by the pool, Zheng Jing was instantly stunned.