Chu Qi wiped her lips and grinned, "Not at all, I've just gotten faster with my eyes."
Then, Chu Qi's smile vanished, and with a master's seriousness, she pointed to her eyes and said to me, "Eye speed is the foundation of all speed. This is what you need to practice the most."
"How do I practice? With bricks?" I laughed, afraid of getting a black eye!
"As long as there's a Dragon's Pool, water will suffice."
"Alright, let's keep looking then," I said.
We had exchanged blows, damaging quite a few bricks. Moreover, when Yao Yao was controlling the brick pile earlier, she had exerted too much force in the final wave, accidentally toppling the entire pile and breaking more. I went back to the car, found a hundred yuan from the console, and returned to the construction site. I placed it under two bricks, leaving a corner showing, as compensation.
The three of us continued. Perhaps some brick dust had seeped into Chu Qi's clothes through her collar or other openings. I saw her shifting uncomfortably in the rearview mirror.
"How about we go back, take a shower, and then continue our search?" I suggested.
Yao Yao pointed to the navigation screen in the middle of the car. "Isn't there a bathhouse here? We can wash up and be done with it."
I zoomed in on the map. It was a hot spring resort called "Zai Shui Yi Fang." This was the outskirts, quite remote, at least two kilometers from the city. Would anyone be willing to come here? And now that it was winter, I wondered if people in the north still frequented "saunas" like this. Furthermore, in recent years, the bathing industry had been hit hard due to well-known reasons. This solitary sauna, if business was poor, might have already closed down, leaving only a name on the map.
To my surprise, when we drove up to Zai Shui Yi Fang, the parking lot was packed. Some cars were even parked on the roadside as there were no available spots. Was business really that booming?
I activated my Qi sensing technique and peered inside the building. Indeed, there were many people, and many of them had a fresh, youthful complexion. They were likely children, brought here by their parents to relax on this weekend. It turns out the bath culture in the Northeast starts from childhood.
"Perhaps the water here is good?" Yao Yao said. "How about we both try it? It's been a while since we took a bath."
The three of us bought tickets and went our separate ways into the male and female bathhouses. As a southerner, I was still not accustomed to soaking in the same bath with a bunch of naked men. After a quick rinse, I headed to the swimming pool further inside.
The swimming pool here also used hot spring water. It was slippery, and I felt very little resistance. As I swam a lap, several children wearing floaties were splashing around. Someone with a water gun accidentally sprayed my face. An idea struck me: instead of struggling to find a Dragon's Pool, why not simply rent a bathhouse? The water would be more than enough. If it were built at the foot of a mountain, like this one, with a forest nearby, we'd have trees. If we were worried about being disturbed, we could even rent the mountain.
With that thought, I climbed out, wiped my hands, and used my phone to search for saunas around Fucheng. This Zai Shui Yi Fang was out; it was too popular, and the owner likely wouldn't agree to a rental. I needed to find a more secluded place. I opened Meituan and looked for bathhouses with lower ratings. I actually found one in the southern outskirts of Fucheng, built against a mountain, about two kilometers from the city and only three kilometers from our building. It had a rating of 3.2, with most negative reviews citing the water being too cold.
This was perfect for us. Water that was too warm and comfortable could breed laziness and make one drowsy.
I immediately called the place, "Dabanlinchang Hot Spring Center." I also made up an excuse, saying we were doing a livestream and wanted to rent their venue long-term. Upon hearing "long-term rental," the owner readily agreed. However, being honest Northeast people, he first informed me of the center's shortcomings, besides the cold water: inconvenient transportation and no catering department (as business was already poor, adding a catering department would only lead to more losses). I told him that was perfect. After we rented the center, his staff wouldn't need to manage anything; they could all leave, and we would manage it ourselves.