"We're not here for a bath!" Lin Xi chuckled, grabbing my wrist and darting towards a sign that read "No Visitors." As we stepped past it, we entered a small hollow, revealing a semi-underground wooden hut, no more than two meters high. From the observation deck, this place was completely hidden. Lin Xi shattered the lock with a palm strike and kicked the door open. I quickly followed her inside. The hut was small, about four or five square meters, containing only a jet ski.
"What for? A shower in the Heavenly Pool?" I asked.
"Don't ask, you'll know when we get there! Help me pull the boat out!" Lin Xi said.
Ya Nan and Chen Ke also caught up. The three of us worked together to drag the jet ski out of the hut. Lin Xi pressed a green button on the wall, and two steel tracks emerged from beneath the ground in front of the hut, extending all the way to the lake's edge. It was an ingenious hidden mechanism.
The eagle demon and I lifted the jet ski onto the tracks. It was obvious the width would match. The jet ski only had seating for two. Lin Xi took the main driver's seat, Chen Ke in the middle, and I sat at the back, barely fitting half of my rear end. Ya Nan had nowhere to sit and had to make do with flying herself.
Ya Nan was already used to it. As she took off her clothes, she waved, "You guys go ahead. I'll be there in a dive."
"Where are we going?" Chen Ke asked, squeezed between Lin Xi and me, breathing carefully.
"Hot Spring Valley." Lin Xi released the brake, and the jet ski shot down the tracks, plunging into the Heavenly Pool with a splash that almost threw me off. I had to hold onto Chen Ke's waist tightly.
This little girl's waist was soft and slender, with a pleasant feel, much more comfortable than a seatbelt in a Mercedes.
The engine at the back roared to life, and Lin Xi sped us across the calm water, heading straight for the northwest area where the Whale God resided.
About a quarter of the way across the lake, I felt the sky suddenly darken. I thought it was the eagle demon overhead, but when I looked up, it wasn't. The eagle demon was gliding low behind me. It was storm clouds that were catching up. The clouds felt only thirty or forty meters above my head, the moisture churning violently, creating an intense sense of pressure. I looked back again; a heavy rain had begun to fall into the Heavenly Pool, like countless arrows piercing the water, kicking up large patches of white spray.
"Hurry up! They're chasing us!" I shouted to Lin Xi.
Lin Xi glanced at the rearview mirror. "Don't worry, they won't catch us. We're almost there. Turn left ahead, hold on tight, this water is deep!"
Not trusting Chen Ke, I reached over her slender waist and plunged my hands into Lin Xi's down jacket pockets, gripping her waist tightly. Perhaps I had found her ticklish spot, as Lin Xi giggled uncontrollably, twisting her body. Chen Ke, caught in the middle, suffered immensely and instinctively wrapped her arms around my waist. The three of us became one. With a sharp left turn, we entered a "small harbor." The water here was a different color from the main lake, and steam was rising from its surface. In the distance, I saw a fair-skinned woman swimming on her back. Switching to my Qi-sensing technique, I recognized her as the North Sea Whale God!
The jet ski sped to the shore. There were two tracks here too, but they were low and had a metal plate underneath, making it more forgiving. Even if the jet ski didn't land on the tracks, it would still reach the shore.
But Lin Xi's skills were commendable. She precisely guided the jet ski's underside grooves into the tracks, shut off the engine, applied the brake, and brought us to a steady stop at the water's edge.
As soon as we stopped, Lin Xi dismounted and opened a storage compartment on the side of the jet ski. She quickly shed all her clothes and stuffed them inside, leaving me gaping. "What are you doing?"
"Are you stupid? Your clothes are soaked from the rain. What will you wear when we leave? Hurry and take them off, both of you!"
I hadn't registered what was happening, but I had no choice but to comply. I also stuffed the eagle demon's down jacket and the Whale God's neatly laid-out inner and outer garments into the storage box.
Just as I was feeling ashamed and unable to face them, the storm clouds descended, drastically reducing visibility to almost darkness. I could only make out Lin Xi's silhouette standing not far from me, and her blinking eyes.