Learning To Live As A Cultivator 4 Chapter Four - I Wash My Hair In The Lake

The chest beneath the bed creaked in protest as it was dragged along the wooden floor until it lost its shelter. Leon had not yet discovered its contents, waiting until he was fully healed before straining his muscles to recover it. He hoped there would be clothes for this body had just two sets and the first had been mostly lost to the mess of blood upon them. What little was left was used to scrub his blood from the floor, though a large stain still remained, soaked into the boards.

Unfortunately, there were no clothes inside, just books, a small, ornate looking cauldron and an odd metal thing. With a sigh, he stared at the possessions of the former owner of his body and closed the chest. He would just have to bathe as best he could without a second clothing set.

With a clay jar of what smelled like soap and looked like sand, he made his way to the lake. He came across no animals or people, but he could hear bird and their strange songs in the trees above him. He stripped the robe from his body, noting his frame was more slender now. Though he'd never been muscular to begin with, the growing flesh around his middle was no longer there. His hair was longer too, but tied at the nape of his neck. It was still matted with blood, so he had not taken the time to touch nor examine it, with the exception of scratching his scalp. He'd longed to wash it, but with his body in its condition, he may have made things worse by bathing too soon.

The cord was stuck within his matted hair, he did not attempt to remove it, but decided to cut his hair if he could not untangle it. After placing his spectacles in safe place, he stepped into the lake. The water was cold, he had to force himself to take each step forward into its depths. As it reached chest height, he took a deep breath and ducked under it for a heartbeat. The temperature took his breath away and he rose gasping for air. Wading quickly over to the jar he hoped was some sort of soap, he tentatively poured a little of its contents upon his palm and rubbed it onto his shoulder. It kept its grainy texture for a moment before dissolving in the water taking the dirt with it. Joyfully, he rubbed more over his body, wading back to deeper waters to wash it all away.

Then, he used a generous amount upon his hair and scalp. The water turned murky as the remaining dry blood began to wash out of his hair. The tangles loosened somewhat, so after rising the soap away, he washed it once more for good measure. It was much longer than he had imagined, reaching down until his tailbone and now wet it was very heavy. What he could see was mostly black, but there was several strands that seemed to be silvery white. Did that indicate that this body had some age to it? But despite the healing yellow marks upon his skin, it seemed smooth and healthy. He decided to worry about it after he had discovered a mirror. He could not see clearly enough in the rippling waters, even with his gla.s.ses on.

Draining as much water as he could from his hair, he realised he had lost the cord that tied it, so braided it loosely just to lift it as he used the soap upon his clothes. He did not wish to return through the woods naked, so squeezed out the water from the cloth until they were wet rather than soaking and tossed the robe over himself, carrying the undergarments and jar as he returned home. It was a very uncomfortable walk.

There was no fire to warm himself beside, so after hanging the wet clothes on a quick hanging arrangement using fallen branches, he went inside briefly and wrapped his linen blanket about him, before stepping back out. His hair was still very wet, but he made some attempt to comb it. The water made it too hard, so he would simply have to let it dry in the wind. He sat upon a nearby stump in thought, but was quickly bored of the scenery so decided to grab one of the many books in his possession to read as his hair dried.

What he read in those pages surprised him greatly.