Chapter 139: Let's Take a Bath!

A soldier from the field army, accustomed to life on the plains, called out to Mo Fangyuan in shock.

The field army marching north had encountered an obstacle. Before them stood a range of towering mountains that stretched as far as the eye could see. These peaks pierced the very heavens, casting deep shadows into the valleys between them—a place where darkness was the only eternal truth. Twisting, serpentine paths coiled through the landscape, echoing the gloom to form an incredibly eerie, blackened mountain range.

Strangely, these "black zones," perpetually shrouded in shadow, were devoid of any monsters. Yet, the soldiers could still sense a pervasive madness and danger lurking within the peaks; if one listened closely, it was as if they could hear whispers from the abyss of hell.

"This place is dangerous!"

Iron Nose marked the mountains on the map, added a red question mark, and sternly cautioned his teammates. The more bizarre something was, the greater the terror it concealed. Their primary mission was not exploration, but to locate the northern city mentioned by His Majesty. According to the King, that city lay on the plains, adjacent to a large river. Since the mountain range did not match this description, there was no need to risk their lives exploring it. They would simply skirt the edge and continue north.

"Attention all field army soldiers! Follow orders and advance in a wedge formation!"

With the horses, the combat style of the field army had undergone a complete transformation. When encountering monsters, they would kite them with crossbows; for stronger foes, they used fishing rods to bind their limbs before focusing fire to finish them off.

"It’s just a pity that these horses aren't fast enough. If only they were a bit quicker."

If the staff of the Animal Husbandry Department heard this, they would likely grab their blades and fight Iron Nose to the death. They had worked themselves to the bone to raise these precious creatures, only to have them taken away, and now they were being criticized for being too slow?

"How have you been lately? Are you eating well and keeping warm?"

Mo Fangyuan summoned Zhang Lingyun to the King's office, greeting her with feigned kindness.

"Uh... everything is quite good..."

Seeing Mo Fangyuan’s benevolent expression, Zhang Lingyun felt a chill run down her spine. She knew that whenever the King looked like this, it meant nothing good for her; it seemed she was once again destined to be put through her paces in all sorts of ways.

"Oh, that's good..."

Mo Fangyuan began stroking his chin, only to realize he had already plucked out all his beard. "Then I have some good news for you. The exploration mission in the Black Forest has concluded. That is to say, you have completed your work there..."

"Really? Then I can rest..."

Zhang Lingyun was overjoyed at these words. A whole year! Did he know how she had survived this past year? Every day, she was out in the Black Forest before dawn, mapping terrain, risking her life to observe monster swarms at close range, and not returning to the Block Kingdom until well after midnight. Working through wind and sun, marching through the bone-chilling cold... "I am finally liberated!" The year of exploration had even tanned her skin.

"So... you can go and execute your new mission!"

Mo Fangyuan flashed a devilish smile. Not work? Keep dreaming! Not working was impossible—it would never happen in this lifetime. One could only rely on work to scrape by.

"Huh?"

Zhang Lingyun was stunned. She was so exhausted; wouldn't he let her rest for a moment?

"Rest? Sure! You can rest while you work! And your body will feel very comfortable~" Mo Fangyuan wore an expression that implied a hidden, wicked meaning.

"Huh? Your... Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

A project where she could rest while working, and feel comfortable too... Zhang Lingyun seemed to think of something again, and her face flushed red.

"You'll see in a moment..." Mo Fangyuan said softly.

...

"Ah, this... you can't be serious..."

Seeing the King lead her into the mine, Zhang Lingyun had suspected he had some peculiar hobby and was planning something more provocative, but when they reached their destination, she was dumbfounded. It was the same lava lake she had encountered before, though most of the red lava had now turned black, with a layer of sturdy obsidian covering the surface.

"Look! This is it!" Mo Fangyuan said, pointing to the few patches of lava near the central island that were not yet covered by obsidian. "I know girls like to be clean, so I specifically prepared this wonderful job for you!"

He tapped the obsidian with his right foot and gave an inscrutable smile. This time, Zhang Lingyun understood.

"To make your work easier, I’ve prepared another exploration mission for you: explore the world beneath this lava lake and see if we can find any unexpected rewards..."

"Your Majesty, I think..."

Mo Fangyuan did not give her a chance to retort, cutting her off.

"This way, you can swim and bathe while exploring a beautiful new world! How about that? Isn't it great? You get to work while playing and resting!" Mo Fangyuan patted her delicate shoulder, arguing convincingly about how excellent this job was.

*To hell with this 'beautiful new world'! This is lava! Lava! Not a swimming pool! You want me to go into lava?!* Zhang Lingyun screamed internally, but aloud, she said, "Your Majesty... this is a lava lake. It's very hot..."

"A lava lake? My, how can you say that? Lava is no different from water. It’s a liquid, it flows! It’s just a bit hotter! I recall you have an active skill called 'Flame Protection' that renders you immune to fire damage for a certain period..."

"But that skill has a very long cooldown, and I can only use it once a day..."

"Then you only need to work once a day! Think about the wonderful rest time after you finish working, think about all the lovely things you can do during that time..."

As expected, once Mo Fangyuan played his trump card of 'rest time,' Zhang Lingyun crumbled.

"But the lava is very hot, it will burn my clothes off..." Zhang Lingyun tried to salvage the situation.

"Then just take your clothes off before you go down, and put them back on when you get back to the shore!"

"..."

Zhang Lingyun was speechless.

"Since that's settled, it's decided!" Mo Fangyuan struck the final blow, reassigning Zhang Lingyun from the Black Forest to this bizarre lava lake. "I won't disturb your work any further... start your pleasant bath!"

"Hey!"

After Mo Fangyuan left, Zhang Lingyun looked around at the vast, boundless lava lake and let out a tragic sigh. She then removed her clothes, revealing her snow-white, smooth physique and her incomparable chest.