The Strongest Farmer

007 Body Cleansing

The crushing weight on his shoulders slowly began to fade.

The anger, disappointment, and despair he had harbored for so long didn't vanish entirely, but they finally had room to breathe. For the first time in what felt like forever, the suffocating tightness in Jaka's chest was gone.

The energy seeped through his pores, slipping into his bloodstream, weaving through his bones, and pooling in his lower abdomen. Each pulse was gentle, yet undeniably potent. His muscles thrummed. His bones felt as if they were steeped in warm light. Even the minor scrapes and cuts he'd earned from farming began to itch before fading away entirely.

The old man observed Jaka for a few seconds without blinking.

In his eyes, the cross-legged youth appeared draped in a faint, luminous mist. It was thin, but incredibly pure.

A satisfied smile curved the old man's lips.

"It seems I chose well," he murmured softly.

The wind howled.

Fog drifted among the craggy rocks.

In the next blink, the old man vanished from the peak of Mount Sumbing, as if he had always been nothing more than a phantom in the night mist.

Time flowed unnoticed.

The night slowly retreated.

The eastern horizon bled from pitch black to deep indigo, before a thin line of orange broke through, growing steadily brighter. The distant calls of mountain birds rang out, greeting the dawn with crystal-clear melodies. Dewdrops clung to the wild grass, catching the first rays of sunlight like tiny beads of glass.

Jaka finally opened his eyes as the warmth touched his face.

For a moment, he just sat there in silence.

The world before him looked different.

It wasn't that its shape had changed, but rather that his senses had been sharpened to an incredible degree. He could see the intricate lines of mist weaving between the slopes. He could hear the faint babble of a stream from a considerable distance away. He could smell the rich earth, the damp leaves, the cold stone, and the wild mountain flowers he had never paid attention to before.

But before he could marvel at the scenery any longer, a gut-wrenching stench suddenly assaulted his nose.

Jaka's face immediately contorted in disgust.

"Good lord..."

He looked down at himself.

A thick, sticky black sludge was plastered across his skin, already beginning to dry. The smell was atrocious, a vile mix of rotting mud, stale sweat, and something entirely indescribable. It was absolutely revolting. His skin crawled with discomfort, as if every ounce of filth in his system had been violently expelled through his pores.

Jaka grimaced.

If he hadn't just gone through something completely beyond the realm of logic, he would have panicked at the sight of his own body.

Fortunately, the newfound knowledge in his head quickly provided an explanation.

This was the process of body cleansing.

The mortal impurities that accumulated in a human body were purged the first time spiritual energy circulated through it. The more filth expelled, the greater the physical transformation.

"So this is what it feels like..." Jaka muttered, pushing himself up.

The moment he moved, he immediately noticed another difference.

His body felt light.

Impossibly light.

The rock beneath his feet felt sturdier, his breaths were deeper, and his muscles seemed to harbor a well of power he’d never possessed before. He took a casual hop, effortlessly clearing a distance that felt far greater than normal.

Jaka froze.

A faint glimmer of excitement sparked in his eyes.

But the putrid stench radiating from his own skin swiftly yanked him back to reality.

Wasting no time, Jaka set off to find a water source rarely frequented by other hikers. He navigated the narrow trails through the brush and boulders, tracking the babble of the stream that now rang crystal clear in his ears.

It didn't take long for him to find a small, pristine stream.

The water spilled from the crevices of the rocks, cold, clean, and shimmering under the morning light.

Jaka didn't just wade straight in. He still had enough common sense not to ruin the spot. Instead, he scooped up just enough water and washed himself a good distance away from the main current, making sure not to contaminate the spring.

The freezing water hit his skin.

A jolt of pure refreshment coursed through his entire body.

Jaka scrubbed the sticky black sludge off his skin until it was completely gone. It took a while before the horrific smell finally dissipated. Once he was sure he was clean, he did his best to wash his old clothes, wrung them out, and packed them away separately. Pulling a fresh set of clothes from his gear, he got dressed, feeling infinitely better.

By the time he headed back toward his tent, the sun was already climbing high in the sky.

The morning light swept across the mountain slopes, turning the vast expanse of green below into a silent, rolling ocean. Thin clouds drifted lazily in the distance. The wind carried the crisp, fresh scent of leaves and damp earth.

To be continued...