Jiang Fan became excited, pulling Zhou Niannian along as he hopped on one foot.
Zhou Niannian, not knowing what Jiang Fan had seen, could only hurry to keep up.
The two rounded a mountain hollow, and Zhou Niannian suddenly cried out.
"Heavens!"
What she saw was a pond bubbling and steaming.
The spring water in the pond was clear and transparent, bubbling with gas.
It was a hot spring in the snowy mountains!
"This, how is this possible, a hot spring in the snowy mountains?"
"Jiang Fan, hit me, hit me to see if I'm hallucinating."
Zhou Niannian grabbed Jiang Fan's hand and slapped her own face hard.
"Believe your eyes, this is not an illusion, it's a hot spring in the snowy mountains."
Jiang Fan said word by word, smiling.
Earlier, his [Humidity Detection] talent had already detected an unusual amount of vapor here.
Only springs or waterfalls could produce this level of vapor.
In the snowy mountains, waterfalls were unlikely, as they would definitely freeze due to the low temperature.
Therefore, it could only be a hot spring. Indeed, after circling around, it was a rare snowy mountain hot spring.
Zhou Niannian stared in disbelief!
"Wow, it's simply a miracle."
Jiang Fan smiled silently, thinking that Zhou Niannian, the European Emperor, was the real miracle.
Zhou Niannian helped Jiang Fan to the edge of the hot spring. Even before entering, Jiang Fan felt a wave of heat wash over him, warm and comfortable.
"We can't rush into the hot spring yet, our bodies are still cold."
"If we go in directly now, due to the extreme change in temperature, we might get cramps, or even muscle tears."
Jiang Fan educated Zhou Niannian, who nodded. They sat on the snow blocks by the hot spring to let the heat warm them up first.
"That's strange, why aren't you surprised to see a snowy mountain hot spring?"
Zhou Niannian suddenly noticed that Jiang Fan was sitting there very calmly.
"Because snowy mountain hot springs do exist in reality."
"For example, in Leukerbad, it's the largest hot spring resort in the Alps, on the border of Switzerland and France!"
"That's a snowy mountainous area, but it still has warm hot springs."
"Of course, the snowy mountain hot springs I've seen are limited to the foot of the mountains, where geothermal heat can offset the cold."
"This is my first time seeing a hot spring in the mountains, but this is a secret realm."
Zhou Niannian looked at Jiang Fan with envy, thinking he knew so much.
"How do you know so much?"
Jiang Fan smiled. All this knowledge was actually given to him by the system.
Zhou Niannian fell silent and stretched out her body, enjoying the warmth from the hot spring with all her heart.
Above was the white snow, and below was the steaming hot air. This feeling was truly marvelous.
It was a bit like, well, like the ice cream hot pot Zhou Niannian had eaten before.
Jiang Fan, on the other hand, stared at the hot spring, his mind occupied with a different thought.
Since there was a hot spring, there must be geothermal resources underneath.
Even in a secret realm, it couldn't be so illogical as to use ice and snow directly for heating.
This implied that a flow of magma from the earth's core was reaching the top of the volcano through a dedicated channel, heating up some ice and snow.
Then, the ice and snow would melt, creating this spectacular hot spring in the snowy mountains.
Thinking about it, Jiang Fan felt a chill.
What if the magma suddenly erupted?
Moreover, the changes in the ice and snow structure due to the magma eruption would immediately trigger an avalanche.
As the avalanche occurred, the volcanic magma would erupt even more violently. It would be an avalanche on one side and a volcano on the other.
This would truly be a nine-layered heaven of ice and fire.
But in the current situation, thinking more was pointless.
He could only put his thoughts aside for now.
Zhou Niannian's body had warmed up considerably, and she was eager to soak in the hot spring. However, she immediately turned to look at Jiang Fan's sprained leg.
Hot springs had a special effect on sprains and bruises, promoting blood circulation. Zhou Niannian knew this common knowledge.
She hesitated for a moment and said to Jiang Fan.
"Your leg is injured, why don't you soak first?"
"Huh? This pool is big enough for two people to soak together."
Jiang Fan said in confusion, wondering why they had to soak separately.
"Ah! Two people soaking together! Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Zhou Niannian's face turned red.
Jiang Fan hadn't thought of anything else. He just felt that since they could soak together, why should Zhou Niannian freeze by the side of the pool?
Even though there was warmth by the hot spring, it was definitely not as effective as being in the water.
"There's a difference between men and women! You soak first, and I'll go build a fire!"
"Oh, right, you didn't lose your lighter, did you!"
Zhou Niannian thought of this and became anxious. She rummaged through Jiang Fan's pockets and finally found the windproof lighter.
This was their only possession. Fortunately, Jiang Fan carried this lighter with him, otherwise, they would have to resort to friction to start a fire.
Sometimes, it could take an hour of friction to not even produce a spark, especially in these cold snowy mountains.
Jiang Fan rubbed his forehead, feeling wronged.
How did he suddenly become a pervert for no reason?
He really wanted to ask Zhou Niannian if her concept of mixed bathing was like those Japanese adult films, where men and women sat naked together to bathe...
The reality was not like that. Japanese mixed bathing was typically in outdoor hot springs, with men upstream and women downstream.
The steam in between was so thick that one couldn't see the scenery on either side even with binoculars.
Besides, they were both fully clothed. What was Zhou Niannian thinking?
"You soak first, I'll go find some firewood to start a fire."
Jiang Fan was about to say he would go find it himself, but then he remembered he was injured.
Furthermore, in this icy and snowy environment, where could he find firewood?
Finding firewood depended on luck. He didn't have the luck of an European Emperor, so he shouldn't get the disease of an European Emperor.
It was better to let the European Emperor find it herself.
Jiang Fan took off his heavy overcoat, which was soaked and as heavy as ice.
He left the overcoat by the hot spring to thaw and entered the hot spring pool wearing only his inner layer.
As soon as he entered the hot spring, Jiang Fan felt a warm current rising from his feet.
Then it entered his body, circulating through his meridians and channels. It felt like what was described in wuxia novels, as if he had taken some miraculous elixir that increased his cultivation by a hundred years.
"Comfortable!"
Jiang Fan couldn't help but exclaim.
Fortunately, Zhou Niannian wasn't around, otherwise, she would have called him a pervert again.
At this moment, Zhou Niannian was wandering around the hot spring.
In this icy and snowy landscape, where could she find firewood?
Suddenly, Zhou Niannian saw something white move.
Zhou Niannian's heart tightened. Could it be an avalanche?
She covered her mouth tightly. Just as she was about to look closely, a white object suddenly stood upright.