xxxiv

When Lan made his way to the springs, he barely noticed a couple of men already in there. He had hoped there'd be no one at all, but the chances were really slim, so he was satisfied with that too.

He took off his clothes, leaving them on the wooden shelf near the entrance, as well as his clean ones. He kept his veil for now, in case anyone approached him and he needed to hide quickly.

He walked to an empty spot, where he couldn't see the others, and descended into the hot water.

His lips immediately curved upward, as the water submerged his tensed body. Hearing about spirits shouldn't have been so stressful, but the more he learned about anything at all, the heavier the weight on his shoulders felt.