Famine 75: Spring of Life

The pool lay there, a shallow milky white, exuding a faintly sweet scent amid the shadowed depths of the forest.

As Si Zhiyan approached, the light aroma of fresh cream lingered persistently in the air around him.

Most important of all, from the farm’s perspective, the milk pool was enveloped in a dense field of milky-white energy, tightly bound around the water. He could easily imagine that once a person entered the pool, they would be wholly immersed within this energy field.

“What is this place?” Si Zhiyan asked, knowing the witch puppet must be listening.

The witch’s voice sounded right by his ear: [This is the Spring of Life.]

Did she have to speak like that? Si Zhiyan rubbed his ear and drew a slow breath.
But before he could dwell on it, the farm’s information interface popped up, and all other concerns melted away.

[Spring of Life (Stage One)]
From the very beginning of life, the most heartfelt care is none other than milk.
With a mother cow’s gentle embrace, she offers her calves the earliest blessing of their lives.
Yet pause for a thought: are those who drink of this milk truly her children?

Soak here for 30 minutes to gain the buff:
[Disorder – Mother’s Protection]
Effect: Defense +15%
Duration: 24 hours.

[Note: No entry for players who have eaten tomato hot pot within the last 24 hours.]

Si Zhiyan’s eyes lit up at once.

Such an effect!

It was, after all, a milk bath—yet a milk bath of unique power.

A 15% defense boost was not to be underestimated. Such a buff could save one’s life at a crucial moment. Added to tactical coordination, the cumulative effects for eligible players could serve as a powerful aid when defending the farm.

In the Famine Game, gear that boosted attributes by a percentage was rare, costly, and highly sought after. Comparable defensive upgrades would sell for 40,000 to 50,000 points on the open market. The milk bath’s blessing, though brief in duration, remained a precious benefit—especially when it could be stacked with other items.

After some thought, Si Zhiyan decided to price this special spring at 100 points per soak, separating it from the regular hot springs and selling admission via a separate ticket.
Steady and reliable income, that was the idea. He could already imagine that, for a long while to come, “taking a milk bath” would become a standard part of an eligible player’s prep before heading out for a quest.

“This kind of pool is a huge help to us,” Si Zhiyan asked the witch puppet, “Are there any other hot springs with effects like this one?”

Perhaps the communication had warmed, or perhaps it was the intimacy of her own domain, but the witch finally responded with a longer sentence.

[You favor the Spring of Life… Ahhh, what a brave guest.]
Her voice was eerie yet almost lilting, as though singing,
[Prove the worth of this path, and more springs will be revealed to you.]

So, the first phase would only offer this one special spring as a gesture of goodwill.
But, if Si Zhiyan could deliver on his task before the deadline, other yet-unopened springs would await his discovery—and might very well interest him.

Si Zhiyan nodded, fully at ease with this.

Only—“brave,” as her comment, juxtaposed with the text’s hints at taboos concerning the Spring of Life…
Si Zhiyan frowned slightly.
He still remembered the effect of the tomato hot pot.

If he guessed rightly, violating that taboo would come at a heavy price.
No matter how he renovated it, this hot spring, born of a hall of blood rituals, could never be truly safe. His initial idea had been to seal off every dangerous corner, but the Spring of Life’s appeal revealed the flaw: the greatest value of these hot springs lay precisely in their coexistence with risk.

He could only manage the danger strictly, not erase it.

He summoned Yun Zhong and instructed him to remind all staff to warn guests of the taboo.
At the inn’s entrance, the bathing area, and the milk pool itself—at all three required points—he posted large signs, repeatedly warning:

[Forest Hot Spring Pavilion Rule One: Guests who have consumed tomato hot pot within 24 hours are forbidden entry to the milk bath.]
[Forest Hot Spring Pavilion Rule One: Guests who have consumed tomato hot pot within 24 hours are forbidden entry to the milk pool.]
[Forest Hot Spring Pavilion Rule One: Guests who have consumed tomato hot pot within 24 hours are forbidden entry to the milk bath.]

Staring at the three signs, Si Zhiyan narrowed his eyes, watched them a moment, then shook his head and moved on to the next area.

The dining and rest area.

During this period, apart from the farm’s regular business, Si Zhiyan had issued a new directive: to collect as many low-grade cursed items as possible.

It didn’t matter how trivial or awkward their use: if it existed, the farm wanted it!

Si Zhiyan had deliberately raised the purchase price for lesser relics—just above the player market average. The offer wasn’t high enough to attract the truly high-quality items, but it did inspire players to dig up all those marginal relics they’d hoarded, the sort that were too useful to discard but not good enough for trade.

Those objects with truly valuable effects were still traded between players, while those dubbed “chicken rib” or “junky” were finally sold off to the farm. Players hurried back to camp, rummaged through baggage, and cleared out relics that were neither useful nor worth wasting.

Of course, all of this entered right into the farm’s “stomach.”
The vines wound lazily about Si Zhiyan, letting out a contented burp.

He had but one purpose in this: to enrich the farm’s menu.
He was simply tired of endless hotpot and fried chicken!

After a few days of this,

Now, Si Zhiyan reviewed the product list—he found several fitting dishes perfectly suited for the forest hot spring pavilion.
They’d serve as the draw, the unique flavors that would make the place a must-visit.

…………

Si Zhiyan raced against time, working through the night. By the time he finished all the construction, dawn had arrived.

From above, the forest…

The once rickety old main entrance was painted a rich, textured black and now stood wide open, revealing a spacious and elegant genkan. Inside, a faint scent of timber lingered, the floors were polished to a gloss, paper lanterns flooded the rooms with gentle light, beckoning to all areas—accommodation, bathing pools, dining… everything in its place.

Morning sun broke through layers of ancient forest, casting dappled shadows along the wooden verandas.

A Japanese-style forest hot spring inn, full of tranquil charm, was thus born.

There was, however, a small epilogue.

Originally, there had been a shrine at the door of the festival hall—wound with red cords, battered and broken, its god-statue long vanished.

By rights, such a sinister thing should have been removed immediately. The witch puppet stared at it a long while, but seemed to have no further opinion.

And yet, after long hesitation, Si Zhiyan did not take the shrine’s remnants away.
He carefully swept, gathered, and repositioned it behind the small landscape garden by the door.

Dong. Dong.
A Japanese courtyard water feature trickled and turned, the shishiodoshi filling and knocking gently against stone.

In the birdsong of dawn, Si Zhiyan bowed before the old shrine and hung a small blue wind chime under its eaves.
The damp morning breeze caressed it, and the bell sang lightly along with the sound of running water.

The witch puppet’s painted face couldn’t change, but she gazed in silence at the restored little shrine.
After a moment, she bowed deeply to Si Zhiyan.

Before he could reply, her figure had vanished.

Si Zhiyan stretched with a smile.

Come then—it’s time to open for business.