章 76: What??? Is that all you think about???

Hana took a moment to observe herself properly after messaging her beloved Arash. She knew he must be going crazy with worry. Since there was no mirror, she could only check her body just like that to make sure she didn't turn into the Hulk or something. She would cry if she suddenly got those ugly abs!

[Extremely long hair like a disheveled Asian Rapunzel.] Check!

[Extremely long nails like those horrifying Japanese or Korean ghosts. So scary] +_____+||| Check!

[Smell like a sewer mixed with cat litter.] Check!

[Still fat but less than usual. Being sick for so long has its own benefits.] The aunty sighed heavily while pinching on the extra fat on her flabby tummy and thigh. Well, better than a horrifying bulky greenish abs.

Hana swiped open her smartphone and open the picture taking app. She removed all preset beautifying filters and turned the camera towards herself, intending to look at her face properly like a mirror. A stunning light-tan face with dark brown eyes reflected back from the smartphone's screen. She adjusted the spectacle on her face in disbelieve, and finally took it off and placed it on the cave floor.

[Hmph? Is that really my face? Why the clear bright skin? Just like boiled egg (1)! No more pimples, freckles and discoloration! Did I forgot to turn off any of the filters?] She tapped the surface a few times to check the setting and then increase the camera's sharpness.

[It is true. My pores can't be seen! They're gone! Just like the 18 year old me!]

[No more neck pain!] Check!

[Not even the stubborn back pain! Yay!]

"BANZAI!"

Hana's sudden elated shout had shocked both Kuro and Shiro. As the cherry aunty took the napkin cum towel from the bamboo rack while humming, she paused and called for the kids, "Let's go for a bath!"

[Wait, Mommy! Don't you want to check your overall strength and other attributes?] Kuro asked with a concerned look. He can't believe that Mommy was prioritizing on bathing before confirming her own upgrade.

"Later-lah, later-lah." She fanned her left hand while making an impatient look. "I smell like a toilet. I hate it! Anything else can wait for later." The aunty skipped away towards the stream happily while leaving the baffled little black snake. He was feeling bitter for slogging hard for the past seven days. To Hana, the greatest boon for the prolonged 'medical' treatment was on her smooth bouncy cheeks and the total disappearance of her back pain. She felt like she can conquer the world!

...

As all three of its inhabitants were away, a faint cracking sound emerged from within the empty cave. On the lowest level of Hana's bamboo shelf, a tiny crack has appeared on the largest egg (2). The 'ostrich' egg started to siphon the leftover medicinal water drenching the cave floor as well as the leftover soup in the cooking pot. After all the water was gone, half of the cave floor had turned slightly muddy and messy. Finally, the egg stopped making any movement and returned to its dormant state...

...

"Scrub..scrub..scrub"

The faint sounds of scrubbing were mixed with faint cawing and shrieking of birds and tiny critters at an obscure corner of the Crystal-veined stream.

Under a shaded tree with tree roots protruding in the shallow waters, Hana was scrubbing herself with a bundle of soft young leaves vigorously as she partially immersed herself. Obviously, the leaves were fetched by her little hardworking pet snake. The filth and dirt from her body was so thick, it had clouded the translucent waters into a murky one. Even the playful little fishes who was so curious and unafraid of her before gave her a wide berth. The aunty really needed a proper loofah, period.

The two brothers were with her inside the water, halfheartedly joined in the 'family occasion' after much of the aunty's insistence. Kuro was swimming around the aunty happily while using his tiny wings as pedals while Shiro was sulking away three meters downriver from their location. Apparently, Shiro's presence inside the warm water had reduced the temperature significantly. As usual, it was Kuro's bullying that made him conceded after seeing their mistress shivering beside them just now.

However, despite their antics, Hana was blindly going through the motion without realizing her surroundings yet again. Her mind was preoccupied with remembering the ridiculous condition of the forest outside of her cave abode.

Once she stepped out of the cave just now, the sun hit squarely on her face. As she opened her eyes at the glaring lights, her mouth made a big O.

A destruction of an unprecedented level bared upon her eyes as the originally luxuriant vegetation, regardless of majestic arboreal trees with buttress roots, to the smallest humble insignificant weed were nonexistent!

What replaced the nonexistent trees was a wide space filled with horrific destruction like the aftermath of a tsunami. Even the geography of the surroundings had changed slightly. Hana's cave was supposed to be slightly elevated yet obscured from vision. Just a few meters ahead after exiting the cave was supposed to be a small clearing where she used to do her number one and number two before being crowded out by extremely large ancient looking trees. However, now, their humble home had been 'elevated' up by at least one-storey worth of stairs. Just another step, she would have fallen from the high 'pedestal'!

It was the aftermath of the boys' advancement coupled with the unexpected confrontation with the Crystal-veined stream Lord. From where she was standing, she could faintly see the stream she frequented in between some sparsely populated trees. Previously, the thick natural canopy had hindered her sight. She had made unnecessary turns here and there to reach that stream before.

Not knowing how to get down from the steep mini-hill, Hana had to mount on her fluffy white fox to help her down since the elevation was very vertical. Even if there were safe steps to climb down from, she wouldn't be presumptuous enough to think that she will attempt such a descent. She had zero experience in wall-climbing!

Looking at the ruined foliage, her heart had been so agitated as she think of her own little garden. She immediately dashed to the location, followed closely by her two guardians. She was so worried over all the herbs she had painstakingly transplanted over. It took her less than five minutes to reach the stream's area, while before, she needed at least half hour. In a way, by clearing the forest, a 'shortcut' had been unintentionally made. Additionally, Hana's increased strength and stamina had helped her maintaining her speed for so long. She hadn't realized she had turned from a figurative snail to a cheetah.

Once she reached her destination, she was horrified to see a part of the wooden enclosure was torn apart! After a hurried investigation, they had found that the little garden within were just fine. Even the fish trap was well preserved and as usual, full to the brim with different kinds of freshwater fishes. With the level of destruction nearby, this level of problem was insignificantly minute. With the help of the two kids, she could repair the wooden fence immediately after she had her bath.

"Sigh, all the banana tree clusters, they were gone now. What a pity. If I know this would happen, I would've harvested the young bananas earlier. At least I could make curries and banana chips from them."

Alas, it was too late for regrets. She could only venture further out from the perimeter of destruction to look for other useful edible plants later in the future when it wasn't enough anymore. Thankfully, at the moment, she was not short of food yet. She had ample of clean water without needing to transfer any from the stream, courtesy of the Crystal-veined steam Lord himself. She also had stable supply of marine source. In fact, for someone such as her to be missing for more than two weeks, she had been extremely well-fed, with a roof on her head, two guards for safety and the ability to use fire. She should've nothing to complain.

The only problem was her vegetable intake had lessened significantly, preventing her from going to the toilet at least once a day routinely. Not being able to expel the bad mojo from her body had made her increasingly unwell from day to day, though the condition didn't warrant significant attention from her. However, the long-term 'treatment' had effectively remedied her conditions perfectly. The previous discomfort was long gone, together with the stubborn back pain she had since her first child had been born five years ago.

Once she washed away all the stubborn dirt and grime diligently, her clear skin was revealed underneath. Although it was still tan, she felt that she was a shade lighter than usual. Besides that, it felt so smooth! It reminded her of her own soft hands during her teens. Years of toiling in the kitchen, laundry and cleaning had made her skin turned a dull color with the texture turning rough from the chemical treatments.

[Is this the famed internal cleansing after the first cultivation?] The aunty was a little excited. Although she wasn't really sure about the whatever cool-sounding 'Lightning Divinity Soul' spoken by Kuro, what she knew was it sounded very Xianxia-ish. So exciting! A housewife who chanced upon a cultivation method to transcend immortality! She had not read something from that theme yet, Hana took note that she needed to record all her works well so that she could write them out in the future once she had returned.

After enough daydreaming with fanciful ideas of the future, Hana cautiously trimmed her fingernails using the clawknife she brought along while humming the Japanese blue cat robot OST under her breath. If she wasn't careful, her three segmented fingers could turn to two! What's worse was a reduction of ten fingers to nine! Aiyoyooo, no can't do! As she observed her long nails, an inspiration dawned upon her!

[Aren't these long cuticles could be repurposed into needles?] She looked at her own shabby wet clothes, hanging on one of the branches and sighed. It only took two weeks for them to look so worn out. They won't last forever. She needed to use these to prepare a contingency plan for her future modesty! She would never condone to wearing leaves and twigs to cover herself!

...

As such, the aunty continued to fuss over her overall appearance as she cleaned herself. Her over-consciousness was due to her inherent natural reaction as a woman who was in love. She was afraid if she becomes too different, her family, especially her beloved Arash, won't be able to accept her when she return to them in the near future. A slight upgrade was just like an addition of natural filters on herself, which she loved most. However, if she suddenly turned a different shade, or had additional arms, fangs or tail, she won't be able to accept it. Her joyousness in regard to her appearance was a thousand times more than her significant improvement of her overall constitution and strength.

What??? Is that all you think about???

Other fellow transmigrator MCs would've facepalmed with this aunty shallow (but ehem ehem practical) thoughts.

This was because she had not developed the sense of urgency to stay alive, thanks to the presence of her little pets who always shielded her from rain and storm. Her days were spent in a honeymoon-like dream without worry for her own livelihood. Additionally, her heart strongly believed her family would be able to find her and save her without her doing anything.

In the very near future, our dear Hana will quickly notice how wrong she was…

Author's Note:

(1) ..just like boiled egg = this comparison of beauty is very synonym with Malaysian language writings (the traditional way). The flawlessness of the skin is compared to peeled boiled egg, the brow is compared to the spurs of a chicken (haha, really, mrs Mooncat won't kid you guys), and the shape of the face is akin to the shape of a betelnut leaf (narrow heart-shaped). That is the idea of beauty from the olden days. The color of skin range is very wide, from ivory (tusks of elephant/putih gading), to beige (sawo matang – majority), to dark brown (hitam manis). There are no such things as a reference to jade-white skin (laughing).

(2) largest egg = remember the egg Kuro stole from the lowest level of the silver banded eagles' nest?