SDIWD - Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Hua Mu could tolerate a small amount of blood, but she found the sight of it gushing so extravagantly to be utterly unbearable. She hadn't always been a pescetarian. That changed after some ridiculous prince from some godforsaken country took her to a meal of freshly slaughtered lamb fetus. The experience left her with a deep psychological scar, making it impossible for her to eat red meat ever again. Eventually, she couldn't even stomach poultry.
The scene of the pregnant ewe being killed was so brutal that every time she saw red meat, the memory would resurface. Hua Mu never considered herself an animal lover; in fact, she secretly thought some of the animal rights activists in her circle were too extreme. Nevertheless, she had become a pescetarian.
The seabird, killed in a single blow, was now wedged in a crevice between the rocks by the current, showing no signs of life.
Bai Zhen scanned their surroundings vigilantly, only relaxing slightly when she was certain there were no other threats.
"Miss, are you all right?"
Hua Mu was practically hanging off Bai Zhen, her arms wrapped tightly around the Sentinel's neck without a shred of shame, looking thoroughly shaken.
"Don't talk to me!" The thought of having stood in bloody water for so long made her nauseous, her skin crawling.
Bai Zhen didn't dare speak again. Seeing no further instructions from Hua Mu, she simply stood there quietly, holding her.
After a long while, Hua Mu began to feel a little better. Then, the awkwardness of her situation dawned on her—she had been clinging to Bai Zhen, completely naked, for quite some time!
And this position… it was just too… too indecent!
"Bai Zhen…"
Bai Zhen's heart leaped with joy when she finally heard Hua Mu speak. "Miss."
"Close your eyes!"
Hua Mu's voice was a mixture of bravado and unease. She was completely naked, and getting down from Bai Zhen's arms might be even worse than staying in them.
Bai Zhen knew Hua Mu wasn't fond of Sentinels, but she couldn't understand why she was always so guarded around her, another woman. Fortunately, it wasn't her place to question it. Obeying orders was a soldier's instinct.
"Are they closed?" Hua Mu asked, her voice feigning sternness as she buried her face in Bai Zhen's shoulder, too afraid to look.
"They're closed."
"Now put me down. And no funny business."
Bai Zhen wasn't entirely sure what constituted "funny business," so she could only be as careful as humanly possible as she lowered Hua Mu.
The tall Sentinel and the petite noble girl, long, powerful hands on a slender, soft waist—at first glance, the scene was surprisingly harmonious.
As Bai Zhen carefully placed her on the ground, her hands gripping her waist, Hua Mu felt her legs go weak. Her fair skin was flushed red, and a strange sense of shame washed over her.
"Don't open your eyes," she instructed while hastily grabbing Bai Zhen's jacket from the side and draping it over herself. After a thorough check to ensure nothing was exposed, she said, "Okay, you can open them now. Go deal with that seabird, and then get my dress… no, never mind, I'll get my clothes myself."
Hua Mu had initially wanted to avoid the water's edge, but then she remembered it wasn't just her dress hanging there, but her underwear as well, and quickly changed her mind.
By now, Bai Zhen remembered that the Young Lady didn't eat poultry or livestock. She also recalled hearing Hua Mu's personal maid, Elma, often say that the Young Lady couldn't bear to see such things.
The thought filled her with regret and shame. Not daring to look Hua Mu in the eye, she quickly picked up the dead seabird and tossed it into the bushes on the opposite side.
Hua Mu was dumbfounded by her foolish action.
"Why did you throw it away?"
From her tone alone, Bai Zhen knew she had made another mistake. She stammered, "D-Didn't you say you didn't want to see it?"
It was true she didn't want to see it, which was why she had told Bai Zhen to deal with it quickly.
"Then you should have just taken it somewhere farther away and wrapped it in leaves. Throwing away a bird this big, are you an idiot?"
"But Miss, you don't eat…"
Hua Mu felt that the reason she got angry every time she spoke to Bai Zhen was the vast intellectual gap between them. The smart one was always driven to tears by the stupid one.
"Just because I don't eat it doesn't mean you can't, does it?"
"But…"
It felt wrong for her to eat something so good all by herself when the Young Lady wouldn't have any.
"No buts. It's already been killed. Not eating it would be the real disrespect to its life. Take it downstream to clean it, and don't look over here. We'll head back once I'm dressed."
It was an order, and Bai Zhen dared not disobey.
Hua Mu watched her retrieve the seabird and run a short distance downstream to process it. She quickly put her still-damp clothes back on. The stream had returned to its clear state. After washing her feet a little further upstream, Hua Mu saw that Bai Zhen had returned.
The roughly prepared seabird carcass was wrapped in a large banana leaf and tied with a flexible vine, which spared Hua Mu any discomfort.
On the way back, Bai Zhen carried Hua Mu again. Since they didn't have to take the long way around, the journey only took half an hour.
The beach was the same as before. The SOS sign they had made from black stones yesterday was half-scattered by the high tide. The signal fire in the distance was still smoldering, and the leftover shells from their meal were scattered around the makeshift stove.
Hua Mu gazed at the empty expanse of the sea, a flicker of confusion in her heart. It was only the second day, yet it felt as if she had already lived through some of the most difficult moments of her life.
Because of Hua Mu's delay, it was already past noon, and the sun was growing hotter. Hua Mu rested under a short coconut tree while Bai Zhen went to catch fish.
After a day of acclimatization, Hua Mu felt a little less afraid of being alone. Besides, she had things to do, so she quickly sent Bai Zhen into the water to catch her lunch.
Seeing Bai Zhen wrap the seabird in a banana leaf had given Hua Mu an idea. On the way back, she had Bai Zhen pick a number of large leaves, and now it was time to test them out—after all, she only had one handkerchief, and she had a much bigger… problem to solve.
Bai Zhen had confirmed that all the leaves were non-toxic. Hua Mu's task was to test their practicality. Too smooth was no good, too rough was no good, and too brittle was also no good. Hua Mu crumpled them in her hands and rubbed them on her skin. Her arm was red by the time she finally found one that was somewhat satisfactory.
She had survived. She couldn't let herself be killed by shame. Once she had crossed one hurdle, the next one didn't seem so daunting.
Bai Zhen also seemed to have gotten the hang of fishing; she took much less time today than yesterday. When Hua Mu saw her carrying two fish, her stomach rumbled traitorously.
Bai Zhen cleaned the fish by the sea, then returned to the fire and skewered them on washed branches, apparently preparing to roast them. Hua Mu found it too hot near the fire and refused to get closer, but upon recognizing the two fish, her mouth began to water uncontrollably.
"Bai Zhen, is that… a mangrove snapper you caught?"
Bai Zhen skewered the fish and propped them up by the fire, seeming to be in a good mood.
"It should be a species of perch. I'm not sure of the exact type."
Bai Zhen might not know, but Hua Mu knew perfectly well. Wild mangrove snappers were extremely rare, with annual catch quotas. Even for royalty like her, a slightly better quality one wasn't something she could eat often.
Since she couldn't eat poultry or red meat, Hua Mu was particularly passionate about seafood. Though she had never cooked it herself, she knew exactly how each type of seafood should be prepared.
Mangrove snapper could be steamed, stewed, or braised, but to just roast it crudely over an open fire was a terrible waste.
"Miss, what's wrong? Don't you like this fish?" Bai Zhen asked with some concern, seeing her staring blankly at the fish. "Should I go catch something else?"
Hua Mu did her best to suppress her heartache and looked away. "It's fine. This will do. Just don't overcook it."
If they had some seasoning, even roasted fish wouldn't be too bad. But Hua Mu had known since yesterday's shellfish that even the most delicious seafood was a nightmare when it was too "au naturel."
Even sashimi needed condiments!
Hua Mu glanced at the crumpled leaves in her hand and felt a wave of despair.
Having fallen to such a state, what more could she ask for?
"Would you like some coconut water, Miss?"
Hua Mu shook her head listlessly. "Not right now… By the way, where's your bird?"
Although she had helped carry it back, she hadn't paid any attention to it after handing it over to Bai Zhen. Only now did she realize the green bundle was gone.
"I buried it under the fire."
"Oh…" Hua Mu wasn't interested in her cooking methods and changed the subject. "When you go get water this afternoon, bring back some more of these leaves. And see if you can find anything else we can use."
She had always been in a position of authority. Now that she had sorted out her thoughts a little, she instinctively began giving orders.
"Oh, and find some dry grass for me to sit on. This is killing me."
"And also…"
She rattled off whatever came to mind, and Bai Zhen noted it all down.
The fish was cooked first.
Although the fire they used for cooking wasn't deliberately made with damp wood like the signal fire, it wasn't charcoal either. The two fish were more smoked than roasted.
It wasn't that Hua Mu had never eaten smoked food; when done properly, it could be delicious. But this wood had no particular aroma, and mangrove snapper was definitely not suited for this cooking method.
It wasn't particularly bad, but it was a waste.
Hua Mu ate with tears streaming down her face internally. The nearly flavorless fish was even worse than the shellfish. Although seawater was salty, it contained not only sodium chloride but also various other salts and boric acid in molecular form, making it taste bitter and astringent. It couldn't be used directly as a seasoning.
After struggling through one fish, Hua Mu couldn't eat any more and told Bai Zhen to finish the other one. Bai Zhen naturally had no objections and also dug out the seabird she had buried under the fire.
The sight of the blackened lump made Hua Mu wrinkle her nose in disgust.
Bai Zhen used her dagger to crack open the hard, scorching mud shell. The once-green banana leaf inside was now unrecognizable from the high heat. But the leaf was intact and gave off a faint, fresh scent, so it wasn't as bad as it looked on the outside.
Hua Mu caught a whiff of the aroma, and her discomfort turned to curiosity.
But her curiosity was short-lived. The gamy smell that wafted out when Bai Zhen unwrapped the layer of banana leaves sent her recoiling.
This was even more horrifying than her roasted fish!
How on earth could a Sentinel, with their supposedly heightened senses, eat something like this???
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