SDIWD - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Bai Zhen woke with a start. Her vigilance, which had been overcome by drowsiness, came back online after a brief rest. The first thing she did upon opening her eyes was to confirm Hua Mu's safety.

Hua Mu was not beside her!

"Miss!"

Bai Zhen quickly got up, expanding the range of her barrier while shouting Hua Mu's name. Fortunately, she soon found her.

It was already late, and the tide was high. Hua Mu was holding up her dress with one hand and carrying a plastic basin, of which only half remained, in the other, wading back to shore.

"Miss!" Seeing her returning from the sea, her skirt almost completely soaked, Bai Zhen's heart tightened. She sprinted to her side and asked nervously, "What were you doing? Are you hurt?"

Bai Zhen spoke with some urgency, her voice inevitably a little loud. Hua Mu irritably shoved the plastic basin into her hands. "What's with you? Why are you being so fierce? I just went to find something to eat."

In the sun-bleached, cracked plastic basin lay a dagger and some seashells. Even someone as slow as Bai Zhen should have known what she had been doing.

"S-sorry, Miss. I-I don't know why I fell asleep... You could have woken me up if you were hungry."

Hua Mu limped, saying with disdain, "You don't know why? Isn't it because you haven't been sleeping? What are you trying to prove? Think you're a robot?"

Bai Zhen was filled with shame. She wanted to support her but feared overstepping her bounds, so she followed beside her, flustered, explaining, "I-I'm fine. You don't need to worry."

Hua Mu's eyebrows shot up. She said huffily, "Who's worried about you? I didn't wake you because I can find food myself. Don't think I can't manage without you."

Treacherous villains have honeyed words but a sword in their belly; only a little fairy like the Miss would have a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

Bai Zhen had always felt that Hua Mu's anger and scolding were her ways of showing she cared. Even toward a Sentinel she disliked, she was still considerate and concerned.

Of course, this was a point that couldn't be exposed, or the Miss would get shy.

Bai Zhen was deeply moved. She stopped arguing with Hua Mu and only said worriedly, "Miss, is your foot injured? Should I carry you back?"

Hua Mu was indeed injured. She had slipped while collecting seashells on the scorched rocks, getting several cuts on her body that hurt so much she cried. But saying this out loud would be too embarrassing, so she put on a brave face and endured it.

How could she, the dignified daughter of a Grand Duke, not even know how to collect a few seashells?

"It's just a minor injury."

Normally, even if Hua Mu just coughed once, the Grand Duke's residence would tremble.

"Even if it's a minor injury, it could get infected if not treated properly. Let me take a look."

Now that Hua Mu knew they would be going back soon, she cherished her life and, feigning reluctance, nodded her head.

"Fine, then."

The medicinal solution Bai Zhen had brought was used up by Hua Mu on the very first day, and she had no other medicine for external wounds on her. However, identifying wild herbs was a mandatory course for Sentinels, and she would silently note the locations of medicinal plants she encountered while exploring the island.

Hua Mu was at a flower-like age and had been pampered since childhood. Her skin was as smooth as tofu, so any injury on it looked particularly shocking. This time, her fall had not been light; her right foot, calf, part of her thigh, elbow, and arm all had scrapes of varying degrees.

The sight made Bai Zhen's eyes turn red. Although Hua Mu had been injured when they were first stranded, this was different. Back then, their lives were in the hands of fate. She had done her best, and just surviving was something to be thankful for.

But Hua Mu's injury now was entirely due to her dereliction of duty—she had actually fallen asleep, completely off guard!

"Miss..."

Hua Mu endured the shame of being examined by Bai Zhen for a long time, only to feel that the places she touched and looked at not only hurt but also started to itch. She was supposed to be checking the wounds, but why did the examination involve lifting her skirt?

"What are you doing?" Hua Mu nervously held down the hem of her skirt.

Bai Zhen held back her heartache and a sob, her voice hoarse as she said, "I want to see if you're injured anywhere else."

The hell you do!

Enduring the pain, Hua Mu planted her foot on Bai Zhen's face—she had wanted to do that for a long time!

"There are no more, just these! Now hurry up and treat them!"

Bai Zhen didn't know what she had done wrong this time, but being stepped on in the face by the Miss wasn't an unpleasant thing. Covering her face, she stammered, "S-sorry. I'll go find some herbs. I'll be right back. Please wait a moment."

Watching her move with considerable agility, Hua Mu's expression softened, and her worries eased a little—after all, she still had to rely on the Sentinel!

Compared to when she had first been stranded on the island, Hua Mu was now able to be alone for a while with more composure. The sea at night was a completely different sight from the daytime, seeming vaster and deeper, mysterious and unfathomable.

Hua Mu never dared to stare at it for too long, afraid it would plunge her into deeper despair. But tonight was different. The new moon had become a full moon, and the moonlight even had a faint reddish tinge, reflecting on the sea's surface with a certain bewitching quality.

If she were with those other noble ladies, she felt she would be in the perfect mood to compose a poem.

"Sigh..."

Hua Mu sighed softly.

Bai Zhen returned quickly, holding several plants in her hand. Hua Mu guessed they were some kind of medicinal herb and, in the spirit of not being ashamed to ask her subordinate, inquired.

"What's this?"

The plants looked like common weeds, with ovate leaves and rounded teeth along the edges. Bai Zhen seemed to have chosen them specifically; all the plants were in bloom, with full, purple, spike-like inflorescences.

"This is mountain patchouli. It can stop bleeding and act as an antidote."

Stopping bleeding and acting as an antidote—very useful in their current situation.

Hua Mu immediately showed her modest and eager-to-learn side, taking one of the plants to examine it closely.

Bai Zhen plucked off the inflorescence, held it over Hua Mu's wound, and gently brushed the pollen onto it. Then she crushed the leaves and pressed them lightly onto the wound.

"Isn't patchouli the thing you take for heatstroke? It can stop bleeding too?"

Although Bai Zhen was trying to be as gentle as possible, the pain was still unavoidable. It hurt so much that Hua Mu wanted to cry, but not wanting Bai Zhen to see her weak side again, she quickly thought of a topic to distract herself.

After all, she had already embarrassed herself enough today; she absolutely couldn't lose any more face.

Bai Zhen just thought Hua Mu was curious. Keeping her head down and concentrating on applying the medicine, she explained casually, "The one for heatstroke is Guang patchouli. They have different functions."

"Oh... you know quite a lot. Are there any other medicinal herbs on this island besides this one?"

Someone would come to rescue them in just over ten days, but in a place like this, heaven knew what other accidents might happen. Hua Mu thought it would be good to learn a few more things. After all, when your luck is bad enough, you can even mistake a whale for a ship!

"If you're interested, I can bring some back for you."

Hua Mu really thought Bai Zhen was hopelessly stupid. How could she possibly be interested in herbs? Wasn't it just that circumstances forced her to be?

"No need to make a special trip. Just pick some if you happen to see any while you're looking for water... Ouch, be gentler."

In the end, Hua Mu couldn't hold it in and let out a peevish cry as Bai Zhen pressed the herbs onto her calf.

Bai Zhen immediately lightened her touch but had to point out, "Miss, some of the herbs won't stick."

The crushed leaves weren't moist enough, and she couldn't get them to adhere after trying for a long time.

"You're so stupid. Can't you just chew them?"

And I just said she knew a lot. Even I know this method, how can she be so dense!

"But... will you be alright with that..."

Bai Zhen was afraid Hua Mu would be disgusted if she chewed them.

Hua Mu felt that this Sentinel would be the death of her one day! They'd done m-mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and now she was going to be disgusted by a little saliva on her skin?

"One more word of nonsense and I'll kick you."

Although Bai Zhen didn't consider being kicked by the Miss much of a threat, she still obediently shut her mouth.

After applying the herbs, Bai Zhen cleaned the shellfish, cooked them over the charcoal fire, and fed them to Hua Mu.

These shellfish clung to the crevices of the reefs. Saying you "picked" them made it sound easy, but it was actually very strenuous work. Hua Mu was naturally no match for Bai Zhen; after struggling for two hours, the amount she had collected was less than a third of their usual haul. It wasn't enough to feed Bai Zhen, let alone herself.

But when Bai Zhen tried to feed all the food to her, Hua Mu refused with righteous conviction.

"I'm a little tired of these. You eat the rest."

Bai Zhen immediately grew worried.

"Miss, you're tired of them? Is there anything else you'd like to eat? I'll go look for lobsters nearby tomorrow, or would you like some octopus?"

From their experience over the past few days, both lobsters and octopuses were rare finds. If Bai Zhen really went looking, there was no telling how much effort it would take.

The longer Hua Mu spent with her, the more she felt this Sentinel was unreliable, with no sense of priority.

"We're almost out of water to drink, and you're talking about lobster and octopus? No, I'm not eating them. I want meat. Catch something when you're looking for water. A seabird like last time would be fine."

"But you said you wouldn't eat..."

Hua Mu was so angry she smacked her on the head. "Can't I change my mind and want to eat it now?"

Of course she could.

"Yes, yes, of course. I'll go catch a seabird tomorrow."

"Mm... clean it before you bring it back. And I'll need banana leaves and some spices. See if you can find any galangal, fennel, calamus, or thyme... Ugh, forget it. I'll go with you."

"But you were injured today..."

Don't even mention it. Today had been miserable and embarrassing enough; she was counting on tomorrow to win back some face.

"No objections allowed!"

"Yes..."

Thankfully, Bai Zhen was obedient enough. Except for being a bit inflexible on matters concerning her safety, she was well-behaved the rest of the time.

Before sleeping, Hua Mu counted their remaining water. There was probably less than seven liters left. Even if they could get the distillation device working tomorrow, the fresh water it produced would be far from enough to sustain the two of them for over ten days.

Bai Zhen's main task would still be to find a water source, while she would have to start figuring out other ways to obtain fresh water.

It didn't matter how difficult things were now. As long as they could endure these next ten-odd days, they would be able to go home.

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