SDIWD - Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Hua Mu's friends had once told her all about the benefits of miswak. Its milky secretions had antibacterial properties and freshened one's breath, so you could even do without toothpaste. But for her, who had no interest in pursuing a so-called "all-natural" lifestyle, there was no need to deliberately abandon the conveniences of industrial civilization. She had never tried it before.
Recalling this, Hua Mu couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment.
Why did someone like her, who couldn't live without modern technology, have to be the one to go through this? Shouldn't it be those idle noble ladies, the ones who were always going on about returning to nature, who were sent to live on this island for a few months?
In any case, finding a substitute for a toothbrush and toothpaste was a good thing. Hua Mu had Bai Zhen shave a dozen or so sticks on the spot and stuffed them into her pocket. The two of them shared the few wax apples they had just picked to tide them over.
They were going to have lunch here, so of course, they needed to start another fire. Bai Zhen gathered some dead branches and dry grass from nearby, while Hua Mu squatted to the side, watching her use the fire starter.
Although it wasn't the first time she had seen it, Hua Mu still felt a sense of pleasant surprise every time she watched Bai Zhen strike sparks and ignite the dry grass.
The fire steel was only about ten centimeters long and pitch-black. Each time it was used, a layer of oxidation had to be scraped off its surface.
To this day, Hua Mu still didn't understand why Bai Zhen would carry such a thing. While it was certainly proving very useful now, wouldn't a lighter or even matches be far more convenient under normal circumstances?
Bai Zhen lowered her head and blew on the sparks in the grass, looking completely focused. She didn't even notice the ash smudged on her face.
After more than ten days of exposure to the wind and sun, the Sentinel's skin, which hadn't been particularly dark to begin with, had turned a tan, wheat color. Perhaps due to the scarcity of food, she also looked leaner. But her pitch-black eyes were sharper and more alert than usual, as if she were in a constant state of vigilance.
No matter how much Hua Mu disliked the Sentinel, at a time like this, she couldn't help but trust and rely on her from the bottom of her heart.
To be honest, it was kind of cool.
It wasn't Bai Zhen's looks, but the reliability she demonstrated in every way that Hua Mu found cool.
But as soon as such a thought popped into her head, Hua Mu would immediately become vigilant.
This had to be the so-called suspension bridge effect. She had already experienced it several times! Experiencing danger, being saved by someone who risked their life, depending on each other for survival—any one of these things alone was enough to cause a massive adrenaline rush.
So, the racing heartbeat, finding Bai Zhen more and more pleasing to the eye, thinking the Sentinel was actually kind of cute—it was all an illusion!
Hua Mu tore her gaze away from Bai Zhen's well-defined arm muscles.
If it was the suspension bridge effect, then she couldn't be the only one feeling this way. What if this big oaf Bai Zhen misunderstood something and got the wrong idea? What would she do then?
The fire was soon crackling.
"Miss, I'm going to check by the sea. Please wait here for a moment."
The view here was open, and there were no immediate dangers nearby. Bai Zhen had deliberately started the fire first, adding a layer of security for Hua Mu.
"Mm..."
Because of her earlier wild thoughts, Hua Mu did her best to appear cold and indifferent, but her heart was uneasy. Watching the Sentinel's back recede into the distance, her thoughts grew chaotic.
She remembered that Bai Zhen was already twenty-four. For a Sentinel of that age to not have an exclusive Guide, the most likely reason was an insufficient compatibility rate. Although there was now a distinction between the Inner and Outer Towers, many rules within the Sentinel and Guide community were still the same.
Both Sentinels and Guides almost always began searching for a suitable partner immediately after coming of age. Her father's eagerness was, in fact, related to this tradition.
Sentinels were much more unstable than Guides, so they were often more desperate in their search for a partner. Sentinels from poor families mostly chose to enter the Inner Tower to serve in the military, mainly because the Tower not only provided free Little White Pills and soothing services from public Guides but also offered matchmaking services for Sentinels in need.
Had Bai Zhen ever been on one of those dates?
This wasn't the first time Hua Mu had pondered this question. She thought about it every time Bai Zhen returned to the Tower to debrief.
The preferred choice for a female Sentinel was naturally a male Guide, but if one wasn't so fixated on gender and considered it purely from a Sentinel-Guide perspective, there was nothing wrong with a female Guide either. Considering that male Guides were even rarer than female Sentinels, perhaps Bai Zhen had already been on dates with quite a few female Guides!
Inner Tower Sentinels started going on matchmaking dates at eighteen. To still be without a partner at twenty-four, in a domestic Sentinel-Guide community of this size, and with very few precedents of Inner Tower soldiers pairing with foreigners... a situation like Bai Zhen's basically meant she was either destined to be alone for life or would have to settle for someone much older or younger.
Hua Mu once again felt a strong sense of crisis about her own situation.
If they weren't compatible, it would be one thing, but her constitution... it was too dangerous!
Bai Zhen didn't go into the sea this time. On the southern side of the beach, there was a fringing reef, parts of which were exposed at low tide. Bai Zhen just wandered around it for a bit and found plenty of food in the tide pools.
Besides a few perch-like fish, she had also gathered a good number of oysters and a few sea urchins. It was a bountiful haul.
The resources here were indeed much more abundant than on the coast where they had landed. Large schools of marine life inhabited the vast coral reef. If they moved over here, obtaining food would be much easier, at the very least. But Bai Zhen could see that Hua Mu had no such intention, so she temporarily shelved the thought.
She cleaned the fish by the sea, then put her pants and shoes back on and returned to where Hua Mu was resting. The other girl seemed to be lost in thought and didn't notice her return.
"Miss?"
In Bai Zhen's eyes, Hua Mu's state for the past two days had not been good. If not for the series of fortunate discoveries today, she would have started to worry that Hua Mu was becoming depressed.
"Ah? W-What?"
Hua Mu looked a little flustered, her eyes darting about, not daring to meet Bai Zhen's gaze.
Bai Zhen remembered that Hua Mu loved sea urchins, so she hastily presented the delicacy, hoping it might soothe her recently tormented spirit.
"Miss, I caught a few sea urchins. Would you like them as sashimi, or should I cook them?"
Sea urchins were delicious eaten raw right out of the shell, and Bai Zhen really didn't want to ruin them with her terrible cooking skills.
"Th-Then sashimi it is."
Hua Mu seemed to be thinking the same thing.
Bai Zhen placed the fish and oysters on a banana leaf first, then opened a sea urchin for Hua Mu.
April and May were the best time for this type of sea urchin. The orange-red gonads were as soft and rich as cream, melting the moment they entered one's mouth. Even without any seasoning, its luscious flavor was enough to make one swoon.
Hua Mu ate one, then a second.
This was the life!
Hua Mu was so moved she was on the verge of tears.
Indeed, the greatest thing in the world for saving one's spirit was good food. No matter how difficult the circumstances, as long as you could eat well, you would never fall into despair!
Hua Mu held the sea urchin in her mouth, almost unwilling to swallow, letting it slowly melt and slide down her throat.
"Another one, another one."
Bai Zhen had only gathered four in total. Because of Hua Mu's instructions the day before, she hadn't specifically looked for them. Now, seeing the blissful look on her face, she couldn't help but feel a little regretful.
She opened the third sea urchin with her dagger, carefully picked out the star-shaped gonads inside, and held them out to Hua Mu.
Before, Hua Mu had taken it from her to eat, but this time, she was so eager that she directly sucked the roe off Bai Zhen's fingers. The roe was so soft that a good amount of it had stuck to Bai Zhen's hand. Hua Mu thought it was a terrible waste and wanted to lick it all into her mouth.
The noble girl's soft, red lips brushed lightly against the Sentinel's rough, slender fingers, a touch even softer than the sea urchin roe.
Bai Zhen felt a tingling in her chest as blood seemed to rush to her head, and her face instantly flushed crimson. She had awakened as a Sentinel at twelve, spent twelve years in the Tower, eight of which were on solo missions, and had been Hua Mu's guard for five years. In that time, she had been through numerous life-and-death situations, but never before had she felt so weak, her hands so unsteady.
She didn't quite understand what was happening to her, only that the feelings of shame and self-reproach were intense.
Hua Mu pressed her lips together, looking perfectly content. "You can have the last one. Mmm, that was so good."
Normally, Bai Zhen would have insisted on giving it all to Hua Mu, but at this moment, her thoughts were in such turmoil that she didn't even think to refuse.
As a guard for a member of the royal family, Bai Zhen's compensation was naturally quite good. Plus, she often accompanied Hua Mu to banquets, so the delicacies she had eaten were not much less than what the other girl had. It was just that she herself didn't really know how to enjoy things, especially when it came to food. She was never particular; she just ate what was there and never had any special feelings about it.
But today's sea urchin truly gave her an unprecedented gustatory pleasure.
The creamy texture, the sweet flavor, and...
Bai Zhen couldn't resist licking her finger, her gaze subconsciously sweeping over Hua Mu's tender pink lips.
No wonder the Young Lady still wanted more. It really was delicious.
The Sentinel made up her mind. From now on, she would gather a few sea urchins for Hua Mu every day.
Once she had tasted something delicious, Hua Mu could no longer tolerate their crude and rough cooking methods. Seeing that the oysters and fish hadn't been fully prepared yet, she remembered her earlier thought about finding some spices.
"Bai Zhen, stuff some wild mint into the fish belly," she said. After a moment's thought, she pulled a fruit that looked a bit like a lime from her pocket. "Let's wrap them in banana leaves and roast them. After they're cooked, we can sprinkle some lime juice on top."
They had found these near the coconut grove. There were about seven or eight plants, all laden with fruit. They looked like miniature limes, only the size of kumquats, and gave off the characteristic fragrance of citrus plants. Bai Zhen had tasted a bit, and it was extremely sour, so they had only picked a few.
Hua Mu had originally planned to use them to flavor her water, but now she remembered that lime juice could also be used to remove the fishy taste.
Although this was still a far cry from the cooking she had envisioned, things couldn't be accomplished overnight. They had other things to do in the afternoon, so for lunch, they would have to make do.
Besides, she had already had a taste of something delicious beforehand.
Bai Zhen did as she was told. On their thirteenth day stranded on the island, the two of them finally tasted their first truly cooked meal.
There might be many ways to distinguish humans from animals in a biological sense, but Hua Mu believed that the ability to turn natural ingredients into delicious food was what made humanity greater than the animal kingdom.
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