SDIWD - Chapter 18
Chapter 18
After lunch, the two didn't rest for long before starting their afternoon's work—Hua Mu, who had never held a job, was already starting to think of this ascetic experience as just that.
The wild mint and miswak were located where the coconut grove met the coast. Hua Mu had Bai Zhen stick a wooden stake nearby as a marker. A Sentinel naturally wouldn't get the location wrong, but Hua Mu always felt it was better to be safe than sorry.
According to the original plan, Bai Zhen was still supposed to continue searching for a water source in the afternoon. She just hadn't decided whether to go to the west side of the island, the mountain in the center, or simply follow the coastline around to the north.
The island they were on was located near the equator, with a typical tropical maritime climate, so the rainfall should have been abundant. However, perhaps because the storm that had stranded them on the island had used up all the rain for the days to come, it hadn't rained again in the past ten-plus days.
But the island was not small, its terrain was relatively high, and there was a mountain several hundred meters tall in the middle acting as a barrier. The rainfall on the windward and leeward slopes might be very different.
If possible, Bai Zhen wanted to go check out the northern side of the island.
But whether it was crossing the mountain range or following the coastline, neither could be accomplished in half a day. In the end, she decided to go to the west side of the island first.
Finding the coconut grove was already a huge gain. At this stage, they shouldn't be rash or advance recklessly.
The Sentinel's plan was naturally sound, but the Young Lady had her own ideas. After hearing Bai Zhen's considerations, Hua Mu simply told her to focus on finding materials to assemble a distillation device, as well as spices.
A clean water source was of course important, but it wasn't particularly urgent for the two of them at the moment. Hua Mu had grown somewhat numb to not having water for bathing, so she wasn't in a rush.
Bai Zhen naturally followed the Young Lady's lead.
For a Sentinel, finding plants with strong scents wasn't difficult. It was just that she didn't recognize most spices, so Hua Mu had to be the one to identify them.
Bai Zhen had already made a preliminary determination that the island was no less than one hundred square kilometers. Based on what they knew so far, the rainforest likely covered more than half of the total area.
The tropics are the native habitat for many spices. After years of cultivation and breeding, they have become one of the main cash crops for many tropical countries. Hua Mu's judgment about wild spices on the island wasn't wrong; the two of them found a cinnamon tree without much effort.
Cinnamon grows in warm, humid environments. The seedlings prefer shade, while mature trees prefer sun. It doesn't tolerate standing water and likes loose, well-drained sandy loam.
The two of them started walking south from the edge of the coconut grove and found the cinnamon tree less than a kilometer away.
Hua Mu was conflicted.
The term "spice" actually has a very broad definition, and plant-based spices used as seasonings are only a small part of it. Hua Mu had originally learned about this because making essential oils was a popular trend among noble young ladies. It was only because of her love for fine food that she had delved deeper into their use as seasonings.
The part of the cinnamon tree generally used as a spice is the bark, and of course, the bark can't be used immediately after being cut off.
"Miss, is this one no good?"
Seeing Hua Mu staring at the tree for a long time without saying anything, Bai Zhen couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
"…Forget it, let's look for something else."
After that, things came to a standstill. Even with Bai Zhen's help, finding spices was much more difficult than Hua Mu had imagined. There were indeed many fragrant plants, but Hua Mu found that she didn't recognize most of them, and the ones she did recognize that were actually usable were few and far between.
The two spent over two hours, and their final harvest was only a single chili plant of an unknown variety. Hua Mu had a mild palate; if it weren't to prevent their two hours of effort from going to waste, she absolutely would not have been willing to pick those few red chili peppers.
"No more searching, no more searching. Let's just go look for materials for the distillation device. Gather some wooden stakes, and don't bother looking for glass. Go find a metal plate from that pile of junk to set on top and we'll try that first."
Lying on Bai Zhen's back, Hua Mu felt quite defeated. Reality was never as wonderful as one imagined. Just last night, she had wanted to redeem herself today, but in the end, she was still relying on the Sentinel.
Bai Zhen had found the coconut grove. The miswak was discovered because she found the wild mint. Finding water depended on her, finding spices depended on her, and even building the distillation device depended on her.
Hua Mu subconsciously touched the well-defined muscles on Bai Zhen's shoulder and couldn't help but feel a wave of despair.
Let's not even talk about it—she even had to rely on her just to move through the rainforest!
"M-Miss?"
Bai Zhen was following Hua Mu's orders, carrying her back to the south coast, when the exposed skin on her shoulder was suddenly assaulted, nearly causing her to trip.
"What do you want?"
Hua Mu had been full of energy all day, but now, beaten down by setbacks, she was quite disheartened. The tone of her reply was particularly listless.
Bai Zhen's back tingled where the soft little hand touched, and her chest felt tight, yet she didn't dare to voice any objection.
"N-Nothing. Are you tired?"
Hua Mu was tired—tired in body and in spirit.
"You think everyone's like you, strong as an ox."
Or a horse? Or was it a wolf?
No, no, no, actually more like a goofy, energetic big dog.
This was a compliment for a Sentinel, but for a woman, it could hardly be considered praise.
Bai Zhen didn't know whether to be happy or sad, and couldn't help but feel a bit of self-reproach. But only by being strong enough could she protect the Young Lady's safety, which made her not regret growing into the Sentinel she was today.
Hua Mu had spoken casually, but when she found the other person had stopped responding, she grew sullen again. This was the norm when talking to Bai Zhen; the conversation would always come to a strange, abrupt halt. For example, at this moment, the other person could have shown concern by saying, "Then you should go back and rest well, Miss," or expressed loyalty by saying, "Only by being this way can I protect you, Young Lady." But instead, she just went silent.
This person was so boring!
What Bai Zhen was thinking, however, was: The Young Lady is tired, so it's better not to talk to her.
"Hey."
But Hua Mu was bored.
These past few days, she had been constantly worried about whether they could get back. Aside from struggling for survival, she had no entertainment whatsoever. She only had one person to talk to, and that person was a total bore. By now, she was about to die of frustration.
Spending most of the day on Bai Zhen's back without getting down wasn't as relaxing as one might think. For instance, she had to worry about whether her chest was pressed too tightly against Bai Zhen, whether Bai Zhen's hands were being improper while holding up her bottom, and she also had to guard against attacks from insects and branches that appeared out of nowhere. And besides, keeping her legs apart was tiring, okay?
"What is it, Young Lady?"
Her only pleasure was feeling Bai Zhen's muscles.
Even for a Sentinel, a girl was still a girl. Bai Zhen wasn't brawny like the other male Sentinels Hua Mu had seen. Her lean figure and firm muscles gave her a sense of power, but her smooth, delicate skin kept her from seeming overly cold and hard.
She had gotten quite tanned—Hua Mu hooked open the strap of her tank top and saw a very distinct tan line—but in terms of skin quality, it wasn't much different from her own, an eighteen-year-old, high-society lady who took care of her skin every day.
No, Hua Mu was starting to suspect that after more than ten days without using any skincare products, her own face had become a complete mess.
"What do you usually do?"
Bai Zhen hadn't expected Hua Mu to ask such a question and, for a moment, didn't know how to answer.
"Are you asking… about after we came to the island? I've been—"
"No, I mean before."
Bai Zhen had been Hua Mu's guard for five years. She rarely interacted with her, and even more rarely spoke about herself. After all, her job was to protect Hua Mu's safety, not to chat with her.
"I was being your guard…"
"Of course I know that!" Hua Mu patted her once, annoyed by her denseness. "I mean, what do you do when you're not working? You have days off… hey, do you have days off?"
Bai Zhen belonged to the Imperial Guard. As Hua Mu's personal guard, she had even less freedom in her work than a personal maid.
Hua Mu suddenly realized that, aside from returning to the Tower to report for duty, Bai Zhen had never been more than twenty meters away from her. Even at night, the Sentinel's quarters were the closest to her bedroom.
"I do."
But Bai Zhen said she had days off.
"When?"
How did she not know?
"One day at the end of every month."
"Isn't that the day you go back to the Tower to report?"
Hua Mu was a little angry. By that logic, did leaving her count as a day off?
Bai Zhen seemed to have a strong attachment to the Tower. "Because the Tower is like my home. When I go back, I can see the Leader and my other friends."
The Leader was the highest authority in the Tower, and also the spiritual mentor for the Sentinels and Guides. Every Leader came from the royal family, but upon becoming the Leader, they were removed from the royal registry and moved into the shadows. The Leader reported directly to the Queen; even Hua Mu had never met her.
It was said that the current Leader was also a female Sentinel.
But Hua Mu's focus wasn't on that. She asked in astonishment, as if she'd discovered a new continent, "You have friends?"
Of course Bai Zhen had friends. Whether from training together in the Tower or from the years they had served on missions together, she had made many friends who had been through life and death with her.
These were the kinds of friends you didn't need to contact often, but would forever remember in your heart.
"Mhm."
Hua Mu felt a sour taste in her mouth.
Bai Zhen actually had friends, and it seemed like she had quite a few.
She had always thought that someone as wooden, as taciturn, and as dull as her definitely wouldn't have anyone close to them!
"Th-Then you must know a lot of Guides, right? Are there Guides among your friends?"
Naturally, there were.
Although the curriculum for Sentinels and Guides was very different, they definitely had to be together for collaborative training. When carrying out missions, it was also common to have temporary partners.
"I do have a few Guide friends."
Well, well. She looks so honest and simple, but she's actually a social butterfly.
For some reason, Hua Mu looked at the back of Bai Zhen's neck and felt an urge to bite it.
"Have they ever soothed your spirit animal for you?"
The Young Lady's tone had already started to turn cold, but the Sentinel still had no idea that disaster was about to strike.
"It's happened during missions, but most of the time, it's the public Guides in the Tower who help soothe my mind."
Sentinels and Guides have a compatibility issue, so even if they were good friends, if their compatibility rating wasn't high enough, a Guide generally wouldn't help a Sentinel soothe their spirit animal unless it was an emergency.
The public Guides in the Tower were mostly experienced Guides with stable, gentle spirit animals and high levels of rapport.
Hua Mu bit her lip and couldn't resist pinching Bai Zhen's shoulder.
"Miss?"
It didn't hurt; it was barely more than a mosquito bite. But Bai Zhen didn't quite understand why she had pinched her and was thoroughly confused.
Hua Mu didn't know why she had pinched her either.
"I was just seeing how hard your muscles are."
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