SDIWD - Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Hua Mu was simply stunned!
"What did you say?"
The person who was usually as dull as a block of wood could now actually say such… such indecent words?
Bai Zhen sensed Hua Mu's anger, but didn't waver in the slightest.
"Miss, I must stay here to protect your safety."
It's not safe with you staying here!
Hua Mu subconsciously clutched the necklace around her neck.
"What danger could there be in taking a bath? The water here isn't even knee-deep. Am I going to drown?"
"But what if there are snakes or poisonous insects…"
If it were just ordinary wild animals, it would be one thing, but snakes and poisonous insects were too difficult to guard against. Bai Zhen couldn't rest easy at all if she wasn't nearby watching. She hadn't explored much of the island yet. Although the surrounding marine life and the island's vegetation currently seemed to be common tropical species, there was no telling what unknown and threatening creatures might appear.
The unknown is often the most dangerous.
"Th-then you can check the surroundings for me now."
As soon as Hua Mu heard her, she knew Bai Zhen had a point. But no matter how reasonable it was, she couldn't just not bathe, and she certainly couldn't let a Sentinel watch her bathe. Of course, under normal circumstances, there weren't many boundaries between Sentinels and Guides of the same gender, but she was different.
Hua Mu needed to remain vigilant around almost all Sentinels.
Bai Zhen was still worried. "But that's not safe either. What if, while you're bathing…"
It was the first time Hua Mu had seen her be so disobedient, and she was so angry she almost cried.
"So you just want to watch me bathe!"
She was both anxious and angry, and her shout was quite loud, even startling a few curious seabirds perched nearby into flight. As soon as the words left her mouth, Bai Zhen, who had been as expressionless as a wooden doll, showed a surprised and flustered expression for the first time, her not-so-fair face flushing bright red.
"Miss, I… I…"
She was tongue-tied and couldn't utter a single word of defense, only shaking her head frantically in her distress.
"You what, you!"
Hua Mu was actually afraid Bai Zhen would admit it. If that happened, she would be completely helpless! A delicate Guide who hadn't undergone rigorous training, was physically weak, and couldn't easily activate her suppression ring, she couldn't win against even a single finger of a Sentinel like Bai Zhen!
"I'm not…"
She did indeed want to stay, and she did indeed need to constantly monitor the Young Lady's surroundings, but she had absolutely never thought about looking at the Young Lady's na-naked body.
Bai Zhen knelt down, not daring to lift her head.
"Then go a little farther away."
"But that's too dangerous, Miss. I really won't l-look."
"But you'll still be able to hear!"
"I have to protect you…"
The two of them argued for a while with no result. Although Bai Zhen was flustered from being misunderstood, she refused to budge. Hua Mu, feeling mentally exhausted, couldn't help but feel a bit like giving up.
The two of them were on this deserted island now. If Bai Zhen really had any ideas, could she escape? Bai Zhen was almost completely obedient to her, only insisting on her own opinion when it came to her safety. The other's considerations weren't without reason, and continuing this stalemate would only waste time.
Looking at the certain Sentinel kneeling on the ground, as immovable as a mountain, Hua Mu was so angry she couldn't help but lift her foot and kick her shoulder.
"Aren't you going to go check the environment for me!"
The delicate young lady's small foot was barely a handful, and kicking the Sentinel's shoulder felt like a tickle.
Bai Zhen was overjoyed and looked up at Hua Mu. "You've agreed to let me stay and protect you?"
Could she disagree? If she disagreed, would she even get to bathe?
"You can stay here, but you must face away from me. First, check the surroundings thoroughly. I'll be careful while I'm washing, too."
This was the best compromise.
Bai Zhen thought for a moment and felt it was feasible.
"Then please rest well, Miss. I'll do the check."
Bai Zhen's inspection could be described as extremely meticulous. She felt around the water thoroughly, picking out any slightly sharp stones. The surrounding weeds were cut clean, any slightly suspicious holes were plugged up, and she even used stones to build a small pool for Hua Mu, making the water much deeper.
Seeing how deftly and diligently she worked, the bit of dissatisfaction in Hua Mu's heart gradually dissipated. She wasn't unaware that this Sentinel was dull, straightforward, and uninteresting. Although she had just called her a pervert last night, deep down, she didn't really think she had such sordid thoughts.
Of course, sometimes the things done by straightforward people were even more embarrassing.
Bai Zhen did one last careful check and only returned to Hua Mu's side after confirming there were no problems. The stream was quite full today, and the stirred-up water quickly cleared. Hua Mu looked closely at the small, decent-looking pool, and for the first time, she thought this silly oaf was actually quite considerate.
"Miss." Bai Zhen, who hadn't even been out of breath after carrying her all morning, now had some sweat on her forehead. Hua Mu saw that she seemed a bit tired and was quite puzzled.
"You… you're not tired, are you?"
Bai Zhen quickly shook her head.
Hua Mu didn't really believe she could get tired from doing so little, so she didn't think much of it.
"Alright, turn around. No peeking, or… or I'll never speak to you again."
Even Hua Mu herself found the threat laughable, but it seemed to have a powerful deterrent effect on Bai Zhen, who nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Seeing her honest expression, Hua Mu finally stopped hesitating and stepped barefoot into the water.
With her back to her, Bai Zhen finally let out a sigh of relief. For a Sentinel, physical exertion was secondary; it was removing their barriers and mobilizing all five senses that made them feel fatigued quickly.
She had been in a state of high alert for the past two days, and just now, she had mobilized all her senses to perceive the surroundings, which was already causing some discomfort.
Fortunately, the Young Lady hadn't noticed.
Bai Zhen carefully took out the Little White Pills from her pocket and swallowed them, but she couldn't help but feel a little worried. During non-mission periods, a pack of 24 Little White Pills like this could last at least a year. But during missions, Sentinels would often carry at least two packs just in case.
The last time she took one was seven days ago, but most of the consumption was from the last two days. If she continued to consume them at this rate, she was worried the remaining Little White Pills wouldn't last very long.
Completely unaware of Bai Zhen's worries, Hua Mu confirmed once more that she was standing obediently before starting to take off her dress.
Naturally, there were no clean clothes to change into, so she had to take off her dress and underwear to wash and air them out. It was just that the Young Lady had never washed clothes by herself before. After swishing them in the water a couple of times, she didn't know what to do next—of course, even if she knew what to do, there was no detergent for her to use now.
But she definitely couldn't bring herself to ask Bai Zhen for help now, so she had no choice but to toss her dress and underwear onto a nearby rock to dry.
Among the noble ladies, there were many naturalists. They would occasionally go camping at private sites, and the bolder ones would swim naked. Hua Mu was not one of them; at such times, she would mostly just watch. But today, she really couldn't be bothered with all that. Shame was ranked below hygiene.
Of course, the main reason was that she knew no one else was here besides Bai Zhen. The layered plants formed a natural barrier, and in the shadows, Hua Mu felt a bit more secure.
The smooth stones at the bottom of the stream weren't uncomfortable underfoot, but Hua Mu still didn't dare to sit down. She slowly squatted, immersing her body in the water. Although there was neither shampoo nor body wash, Hua Mu still sighed in satisfaction.
She had never gone so long without a bath.
Her originally soft and shiny platinum-blonde hair was tangled and knotted from the seawater. Hua Mu carefully washed and tended to it, finally managing to rinse out some of the salt. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her hair smooth. In the end, she could only gather it into a bundle and twist it up at the back of her head with a twig—a method one of her naturalist friends had taught her.
Compared to her hair, washing her body wasn't as difficult. Hua Mu couldn't be bothered with whether she was getting completely clean or not; she just scrubbed her body as carefully as she could, only stopping when her skin turned red.
Sunlight filtered down through the gaps in the leaves, forming mottled spots of light. Her damp, platinum-blonde hair was particularly conspicuous against the patches of light.
In the forest, besides the sounds of nature, there was only the sound of Hua Mu bathing. But soon, a slight turbulence appeared in the wind.
Suddenly, Bai Zhen spun around and rushed into the water in a few steps. From drawing her dagger to striking down a diving seabird from the air, the movements were fluid and seamless, taking only a brief moment.
Hua Mu didn't even have time to scream before she was pulled tightly into her arms.
Although Bai Zhen had learned some wilderness survival knowledge and skills, she was not a zoologist or botanist, and for a moment, she didn't recognize what species the seabird was. She struck fast, accurately, and ruthlessly. The seabird was killed in one blow and fell into the water, its blood instantly dyeing the stream red.
Hua Mu finally let out a scream.
Bai Zhen helped her up, wanting to check on her condition in a hurry.
"Miss, are you alright?"
Hua Mu, who had been held so tightly she couldn't move, was now free, and her small fists rained down on Bai Zhen's chest.
"You hooligan, you pervert!"
Unfortunately, she was too weak, and her blows landing on the full chest were like hitting cotton.
Bai Zhen didn't dare to dodge—not that she really needed to. She took the Young Lady's light blows, still only worried about whether she was hurt.
"Miss, Miss, are you… are you hurt?"
"Close your eyes and get lost—ah!"
Hua Mu was both frantic and embarrassed and tried to push Bai Zhen away, but then she looked down and saw the stream at her feet stained red, and she was so scared she jumped onto Bai Zhen.
"What is it! What is that thing!"
Everything had happened so suddenly just now that she had no idea what was going on. Who would have thought that with a glance, she'd see a large pool of blood at her feet? She couldn't suppress the fear in her heart at all.
The last time she had lost her composure like this was when she was targeted in an assassination attempt, and Bai Zhen was seriously injured protecting her.
"It's alright, Miss. It's just a seabird. It's no longer a threat." Fearing Hua Mu would fall, Bai Zhen quickly wrapped her arms around her body and comforted her, "It's already dead, look."
Hua Mu did not want to look!
She had been a pescetarian since she was fourteen. Besides seafood and vegetarian food, she ate neither poultry nor red meat, let alone look at their corpses!
"No! Get me out of here! Take me to the shore!"
She could no longer care that she was completely naked, or what kind of embarrassing position she was in with Bai Zhen. She just wanted to get out of this blood-stained pool of water as quickly as possible.
She had just gone to so much trouble to get clean!
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