It rained all night on the island. The clouds finally dispersed and the rain stopped in the early morning of the second day. Hua Mu, utterly exhausted, fell asleep and caught up on some much-needed rest, only to wake again at noon from hunger.

For a moment, she was dazed, having lost all track of time. Only the ache in her back and waist registered as a direct, physical reality.

Was it the third day or the fourth? Or was it already the fifth?

She had almost no memory of doing anything else, only that she seemed to have never gotten off Bai Zhen.

Wasn’t this terrifying? Which fraud of a Guide had said she didn’t have a binding heat? If this addictive feeling wasn’t because of the binding heat, was it trying to say this was just her true nature?

She was not that kind of person!

“Bai Zhen…” She heard her own voice, a little low and hoarse. She even shamelessly thought it sounded somewhat sexy—though it was a bit uncomfortable.

The Sentinel was rarely so unguarded. She hugged Hua Mu and nuzzled against her, not opening her eyes immediately.

“Hmm?”

“I’m hungry…”

Bai Zhen didn’t seem fully awake yet. She gripped Hua Mu’s waist, rolled over, and had her sit on her hips, looking as if she was about to feed her.

Hua Mu let out a small cry. The tacit understanding built over the past few days and nights allowed her to immediately grasp the other’s intention.

“W-wait, Bai Zhen…” She patted the Sentinel’s shoulder with her small hands, explaining with a blush, “I’m r-really hungry. My stomach is hungry. I want to eat… real food.”

Bai Zhen’s eyes flew open, and she quickly sat up, holding Hua Mu.

“S-sorry, Miss…”

It wasn’t really something to apologize for. In fact, she was the one who had caused the misunderstanding in the first place.

Hua Mu cleared her throat. “Let’s have lunch first.”

“Okay, I-I’ll go boil some more water first.”

Bai Zhen seemed a little ashamed of her reaction. After gently placing Hua Mu on the bed, she fumbled around looking for her clothes.

Hua Mu found her so adorable that she couldn’t help but pull her hand over and kiss it.

“Miss…”

The Sentinel shuddered, her dark eyes looking over, shining brightly.

Hua Mu’s heart pounded. She was on the verge of making the same mistake again. Fortunately, the discomfort in her body made her pull back from the brink just in time.

“You go on. I’ll get up in a bit.”

Bai Zhen sensed her unspoken trouble and asked with concern, “Is your back sore again? I’ll give you another massage later.”

“Alright…”

Watching the Sentinel leave reluctantly, Hua Mu clutched her jacket and nearly started rolling around on the bed.

She and Bai Zhen had bonded! Although she couldn’t quite accept the level of embarrassment from a mental bond yet, a physical bond was irreversible! Even if they returned to the empire, she wouldn’t have to fear being separated from Bai Zhen again.

“Ouch…”

In her excitement, she accidentally twisted her waist, and the aftereffects of overindulgence immediately made her cry out.

More incredible to Hua Mu than her own unrestrained, desire-addled mind was Bai Zhen, who had gone wild right alongside her. She knew that after a physical bond, neither Sentinel nor Guide would have uncontrollable binding heat impulses anymore. She had originally thought someone as self-restrained as Bai Zhen would surely get up properly the next day, ignore her seductions, and make all sorts of excuses.

The result was completely beyond her imagination.

Hua Mu covered her face. Even now, her mind was still full of the Sentinel’s alluring body, dazed expression, and unrestrained movements.

It was amazing!

She was a treasure. She had set her sights on a great treasure.

Although the binding heat was no longer uncontrollable after the physical bond, the pleasure it produced was even more wonderful. There wasn’t a single part of their bodies that wasn’t a perfect fit, and their respective spirit animals were also in optimal condition. Hua Mu truly tasted the flavor of being perfectly blended as one.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have even forgotten about eating!

Speaking of which, it was all Bai Zhen’s fault. If it weren’t for her extraordinary stamina, reckless energy, and endearing nature, would she herself have been seduced to this extent?

Moreover, this Sentinel had no idea what moderation was. Relying on her excellent physical condition, she never stopped on her own, and Hua Mu had to be the one to pull the reins—it was too much! She clearly didn’t want to take on such a job at all!

But whether she wanted to or not, she had to. Today was the limit; otherwise, her back would really break.

At the doorway, Bai Zhen found a small auklet. It looked like it had been dead for more than half a day. She initially thought it had fallen there because of last night’s wind and rain, but when she saw the wounds on its body, she realized it was a gift from Emergency Rations.

It was no longer edible. Bai Zhen was a little touched and also found it a bit of a pity. After giving the auklet a proper burial, she decided to give Emergency Rations a return gift in the afternoon. She put some water on to boil and prepared to make her specialty, breadfruit paste. She would add some honey and coconut milk to make it light and sweet, which was most suitable for the two of them at the moment.

For the past few days, aside from eating, bathing, and taking care of physiological needs, the two had spent almost all their time having sex. This had also led to the current state of chaos everywhere.

Bai Zhen deftly tidied up a bit, planning to go get some necessities in the afternoon. There was no shortage of firewood, as there were plenty of leftover scraps from building the wooden cabin. The main concern was food.

It had rained last night, so there should be plenty of fungi and ferns to pick today. She would also go to the seaside to catch some seafood and make a good meal tonight to help the Young Lady recuperate.

The fruit paste was simmering on low heat, and the hot water came to a boil first. Bai Zhen mixed it into warm water and brought it into the room. Hua Mu had already put on her underwear.

The two had been naked in front of each other for several days, but now they felt a little shy.

Bai Zhen placed the basin of water by the bed and wrung out a towel to wipe her body.

“I’ll do it myself…”

Hua Mu was a little embarrassed—mainly because she had just checked herself and found marks everywhere, each one capable of evoking memories so shameful they made her want to scream.

Bai Zhen gently blocked her hand. “Let me help you.”

Alright, Hua Mu was actually quite happy to be idle, since her arms were also sore.

“Then you’re not allowed to look wherever you want.”

Pretending to be reserved after the fact seemed a bit pretentious, but not saying it made Hua Mu feel a little guilty. This time she must have been exposed, her mind completely filled with thoughts of sex.

The Sentinel gave a shy, bashful smile and nodded seriously.

Hua Mu looked at her speechlessly, finding it hard to believe that the person before her was the same one from the past few days.

After they managed to clean up, the fruit paste had also been cooked until it was soft and thick. Hua Mu’s arms were too sore to lift, so Bai Zhen held her on her lap, feeding her spoonful by spoonful after blowing on it to cool it down, as if she were a little girl.

Although the two had done basically everything over the past few days, Hua Mu’s face still flushed and her heart raced at this posture and the Sentinel’s thoughtfulness. To prevent the other from discovering her arousal, she decided to find a topic to distract her.

“I haven’t seen Emergency Rations today. Hasn’t he come back?”

While carefully feeding her, Bai Zhen smiled and said, “He’s sleeping in a tree outside. He was probably disturbed by the noise the last two days. I found his gift at the door just now. He probably thought we didn’t have any food since we didn’t feed him.”

The Sentinel said it so naturally, but Hua Mu nearly bit her tongue. She had been so loud that even the cat was scared to come back? Just how loud had she been?

“Ahem, w-well, at least the little thing has a conscience…”

The Young Lady decided to ignore the fact she had just realized.

“But we really are running low on food. I was thinking of going to the seaside this afternoon and picking some mushrooms and wild vegetables on the way back.”

The two of them had been idly consuming their resources, which was, frankly, a little embarrassing.

“If you’re going, then go…” Hua Mu muttered, then quickly added, “Then I’ll go too.”

“Can you? Aren’t your back and legs still very sore?”

It wasn’t just her back and legs; she was sore all over. But the more sore she was, the less she could lie around. The proper solution was to get up, walk around, and exercise. Everything had fallen into place, and she didn’t want to end up unable to do anything because of a difference in stamina.

“Aiya, of course I can… If it really gets too much, I still have you, don’t I? You can just carry me on your back.”

Of course, there was nothing wrong with that. Bai Zhen was now even more instinctively attached to Hua Mu and naturally wanted to be with her at all times.

“Then if you feel uncomfortable, tell me right away.”

“Alright…”

Who was to blame for her discomfort! Wasn’t it this impossibly reckless Sentinel?

Ah, of course, that wasn’t to say she disliked it. She didn’t dislike it at all.

The two finished their lunch, acting all lovey-dovey, then packed up and set off for the seaside. For once, Hua Mu spent the entire journey clinging to Bai Zhen’s back, without a single thought of being self-reliant. Anyway, she had been a human pendant for the past few days, so she was practically an expert at it.

And in the process of being a backpack pendant, Hua Mu discovered something.

The Sentinel’s physical abilities seemed to have improved even more.

Because Bai Zhen’s physical abilities had already been so good that Hua Mu found them incredible, it wasn’t actually that easy to distinguish the difference, but Hua Mu just had this feeling.

It was less something she saw and more something she felt.

The Sentinel of the past undoubtedly possessed great strength, agile speed, and keen senses, and she maintained a soldier’s vigilance at all times. That was naturally her professional habit, but it had also invisibly put some pressure on Hua Mu.

Now, it was different.

Bai Zhen gave Hua Mu a very relaxed feeling. Running through the jungle with her on her back, she even had an air of easy, comfortable, and effortless composure. But it was by no means a lapse of getting carried away; rather, it was because she had unconsciously grasped the entire surrounding situation and had absolute confidence in her ability to handle any sudden event.

Hua Mu felt as if she were about to fly, and she couldn’t feel any bumps at all.

This was… too unfair!

She was half-dead from exhaustion because of the past few days, and her legs would tremble if she tried to stand, so what was with this Sentinel? What was with her being so high-spirited, radiant, and full of energy!

Hua Mu was so angry she slapped Bai Zhen’s back hard.

“Miss?”

The Sentinel didn’t understand and thought Hua Mu had an order for her.

“Aren’t you tired?”

Could it be that she alone wasn’t enough to satisfy this person!

“Eh? Not at all. I feel great.”

Unlike Hua Mu, Bai Zhen, surprisingly, hadn’t noticed the changes in her own body. Although she wasn’t unaware that a Sentinel and Guide’s first bonding could very well bring a quantum leap to both their bodies and minds, and she fully understood what an outstanding Guide Hua Mu was, her mind was so filled with the joy of her first experience of love that she hadn’t thought in that direction for a moment.

Even now, she still thought Hua Mu was just concerned about her. She carefully assessed her body’s condition—it was in astonishingly good shape.

In fact, she had never felt so good.