“Miss, we’re here.”

Bai Zhen carefully entered the cave, trying to avoid the rocks scraping Hua Mu. But Hua Mu remained clinging tightly to her for a while, seemingly unaware that they had reached their destination.

“Am I… am I dead?”

Hua Mu’s ears were ringing, and time felt like it had stretched on forever.

“We’ve arrived. You can get down now.”

Hua Mu’s heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest, and her stomach was churning. If she hadn’t already thrown up earlier, she would have certainly made a scene now.

Once the vestibular sensors in her inner ear finally calmed down, Hua Mu mustered the courage to lift her eyelids and survey her surroundings.

The cave was narrow, dark, and slightly damp. Remnants of moss and algae that hadn’t been completely scraped away clung to the rock walls. The ground was wet and uneven. Although there were signs of a simple cleanup, Hua Mu still didn’t see anywhere she could comfortably set foot.

“We’re… we’re going to take shelter here?”

“Please bear with it for now. This tropical storm will be very fierce.”

If this were the first day, Hua Mu might have been able to be fussy for another two seconds, but she no longer had that luxury.

“Alright.” She slid off Bai Zhen’s back and stood cautiously, trying her best not to touch the surrounding rock walls.

“Miss, please wait a moment. I’m going to get some things.”

Wait, was she going to leave her here alone?

“You… you go ahead…”

Hua Mu hugged her arms, feeling a little spooked, but she knew Bai Zhen must have her own plans and didn’t want to be unreasonable at a time like this. It had been a long time since she had seen the Sentinel so tense—this must be a storm of considerable magnitude.

Bai Zhen didn’t say much more, simply flipping herself over and jumping down from the cave entrance.

Startled, Hua Mu quickly poked her head out to check, only to see the Sentinel had already landed lightly on the sand.

Textbooks must be full of lies, she thought. They must have made up those stories just to make ordinary people accept Sentinels and Guides!

How could this level of physical fitness be the same as an ordinary person’s!

Hua Mu breathed a sigh of relief after confirming Bai Zhen was safe, then realized her own posture perfectly matched the description of someone with a fear of falling. The shock nearly made her tumble right then and there, her legs giving way as she knelt at the mouth of the cave.

Damn Sentinel! Her dress that she had just washed yesterday! Her knees! Her hands!

Hua Mu closed her eyes and shakily crawled a few steps inward. Only after the dizziness passed did she slowly use the rock wall to pull herself up.

She would definitely settle this score with Bai Zhen, along with all the previous ones!

The Sentinel had already returned by this time, shoving all the things they had brought with them into the cave before quickly heading out again.

Hua Mu didn’t know what she was going to do, but seeing the pile of things in disarray, she couldn’t help but start organizing them.

Six ripe breadfruits, six bottles of fresh water, and several bamboo tubes containing salt and spices.

Hua Mu took some of the spices and sprinkled them around without a second thought, hoping it would help repel snakes, insects, rats, and ants.

Bai Zhen made five or six trips back and forth, bringing back a considerable amount of sand, banana leaves, palm bark, and firewood. By the time she left the cave again, a torrential downpour had already begun.

Hua Mu found that she somehow knew what Bai Zhen intended to do with these items. Without waiting for instructions, she began to arrange them on her own. When people are nervous, they need to do something to distract themselves, and she was very nervous right now.

Bai Zhen had brought back a lot of sand from the beach. Hua Mu used a branch with leaves still on it to sweep the sand out, spreading it evenly across the ground. The fine white sand immediately made the cave feel more comfortable, and the dampness was no longer as noticeable.

Hua Mu was very satisfied with her work, but the fact that Bai Zhen hadn’t returned yet was a little distracting. She glanced outside, but all she could see was a curtain of water, forcing her to focus her energy back on tidying the cave.

The widest part of the cave, at the very back, was nearly two meters across. Hua Mu laid down palm bark and banana leaves, finally creating a place where they could sit.

The rain outside grew heavier, the wind howled, thunder boomed, and the temperature dropped noticeably. Listening to the sounds of the storm, Hua Mu gradually began to feel anxious and worried.

She frequently peered outside, but she couldn’t see anything beyond the heavy rain. She tried to shout, but her calls were quickly drowned out by the sound of the downpour.

Of course, Bai Zhen would be fine.

Hua Mu kept comforting herself with this thought, but amidst her worry, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of resentment toward the Sentinel.

Why was she always like this? So careless with her own safety.

Time ticked by, second by second. Hua Mu sat in the corner, hugging her legs, her heart burning with anxiety.

Maybe, maybe she should go out and look for Bai Zhen. What if that big idiot had been knocked unconscious by a wave?

But she couldn’t get down!

No, no, no, since the Sentinel could jump down, if she removed her inhibitor, she might even be able to fly! After all, her spirit animal was a unicorn with wings. If Mary could fly, there was no reason she couldn’t!

No, no, that was just a novel!

Hua Mu felt her logic was starting to go awry, but her hand still slowly moved to her necklace.

If something happened to the Sentinel, she would be completely helpless here. So, so ensuring Bai Zhen’s safety was also very necessary!

Just as Hua Mu’s hand was about to press the switch on her necklace, a soaking wet head poked into the cave.

“Ah!”

In the dim light, Hua Mu couldn’t immediately see who it was and was so startled she nearly jumped up from the ground.

“Miss, it’s me. I’m back.”

Bai Zhen was drenched from head to toe. Her slightly long bangs were plastered messily to her forehead, making her look somewhat disheveled.

“What took you so long!”

Hua Mu had been scared to death by her!

Bai Zhen opened the wet jacket she was holding, revealing several cleaned fish lying inside.

“You can’t just eat breadfruit…”

Hua Mu felt a mix of heartache, anger, and lingering fear. Her small fists began to rain down on Bai Zhen’s body.

“Are you stupid? You won’t starve to death from not eating fish for one day! Going out to catch fish in this weather, do you have a death wish?!”

Bai Zhen took the blows, but there was a smile on her face.

“M-Miss, I didn’t go into the sea. These were washed ashore by the waves. I just picked them up.”

“You’re not allowed to pick them up either!”

Hua Mu was furious. Hitting her didn’t hurt her, but her own hands were starting to ache.

“Then I won’t pick them up next time…”

“There’s a next time?!”

Hua Mu stomped her foot and sat down in the corner to sulk.

Bai Zhen stood there, hunched over, looking quite at a loss. Although the highest point of the cave ceiling was two meters, most of it was under 1.8 meters, so she had to bend over to move around.

“Miss…”

Hua Mu felt suffocated. Hearing her voice was suffocating, and seeing her face was even more so!

“Shut up,” Hua Mu said, looking at the Sentinel’s soaking wet clothes, annoyed. “Aren’t you going to start a fire?”

The temperature was now only around twenty degrees Celsius, and with the wind and rain, it was far from warm. Hua Mu hadn’t felt cold before, preoccupied with worrying about Bai Zhen, but now, seeing her looking like a drowned rat, she couldn’t help but feel a chill herself.

Starting a fire in a small cave carried certain risks. Fortunately, Bai Zhen had deliberately chosen a relatively well-ventilated cave, which not only ensured that any miasma wouldn’t accumulate but also prevented carbon monoxide or even carbon dioxide poisoning from the fire.

“Yes, Miss!”

As long as Hua Mu was willing to speak to her, no matter how harsh her tone, Bai Zhen felt it was a kind of happiness.

Ecological succession in a tropical rainforest is extremely rapid. Due to the high temperature and humidity, dead plants are usually decomposed quickly by microorganisms, making it difficult to find dry branches and fallen leaves.

The firewood Bai Zhen had collected, aside from some driftwood from the beach, consisted mostly of recently broken branches. Coupled with the damp environment, this undoubtedly made starting a fire more difficult. Fortunately, she had intentionally broken off branches rich in resin. Using the resin and some palm bark, she slowly managed to get a fire going.

A cave, after all, was not a wide-open space, and a wood fire inevitably produced some smoke. Bai Zhen choked on a few mouthfuls, coughing incessantly. Her eyes watered, and her voice grew hoarse, yet she remained crouched by the fire, piling on more wood.

The most direct result of the firewood not being dry enough was thick smoke. She had to break the branches and pile them near the fire to dry them out before use.

Hua Mu couldn’t bear to watch any longer. She picked up a banana leaf and went over to fan the smoke outwards.

“Are you stupid? Why are you putting your mouth so close to blow on it? Can’t you just roll up a banana leaf?”

Bai Zhen turned her head to wipe her eyes and reached for the leaf in Hua Mu’s hand.

“Let me do it, Miss. Don’t let the smoke get to you.”

Hua Mu slapped her hand away. “This was my idea, don’t move. Go take off your pants and let them dry. Aren’t you uncomfortable?”

The cave entrance was sheltered from the wind and shielded by plants, so not much rain was splashing in. With the fire, the temperature inside the cave quickly rose, and the humidity decreased.

Bai Zhen really couldn’t let Hua Mu do these things, but she didn’t dare disobey her command. Caught in a dilemma, she simply froze, not reacting for a long time.

Hua Mu turned to see her unresponsive and couldn’t resist poking the wound on her shoulder with her finger. “Aren’t you going? Are you waiting for me to hit you?”

Hua Mu poked the wound, but her touch was very light.

“I-I’ll go right away.”

Bai Zhen hurriedly stood up, and not paying attention, she bumped her head on the rock ceiling. The sound made Hua Mu’s own head ache. Seeing that Bai Zhen paid it no mind and hastily unbuckled her belt, the word “eager” somehow popped into her mind.

No, no, no, it’s not like they were going to do anything, what was there to be eager about! It was all Bai Zhen’s fault for reacting in such a misleading way!

Hua Mu turned her head away, her face blushing, but the image of the Sentinel’s straight, powerful legs lingered in her mind.

She’d… she’d seen them so many times, what was there to think about!

Bai Zhen took off her trousers and hung them on the firewood nearby, then squatted down to take over for Hua Mu.

“Miss, let me do it. You go rest.”

Hua Mu didn’t argue with her. She handed her the banana leaf and started to walk back, but halfway there, she turned around again.

“Miss?”

Bai Zhen had only fanned the fire twice when she felt a small hand rummaging through her hair. She tensed up, not daring to move.

Hua Mu fumbled in her damp hair for a moment, then asked strangely, “Why isn’t there a bump?”

“Huh?” Only then did Bai Zhen realize the Young Lady was checking her injury, and she was moved beyond words. “I’m fine, Miss. A little bump like that is nothing.”

“Oh…” Hua Mu replied, but her hand still didn’t leave Bai Zhen’s hair.

This Sentinel’s head shape was just too perfect, wasn’t it? How could it look so good even from above? And what kind of hair was this? Her own hair had become impossible to comb through after days without shampoo, so how was Bai Zhen’s still so smooth?

Bai Zhen didn’t know what Hua Mu was doing, and she didn’t dare to ask or move, so she could only hang her head and let her playfully tousle her hair.

After she had her fill of touching, Hua Mu patted her hands and said, “Your head is really hard. Don’t go breaking our temporary ceiling.”

Hearing this, Bai Zhen became quite nervous. She stood up and very seriously examined the rock above. “It… it shouldn’t be broken, right?”

Hua Mu was no longer angry. She rolled her eyes in the most unladylike way she ever had in her life.

The temporary ceiling wasn’t broken, but this head of hers was broken from the start!