In the context of the entire island, the area the two had explored was quite limited. The paths leading to the water source, the coconut grove, and the breadfruit trees had become well-trodden trails from frequent use.

Hua Mu, carrying a bamboo basket and an axe, set out to clear her head and chop some firewood while she was at it. To be honest, even she was surprised she could think of such practical matters while angry. Life truly had a way of wearing a person down.

Bai Zhen was naturally worried sick, but she didn’t dare follow, so she had Hati trail behind as a lookout. A Sentinel’s spirit animal could serve as an outpost, becoming the Sentinel’s eyes and ears. The effective range varied, from a few hundred meters up close to as far as ten kilometers.

Hati’s reconnaissance range on open plains was five or six kilometers, but this distance was significantly reduced within the jungle.

Hua Mu followed the path to the coconut grove, hacking away at things with her axe as she went. The sharp cracks and snaps actually helped her vent a lot of her frustration. She knew Hati was following from a distance, because Luna was with her.

Her anger subsided a little, and on reflection, she felt she was making a mountain out of a molehill. She had always known Bai Zhen was dense, so why was she getting so angry now? Besides, the woman had never liked anyone else and was so honest and simple. Once Hua Mu had her, she definitely wouldn’t be able to get away.

As long as Bai Zhen was completely and utterly devoted to her, then being a little dense and unromantic was fine. At least that one time… she had been very… very passionate.

Having talked herself around, she gathered her things and prepared to head back. But just as she was about to lift the basket onto her back, a grayish-brown “vine” suddenly dropped from somewhere above, landing right at her feet.

Hua Mu jumped in fright. Before she could even get a clear look at what it was, she had already stepped on it.

She felt a sharp sting on her ankle, and then something cold and slippery coiled around her calf before biting the inside of her thigh.

Hua Mu was so terrified she collapsed to the ground in an instant.

A snake!

Even though she had never touched a snake, the texture and shape left no doubt. It was a snake.

Bai Zhen had always stressed the dangers of the jungle to Hua Mu, so she never dared to venture into the woods, always sticking to the cleared paths. Bai Zhen checked the route every few days and even sprinkled insect-repelling plant powder along it, so Hua Mu had felt quite safe.

She never would have expected a snake to fall from the sky!

“Hati, go get Bai Zhen, quickly!”

Terrified and panicked, she lifted her skirt with trembling hands and tore the patterned snake from her leg. In her fright, and with no idea how to handle a snake, she was bitten twice on the hand before she finally managed to sever its body with her axe.

The snake thrashed a few times, then gradually went still.

Hua Mu could only hear her own ragged gasps, her heart pounding so violently it felt like it would leap out of her throat. The wounds on her ankle, thigh, the web of her thumb, and her wrist were painful and itchy, dripping with blood.

Staring at her wounds, Hua Mu could barely think. The single thought of death consumed her.

She was going to die!

Although she hadn’t had much experience with snakes, she knew the basics: snakes with triangular heads were venomous. This one had a triangular head, black and white scales, and a string of orange spots down its back. It was garishly colored—clearly a venomous snake.

Whether it was psychological or not, Hua Mu already felt her body grow weak, her vision darken, and her breath catch in her throat. She could even imagine the venom coursing through her bloodstream, invading her entire body.

Bitten four times, she was surely beyond saving!

“Sob… Bai Zhen…”

She had survived a shipwreck, lived miserably on a deserted island for months, endured countless humiliations, and had just begun to taste a little happiness. She hadn’t even confessed her feelings to the person she loved, and now, all because she’d been sulking, she was going to die from a snakebite!

“Bai Zhen, Bai Zhen…”

She was filled with regret. She regretted getting angry with Bai Zhen, regretted not telling her she loved her, regretted not… making love more times… Her life was about to end, so bleak and meaningless.

“Bai Zhen…”

The instant Bai Zhen sensed through Hati that something was wrong, she sprinted in Hua Mu’s direction. Pushing her body to its absolute limit, the Sentinel reached her in no more than five minutes. She found Hua Mu covering her face, calling her name, and crying her heart out.

“Miss!” Bai Zhen rushed to her side, urgently checking her injuries. “Are you all right?”

It was impossible to see a clear picture through a spirit animal, only a general sense of what was happening. But the moment she saw the dead snake on the ground, she understood.

The moment Hua Mu saw Bai Zhen, she abandoned all pretense of composure and threw herself into her arms.

“Sob… Bai Zhen, Bai Zhen… I’m going to die…”

Bai Zhen saw the wounds on her hand and, without a second thought, lifted it to her mouth to suck out the venom.

“D-don’t suck it… It’s no use. I was bitten f-four times… I’m going to die… sob…” Hua Mu was a mess of tears and snot, her image completely shattered. If only she could have a more dignified death, she would have done anything to maintain the poise and grace of a royal.

But what kind of death was this? To die meaninglessly on a deserted island, all because she was angry with Bai Zhen!

Bai Zhen sucked out a mouthful of blood and spat it aside. Though anxious, she remained calm enough to ask, “Where else were you bitten?”

Hua Mu whimpered miserably, “My foot, and… and my thigh… Bai Zhen, I’m beyond saving, I know it… sob… Don’t waste your energy. I-if you have a cut in your mouth, you’ll get poisoned too…”

Lifting her skirt, Bai Zhen reassured her, “Miss, you’re going to be fine.”

Hua Mu frantically grabbed at her, afraid this useless rescue attempt would keep her from delivering her last words.

“Bai Zhen, y-you have to listen to me… sob… I-I have something to tell you…”

As Bai Zhen lowered her head to suck the wound on her ankle, she said, “Go on. I’m listening.”

Hua Mu felt it was a futile effort but lacked the strength to stop her. She sobbed, “I-I’m going to die… After I’m dead, burn my body. It would be awful if it rotted… sob… You have to live on, live well on this island by yourself, until rescue comes… When they come, take my ashes back… Don’t tell my father and aunt I was killed by a venomous snake… Y-you have to make it sound more heroic…”

She had completely forgotten that a Sentinel couldn’t survive long on their own without Guide-hormone.

Bai Zhen spat out a few mouthfuls of blood, then moved to the wound on Hua Mu’s thigh, repeating, “You’re going to be fine.”

Bitten by a venomous snake with no antivenom available, she would eventually die even if the venom was sucked out. Hua Mu knew this. She was beyond saving, and the fact that Bai Zhen was sucking her blood was the best proof of that.

She rambled on, but ultimately, her fear that she would die without Bai Zhen ever knowing her feelings won out. Cradling the Sentinel’s head, she choked out, “B-Bai Zhen… I-I’m going to die… I have something… something I have to tell you…”

After sucking the blood from the wounds, the Sentinel gave them a quick inspection. Certain there would be no serious harm, she finally relaxed.

“Miss, you’re going to be fine…”

Bai Zhen wanted to tell her that while the paradise tree snake was venomous, it was only potent enough to kill a lizard and wasn’t fatal to humans. But Hua Mu wasn’t listening. She grabbed the Sentinel’s hand, her eyes swimming with tears as she shook her head. “You don’t have to comfort me… Bai Zhen, before I die, I just want to ask you one thing… Do you like me?”

Bai Zhen stared into her earnest, tear-filled eyes, momentarily stunned.

Seeing Bai Zhen just staring at her blankly, not saying a word, Hua Mu felt the blood rush to her head. She couldn’t believe that, on the verge of dying from poison, she was first going to die of anger at this dense Sentinel.

“Bai Zhen…”

She was about to die. Couldn’t Bai Zhen at least lie to her?

“You damn fool…” Hua Mu sobbed, hiccuping between words. “There’s a limit to how stupid one person can be… How could I have fallen for a big idiot like you… sob… This is just pathetic…”

Overcome with grief and feeling awful all over, Hua Mu mistook it for the poison taking effect. Believing she didn’t have long to live, she could no longer hide her feelings and poured out everything she had suppressed for so long.

“Miss…”

“Don’t call me that…” She tried to push Bai Zhen away, but she was weaker than a kitten. “You’re not the idiot, I am… for falling for you… My father wanted me to marry someone else, and you didn’t react at all… I wanted to run away, and you tried to talk me into going back… How could you be so heartless, so completely clueless, when a girl as wonderful as me likes you!”

Bai Zhen continued to stare at her blankly, as if she didn’t understand a word.

Hua Mu gasped, nearly fainting. It was one thing for Bai Zhen to be dense, but why wasn’t she shedding a single tear when Hua Mu was about to die?

“Aren’t you sad at all? Would you be relieved if I were gone? I… I…”

Hua Mu felt she was saying far too much for her last words. To have embarrassed herself so thoroughly right before death… she might as well let the poison hurry up and finish the job.

“I might as well just die…”

Suddenly, Bai Zhen pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Miss, you’re going to be fine. That snake’s venom isn’t very potent. Once we get back, I’ll put some herbs on the bites and you’ll be all right.”

“Even if you said you liked me now, I wouldn’t believe you. You’re just… What did you say?”

Her heart pounding, Bai Zhen held her close and repeated herself.

“That was a paradise tree snake. Its venom is very weak; the most it can kill is a lizard. I’ve already sucked out the venom, and once we get back, I’ll apply some medicine. You’ll be better in no time.”

She had expected Hua Mu to be happy to hear this, but the woman in her arms remained completely still for a long time.

“Miss?”

Bai Zhen tried to check on Hua Mu, but she seemed to have fused herself to Bai Zhen’s chest, refusing to emerge no matter what.

“Miss, what’s wrong? Are you having an allergic reaction? Miss? Miss?”

Hua Mu gripped Bai Zhen’s arm, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into and disappear.

Stop shouting. She was already a dead person. Please, treat her as a dead person. Please.