Yan Zheng's words had been meant well.
To him, Bai Ci was just a pampered, wealthy Young Lady NPC with zero combat capability. After surviving such a perilous pursuit the previous night, she was bound to be physically and mentally exhausted. Keeping her in the wooden cabin to rest and care for the patient was the safest, most logical choice.
But before Bai Ci could even respond to his suggestion, Violita, who was resting nearby, spoke up to object.
“That won't be necessary, Mr. Yan Zheng. I can look after myself. There is no need for anyone to stay behind specifically to care for me.”
“Let Miss Lora go with you. More hands make for lighter work, and she is very observant. She might be able to help.”
Yan Zheng clearly hadn't expected Violita to say this. He blinked in surprise, glancing at Violita's pale but resolute face, and then at Bai Ci.
Before Yan Zheng could say anything else, Bai Ci chimed in. “I'll be fine, Mr. Yan Zheng. I can go with you.”
“Besides, I want to look for more clues too. We can't just sit here and wait forever. Having one more person means we can look out for each other.”
She was here to complete the instance. Staying in the wooden cabin might seem safe, but she wouldn't be able to do anything except wait passively, which simply wasn't her style.
Seeing how determined both of them were, and remembering that many of the clues Bai Ci had shared with them had been discovered through her sharp intuition, Yan Zheng relented.
After a moment's thought, Yan Zheng nodded. “Alright, then we'll do it that way.”
“Everyone get some good rest tonight to keep your energy up. We'll set out first thing tomorrow morning. I'll take the first watch tonight.”
With the plans finalized, everyone began preparing their sleeping areas.
The cabin was small and lacked extra beds, so they gathered dry straw mats and spread them on the floor around the fireplace, setting up a makeshift communal bed.
True to his word, Yan Zheng took the first watch. Sitting on a chair near the door with his eyes half-closed, he kept a vigilant watch on the door and windows.
The others, exhausted from a long journey of running, hiding, and fighting, fell asleep almost immediately beside the warmth of the fireplace.
Lying on her straw mat, Bai Ci stared at the dancing flames in the fireplace, her mind turning over everything that had happened since they entered the instance.
Countless clues tangled together in her head, yet a clear thread remained elusive, leaving her feeling rather frustrated.
Before long, Bai Ci drifted off into a deep sleep.
She had a strange dream. In it, she stood in a bright, boundless world, and before her grew an unimaginably massive wisteria tree.
The tree's trunk was incredibly thick—she estimated it would take five or six people holding hands just to hug it. Its dark brown bark was deeply weathered, yet it stood straight and resilient, roots dug deep into the earth.
Countless wisteria branches spread out from the trunk, twisting and overlapping until they resembled a great purple cloud from afar.
As a gentle breeze swept through, petals drifted down like a shower of purple rain.
Drawn to it, Bai Ci walked closer until she stood directly beneath the giant, beautiful wisteria tree. A strange sense of intimacy welled up in her heart.
As if possessed, she stood on her tiptoes and reached out her hand, wanting to touch the soft petals.
But the moment her fingertips were about to brush against them, a blazing fire suddenly erupted from the roots of the tree, engulfing the entire wisteria in an instant.
The fire caught her completely off guard. It raged with terrifying intensity, hungrily consuming the branches, leaves, and petals.
Under the searing heat, the once-lush wisteria branches shriveled and blackened in an instant, turning into heaps of dark ash that scattered into black smoke with the slightest breeze.
The flames grew higher and brighter, illuminating the entire dreamscape.
Yet, standing beneath the tree, Bai Ci felt no urge to flee despite the danger.
She simply stood there, watching the wisteria meet its end.
She watched as the massive, resilient tree was consumed bit by bit by the fire. Its thick trunk cracked and carbonized, its once-stately form gradually collapsing until nothing remained but a pile of charred ruins.
She was still standing under the tree, enveloped by the flames.
Yet the fire was incredibly strange; it didn't burn her in the slightest. She couldn't even feel its heat.
Just then, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through her fingertips.
She jolted awake from the dream, her chest heaving as she gasped for air.
Opening her eyes, she was still in the wooden cabin. The firewood in the fireplace had burned down halfway, its dancing flames casting a warm glow over the room.
Outside, the rain continued to pour, pattering loudly against the windows. It was still the dead of night, far from dawn.
Bai Ci figured she hadn't been asleep for very long.
Though it had only been a dream, the sharp pain in her fingertips felt so real, as if it had actually happened.
She slowly raised her hand, using the faint light of the fireplace to examine her fingertips.
Her skin was smooth, with no wounds or burn marks. It was a clear reminder that the pain she felt was nothing more than an illusion.
Wisteria flowers again.
Bai Ci knew better than to dismiss it. Only a fool would treat a dream like that as just an ordinary dream.
She rubbed her fingertips together to soothe the lingering sensation.
This definitely wasn't a normal dream, but could it be some kind of premonition?
Or perhaps a replay of a past tragedy?
While her thoughts swirled, her peripheral vision caught something unusual about Violita on his straw mat nearby.
Peering through the firelight, she noticed his cheeks were flushed bright red. His breathing was rapid and heavy, and his lips parted slightly as he let out soft, pained groans. He was clearly very unwell.
Bai Ci's heart tightened. She quickly got up, crept over to Violita, and gently pressed her hand against his forehead.
He had a fever, and a very high one at that.
She didn't even need to compare it to her own temperature to know that the heat radiating from his forehead was abnormally high.
He must have caught a chill in the pouring rain last night. Combined with his already frail constitution and the exhaustion of their journey, his body had finally given out.
Remembering Marg's sacrifice and his final plea to her, Bai Ci simply couldn't bring herself to stand by and do nothing.
Without waking the others, she quietly slipped over to the corner of the cabin and retrieved the clean cloth Zhou Caiwei had given her earlier to dry her hair.
Holding the cloth, she walked to the cabin door, cracked it open slightly, and caught some of the rainwater outside to wet it.
Though the sound of the door opening was quiet, when she turned around, she met Yan Zheng's open, questioning eyes.
Rate on N.U.
