Yan Zheng was on watch, so he was naturally alert.
Bai Ci wrung out the excess water from the cloth, placed it on Violita's forehead, and then walked over to sit beside Yan Zheng.
Lowering her voice, she whispered, “Mr. Yan Zheng, Mr. Violita has a fever, a very high one. I've put a wet cloth on his forehead. You got to the cabin earlier than us—do you know if there are any medicines here?”
Bai Ci felt a wave of worry. Violita's constitution was already fragile. After running around all night, he now had a high fever. Without medicine, it would be difficult for him to pull through.
Hearing this, Yan Zheng stood up, walked over to Violita, and reached out to feel his forehead. “He really is burning up. There's no medicine here, so we can only rely on physical cooling to give him some temporary relief.”
He turned back to Bai Ci. “Leave the caretaking to me. Since I'm on watch tonight anyway, I can keep an eye on him.”
“You've had a tiring day. Go back to sleep and recover your strength. Tomorrow, we still need to go to the surveying station to look for clues.”
Bai Ci hesitated. “But...”
But as a combatant, preserving his physical strength was logically more important than her own state.
Besides, she was the one who had promised Marg, and she was the one who had been protected. Yan Zheng didn't owe Marg anything; he had no obligation to care for him.
“No buts,” Yan Zheng interrupted, his tone firm. “The most important thing for you right now is to get some proper rest.”
Before going to sleep, he and Arbiter had quietly exchanged information, which included the trainmaster's special treatment of this Lora. With a little thought, it was obvious she was an important NPC.
She was a rare creature; if anything happened to her, they might not be able to get the true ending.
As for staying up late, that was nothing. Which modern person hadn't pulled an all-nighter? He was well-accustomed to this little amount of sleep.
Seeing the determination in Yan Zheng's eyes, Bai Ci knew there was no point in insisting, so she could only nod.
“Alright, thank you, Mr. Yan Zheng. If you need my help with anything, wake me up anytime.”
After doing all this, she sat by Violita's side for a while. She didn't fall into a deep sleep, opening her eyes every now and then to change the damp cloth on his forehead.
Having said that, she eventually turned back to her own bedding and lay down again.
Worrying wouldn't help.
In these desolate mountains, without medicine, physical cooling was the only option. Whether his fever would break depended entirely on Violita's own constitution.
Now that someone had taken over the care, Bai Ci let go of some of her worries. Coupled with the energy she had expended during the rainy night, her body was already extremely exhausted.
And so, she quickly fell asleep.
This time, she had no more strange dreams, sleeping peacefully until dawn.
The next morning, Bai Ci was awakened by a faint sound.
She slowly opened her eyes and found that it was already light. Although the rain outside hadn't completely stopped, it had lessened significantly, turning into a light, pattering drizzle.
The fire in the fireplace was still burning, though the flames were smaller than last night, still radiating a warm glow.
Bai Ci sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes, and instinctively looked in Violita's direction, only to find his straw mat empty.
She looked around the room, taking in what everyone else was doing.
Yan Zheng was standing by the wooden table, kneading dough quite skillfully. Beside him were two large bowls covered with cloths—likely breakfast and the rations they would need for the road.
The cabin door was open, and Zhou Caiwei was coming and going. Adhering to the principle of carrying small loads frequently, she brought in three or four pieces of chopped firewood with each trip.
She was humming a tuneless little melody. Noticing Bai Ci watching her, she set the firewood down by the fireplace, gave a warm wave, and happily went back outside.
Arbiter was sleeping deeply, occasionally mumbling unintelligible words.
Clearly, she had been utterly exhausted yesterday; even though it was daylight, there was no sign of her waking up.
Finally, scanning the room once more, Bai Ci spotted Violita's figure by the window.
Violita was already awake. He was sitting on a stool by the window, leaning against the wall, quietly gazing at the rainy scenery outside, lost in thought.
His face was still very pale, devoid of any color, and his lips were the same. He still looked extremely weak, but fortunately, his fever seemed to have broken.
Perhaps sensing Bai Ci's gaze, Violita slowly turned his head to look at her.
Their eyes met, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, forming a very faint smile.
“Thank you...”
he said softly, his voice low and raspy.
At this point, likely because he had inhaled the cold air when he spoke, he coughed uncontrollably a few times.
Last night's high fever had drained almost all of his remaining strength; even coughing seemed a struggle now.
Bai Ci quickly walked over. As she neared the window, a gust of cold mountain wind blew in through the open crack, making her instinctively pull her clothes tighter around herself.
Morning in the mountains was chilly, and even more so on a rainy day.
“Mr. Violita, your body is still very weak. You shouldn't be sitting in the draft like this,” Bai Ci said with concern, reaching out to support his arm.
“Move further inside so you don't catch a cold.”
Violita shook his head slightly, showing a touch of stubbornness. “It is fine. I asked to sit here myself. The wind helps clear my head.”
He paused, and as if sensing that the worry in Bai Ci's eyes hadn't faded, he softened his tone and added, “I know my limits and won't push myself. I will close the window in a bit.”
Since Violita had put it that way, what else could Bai Ci say?
She wasn't his nanny; there was no need to fuss so much. Since he said he knew his limits, she would take him at his word.
Besides, although they hadn't known each other long, Bai Ci felt she had grasped a bit of Violita's character. He wasn't the type to lack self-awareness and only cause trouble for others.
Bai Ci dragged a new stool over and sat down beside him, keeping him company in the breeze.
Aside from being a little cold, she had to admit the mountain air was incredibly fresh. The breeze woke her up completely, and her morning grogginess quickly vanished.
Violita seemed to deliberately want to break the brief silence. He took the initiative to start a conversation, pointing a finger at a spot not far outside the window.
He asked, “Look over there. What do you think that is?”
Bai Ci looked in the direction he pointed and saw a dark hollow down the slope not far from the cabin.
Due to the angle, she could only faintly see that the walls of the pit were deep black from the window. As for how deep it was or what it looked like inside, she couldn't tell at all.
She could only see that the outline of the pit was roughly circular, half-hidden by the surrounding weeds.
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