Xie Huaiye followed her gaze and looked at the vast starry river.

The heavy burden in my heart seemed to be diluted by the vast starry sky.

He let out a long sigh of relief.

I felt my tense nerves relax.

Yes, there will always be light.

He repeated it in a low voice, and also looked up.

The two sat side by side under the starry sky, by the campfire, with the sound of the waves in the background.

The previous sense of alienation has disappeared.

A silent understanding.

It flows in the quiet night.

Xie Huaiye turned his head to look at Yan Ning's profile illuminated by starlight.

"first……"

He whispered almost unconsciously.

But he swallowed the rest of his words.

Yan Ning seemed to have heard it, but also seemed not to have heard it clearly; she did not ask further.

She just quietly hugged her knees.

Her gaze extended further, as if trying to pierce the surface of the sea and look into the deeper unknown.

Perhaps, Master is watching from somewhere in that starry sky?

The emptiness she felt inside.

Before I knew it, I was warmed by the campfire and felt safe by the people around me.

I quietly filled in a small part.

The two sat on the beach for a long time.

The campfire burned out completely, leaving only faint red embers.

The sea breeze carried an even deeper chill before the two got up and went back.

Before leaving, Xie Huaiye didn't say anything, but he gave Yan Ning a deep look.

His gaze was complex, containing gratitude, appreciation, and a hint of emotion that he himself didn't fully understand.

He sensed that this fiancée, arranged by his elders, seemed to be...

Things are a little different now.

This discovery made him feel inexplicably relieved.

I was even a little happy.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

Fourteen's loud voice woke everyone up.

"Get up! Get up! Everyone, wake up!"

Yan Shisi clapped his hands, herding ducks like a herd, "The weather forecast says a typhoon might brush past us in the next couple of days!"

"We need to reinforce this little house, otherwise the roof will blow away in the wind, and we'll be left starving!"

Upon hearing about the typhoon, everyone was on high alert and quickly got up.

After a simple breakfast, Yan Shisi assigned tasks:

Everyone split up and went to the edge of the woods to look for sturdy long branches and vines, or any usable materials.

Reinforce the walls and roof of the cabin.

At the edge of the woods, everyone got busy.

Qi Minghao was strong, so he specifically chose the thickest branches to drag back.

Yan Shisi and Feng Jun were responsible for sharpening the bottom of the branches with stones.

It is easy to insert into the soil as a support.

Xie Huaiye then tried to use the vines he found to tie and reinforce the structure.

Yan Ning did the job particularly well.

During the years she lived in the Taoist temple, leaky roofs and peeling paint were common occurrences.

The master then took her along to repair and mend things.

Cutting branches, peeling bark, binding...

She can do these tasks quickly and steadily.

The movements were so fluid and graceful that even Sun Wuji, watching from the side, couldn't help but marvel.

"Sister Ning, your cooking skills are amazing! Have you practiced?"

Yan Ning smiled and didn't explain further:

“We used to do this all the time when we were in the mountains.”

Su Muyao, on the other hand, was pampered since childhood and had never done such rough work before.

The sun was shining, and the branches were prickly.

Soon after, she began to feel unwell all over.

She glanced furtively at the busy crowd and saw that no one was paying particular attention to her.

They quietly slipped away to a secluded shady spot behind the cabin.

It's a bit far from where everyone works, and you can't see the front of the hut.

"Phew... I'm exhausted."

She muttered to herself and plopped down on a relatively clean rock.

I took out my phone and started scrolling through it without a second thought.

The birdsong and insect chirps in the woods were quite pleasant.

As she scrolled through the video, she was amused by a funny video.

Sudden.

"Hiss... Heh..."

A low growl suddenly came from the bushes not far behind her!

The sound was very close and strange.

It doesn't sound like birdsong, nor like the sound of the wind.

It carried a sense of threat that sent chills down your spine.

Su Muyao's smile froze on her face, and she almost dropped her phone.

Her blood seemed to turn cold, and she turned around abruptly!

The dense bushes shook violently a few times.

The rustling of branches and leaves produced a rapid, rustling sound.

There seemed to be something quite large moving rapidly inside.

"ah!!"

Su Muyao was terrified.

She screamed and scrambled back to where everyone was working, her finger trembling as she pointed to the back of the hut:

"There's something! There's something behind me! It's making a really loud noise! ​​It scared me to death!"

Everyone was startled by her sudden scream.

They all stopped what they were doing.

Sun Wuji, carrying a thick tree branch, curled his lip indifferently:

"Miss Su, what's wrong with you again? What could be on this deserted island? Wild rabbits, maybe? Look how scared you are."

Yan Shisi frowned, thinking she was making a fuss over nothing:

"Are you sure you heard me right? What large creatures do we have on our island every day? It's probably just the sound of wind blowing through the leaves, or maybe some kind of bird?"

Qi Minghao chimed in, "Yeah, with so many of us here, no wild animal would dare come near, right?"

Xie Huaiye didn't speak, but there was a hint of doubt in his eyes.

He was more inclined to believe that Su Muyao was just making excuses to slack off.

[This Su Muyao is just trying to slack off, isn't she? Everyone was working but I didn't see her!]

[Exactly! Now she's coming out claiming there's a monster, who's going to believe her!]

It's always her! She's always so demanding but does nothing. I hate her!

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!