This action completely stunned Jiang Wan. Cheng Zhen wasn't much better off; she immediately stood in front of Jiang Wan, shielding her behind her, and looked warily at the tribal chieftain.
"She is not your saintess. You have mistaken her for someone else. We came to the island by accident and we will leave immediately!"
The female indigenous woman glanced at him, secretly marveling at his good physique and strong build, but she had no intention of teasing or taming him at the moment.
She looked only at Jiang Wan and said earnestly, "You are our Holy Maiden. Because of your arrival, our Divine Tree is already reviving."
Jiang Wan chuckled awkwardly, thinking: This is probably just a coincidence; she just happened to arrive when the divine tree was reviving.
She was self-aware and didn't think she could have any connection with the sacred tree.
But he took the opportunity to ask, "Is your sacred tree the Socotra Dragon Blood Tree?"
As soon as she asked the question, everyone looked at her warily.
The female leader smiled and nodded: "Yes."
Standing beside her was the woman who had just given the order to arrest them, also wearing a devout smile, as if she truly revered her as a saint.
"Because of the arrival of the saintess, the only sacred tree on our island has finally been revived."
Jiang Wan, who was originally in high spirits, was deflated by her words.
"Is there only one Socotra Dragon Blood Tree on the island?"
Perhaps due to shock and surprise, she unconsciously raised her voice several notches.
“Yes.” The female leader’s expression was very sad, but she quickly smiled. “With the Holy Maiden, we believe that the Divine Tree will surely blossom and bear fruit.”
Jiang Wan regretted it; she regretted choosing this world.
No, even if she chooses the first world, she only has thirty days. But as far as she knows, the Socotra Dragonblood Tree blooms for two months and expires in 7-8 months. So, she simply can't complete the mission!
She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling for the first time that the tree hole space was playing a joke on her.
The female leader then led the tribesmen through a ceremony to welcome the saintess, and Jiang Wan was then greeted in a luxurious grand ceremony.
Located right behind the small building, this is a unique privilege in terms of its geographical location.
For safety reasons, Jiang Wan strongly insisted that Cheng Zhen be kept behind.
The two sat facing each other on the stone bed in the darkness.
"Is this Socotra Island?" Cheng Zhen asked.
"It should be." But because of the mythical beasts from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, she wasn't so sure anymore. "It's a pity we were so unlucky. If we could get a Dragon Blood Tree, maybe we could have completed this mission."
Cheng Zhen comforted her, "If there are no dragon blood trees, there are other plants. We'll see what happens tomorrow. You've been through a lot, so you should get some sleep and rest."
Unlike her previous treatment as a prisoner, Jiang Wan was not only given clean water to bathe in, but was also treated to high-quality food. Cheng Zhen benefited from her generosity and, although he was not able to take a bath, at least he was able to fill his stomach.
In the darkness, Jiang Wan took out a bottle of water from the tree hole space, diluted the tree hole sap in it, and then used it to wash Cheng Zhen's burns.
"Um."
"But I haven't seen any plants all day; everything around me is bare."
Because of the limited lighting at night, she didn't seem to see any plants around her.
Cheng Zhen was surprised: "No, there are plants, but they grow in a very strange way. There is a kind of tree with a very thick and fleshy trunk, like a bottle, and then some thin branches on top, with many beautiful flowers growing on them."
Jiang Wan immediately knew: "You mean Socotra Desert Rose."
She breathed a sigh of relief: "Desert roses would be fine too!"
Cheng Zhen then described what he had seen during a break from the battle: "There weren't many, just a few scattered trees."
"It's alright, a few trees should be enough."
"Isn't the desert rose just a succulent plant used in landscaping? Is it really that valuable?" Cheng Zhen asked, puzzled.
Given the urgency of the situation, she stopped worrying that a rough man like him knew about desert roses.
So he explained, "Desert roses are indeed very common, but the Socotra desert rose is a unique and rare species!"
"To be precise, most of the creatures on Socotra Island are rare species in the world."
Cheng Zhen understood: "So, we must find a way to go out and wander around tomorrow. Maybe if we just dig up a random plant, we can complete our mission for this trip."
“Yes, we must find a way to get out.” Jiang Wan agreed, after all, the value of these rare and endangered species in gold coins depends on the pricing of the tree hole space.
The stone bed in the room wasn't big, only about 1.5 meters wide.
There's more than enough room for two people to sleep, but if they lie side by side, it creates an unexpected sense of ambiguity and romance.
Cheng Zhen wanted to stay in bed, but considering Jiang Wan's personality, she didn't dare to be too presumptuous, so she coughed lightly:
"I'll sleep on the floor, it's hot anyway."
The ground here is also paved with cement, so you don't feel cold even on a hot day, just like sleeping on a stone bed.
But Cheng Zhen was injured and the ground was dirty, so she couldn't bear to do it.
After hesitating for a moment, he said, "You can sleep on the bed. There's space here, it's not crowded."
In the darkness, Cheng Zhen's eyes suddenly shone brightly, as if they contained a dazzling starry sky.
He swallowed hard, then let out a heavy "hmm," and lay down on the outer side first.
Jiang Wan let out a soft sigh and lay down on the inner side as well.
The two continued chatting for a while, but the night was so dark that after relaxing, Jiang Wan became sleepy without realizing it, and she didn't even know when she fell asleep.
Cheng Zhen listened to her soft breathing and closed his eyes to rest, but remained alert to everything around him.
The next day, as soon as it was light, Jiang Wan and the others' room door was pushed open.
The woman who had captured them earlier came in and respectfully asked them to get up: "Holy Maiden, please come with us to witness the revival of the divine tree."
"Me too?" Jiang Wan instinctively wanted to refuse, because she wasn't a saintess at all, so how could she revive the divine tree?
If she goes, wouldn't that expose the truth?
Cheng Zhen, however, gave her a hint, suggesting that she go with him, as this was their only chance to leave the stone house.
Although these natives revered her as a saint and seemed to respect her greatly, in reality, their door was guarded all night, and Huodou stayed by her side every step of the way.
He was certain that if Jiang Wan refused to leave, they would kidnap her, and he, as an accessory, would likely be trapped inside, effectively imprisoned.
It would be better to agree proactively so that they can leave this place together, and then find another opportunity to dig up the plants once they're outside.
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