Chapter 80 Fever that won't go down, cold water to wipe the body.
In the middle of the night, no... perhaps in the early hours of the morning? Or maybe the next day.
Shen Mi opened his eyes slightly, unable to tell if it was night or day. No, this was a tree hole. Could you see the sky from inside a tree hole?
Shen Mi leaned against the rough wooden board, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier. She felt as if her brain was soaking in lukewarm water, dizzy and her thoughts were becoming sluggish.
Her breathing became heavy and sluggish, as if she were passing through a thick fog. She instinctively tried to move, but found her body terribly sluggish; even the slightest tremor of her fingertips required great effort. Everything was black before her eyes, yet her mind was filled with a blinding, glaring light that stung even with her eyes closed.
...Are you too tired?
She was thinking vaguely, her consciousness almost being evaporated by the inexplicable heat. Her forehead was burning, her skin clung to the damp fabric, and the original coolness had long been turned into a suffocating heat by the rising heat inside.
She didn't know she had a fever. When she turned over, she let out a soft groan, her voice thick and sticky like glutinous rice paste.
"It's so cold..." she murmured dazedly, her voice so low it was almost inaudible.
The person next to her shifted slightly, seemingly noticing her unusual behavior.
But Chen Mi didn't have the strength to look. She could only shrink her body in a daze, as if she had fallen into a heavy and boundless dream. In the dream, everything was like being enveloped in water mist, sinking little by little, and even her consciousness was gradually slipping out of her control.
【Host……】
[Host...are you there?]
Shen Mi opened his eyes groggily.
Before her was a dazzling white space. Chen Mi shielded her eyes from the light with her palm until they adjusted. She looked around, wondering where the sound was coming from.
"System, is that you speaking?"
[This is my host.]
Where are you?
"I'm right beside you." The voice was calm, yet carried a distant echo, as if it traveled into her mind through a thick layer of water.
Shen Mi spun around, but all around her was still pure white, without even a shadow. Her heart sank, and she suddenly felt an inexplicable panic, as if she had been detached from her body and was floating in the void.
"I...I wasn't with Blade?" Her throat tightened, and her voice was so soft it seemed to drift away on the wind.
[Host, this is the system's secure space. I have forcibly pulled your consciousness into it.]
"A safe space?" Shen Mi was stunned for a moment. He raised his hand and found that even his palm seemed to be transparent, like a soul in a movie. With a slight movement, it created a strange ripple in the air.
[Your body temperature is too high, nearing the danger threshold.] The voice paused, [It was precisely because your physiological functions were nearing their limit that I was forcibly "awakened."]
Chen Mi's heart sank: "Approaching the limit... what does that mean?"
This means that without human intervention, you are on the path to death.
These few words, like a muffled thunderclap, exploded in the white void.
Before she could ask further, the system abruptly added: "Host, time is limited, so listen carefully to what I have to say."
The system, seemingly able to glimpse everything happening in the real world, breathed a sigh of relief. Its tone suddenly softened, no longer as heavy as when it spoke of "death": [...Host, you will be alright. I am numbered...]
The following words, however, seemed to be interrupted, the sound waves shattering and breaking: "[Before this, I had...restarted...times, failed...times. The final process of the last restart, Immortal Boat·Luofu—Host XXX died, Danheng...30%...Jingyuan...10%...]"
Shen Mi's pupils constricted sharply, his fingers clenching in vain in the air: "Wait! What did you just say? What failure? Who died? Say it again!"
However, all she received in response was a distorted noise like an electric current, and the cold mechanical sound was gradually cut off, as if someone was forcibly cutting off the signal.
The world is gradually collapsing... Please complete the walkthrough and save them...
The system's voice was intermittent, as if it were being deliberately muted.
Shen Mi's unease grew, and she emphasized loudly again, "What do you mean by 'system'? I can't hear what you're saying."
Listen carefully and remember—
"System! System!!"
She shouted with all her might, but her voice seemed to be intercepted, disappearing without a trace as soon as it came out. The white light began to peel away, and cracks gradually filled her vision, as if the entire space was collapsing.
In the last instant, she only caught two fragmented words:
【--save……】
With a sudden crash, everything went completely dark before Chen Mi's eyes.
Then, it felt as if an invisible hand was forcefully tearing her soul back into her body. The violent blows, like an iron hammer, pounded into her, forcing her soul back into her shell and causing her internal organs to churn. The next second, her vision collapsed into boundless darkness. Before she could even utter a groan, she silently fainted.
*
The wind howled outside, rustling through the bushes as it swept across the tree hollow. Inside, however, it was eerily quiet, save for the dripping water droplets from the two people's wet clothes, which landed on the withered leaves, creating a gentle, cool splash.
Ren sat quietly, his eyes, which had been slightly closed, slowly opened, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. The low groan was so soft, yet it still startled him.
He lowered his eyes and looked at the person beside him.
Chen Mi curled up on the wooden board, his breathing shallow and rapid, his brow furrowed slightly, as if disturbed in a dream. The words "So cold..." still echoed in his ears, as faint as a mosquito's buzz, yet they struck his heart dully.
He reached out and lightly touched her neck with his fingertips. Instantly, an astonishing heat surged onto his fingertips.
—It's so hot.
His eyes suddenly darkened, and a hint of surprise flashed through his mind. Having not felt the warmth of a living person for so long, he almost doubted whether it was his imagination.
To confirm, he reached down to her neck again, his fingertips gently touching her delicate skin.
It was still burning hot, as if a flame was burning inside her, so hot it was heart-stopping.
Her body temperature was no longer simply elevated, but sickly burning, as if it were about to devour her frail body bit by bit.
Blade didn't make a sound, but slowly withdrew his hand, his eyes fixed on the front, as if recalling how he had dealt with fevers in the past.
In short, her soaked clothes were the biggest threat. She needed to cool down as soon as possible, otherwise she might not make it through the night.
Let's take her coat off first...
Ren slowly bent down, his fingertips sliding down her shoulder to her arm. The fabric was soaked and clung tightly to her skin, even the wrinkles were stuck together. He had to use force to peel the wet cloth off her body.
His fingertips inevitably touched that delicate skin, so hot it felt like it could burn his hand. The contrast between the cold and the hot sensations made Ren's breath catch in his throat, and he gasped.
It's so hot.
Shen Mi's coat was finally completely ripped off. He shook off the lingering warmth from his palms, found the clothes he had left there earlier, and gently spread them out to cover Shen Mi. He let out a soft breath, groped in the dark to find the stack of clean strips of cloth, untied the wooden planks binding his legs, stood up and moved around a bit. Seeing that everything was alright, he left the tree hole along the passage he had climbed in through, his movements as swift as a phantom disappearing into the night.
A cold, damp wind swept over him, soaking his clothes which were already half-dry before becoming drenched again. His boots sank into the mud with a dull, sucking sound. Blade carried the bucket silently through the jungle until he reached the stream again. The water was icy cold. He soaked the cloth strips in his hands, wrung them until they were half-damp, and trickled water down his fingers, splashing onto the ground with countless soft sounds.
He turned back to the tree hollow; the light had gone out, and darkness engulfed everything. He bent down and groped, touching her burning forehead. He gently turned her body over, letting her lie face down on the wooden board.
The curves of her back were faintly visible beneath the damp fabric and in his palm; her skin was as warm as jade just taken from a furnace. He lowered his gaze, his fingertips trembling slightly before regaining his composure. He gripped the cold strip of cloth tightly and gently wiped her shoulder blades.
The icy touch instantly replaced the burning sensation, and her body trembled slightly, as if she was unconsciously trying to avoid it. However, due to exhaustion, she could only let out a soft, hoarse gasp.
Blade's Adam's apple bobbed, his breathing became heavy in his throat, yet it still moved inch by inch down, from his shoulders and neck, his spine, to his lower back, every inch of his skin radiating heat. The strip of cloth was damp and cold in his palm, but it seemed unable to stop the heat emanating from her body.
He covered her back with his clothes, re-soaked the strips of cloth, and then gently wiped her arms, from her fingertips and wrists down to her forearms.
Next came her legs. As the strip of cloth gently brushed past her knees, a very soft murmur escaped her throat, a helpless tremor, like a feather brushing against the deepest darkness in her heart.
His fingers tightened instantly, his knuckles turning slightly white, carefully avoiding the vital parts. But the light in the tree hole was as low as a black hole, swallowing all light. His right hand first groped in front, and after confirming it was safe, he gently wiped. Whether it was because his mind was wandering or because wiping Chen Mi's body in the dark was really hard, large beads of sweat slid down his forehead and landed silently on the cloth strip.
After gently wiping one leg, Ren breathed a sigh of relief as if a burden had been lifted. He then felt his way to the other leg through her clothes, lifted the clothes covering her, and continued to wet the cloth strips, wiping every inch of her burning skin until he was sure her body temperature had dropped slightly.
Almost all night long, the only sounds in the tree hollow were the faint murmur of water and the repeated soaking and wringing of cloth strips—low, monotonous sounds.
Blade wrung out the cloth one last time and placed the damp, cold cloth over her forehead. He heard her breathing gradually calm down and her temperature drop, and the night finally came to an end.
He sat beside her, leaning against the rough tree wall, his gaze appearing even deeper in the dim light, as calm as a silent, deep well.
As dawn approached, a cool breeze crept in through the cracks in the tree hollows, carrying the damp, woody scent of grass and dispelling the pent-up heat of the night. The surrounding jungle was tinged with white in the morning mist, like a silent ink painting.
Chen Mi curled up on the wooden board, damp strands of hair clinging to her cheeks, her eyelashes disheveled and falling like feathers. Her breathing was rapid and weak, with a slight tremor, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.
Upon hearing her voice, Ren suddenly opened his eyes, placed his palm on her forehead, and the moment his fingertips touched that burning heat, his eyes darkened again, burning even hotter than the night before.
His jaw was clenched, his thin lips pressed into a cold, hard line, and his knuckles were slightly white. He stared at his fingers, which were wrapped in strips of cloth, as if a bold idea was rising in his mind.
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Author's Note: La la la, everyone, guess what bold idea it is? [Starry eyes][Starry eyes][Starry eyes][Starry eyes]
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