When Du Lai woke, the rain had stopped and the wind had died.

The time was around late afternoon. A yolk-yellow sun shone across the boulder, warming the ground beneath into a comfortable heat.

Du Lai braced a hand against his forehead and sat up — still heavy-headed and dizzy.

His throat burned and stung.

He wanted water. He looked around him — and there, right beside him, were six bamboo tubes arranged in neat order. Two held berries, two held water, two were empty.

From outside came the unmistakable sound of Fu Miaoxue cursing loudly, “Damn it! Back off! You foul bird, haven’t used a bathroom in eight hundred years!”

Du Lai: “……”

He picked up one of the tubes and took a sip of water, then reached into another tube for a berry and placed it in his mouth, chewing slowly.

He was very weak. He had no way to take medicine and no way to prepare broth — all he could do was chew very slowly and carefully to avoid upsetting his digestion.

After three or four berries, he felt a fraction more alert. He lifted a tube to take another sip of water to settle his stomach — and at that moment a figure entirely green walked in from outside.

Du Lai’s eyes went wide, and he promptly spat out a mouthful of water.

“Cough cough — cough cough cough!”

“What’s wrong with you?” Fu Miaoxue looked down at herself, then back at Du Lai. “I just changed my clothes a bit. Is that really such a shocking reaction?”

She was covered head to toe in leaves — two across her chest, two across her back, and many more around her waist — looking for all the world like a walking banana tree.

Du Lai forced himself to stop coughing and asked, “Where are your clothes?”

“Washed them.” Fu Miaoxue pursed her lips. “I’d hung them up to dry, but then a bird came from somewhere and dropped its waste all over them, so I had to wash them again.”

Du Lai: “……”

Fu Miaoxue noticed the bamboo tube in his hand. “Don’t drink that one. I boiled water. Wait just a moment.”

With that she turned and went back outside, and returned a moment later cradling a smoke-blackened bamboo tube.

“Drink this,” Fu Miaoxue said. “You said yourself that only boiled water is clean. Drink this — it won’t make you sick.”

Du Lai took it from her. He could feel the lingering warmth on the surface of the tube. He looked at Fu Miaoxue with genuine surprise and asked, “Where did you get fire?”

Fu Miaoxue answered cheerfully, “By rubbing sticks together, of course~”

Du Lai: “……”

“Just kidding!” She laughed brightly. “It was the lightning! Several trees over there were struck and set on fire! I grabbed a burning branch and used it to start a fire here. Pretty impressive, right?”

Du Lai was quiet for a moment. “A disaster turned to our advantage……”

He slowly took a sip of the hot water and felt a deep, enveloping warmth settle through his chest and gut. His whole body eased considerably.

“Drink slowly, there’s plenty more.” Fu Miaoxue sat down beside him. The patchwork of green leaves covering her spread out and settled across his legs, cool and damp.

Du Lai glanced over at her and said with a quiet laugh, “Young Mistress is being quite considerate. I’m truly flattered.”

“Ha~” Fu Miaoxue gave a proud smile, shifting her leaf outfit, and said, “I’ve been thinking it over. There are only the two of us on this island right now. The best approach is cooperation. And to avoid any more unpleasantness in the future, we need to establish a clear hierarchy in this cooperation. From now on, I’ll be the leader. As long as you do what I say, I’m sure we can survive this place.”

Fu Miaoxue looked at Du Lai. “What do you think? Any objections?”

Du Lai drank his water without hurry, swallowed without hurry, and replied, “Yes. I have objections.”

“Then go ahead and say them. I’m an enlightened leader~” Fu Miaoxue said with a smile, her eyes curving warmly.

Du Lai looked at her with an expression that was almost a smile, and said, “Going forward, I’m the leader. You’re the one who should be listening to me.”

—