Chapter 11

Yun Nian's face was a little pale. The scene from earlier lingered in her mind. In the end, she was only a child who had seen little of the world.

The two made their way through the reeds and finally reached the large tree. Only when they drew closer did they realize it was two large trees entwined together, with thick, towering trunks. They looked a hundred years old.

Yun Nian nimbly climbed up.

Su Cheng braced herself against the tree and exerted a little force, only for the tension in her abdomen to send a sharp pain through her. She instantly collapsed to the ground, letting out a low groan of unbearable pain.

"Ah..."

Su Cheng's brows knotted tightly. She felt as though her whole body was about to spasm from the pain, and every breath made her tremble.

"Big sister!"

Yun Nian hurriedly climbed down from the tree. "Big sister, are you okay...?"

Su Cheng gritted her teeth and got up. "I'm fine."

"I'll help you up."

Yun Nian carefully supported Su Cheng. "Step on my shoulders to climb up the tree."

Su Cheng stopped insisting. "Okay, thank you."

Yun Nian crouched halfway down and steadied herself. Su Cheng gripped the trunk, using Yun Nian's hands and shoulders as footholds.

The pain in her abdomen turned Su Cheng's face deathly pale, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead, but she endured it and climbed into the tree.

Yun Nian sighed in relief and climbed up as well. She climbed onto a higher branch. "Big sister, give me your hand. We need to climb a little higher!"

Su Cheng caught her breath. "Okay."

After climbing another two branches, both of them sighed in relief.

Su Cheng reclined against the trunk to rest, patches of sunlight falling over her through the gaps in the leaves.

Su Cheng remembered her Smart Bag. After she entered the instance, the white bag slung across her body had disappeared. Perhaps the mechanical voice had given a notification while she was tumbling through the waves, but she had had no time to pay attention then.

She remembered that the Smart Bag could change forms, so she was not worried.

After checking herself over, she discovered an extra pocket in her leggings. When she slipped her hand inside, she could see the items in the three storage slots.

Relieved, Su Cheng took out a bottle of water, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory medicine.

Yun Nian turned and noticed the bottle of water that had appeared in Su Cheng's hand. Her mouth fell slightly open in shock. "Big sister, are you a magician?"

Su Cheng admitted it without batting an eye, then took out another bottle of water and handed it to Yun Nian. "Yes. Have some water."

Yun Nian looked as though she had witnessed something incredible, her eyes full of admiration. "Thank you!"

Only after swallowing the pills and drinking a few mouthfuls of water did Su Cheng feel her throat grow less parched.

She raised the bottle again and poured water over her face a little at a time to rinse the sand and mud from her wounds. Since she could not see her own face, it was very awkward.

Seeing this, Yun Nian volunteered, "Big sister, let me help wash your face."

"Thank you, but I'm not washing my face. I'm rinsing the dirt off my wounds."

"Got it!"

Yun Nian climbed over and sat beside Su Cheng, carefully pouring water to rinse the sand and mud from her wounds and eyes.

She blew gently and reassured her in a soft voice, "Don't be scared, big sister. My dad is a doctor. He's helped lots of big sisters become prettier. Your face won't scar!"

"Mm."

Su Cheng guessed that Yun Nian's father probably worked as a plastic surgeon or something similar. But rather than scarring, she was more concerned about keeping her wounds from becoming inflamed or infected.

Compared with the pain in her abdomen, the sting of water flowing over her wounds was nothing.

Perhaps her pain threshold had risen. Throughout the entire time Yun Nian rinsed her wounds, she did not even frown.

After giving the wounds a simple rinse, Yun Nian returned to her original branch. A quarter of the water remained in the bottle.

Holding the bottle, Su Cheng looked out from above at the land reduced to ruins.

The ground, washed over by the waves, was soft and scattered with pits of all sizes. The objects embedded in the mud were no longer recognizable.

The withered coconut trees standing amid the wreckage resembled flagpoles after a defeat...

Before nature, all living creatures were equal, equally weak and powerless. All they could do was struggle to survive.

"Big sister, how long will we have to wait for rescue?"

"I don't know either. Do you know where we are?"

Yun Nian looked puzzled, but still answered earnestly, "This is a holiday island in Country W."

So we're on an island...

Country W? It did not sound like the name of any country Su Cheng had lived in before.

Su Cheng could not be certain how quickly the local rescuers would respond, but it should take two or three days at most. All she had to do was hold on.

Surviving the tsunami was only the first hurdle. Next, she would have to face wound infections and the possibility of her abdominal injury worsening...

The wounds on her face were not particularly deep, so the chance of infection was low. What worried her most was the bruise on her abdomen. She could only hope her internal organs had not been injured...

Su Cheng closed her eyes wearily.

This instance isn't easy either.

Author's note:

I need to keep the word count down to apply for a ranking spot~ My stockpiled chapters have already reached the fourth instance, but the updates are still on the second instance.

Chapter 11

Leaning against the trunk, Su Cheng slept fitfully for a while. Staying still in a reclining position was the best way to ease the pain in her abdomen.

The clear blue sky gradually turned red as dusk approached.

"Grrr..."

Su Cheng looked at Yun Nian, who rubbed her stomach sheepishly. "Big sister, I'm a little hungry."

Su Cheng took out two chocolate bars and handed her one. "Here, eat."

Yun Nian completely took Su Cheng's ability to produce things out of thin air as the sort of magic she had once seen at a grand theater. Her eyes sparkled. "Thank you, big sister."

"Mm."

Su Cheng was not actually hungry. In fact, she had little appetite. She did not know whether her abdominal injury was to blame, but she felt weak all over, and even her chest felt tight.

She unwrapped the chocolate and took a bite, but before she could chew and swallow it, she threw up with a retch.

"Urgh..."

That first heave was like opening a floodgate. Her stomach seemed full of things that all wanted to come out at once, completely beyond her control.

She vomited water mixed with sand and mud, along with some unidentifiable fragments.

"Hrk, hrk, hrk..."

Su Cheng felt something blocking her throat. She could not vomit it up, and having it lodged there was agonizing. She hurriedly reached into her mouth and pulled out something long that resembled seaweed...

Her stomach kept heaving. That was not all.

"Urgh..."

Su Cheng dug at the back of her throat and vomited more seawater mixed with bits of vegetation, and even a screw.

These were all foreign objects she had accidentally swallowed while tumbling through the seawater.

Su Cheng's fingernails dug into the bark, veins bulged in her neck, and the wounds on her face split open and oozed blood. She could not stop vomiting.

"Big sister! Are you okay...?"

Frightened, Yun Nian hurriedly climbed over to Su Cheng, but there was nothing she could do except stroke her back, hoping to make her feel a little better.

Su Cheng emptied her stomach completely, then actually vomited a mouthful of blood... Her mouth filled with its metallic taste.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough!"

"Hah... hah..."

Su Cheng breathed hard. Her chest seemed to have turned into an old set of bellows, producing a dull sound with every breath.

"Big sister... blood..."

Yun Nian's voice broke. Panicked and at a loss, she hurriedly took out the water. "Big sister, have some water... No, wait, can you drink water?"

Yun Nian was so anxious she nearly cried, yet she did not know what she should do. Her parents had only taught her to remain calm when something happened, not how to help someone in a situation like this.

Only after a long while did Su Cheng recover enough to catch her breath, her breathing gradually evening out.

"I'm fine..."

Perhaps stomach acid had damaged the lining of her throat. Her voice had become hoarse and weak.

Yun Nian held back her tears of fear and worry. "Big sister, you have to get better soon. You're a magician, so you can make yourself better, right?"

Sensing Yun Nian's unease, Su Cheng raised a hand and ruffled the hair of this girl who had only known her for a day, yet worried about her so sincerely. "Mm."

Su Cheng stopped forcing herself to eat. Instead, she took a sip of water and rinsed the strange taste from her mouth. Her stomach seemed empty now, and she actually felt much better after vomiting.

Yun Nian did not dare return to her original branch. With a serious expression, she gripped the hem of her clothes. "Is there anything I can do?"

Su Cheng paused, not having expected Yun Nian to say that.

She had originally thought of Yun Nian as an ordinary little girl and brought her along because she was headed the same way. She had only asked that the girl not hold her up, never expecting her to do anything.

This girl was far cleverer and more mature than other children her age whom Su Cheng had met.

Su Cheng thought for a while. "Do you see those bottles on the ground?"

"You can collect them and hang them in the tree. The wind will make them rattle at night... That can help the rescue team find us faster in the dark."

Yun Nian nodded vigorously. "Okay! I'll go right now!"

Su Cheng caught her wrist, took out another chocolate bar, and placed it in her hand, carefully reminding her, "Finish eating before you go. Don't step on broken glass. Safety first!"

Yun Nian patted her chest, a touch of pride appearing on her little face. "Don't worry, big sister. I played a bottle-hunting game at summer camp before. I know what to do. I won't get hurt."

"Okay."

At the moment, Su Cheng could not move around, so Yun Nian had to collect things beneath the tree by herself.

Su Cheng lifted her top. The purplish-red bruise had not changed, but vomiting blood earlier convinced her that her internal organs had been injured. She just did not know how badly...

My body is really taking a beating in this instance.

Su Cheng closed her eyes briefly and tried to relax her body, hoping to ease the tension and anxiety brought on by her physical condition.

"Big sister, I found something to eat!"

Yun Nian happily held up a bottle of orange juice with pulp.

"Mm, well done."

The sky gradually darkened. Su Cheng glanced at Yun Nian, who was still running back and forth, and hurriedly called her back.

Yun Nian obediently tied the empty bottles and cans together with some thin string she had found. "Big sister, where should we hang them?"

"Keep two to knock together in our hands. As for the rest..."