"I went... I went out to use the toilet. Who knew it would suddenly start to rain? I hurried back but fell and hurt myself. Sister Bai, my leg is bleeding from a cut." Jiang Xiaoze rolled up her pant leg to show Bai Zhi.
Bai Zhi sighed. "How can you be so careless? Here, change into clean clothes, and in a moment, I’ll apply some medicine for you!"
"Okay, Sister Bai, you’re really kind."
As Jiang Xiaoze changed her clothes, she asked, "What happened to our tent?"
"I don’t know. After it started raining, I thought of returning to our tent to take shelter, but as soon as I got in, I saw it was leaking. But Teacher Abei’s tent can still be used."
"Where are Teacher Abei and Fu Xiao?"
"They went out to look for you!" Bai Zhi replied.
After Jiang Xiaoze had changed, Bai Zhi poured her a cup of hot water. "Warm yourself up first, then I’ll help you apply the medicine."
Seeing that Bai Zhi had not the slightest suspicion, Jiang Xiaoze thought she had managed to carry out the deed without anyone noticing.
The heavy rain continued. Their tent was pitched by the side of the river. Watching the water level rise gradually filled them with fear and apprehension, and they dared not sleep. They huddled together, shivering.
Just then, Fu Xiao returned. "Miss Bai, Jiang Xiaoze, quick! Grab your things and follow me! I found a cave!"
Bai Zhi and Jiang Xiaoze’s faces lit up with surprise and joy—a cave was certainly more solid than a tent!
At that moment, Abei also returned. He too was pleasantly surprised to hear that Fu Xiao had found a cave. The four of them, covered by the tent canvas, made their way to the cave in the pouring rain.
The cave had been exposed when the rain caused the soil on top to collapse. The outside was muddy, but the inside was quite dry.
Abei gathered some branches and started a fire. Bai Zhi called Fu Xiao over to help set up the tent canvas. Behind it, she and Jiang Xiaoze changed into dry, clean clothes. Bai Zhi had brought three sets and gave one to Jiang Xiaoze.
"It’s a good thing I brought plenty of clothes!" she exclaimed.
"Thank you, Sister Bai," Jiang Xiaoze said.
Once they had warmed up again, Bai Zhi’s compassionate nature resurfaced. "With such heavy rain, our tent has leaked," she said. "An Yan’s is probably not much better. Fu Xiao, Teacher Abei, can one of you go out again? It would be best if you could bring them over too."
Jiang Xiaoze looked unconvinced. "Sister Bai Zhi, An Yan wouldn’t even share fruit with us earlier. Why should we help her?"
Abei glanced at Bai Zhi. This Miss Bai really seems to have a problem! It’s like that internet term, ’virtue-signaling bitch’! He remembered being puzzled when he first heard the term. Why call someone a ’bitch’ if they’re just being virtuous? He’d looked it up online, and one user had explained it :
"Being virtuous means: if you encounter a poor beggar with disabled hands on the street, a virtuous person would say, ’This person is so pitiable, I’m going to help him!’"
"Being a ’virtue-signaling bitch’ means: if you encounter a poor beggar with disabled hands on the street, a virtue-signaling bitch would say, ’This person is so pitiable, all of you should go help him! If you don’t, you’re in the wrong!’"
How similar this is to the current Bai Zhi. You say you’re worried about An Yan and the others being in danger, so why don’t you go call them over yourself? Out of everyone here, aren’t you the only one who hasn’t done any work? No, that’s not right.
Abei suddenly came to a realization. Bai Zhi isn’t a virtue-signaling bitch; she wants to check if the other team has had an accident! So, Bai Zhi saw Jiang Xiaoze leave earlier. And she knew Jiang Xiaoze went to harm the other team!
Abei pondered for a moment, then stood up. Just as he was about to go out, Fu Xiao spoke up, "I’ll go! Teacher Abei, you should rest up. We’re counting on you for tomorrow’s task."
Abei looked at him, taken aback. Why does Fu Xiao suddenly seem like a completely different person?
Jiang Xiaoze was still muttering, "An Yan wouldn’t even share fruit with us. Why should we help her?"
Bai Zhi said, "Missing one piece of fruit just means being a little hungrier. But if this rain keeps pouring down all night, An Yan and the others could genuinely face a life-threatening situation!"
Some netizens who were still awake saw this scene and gave Bai Zhi thumbs-ups:
But Abei’s guess was correct: Bai Zhi just wanted to know if anything had happened to An Yan!
Although Green Tail isn’t venomous, it’s still a snake. Jiang Xiaoze doesn’t know An Yan knows martial arts, but I do. If someone trained in martial arts is suddenly startled, would they react instantly and kill the Green Snake? Killing an endangered animal means prison time, right? Ha ha!
And indeed, just as Bai Zhi had wished, An Yan discovered the little Green Snake in her tent at that very moment. She had been sleeping soundly when she turned over and her hand brushed against something. The cold, slippery sensation made An Yan’s eyes snap open. Then, she and the little Green Snake locked eyes.
After An Yan had gone to sleep, the production team’s drone had been positioned inside her tent. This was, of course, done with permission and coordinated in advance. Since it was a live broadcast, An Yan knew that footage of her sleeping might be aired.
The director, upon seeing the snake, felt his head throb. "Quickly, cut away from An Yan’s feed!" he ordered. "Get in touch with An Yan! Tell her she absolutely must not hurt Green Tail! It’s an endangered species! If it gets harmed on our show, we’ll be in a world of trouble!"
"But Director, what if the snake bites An Yan?" a staff member asked.
"It’s not venomous! So what if it bites her?" The director was infuriated. "That damn snake! Why did it have to go into a guest’s tent instead of staying in the forest?"
"Director, this doesn’t make sense," the assistant director pointed out. "Anan waterproof-tested this group’s tents after they were set up. Not even water could seep in. How did the snake get inside?"
"Are you implying someone put the snake in An Yan’s tent?" the director asked.
The assistant director looked at him and said nothing.
The director’s heart sank. Guests sabotaging each other was something he could tolerate. But when it came to matters of life and safety, that was absolutely inexcusable.
As he pondered who might want to harm An Yan, his gaze suddenly fixed on the footage from Bai Zhi’s group. "Is that a mural?" he pointed at the screen and asked the assistant director.
The assistant director nodded. "It looks like one."
The camera operator zoomed the drone in. Illuminated by the firelight, the mural became clearer. The clothing of the figures... it looks somewhat similar to historical nomadic attire!
"Cut! Quickly, cut that feed too!" the director exclaimed. This is no joke! If that’s really a mural, this place might be an Ancient Tomb! Destroying an Ancient Tomb means destroying cultural relics! This is a major issue!
Meanwhile, he was trying to contact Teacher Abei to get him to restrain Bai Zhi and Jiang Xiaoze and ensure they didn’t damage anything in the cave. Just then, on screen, Jiang Xiaoze kicked a pottery jar.