Sha Yi fell asleep contemplating the idea of building a simple boat or raft, but she set the thought aside the next day as a new wave of busyness began.
For seven or eight consecutive days, the weather repeated the pattern of the first rain after clear skies—only torrential downpours without any thunder or lightning. For everyone, this was a tremendous blessing.
During these days, nearly everyone went to the slope to collect brine. Salt-making and food preservation proceeded smoothly, and most of the work was completed during these exceptionally favorable days. As the old saying goes, no one ever complains about having too much food or too much salt. So, despite the heavy rain, the absence of lightning made the weather tolerable in their eyes. Many took the opportunity to continue foraging for food whenever they had time.
Xi Yi and the others were no exception. Even though Sha Yi thought their food reserves could easily last two months, they remained restless as usual. Even the women went out to gather wild fruits and edible greens.
She wanted to join them, but Xi Yi outright refused her request. Xi Gu also fully supported Xi Yi’s decision, even going so far as to place a hand on her abdomen with a stern expression, insisting she stay safely inside the cave.
Sha Yi found the siblings’ behavior rather exasperating, but she didn’t argue further. Whatever their reasons, their actions stemmed from care and concern for her.
Indeed, given her constitution, it was already a stroke of luck that she hadn’t fallen ill after getting drenched in the forest that time. If she recklessly went out in the rain now, there was a high chance she’d collapse. In this ancient era, avoiding anything that could likely cause illness was the wisest course of action!
Thinking this way, she eventually let go of her frustration. But seeing Xi Yi, Xi Gu, and the others either braving the rain with only animal hides or shielding themselves with large leaves, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy. She really wanted to make an umbrella, but that seemed even more difficult than building a raft.
Constructing an umbrella wasn’t like making a raft. A raft only required large logs and vines for ropes—simple enough. But an umbrella needed a framework of ribs and suitable lightweight, waterproof materials. The whole process was far more intricate and complicated. After pondering for a while without any clear ideas, she reluctantly gave up for the time being.
The fire near the inner part of the cave had been burning all day and was now nearly extinguished. Sha Yi quickly added more branches and leaves to keep it going.
Xi Yi and the others had left in the morning, and now it was almost evening. They would likely return soon, so dinner needed to be prepared. Over the past few days, they had always made sure she stayed behind, sometimes accompanied by Ma Sa or someone else. Since others were around, she hadn’t needed to handle dinner before.
But today, apart from her, everyone else had gone out—including Ma Sa, who had joined Xi Gu to pick wild fruits. So now, the only thing she could do was prepare dinner by herself.
Unfortunately, even after all this time since her arrival, her meat-roasting skills hadn’t improved much. She wasn’t sure if what she cooked would even be palatable. Torn between options, she lit another fire, set up the stainless steel pot, and began boiling an unknown wild vegetable soup.
Thankfully, with the addition of salt and some spicy fruit powder, the roasted meat wasn’t entirely unpalatable. The only thing that gave her some relief was the vegetable soup—she had far more talent for soup-making than for grilling meat.
The timing was perfect. Just as the meat and soup were fully cooked, Xi Yi returned, followed by the rest of the small group.
They had originally planned to prepare dinner themselves, carrying their freshly caught game as they headed out. But when they saw the meal she had already prepared, they were overjoyed, immediately sitting down to eat.
The others, caught up in the cheerful atmosphere, gathered around as well—some drinking soup, others chewing meat, all devouring the food with delighted expressions. Especially when tasting the savory flavor of the salt, they all squinted their eyes in satisfaction.
At that moment, Sha Yi realized that not just Xi Yi, but everyone in this small group was easy to please. They weren’t picky and were easily satisfied.
However, Xi Yi didn’t join the others right away. Instead, he came over to sit beside her, filling a bowl of soup for her and selecting a piece of roasted meat. Only after she accepted it did he begin eating himself, his movements practiced and natural.
She could see his happiness. He didn’t want her to overexert herself, but seeing her think of them made him visibly pleased.
It was a truly pleasant evening.
When it was time to sleep, Xi Yi embraced her again. But she suddenly remembered a question she had been meaning to ask for a while. She had intended to bring it up days ago, but everyone had been too busy, and by the time they rested, exhaustion took over. Now seemed like the perfect opportunity. With that in mind, she gently pushed him away.
Xi Yi was confused by her rejection and immediately grew worried. He sat up nervously to look at her, only relaxing slightly when he saw her calm expression before lying back down.
Sha Yi was amused by his exaggerated reaction. After laughing for a moment, she tentatively called his name: “Xi Yi?”
“Hmm…” Xi Yi responded almost instantly. Not only that, he pulled her closer again, wrapping his arms tightly around her before murmuring, “What’s wrong?”
“Well…” Hesitating for a moment, Sha Yi decided to just ask outright. “Why do we have to wait until after the rainy season for the child?”
The man behind her fell silent. Sha Yi waited for a long time without hearing a response. Just as she was about to turn and look at him, Xi Yi finally spoke slowly.
“Do you remember the first time you came with me to the gathering cave? There was a woman lying in front of the cave.”
“I remember. Does that have something to do with this?”
“She lost her child.”
“A miscarriage? Why?” Sha Yi was startled, the question slipping out before she could stop it.
“Miscarriage?” Xi Yi didn’t understand the term, but he grasped her meaning. After a pause, he continued, “Pregnant women who stay near the rongmo lose their children… and may never have another chance.”
“Rongmo?” Sha Yi found this hard to believe. Those were the cute little creatures used to ward off snakes—how could they cause miscarriages?
Could they contain musk? But that seemed impossible—she had never detected any musky scent on the small animals. After thinking it over, a bold guess struck her: the rongmo must contain realgar—large amounts of it.
They repelled snakes because they were natural predators, feeding on snake gallbladders. Naturally, they must possess something snakes feared. Throughout history, nothing terrified snakes more than realgar. The rongmo’s secret weapon was most likely realgar.
And realgar was indeed known to cause miscarriages!
Behind her, unaware that her thoughts had wandered far away, Xi Yi continued with a hint of resignation: “The rainy season already brings many challenges. It’s not a good time for children. Later, floods will come, and this cave isn’t a permanent home. Soon, all the groups will scatter again to find flood-safe areas. Besides our current gathering place, the other forests are full of snakes—so we must take the rongmo with us.”
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