When Sha Yi woke up, the storm was still raging, complete with thunder and lightning.
The night before, after dinner, Xi Yi had begun teaching the men how to make bows and arrows. She stayed by his side, occasionally offering guidance. Initially, when making the bow, he hadn’t been right beside her—she had already started halfway before he joined in—so he wasn’t entirely clear about the exact positioning and requirements for tying the bowstring.
Fortunately, his comprehension was strong. With just a few explanations and demonstrations from her, he quickly grasped the entire process.
However, during the crafting, many of the men didn’t understand the purpose of attaching the feathers of a pankuo bird to the arrow’s tail. It took her a great deal of effort to explain it in a way that they somewhat understood. In the end, they all followed the instructions, and the definition of the pankuo bird feathers was simplified to “maintaining balance and ensuring the arrow’s accuracy.”
She didn’t bother correcting their oversimplified understanding, nor did she elaborate further. Once everyone had gotten the hang of it, she went to bed early. The stormy night, combined with her overwhelming drowsiness, made it impossible for her to stay awake any longer.
As for when Xi Yi had fallen asleep or when the thunder and lightning had started, she had no idea.
Now, the cave was dimly lit, and she couldn’t immediately tell what time it was. The others inside were still fast asleep, showing no signs of waking up anytime soon.
Beside her, Xi Yi was also in a deep slumber. He must have stayed up late the previous night, as he now looked utterly exhausted.
Sha Yi didn’t have the heart to wake him, but he was holding her tightly in his sleep, making it particularly inconvenient for her to get up and change her menstrual cloth. After hesitating for a long while, she could no longer endure the discomfort of the soaked cloth or her fear of leakage, so she slowly sat up.
Unlike usual, Xi Yi, who normally slept with his arm draped across her ribs, had placed his rough palm on her lower abdomen that night. In the slightly chilly weather, warmth radiated from his hand, seeping into her heart.
This small change was his way of showing his care for her.
She didn’t know exactly what Xi Gu had told him in detail, but his actions—from initial confusion to complete understanding—were something most men would struggle to achieve. Yet he had done it, and done it perfectly.
She couldn’t think of any words to describe how moved she was.
Outside, the storm and thunder continued unabated, but now they served as a backdrop to this warmth between them.
He cherished and adored her to such an extent—she would never betray this most primal and purest of emotions.
After sitting for a while longer, Sha Yi could no longer ignore the discomfort below. Reluctant as she was, she gently moved his arm aside.
—Biological needs simply couldn’t be postponed.
This time, however, Xi Yi was sleeping unusually soundly. Her slight movements didn’t wake him, and he remained deep in slumber.
Sha Yi let out a sigh of relief.
After readjusting the animal hide over him, she fetched a fresh menstrual cloth and some soap leaves, then slowly made her way toward the cave entrance.
The cave itself was quite spacious. Though there was an inner chamber, it had already been repurposed as a cooking and dining area. As for a designated spot for relieving oneself, there still wasn’t one.
Part of the reason was that people of this era simply lacked that awareness. Choosing a spot away from the living area to do their business was already considered fortunate, and covering it with sand afterward was practically high-class. The idea of having a specific place for it had likely never crossed their minds.
Moreover, finding a habitable cave was difficult enough. Trying to locate a smaller cave nearby to serve as a toilet was even harder.
Additionally, they hadn’t yet learned to build proper houses—their shelters were limited to tree hollows and caves. So constructing stone houses or making bricks was still far off.
The current situation was indeed far from ideal, but even if it was particularly inconvenient for women, there was nothing they could do about it.
If they couldn’t change it, they had to accept it. That was just how this world worked.
Well, no one expected overnight miracles. Just being able to think of improvements was a start. Step by step, they would get there eventually.
With that in mind, she stopped dwelling on it. Near the cave entrance, she found a medium-sized stone with a slight depression, changed her menstrual cloth, and took care of her other needs. Then she walked to the large gap in the cave’s boulder barrier and tossed the stone outside to be washed clean by the rain.
Once finished, Sha Yi reached out to rinse her hands. The downpour was like a torrential faucet, pouring in thick streams. The gap in the cave was about half her body’s width, and the wind was blowing straight toward the entrance. The moment she extended her hand, the rain drenched half her arm.
Not daring to dawdle, she quickly grabbed the soap leaves, scrubbed her hands, and rinsed them again under the rain.
Once most of the soap residue was washed away, she tossed the nearly used-up leaf outside. Just then, she heard a faint, weak cry.
The sound was so soft that after the first instance, all she could hear was the noise of the storm. After a long wait, she barely caught a second cry.
It was even fainter than the first, resembling something between a baby elephant’s call and a donkey’s bray—strange and hard to identify. She couldn’t tell if it was just the wind or an actual creature.
As Sha Yi pondered this, something wet and soft brushed against her hand outside the cave. Startled, she nearly tumbled out of the entrance.
At the same time, the sound outside grew noticeably louder.
Yet it remained the same—neither quite an elephant nor a donkey. But unlike before, the cries were no longer weak and slow. They had become much louder and more frequent.
Before she could react, a dark mass suddenly blocked the cave entrance, plunging the already dim interior into complete darkness.
Sha Yi was terrified, frozen in place, her heart pounding wildly.
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