The time spent dealing with the new mare wasn’t short, and along with cleaning up some of the bloodstains, the delays meant even Xigu, who had been sleeping not far from them, had woken up.
Seeing the situation between the two, Xigu was startled and immediately scrambled to her feet.
Xi Yi briefly explained the matter of the new mare to her, and Sha Yi went to find water to wash her hands.
At this point, the boulder at the cave entrance was definitely not going to be moved, so she had to wash up inside the cave. Fortunately, the cave was usually stocked with clean water, making it much easier to rinse off now.
This time, Sha Yi didn’t use soap leaves again. Instead, she took out her own soap and scrubbed her hands fiercely several times until the smell of blood was completely gone.
Just then, the aroma of the simmering mushroom and meat broth wafted through the air, and Sha Yi quickly got up to check on it.
Out of several pots of broth, only two had maintained a steady flame due to the excessive resin added, nearly done. The rest had nearly gone out because the resin had burned up, and she hadn’t tended to them in time.
Sha Yi had no choice but to add more dry grass and branches, along with some resin, and stoke the fire again.
Before long, Xi Yi came over as well.
He helped her remove the two nearly finished pots from the strong fire and replaced them with two half-cooked ones. Then, he filled a stainless steel basin he had brought with water and gestured for her to add more mushrooms and meat.
She reached for the few remaining mushrooms on the large leaves, but just as she turned around, he embraced her from behind.
Stunned by his sudden and somewhat reckless hug, Sha Yi froze in place. He had been in high spirits since morning, aside from the brief tension over the beasts outside the cave—but that was something he should be used to, wasn’t it?
What on earth was going on now?
“Sha Yi…” His voice was low, cutting through her chaotic thoughts. “Is childbirth always like this?”
Is childbirth always like this?
So he was projecting from the mare to humans—did he think all women gave birth like that mare?
Sha Yi was dumbfounded, completely at a loss for how to explain.
“When Xigu gave birth to Masa, Xi Mang and I weren’t by her side.” Her silence didn’t seem to register with Xi Yi, as if he was still trapped in the memory of her helping the mare with the cesarean. “Later, we heard she almost died delivering Masa. By the time we returned, days had passed, and she was still lying there, weak, unable to eat anything.”
After a pause, he continued, “I always thought childbirth was as simple and minor as getting hurt during a hunt. I never imagined it could be so terrifying… until I saw you helping that mare give birth today. I realized childbirth means cutting open the belly. I…”
“Sha Yi…” He forcefully turned her around to face him. “A long time ago, Xigu told me our mother died the same way—giving birth to me.”
“I don’t want you to go through that. I don’t want to lose you. We don’t have to have children…”
By the end, his voice nearly cracked with emotion—a conflicted, complicated mix of worry and tension, yet also carrying an indescribable sorrow. She couldn’t quite pinpoint the exact feeling, but she could sense the helplessness and caution beneath his suppressed emotions.
Just moments ago, she had been reeling from his shockingly naive understanding of childbirth. But now, with his words, she found herself at a loss for how to even begin explaining.
He had mentioned before that he could give up having children, but back then, it was about being willing to share her with others. This time, it was about her life.
In this ancient era, she had indeed worried many times about childbirth. Even in modern times, many women died during delivery, let alone in such primitive conditions. The hardships were unimaginable, and she had agonized over it for a long time.
But things were completely different now. Back then, she had been half-forced into the situation, with no emotional foundation and a deep-seated aversion to these ancient people. Naturally, she had resisted.
Now, after all these days of mutual dependence, his fervent and intense feelings for her had long been etched into her heart. And as for him… she wasn’t the same as she had been back then, either.
No one was made of stone. Who could resist Xi Yi’s profound love?
How could she deprive him of the right to have his own child?
Even if he said it himself, that was just his words. If he could consider her well-being, she was willing to take the risk for him. The wind hadn’t killed her, and she had survived countless hardships—why would she bow to the natural challenges of childbirth? Besides, Xi Yi’s fear stemmed from ignorance. She knew better and couldn’t let him torment himself over this any longer.
The mare had died due to multiple complications, and the foals had to be extracted postmortem. Under normal circumstances, as long as severe complications didn’t arise, childbirth wasn’t life-threatening. As Xi Yi had mentioned, even though Xigu seemed to have had a difficult delivery with Masa, she had ultimately survived.
They weren’t at that point yet. It was far too early to despair over hypothetical tragedies.
Thinking this, she took his hand and reassured him, “Don’t overthink it or worry. That mare was already dying and had no strength left to deliver the foals. When it died, the foals were still alive—if they hadn’t been taken out, they would have died too. Normal childbirth isn’t like that. As long as we’re careful…”
Wide-eyed, Xi Yi listened to her explanation before finally reacting. Disbelieving, he managed two words: “Really?”
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