There was still a trace of sorrow on his face, but his eyes were excessively clear and calm. Sha Yi suddenly felt that her worry was unnecessary—he shouldn’t sink into such despair that he’d lose his rationality. She realized she still didn’t understand him deeply enough.
While she was lost in thought, he gently brushed her long hair, shook his head, and pointed outside the cave, softly murmuring something to her.
Sha Yi detected a thick nasal tone in his voice. When she looked up at him, he leaned down and kissed her cheek, took the small items she had packed from her hands, and signaled for her to climb onto his back.
Sha Yi hesitated.
He was injured. The giant serpent’s tail had terrifying force, and its bony plates were sharp as blades. This wasn’t an attack from a creature of similar size—no matter how tough his skin was, he couldn’t have avoided both external and internal injuries.
She wasn’t sure if his organs or bones were damaged. Just looking at the gruesome gashes on his back made her wince. She didn’t even dare to touch his back, let alone climb onto it.
But Xi Yi clearly didn’t share her concerns. He seemed indifferent to his injuries, likely believing that pain was something to endure and move past. So when he noticed her hesitation, he misunderstood again. When he turned to look at her, a layer of loneliness surfaced in his eyes.
Faced with this, Sha Yi felt she had no choice but to relent. Yet, staring at his wounds, her heart remained conflicted. Still, she couldn’t resist the look in his eyes and finally obeyed.
With just that one action, the loneliness in Xi Yi’s eyes instantly dissipated.
As if her compliance was rare, the moment she pressed against his back, he immediately reached back to grasp her hand, rubbing it for a long while before turning his head to whisper in her ear, *”Kenkulunla, kena?”*
The same old phrase he had repeated many times, now with a rising inflection—he was asking her the same question again.
It seemed that whenever they encountered danger or something troubled him, he particularly liked asking her this, as if seeking reassurance. Now that he had lost something, he wanted to secure something else in return.
Distracted, Sha Yi was too busy pondering which of the three possible meanings of his phrase she had guessed before was the correct one. She didn’t answer immediately, and Xi Yi grew impatient again, abruptly pulling her down and gripping her wrist tightly.
Caught off guard, Sha Yi was yanked from his back into his arms. The sudden movement startled her, and when she realized their intimate position, she flushed with embarrassment. The uncontrolled strength in his grip only fueled her irritation, and she glared at him.
Her glare seemed to confuse him, but despite his bewilderment, he refused to let go. Instead, his grip tightened further, and his eyes brimmed with expectation.
Deep down, Sha Yi wasn’t convinced that such a promise held any real meaning. But faced with his pleading gaze, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse and could only nod vaguely.
To her surprise, even her half-hearted response was met with absolute belief. Once she gave her consent, he visibly relaxed, hoisting her back onto his back before grabbing a vine and sliding down to the ground.
Xi Yi didn’t spare another glance at the serpent’s corpse, leading her instead to the slope where they had hidden their belongings the previous night.
Everything was intact, including the three small, odd-looking birds Xi Yi had snatched earlier. However, they had remained unconscious since their collision, and Sha Yi had the fleeting thought that they might already be dead. But when she checked their pulses, she found they were still alive. Puzzled, she looked to Xi Yi for an explanation, but as usual, their communication ended in mutual incomprehension, and they had to drop the matter.
The sun was already high in the sky. From the time they had woken up until now, it was likely nearing noon.
On the slope, Xi Yi was busy stuffing the remaining animal hides and small items into the bathtub. Unable to help, Sha Yi crouched nearby and took the opportunity to survey their surroundings. The night before had been too dark for her to see clearly.
Now, in daylight, the scenery was quite pleasant, especially the shallow stream winding down the slope. Its length was impressive, stretching beyond sight in both directions, but at this section, the water barely reached her knees. Sha Yi suspected this was the result of the previous day’s sudden downpour.
But if that were the case, the stream’s width and the condition of its bed were peculiar.
The riverbed was relatively smooth, covered in green, moss-like growth—a sign of long-term water flow. Yet this area wasn’t in the shade of the forest, so such shallow water shouldn’t naturally foster moss.
Glancing down at the slope she was crouching on, Sha Yi was about 70-80% certain that the area below had been carved out by rushing water—an empty riverbed. Judging by the orientation of the rocks, there was likely a higher river upstream. The current flow was probably the result of that river swelling from the previous day’s storm. But since the rainy season hadn’t fully arrived, the rain hadn’t lasted long enough to completely fill the slope’s basin.
Still, the possibility of a river ahead was advantageous for them. At the very least, with a giant serpent corpse likely to attract danger and Xi Yi injured, traveling by water would allow them to leave faster.
Xi Yi soon finished packing everything into the bathtub. Her bathtub was quite large, and while the items weren’t excessive, their miscellaneous nature made them seem chaotic. Once organized, there was still plenty of space left.
It was an oversized, boat-shaped wooden tub with a shallow interior and wide edges. Sha Yi estimated that as long as the water was deep enough, both she and Xi Yi could sit inside without issue.
For now, though, they needed to walk upstream to reach the river. She was still worried about Xi Yi—the massive wooden tub was heavy. If he hadn’t been thrown by the serpent’s tail, she might not have been concerned.
But things were different now. On a whim, Sha Yi decided to test the tub’s weight herself.
Glancing at Xi Yi, who was half-turned gathering leaves, she took a deep breath, bent down stealthily, and yanked the polyethylene rope with all her strength…
The result was disheartening. The tub didn’t budge an inch.
Staring at her reddened palms, Sha Yi was speechless. She hadn’t even managed to lift a corner of the tub.
A muffled laugh came from beside her.
Xi Yi had witnessed her entire attempt. Sha Yi felt like a thief caught red-handed and glared at him indignantly. But he only laughed even more joyfully, the earlier melancholy in his expression fading considerably.
After arranging the large leaves meant for repelling mosquitoes, he took her hand. When he saw the red marks on her palm, a flicker of concern crossed his face. He held her hand, rubbing it gently before finally brushing the back of his fingers against her cheek.
Suddenly, Sha Yi wasn’t angry at him for laughing at her anymore.
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