Under her scrutiny, Xi Yi began to misbehave again. His warm, large hand slid down her spine to her waist. Since she was quite ticklish, the slightest movement of his rough palm sent shivers down her spine, raising goosebumps all over her body. Just as he was about to continue, she quickly grabbed his hand to stop his wandering intentions.
Though somewhat reluctant, Xi Yi obediently flashed her his usual grin when she restrained his arm, showing his habitual compliance.
Sha Yi let out a sigh of relief and pointed at the snake she had drawn on the ground, trying to divert his attention.
With that simple action, her little scheme succeeded completely.
Xi Yi’s focus shifted effortlessly. He studied the snake she had drawn with great seriousness before asking in confusion, “Nei?”
Perhaps the “Nei” in his mouth meant “snake.” He had mentioned it before in the tree hollow and had tried to explain it to her, but she hadn’t understood. However, she was certain she had heard the sound “Nei” multiple times. Sha Yi guessed that Xi Yi was most likely asking why she had drawn a snake!
After a moment’s thought, she mimicked the gestures he had used earlier when explaining and signaled that she still didn’t understand.
Xi Yi fell silent, as if pondering what she was trying to convey. For a long while, he said nothing. Just as she was about to give up, he suddenly stood up and pointed toward the grassy field across the river, saying, “Ke ta ye, ku nei!”
After speaking, he bent down, pointed at the spot where she had drawn the snake, then gestured toward the opposite side of the river again and nodded.
Sha Yi felt she was beginning to grasp something, but before she could speak, Xi Yi straightened up once more, gestured around them, and explained seriously, “Ang nei, ke na ye.”
Finally, he simply wiped away the snake she had drawn with his foot while shaking his head and repeating, “Na ye ang nei.”
These few syllables—less than twenty characters in total—left her pondering for quite some time. Fortunately, by the end, she had mostly deciphered his meaning.
Sha Yi recalled that the first time she and Xi Yi had camped overnight, he had said to her, “Wei la duo ke na ye,” which likely meant “We stay here.” Based on his past utterances, the structure of his ancient language seemed similar to Chinese. Thus, “ke na ye” must mean “here,” while “ke ta ye,” which he used while pointing across the river, probably meant “there.”
As for “ang nei” and “ku nei,” aside from the shared syllable “nei,” she couldn’t make sense of them. However, based on his gestures, she guessed that these sounds corresponded to “no snake” and “snake present,” respectively.
If her interpretation was correct, their camping spot was relatively safe—at least they wouldn’t have to worry about snakes slithering out in the middle of the night.
She wasn’t sure if there were other wild animals around, but since Xi Yi dared to sleep in the open, it was clear that the unknown threats weren’t significant. So, there was probably nothing else to worry about.
Feeling reassured, Sha Yi sat back down, intending to teach Xi Yi how to tie knots to extend the vine net. But the moment her bottom touched the ground, her stomach churned violently—a clear signal that nature was calling.
Since her time-traveling ordeal began—five days and four nights of either fleeing or trekking with Xi Yi—she had never once attended to this particular need. If not for this sudden urge, she might have completely forgotten about it!
As frustration set in, her stomach protested again. Sha Yi instinctively jumped up, turning to find a secluded spot to relieve herself. Unexpectedly, Xi Yi, who had been about to sit beside her, grabbed her arm.
His action left her momentarily stunned. Just as she tried to gesture her need to answer nature’s call, her stomach rebelled once more. Sha Yi immediately resorted to struggling violently, trying to wrench her arm free.
Her wild reaction seemed to shock Xi Yi, as if he had never seen her act so unruly. But despite his surprise, he refused to let go. After several failed attempts, his expression darkened ominously.
Xi Yi must have suspected she was trying to escape again. At this moment, Sha Yi was utterly exasperated.
Though she desperately wanted to explain that she only needed to relieve herself and wasn’t running away, her stomach’s urgency left her nearly ready to do it right there. Yet, with him standing guard, she couldn’t bring herself to be so shameless. She fidgeted like an ant on a hot pan, but Xi Yi still wouldn’t release her.
Sha Yi felt like cursing, but knowing he wouldn’t understand, her frustration—fueled by his unwarranted suspicion—merged with her physical distress. Unable to hold back, she bent down and bit his hand hard. The moment her teeth sank in, a strong metallic taste flooded her mouth.
She heard him grunt in pain and, pleased with her small victory, released his hand and turned to leave. But as she took a step forward, she froze in dismay—his grip on her arm remained unbroken.
Not only had Xi Yi not let go, but he had tightened his hold in response to her bite.
Defeated but still under the “tyranny” of her stomach’s demands, Sha Yi could only resort to frantically clutching her abdomen and twisting in distress.
Unsurprisingly, Xi Yi didn’t even blink, maintaining his fierce glare, his expression dark as thunder.
Was he really going to force her to soil herself?!
Furious, Sha Yi gritted her teeth and glared back at him. Her gaze swept over his loincloth, and suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind. She had a plan.
But time was of the essence—she had to act fast and make it count!
Suppressing her agony, Sha Yi silently reined in her frustration and shot Xi Yi a sidelong glance. Seeing his attention fully on her, she seized the moment—reaching out swiftly, she grabbed his loincloth and yanked it down with all her might, eyes squeezed shut.
Success!
A series of muffled ripping sounds followed as the loincloth slid down. At the same time, she felt the pressure on her wrist vanish—Xi Yi had let go!
It was like a divine reprieve. Reflexively, Sha Yi sprang away from him, not even bothering to explain as she bolted toward a nearby thicket of low-growing plants.
Just as she disappeared into the foliage, Xi Yi’s furious roar echoed behind her.
Sha Yi swore she had never heard him pronounce her name so clearly before. But there was no time to marvel at his progress—she had more pressing matters to attend to!
Finding a spot quickly, she squatted down and finally found relief. As her stomach settled, faint footsteps approached the thicket.
The woman, who had been plucking leaves in a daze, suddenly froze. Only then did the full weight of her earlier actions dawn on her. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead as she sucked in a sharp breath.
—
P.S. Rolling around begging for collections~
Rolling around begging for collections~
Rolling around begging for collections~
Rolling around begging for collections~
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