As the footsteps drew nearer, Sha Yi’s first thought was that she couldn’t let him see her in such an embarrassing state. Hastily, she grabbed a few large leaves and wiped herself roughly before pulling up her pants and standing up, quickly stepping a few paces away from the spot.
However, when she emerged, she couldn’t see Xi Yi anywhere. Sha Yi was puzzled. There was no sign of him by the nearby fire either. He had clearly been chasing after her—she had distinctly heard his footsteps—yet now he was nowhere to be seen. Had he gotten so angry that he abandoned her completely?
Feeling uneasy, she glanced back at the faintly visible mess on the ground and decided it would be best to clean up the “battlefield” first. Otherwise, once the temperature rose during the day, the smell alone would be unbearable.
Just as she was covering the area with dirt using a stone, footsteps sounded again from beyond the thicket behind her.
Sha Yi hurriedly added more soil before standing up and turning around, just in time to see Xi Yi squeezing through the gaps in the foliage.
He was holding a large stone with a hollowed-out center filled with water in one hand, while the other, clutching a bunch of leaves, pressed against his waist. When their eyes met, the gloom from when she had bitten him was gone, replaced instead by a hint of awkwardness.
Sha Yi felt equally embarrassed. Judging by his current demeanor, he had likely figured out that her earlier actions had signaled an urgent need to relieve herself. And the items in his hands—given the situation—were clearly meant for cleanup.
He was probably trying to apologize for his earlier rashness. But she had also been quite rough with him. Even in her urgency, she could have at least explained. Come to think of it, this wasn’t the first time she had “disappeared” without a word. His sensitivity to her behavior was understandable, so she couldn’t really blame him for his anger and forceful reaction.
Sha Yi took the water-filled stone from him—it was surprisingly heavy—and after a moment’s thought, set it down on a clean patch of ground. When she looked up, he extended the bundle of leaves toward her. Without hesitation, she reached out and took them.
The leaves were damp, likely rinsed by Xi Yi when he fetched the water. Though the primitive conditions of this era couldn’t compare to modern facilities, the process itself was no less thorough. These leaves and water weren’t just for wiping—they were meant for washing afterward.
Though it was a bit cumbersome, it was exactly what she needed. Wasn’t this precisely what she had been hoping for?
As she bent down to pick up the leaves, she caught Xi Yi still standing there, staring at her unblinkingly, making no move to leave.
Sha Yi flushed and turned to push him away, gesturing for him to go. But he only looked confused and refused to budge.
Helpless, she hesitated over whether to give up on washing when Xi Yi suddenly turned and squeezed back through the thicket. The way he pressed one hand to his waist while using the other to part the foliage was oddly comical, and Sha Yi couldn’t help but laugh.
Only after quickly cleaning up with the leaves and water did she realize the reason behind his posture.
—It must have been the aftermath of her yanking off his loincloth!
She had torn it off partly to make him release her and partly to tangle his legs with the waist-tie and the hide. But the outcome had been rather unexpected.
When she stepped out of the low thicket, Xi Yi was crouched by the fire with his back to her, preoccupied with something. He didn’t even notice her approach.
Sha Yi was curious. Given Xi Yi’s personality and habits, he would never let his guard down like this. Something more pressing must have caught his attention.
As she drew closer, she realized that the ugly bird—which should have still been floating down the river—was now perched by the fire, along with the chick she had thrown back to it. Meanwhile, Xi Yi was sorting through a pile of newly appeared, haphazardly gathered items.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that these were things the bird, Pan Kuo, had stolen to curry favor—likely to “ransom” its chick. Sha Yi couldn’t help but admire the creature’s devotion to its offspring, though its thieving tendencies still irked her.
Moreover, when the situation had been favorable earlier, it had only fished out a few large shrimp as an exchange. Now that it was desperate, it had hauled out this entire pile. For a bird—and an ancient one at that—it was surprisingly cunning when it mattered. She couldn’t tell if it was genuinely stupid or just pretending!
Lost in thought, she didn’t notice Xi Yi spotting her until he pulled her down to sit beside him, pointing at the scattered hides and eggs.
Hides and eggs were nothing unusual, so Sha Yi wasn’t particularly interested—until her gaze landed on one hide that stood out from the rest. In both texture and color, it was extraordinary. Even fully unfolded, it was no larger than a medium-sized towel, yet she couldn’t look away.
It was a vibrant orange-red pelt, streaked with faint white hairs, its sheen so lustrous it seemed impossibly soft to the touch.
Noticing her fascination, Xi Yi reached over and handed her the hide. Then he began sorting through the eggs, rolling up the remaining mismatched pelts before walking to the “bathtub” and tossing the two lifeless-looking chicks back to the mother Pan Kuo.
Retrieving her young, the balding mother bird let out a series of excited, melodious cries before pecking each chick awake. Then, with her three offspring wobbling behind her, she proudly waddled back toward the river.
Clutching the small hide, Sha Yi stared after the triumphant bird, her expression a mix of disbelief and disdain.
By the time she snapped out of it, Xi Yi had already returned to the fire. He seemed intent on dismantling the vine net, but with his waist-tie broken and his loincloth torn in several places by the dried thorns, it was impossible—especially without a free hand to hold up the damaged garment.
Curious about his next move, Sha Yi stayed silent. Xi Yi tilted his head skyward for a long moment before lowering it again, deep in thought. Then, abruptly, he released his grip on his waist, letting the loincloth drop as he bent to pick up the long-abandoned net.
Sha Yi was utterly stunned, her heart pounding wildly. There seemed to be nothing this man wouldn’t do. The mindset of ancient people truly was… Well, at least he had bent over in time. If he hadn’t, even if he didn’t care, she would have died of secondhand embarrassment!
Xi Yi retrieved the net and sat beside her, oblivious to her thoughts. Out of habit, he reached for her, but Sha Yi recoiled in shock, reflexively draping the small hide over his waist.
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