When Sha Yi woke up, she saw the moon high in the sky through the gaps in the leaves—it was already deep into the night.
She vaguely remembered crying until she was dazed, and then the man had carried her here.
It was a small cave, hidden behind large leaves resembling banana plants, situated in a relatively high location. Large nocturnal predators rarely ventured to such places, and the man had blocked the entrance with several large rocks. Though not airtight, it was still secure.
Thinking of the man, Sha Yi felt a slight irritation. The rocks had been placed from the outside, meaning he wasn’t in the cave now.
Part of her didn’t want to see him, yet without him, she had no idea where to go—especially now, when she found herself conflicted, half-wishing he were by her side.
She had never been particularly brave, and now, stranded in the ancient wilderness in the dead of night, she was utterly alone.
As her thoughts swirled, a faint noise came from the rocks blocking the entrance.
Sha Yi tensed and quickly scrambled behind a pile of loose stones.
A bright beam of light pierced through, followed by the silhouette of a tall figure. After a soft rustling, the light vanished, and the rocks were pushed back into place.
It was the man—he had returned.
Though the cave entrance was sealed, tiny holes in the walls allowed enough dim light for her to easily recognize him.
The man walked over to where she had been lying earlier. Not finding her, he seemed agitated, pacing around the cave.
Only then did Sha Yi slowly emerge from behind the rocks.
Relieved, the man approached and pulled her to sit on the fur he had laid out. From behind him, he retrieved a handful of damp plant roots, chewed them for a while, then spat them out and pressed the pulp onto the two swollen mosquito bites on her skin.
Apparently, he had gone out in the middle of the night just to find these roots for her.
Though she still resisted everything about this place, she couldn’t help but be moved by his actions.
His care for her was meticulous to an almost excessive degree.
Unable to resist, Sha Yi stole a glance at this man from the ancient past.
The cave was dim but not pitch-black. Oblivious to her gaze, the man remained focused on chewing the roots and applying them to her bites.
Under the cover of the faint light, his concentration emboldened her. She studied him for a long while, only to notice, just as she was about to look away, a deep, bleeding gash on his muscular arm. The wound was still fresh, blood trickling steadily.
Compared to her mosquito bites, his injury was far worse—yet he seemed completely unfazed.
A sudden thought crossed her mind: *If this man could go to the modern world, living with him might not be so bad. He does seem incredibly reliable.*
The next second, she startled at her own idea—*This is a prehistoric wild man!*
A modern woman like her, living with an ancient human… A phrase floated into her mind: *Such a fine cabbage, ruined by a pig!*
Unable to hold back, Sha Yi burst into laughter. The man’s gaze immediately snapped to her face.
She saw relief in his eyes.
Come to think of it, ever since she started crying, his expression had been full of worry. Now that she was laughing, he seemed to exhale deeply, his tension easing—even if he had no clue why she was laughing.
By then, he had finished applying the chewed roots to her bites. He carefully adjusted the fur beneath her, then pulled out a thinner hide and handed it to her.
It seemed this smaller hide was meant as a blanket. Though the days here were scorching, the nights brought a sharp drop in temperature.
Taking the fur, Sha Yi watched as the man spread several large leaves beside her before settling down himself. He turned to her and said, “Gunama.” (*Note: “Gunama” means “Sleep.”*)
She guessed it was his way of telling her to rest, but she didn’t move, her eyes lingering on his injured arm.
Blood had begun to drip. The wound might be worse than she thought.
Noticing her gaze, the man glanced at his arm, shrugged dismissively, then abruptly scooted backward, grabbing a random leaf to wipe at it haphazardly.
Finished, he grinned at her—an almost sheepish, appeasing smile.
The rough treatment only made the wound bleed more. Sha Yi felt an inexplicable pang in her chest.
Perhaps, after the snake-blood incident, he assumed she despised the sight of blood.
When he had skinned the rabbit earlier, he had deliberately avoided doing it near the lake where she could see. Now, injured, he had put distance between them, wiping his wound carelessly with whatever was at hand…
Yet from their interactions over the past two days, it was clear he preferred being close to her. The realization made her heart ache for him.
Seeing him about to stand and “escape,” Sha Yi worried he might aggravate the injury. She quickly lunged forward and yanked him back down.
The man seemed reluctant but unwilling to refuse her. He let her pull him down, wearing an expression of resigned acceptance.
Sha Yi sighed inwardly. She examined his arm, carefully picking away debris around the wound, then scraped some of the plant pulp from her shoulder and gently dabbed it on the injury, wiping away the blood.
In her experience, wounds like his shouldn’t be sealed airtight. She would have preferred cleaning it with water, but there was none in the cave—and even if fetched, it would need boiling.
She didn’t want him running around in the middle of the night, which wouldn’t help the wound anyway. For now, this would have to do. She just hoped it wouldn’t fester.
When she looked up, the man was staring at her again, his eyes brimming with astonished delight.
*Still the same old him…* Sha Yi awkwardly shoved him.
Caught off guard, the man toppled onto the leaves but didn’t get angry. Instead, he laughed heartily and yanked her down with him.
Sha Yi tumbled straight into his arms. It didn’t hurt much, but it wasn’t comfortable either—his muscles were too hard, and her waist ached from the impact.
Annoyed, she punched his chest. Just as she raised her fist for another strike, she remembered his injury and reluctantly lowered her hand.
The man chuckled again, delighted, and suddenly pulled her into a crushing embrace—so tight it felt like he wanted to meld her into himself.
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