This sleep was deep and dreamless, so much so that Sha Yi was practically dead to the world, completely unaware of anything that happened while she was asleep. By the time she woke up, it was already the next day.
In the bathtub, she lay alone in comfort—Xiyi had already left.
After lounging for a while longer, she lazily sat up, pushed aside a piece of animal hide serving as a curtain, and peered through the gap.
This was the first clear day after the thunderstorm. The sunlight was unusually intense, illuminating the entire cave in a bright glow.
Aside from a few people tending the fire, the cave was mostly empty. They had likely taken advantage of the rare sunny weather to prepare for hunting and gathering food.
Staring at the blinding light at the cave entrance, Sha Yi vaguely felt that this was similar to the day the thunderstorm had arrived. Each sunny day would only worsen the subsequent rainfall. Just like in modern times—each autumn rain brought colder weather—though the weather patterns of this era were far more erratic. With her modern mindset, understanding and adapting to it was relatively difficult.
Lost in thought, she sat there for a short while before her stomach began to growl. Sha Yi sighed in resignation. After enduring the hunger for a bit, she finally gave in and slowly got up to search for food. But the moment she moved, her entire body felt as if it had fallen apart. The previous day hadn’t been so bad, but now, every part of her ached. Even her legs felt as heavy as lead.
Outside the animal hide, Xiyi and the others were nowhere to be seen. Even the youngest, Masa, and Xigu, who usually stayed around, were missing. Her plan to find something to eat was completely foiled.
With no other choice, Sha Yi could only trudge slowly toward the cave entrance.
Before she had gone far, she noticed something amiss.
On the side of the cave entrance—opposite to where Saina and his group resided—there was now a massive, ragged gap. Compared to what she had seen before, it looked as though it had suffered a catastrophe. A portion of the stone wall had collapsed, and even the remaining sections were cracked, with occasional debris and dust falling from the damaged areas. The entire wall seemed on the verge of further disintegration.
Inside, the small group that had once lived against that wall had now relocated deeper into the cave.
After observing for a while, Sha Yi concluded that this must have been the work of the lightning. However, since it wasn’t her place to interfere with other groups, she remained silent and walked straight out of the cave.
Though she had already known from inside that it was an intensely sunny day, she hadn’t expected the sunlight to be so extreme. After standing there for a moment, she no longer wanted to step outside. Just as she was about to turn back, she heard a commotion outside.
It was a small group she didn’t recognize—about four or five people—carrying someone who seemed to have lost all signs of life. Amid the noise, there were traces of grief and resentment. She had wanted to listen to their conversation, but their speech was so disjointed that she couldn’t make sense of it no matter how long she listened. Eventually, she gave up.
Then, from another direction, a woman’s voice called her name.
Sha Yi reflexively turned and saw the two women who had later joined Xiyi’s group crouching at the cave entrance. There was also another woman and a little girl—she recognized them as the ones who had chosen to join Saina’s group. Originally, they must have been from the same tribe as the two women who had joined Xiyi’s side.
Now, they were all looking at her with smiles and friendly expressions.
Sha Yi noticed that the baby she and Xiyi had found was being held by the woman from Saina’s group, nursing at her breast…
She was momentarily stunned but ultimately said nothing. Yesterday, she had suspected that someone might recognize the baby, and now her guess was confirmed.
However, something in her gut told her that this woman nursing the baby wasn’t actually its mother. Instead, she instinctively felt that the most likely scenario was that this woman had also lost her own child. By coincidence, she and the baby’s mother had been from the same tribe, so she was familiar with the infant.
The women had no idea what she was thinking. Seeing her dazed, the one who had called her name stood up, walked over, and handed her a piece of nearly cooked roasted meat. She then spoke a string of words, frequently mentioning Xiyi’s name.
Sha Yi easily understood her meaning.
Roughly, Xiyi had gone out hunting with the others, while Xigu and Masa had gone to gather edible plants. These women, being newcomers, had stayed behind to prepare food and take care of her. The roasted meat had been prepared on Xiyi’s orders.
But having just woken up and still feeling exhausted, she wasn’t in the mood for greasy food. After glancing at the large piece of meat in the woman’s hand, Sha Yi politely declined with a shake of her head.
Just then, the baby, who had been nursing, suddenly lifted its head, looked at her from afar, and giggled before stretching out its tiny arms toward her.
The woman holding the baby didn’t hesitate. She stood up, walked over, and handed the infant to Sha Yi.
Sha Yi was stunned. After a long moment of hesitation, she accepted the child with flattered surprise. The baby’s unconscious gesture instantly lightened her mood.
She played with the little one for a while until it grew sleepy again, at which point she stopped.
Seeing this, the woman who had offered her the roasted meat suddenly spoke again. This time, however, her words were halting, some even stuttered, and her expression was awkward. At first, Sha Yi was puzzled, but soon she understood.
The woman was explaining the baby’s origins and how the nursing woman had lost her own child two days ago during the thunderstorm. She was pleading with Sha Yi to let the nursing woman keep the baby.
Sha Yi hesitated. But recalling Xigu’s comical disdain, Xiyi’s complete lack of understanding, and her own inexperience, she realized the woman’s request was actually the best solution. Moreover, she had no milk to feed the baby. In every way, it made more sense for this woman to adopt the child.
Besides, the baby originally belonged to their tribe—she should have returned it to them anyway. Now that all the groups were living together, if she ever missed the child, she could always visit. The proximity made it convenient.
With that in mind, Sha Yi stopped resisting and nodded slowly, only adding that the woman should seek Xiyi’s approval as well.
But this time, she had overthought it. The woman immediately told her that Xiyi had said the decision was hers to make—he would follow her lead.
Sha Yi was so shocked she felt fried inside and out. Meanwhile, the nursing woman happily took the baby back into her arms.
Sighing, Sha Yi decided it was best to return to the cave. For one, the women’s jubilant mood was making her inexplicably gloomy. And secondly, the blinding sunlight outside was unbearable.
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