In a momentary lapse of attention, Saina had already struck up a conversation with Xi Yi, and the two began discussing the day’s plans.
A cloudy day without rain was already a rarity, let alone a sunny one. Seeing the sun high in the sky, it was indeed time to get down to business.
During the days of heavy rain, she had described to them the design of a simple raft, including some basic construction methods. Originally, she had planned to assign people to quickly assemble one once the thunderstorms ceased. Now, however, they had ample time, and the two men seemed to have already divided the tasks between them.
Yet, due to safety concerns in the area, they dared not split into multiple teams as they had in the old settlement’s caves. Instead, they formed only two groups, ensuring each had enough people to escape or fight back if danger arose.
In this era, still far removed from the age of cold weapons, strength in numbers was undoubtedly the only viable strategy.
Of course, she—the outlier—had to be excluded.
Once the two men finished their discussion, she expected him to set her down as usual, offer a few words of caution, and leave. To her surprise, he simply carried her toward the Passa tree grove without hesitation.
The group of men behind him busied themselves with organizing the thick vines and stone tools in their hands, paying no attention to the two of them. Even Saina walked off in another direction without a backward glance.
Sha Yi let out a soft “Hey,” but Xi Yi promptly lowered his head and grinned. “Didn’t you say you haven’t bathed in days? I’ll take you somewhere first.”
His words carried amusement, his eyes teasing.
Moreover, he acted the moment he spoke, giving her no chance to resist. Sha Yi stewed in frustration for a long while before realizing she hadn’t even brought a change of clothes. By then, he had already carried her a considerable distance, making it pointless to turn back—not that he would agree anyway.
In the end, she could only grumble at him in annoyance.
Xi Yi remained unfazed. Though he heard her complaints, he merely laughed and offered to wash her dirty clothes for her, assuring her that the intense sunlight would dry them quickly enough.
Sha Yi said nothing more, but inwardly, she felt uneasy.
Not for any trivial reason—the dangers of this forest were beyond expectation. Bathing? At this point, she didn’t even dare approach the riverbank, fearing another encounter with the snake. If Xi Yi insisted on taking her there, she’d have to settle for a quick rinse.
After all, ever since her period ended, she had only managed with makeshift sponge baths. Even though she hadn’t sweated much in recent days, she still found it unbearable.
Regardless, once the raft situation was resolved—perhaps even within the next couple of days—she was determined to clear out a tub for proper bathing. No more suffering through anxiety and discomfort.
Xi Yi moved swiftly, his pace steady even as the water reached his knees. His height and strength were undeniable advantages, and Sha Yi couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. However, as they passed a particularly strange-looking stretch of forest, he suddenly stopped.
Unaware of the situation, she looked up at his abrupt halt and saw that many of the trees in that eerie grove had fallen—some seemingly struck by lightning, others as if uprooted by some calamity.
The water was deep, obscuring the details. She gestured for Xi Yi to set her down, but he seemed reluctant, hesitating for a long moment before slowly lowering her. Even then, he didn’t fully release her—though her feet touched the ground, he kept a firm grip on her hand, refusing to let go no matter how much she protested.
Resigned, Sha Yi understood his concern and simply tugged him along to inspect the fallen trees.
The bizarre, toppled trees themselves appeared unharmed, but the pits left by the uprooted ones revealed something unusual. Through the murky water, she could faintly make out patches of bluish-green and yellowish-white glimmers in the mud below.
The pits were deep, and the water made clear observation impossible. Still, with a bit of focus, she could discern the details.
Curious, she checked a few more uprooted pits and found the same phenomenon in each.
Xi Yi, unsure what she was looking for, finally grew impatient after following her around and pressed a hand on her shoulder. “What exactly are you looking at?”
“I was just—” She cut herself off mid-sentence, suddenly remembering his astonishingly sharp eyesight. Changing tack, she asked, “Xi Yi, come take a look. Do you see bluish-green and yellowish-white glimmers in these pits?”
Though puzzled, he humored her and checked.
After surveying several pits, he confirmed that each one indeed emitted the same hues through the rippling water. Yet, he pointed at the tangled roots of one fallen tree. “They’re on the roots too. Is it the same thing?”
On the roots?
Following his finger, Sha Yi spotted a rock-like object entwined in the gnarled roots. Covered in damp, dark-gray mud, patches of mottled bluish-green and yellowish-white peeked through where the dirt had worn away. It resembled some kind of metal ore.
Instinctively, she suspected it might be a type of copper ore, though she wasn’t entirely sure. For now, she simply asked Xi Yi to retrieve it so they could examine it later.
The ore wasn’t overly large—about the size of Xi Yi’s palm. Though separated by a deep pit, his height made retrieval effortless.
Just then, the men assigned to Xi Yi’s raft-building team caught up. After a brief exchange, they continued toward the Passa grove without pause.
Given the recent thunderstorms and the abundance of reddish-brown vines, there were likely plenty of felled Passa trees—not to mention those damaged during the earlier serpent battle. Building a few rafts shouldn’t be an issue, so she set aside her worries.
As for the ore in this area, the flooded conditions made extraction impossible. Smelting was out of the question during the rainy season anyway. They’d have to wait until the seasons changed—no use rushing.
With that settled, she tugged at Xi Yi again. “So, where’s this bathing spot? It’s not the river, is it?”
At her question, Xi Yi promptly tucked the ore into a small vine pouch at his waist, scooped her up again, and grinned. “If it were the river, would I bother taking you there? Besides, with the water this high, I wouldn’t trust you to bathe in it.”
“Then where is it?” Her curiosity piqued, Sha Yi grew eager.
Seemingly intent on teasing her, he chuckled but refused to elaborate, drawling, “You’ll see when we get there!”
Sha Yi’s heart sank.
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