While everyone was busy continuing to make bows and arrows, Sha Yi had nothing to do, so she simply lay back in the bathtub for a nap. Xi Yi, however, made a fuss, worried she might catch a cold, and insisted on covering her with several more animal hides. In the end, she woke up from the heat.
The others were still occupied with crafting bows and arrows, but by now, the bowstrings were all finished. Most were busy carving more black wood to ensure an ample supply of arrows.
Watching the bustling crowd, Sha Yi felt a small sense of accomplishment rise within her.
She hadn’t mentioned to them the idea that one bow should ideally be paired with multiple arrows. Among everyone in the cave, only Xi Yi had tested the arrows—perhaps this idea had sprouted from him.
She was pleased that Xi Yi could make decisions based on the actual situation.
Sha Yi sat in the bathtub for a while before lazily getting up.
It was the third day of her period, and the flow, like the storm that had raged all night, had finally eased. The cave gradually brightened as the dark sky faded.
By now, a long time must have passed since the appearance of the new horse. Outside the cave, there was no sign of any disturbance.
Perhaps, due to the large distance they had put between themselves and the pursuing beast, combined with the storm, the predator had lost track and failed to catch up.
Xi Yi seemed to share her thoughts, for when he noticed she was awake, he didn’t bring it up. Instead, he simply turned and smiled at her before saying softly, “The rain seems to have lightened a lot. Later, Ma Rui and I will go bury the horse carcass. You stay in the cave. If you’re hungry, ask Xi Gu to make soup.”
Sha Yi was about to laugh at his constant overprotectiveness when, unexpectedly, a deafening thunderclap struck the moment she opened her mouth.
The thunder was so loud it seemed to shake the entire cave.
Before anyone could react, a second explosive boom followed.
Sha Yi was startled, and so was everyone else in the cave. They exchanged wide-eyed glances, but not a single person uttered a word.
After standing frozen for a moment, Sha Yi was the first to snap out of it. Frantically, she crouched down and grabbed the burly man’s arm. “Xi Yi, where did you put those thick ochre vines yesterday?”
“Near the bamboo grove you visited earlier. There’s a cluster of Pasa trees—they’re the straightest in this area, and there are plenty of them. I left the thick vines there.”
That grove wasn’t exactly close, but it wasn’t too far either. Still, it was a dense cluster of trees. She wasn’t worried about lightning causing a fire in this storm, but if a single strike—possibly drawn by those ochre vines—destroyed an entire grove, the loss would outweigh the gain.
Right now was the peak of the rainy season’s storms. Flooding could easily accelerate under such conditions. If large numbers of trees were destroyed, even if they built rafts, it would still be a severe disadvantage for them.
During floods, trees—especially the towering giants of prehistoric times—not only anchored the soil but also served as crucial buffers and barriers.
The land they were on happened to be right by the bank of a major river’s tributary. The embankment was barely higher than the water level, and the isolated patch of land was small enough that flooding it would be effortless—just a few days of continuous heavy rain would do it.
Thinking this, she said, “Xi Yi, if that lightning strike just now hit a large area of trees, when the flooding comes, the lighter broken logs will likely be uprooted and washed away. Once the soil erodes, we could face a dire situation.”
The man sitting on the ground immediately understood and scrambled to his feet. “I’ll go check right now!”
Before the words had fully left his mouth, Xi Yi shot toward the cave entrance like an arrow. With a push and a shift, the boulder blocking the entrance was moved just enough for a person to slip through.
Sha Yi called out, “Hey—” but her voice couldn’t keep up with his speed. Helplessly, she watched as Xi Yi’s figure vanished outside.
Nearby, Ma Rui, also sitting on the ground, was dumbfounded.
He had heard every word of their conversation, but… he didn’t quite grasp what it meant. Still, recalling their earlier discussion about the dangers in the woods and realizing Xi Yi had gone out alone, Ma Rui couldn’t stay put either. With a shout, he dashed out after him.
One after another, nearly half the cave’s occupants followed suit.
Outside, though the rain had lessened, it was still falling, accompanied by intermittent flashes of lightning.
Judging by the look of things, the rain wouldn’t stop—or if it did, it would only be a brief pause. The dark sky had lightened somewhat, but it remained misty and gloomy.
For now, the thunder, downpour, and gales were bound to return, endlessly.
Sha Yi wanted to follow and see for herself, but she didn’t dare venture out recklessly. Her period held her back—she had the will but not the nerve.
Though she had carefully considered and calculated the distance of lightning strikes and tree heights, the ochre vines had ultimately been left to Xi Yi to place.
He had said he left them in that Pasa tree cluster. While this didn’t directly affect them now, she feared that a large-scale strike on the grove might hasten flooding in the area. Moreover, the intensity of the storm and lightning was unexpected.
But with her period and the rain both working against her, she had no choice but to stay in the cave and wait for the storm to pass. Though she was burning with impatience, there was nothing she could do about the weather.
Fortunately, the rain soon stopped.
Sha Yi didn’t even bother checking the sky to guess when the next downpour might come. In a rush of urgency, she hurried out after them, forgetting even to call for someone to accompany her.
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