“Really.” Sha Yi quickly changed the subject, pointing at Xi Gu, who was busy cleaning the blood off the foal nearby, as if to vouch for her words. “By the way, Xi Yi, I think we should domesticate animals. Of course, this would have to wait until we find a more stable place to settle, but now that we have three foals, it would be great if we could raise them. Later, we could also raise other animals. That way, when we encounter certain problems, we won’t go hungry. It should be better than just relying on preserved food.”
“What you’re saying makes a lot of sense.” His enthusiasm was instantly sparked by her words, and he momentarily forgot the heavy topic from earlier. “But how do we domesticate them? How do we catch them during hunts?”
“Animals meant for food don’t require much effort—just try to catch them alive during hunts.” Seeing Xi Yi regain his usual energy, she turned back to picking mushrooms and continued only after placing them in the basin. “But foals like the ones today are different—we can’t treat them as food. If properly tamed, they can actually help us in daily life.”
“Before, I’d thought about hunting them because they seemed docile and had a lot of meat.” Not wanting her to overwork, Xi Yi immediately pulled her aside to sit down, then took the preserved meat she had just retrieved and began cutting it, mimicking her movements. As he worked, he didn’t forget to continue the conversation. “But they run too fast—it’s impossible to catch them. They’re rarely seen in the forest, and I don’t know why this one ran into our area today.”
“Do they not live in this region?”
“Probably not, or at least very few do. A long time ago, I only saw one or two when I went to more distant places with Xi Mang. They seem to prefer relatively open areas. There are also some other small groups living there, but we’ve had no contact with them, and we’ve never dared to intrude into their territory.”
Based on the smaller size of the foals compared to modern horses and their underdeveloped hooves, she had assumed they would be better suited to living in the forest, where weaving through trees would help them survive dangers.
But Xi Yi’s words suggested their habitat was definitely not in the forest, making her doubt her own reasoning.
Still, some parts of the forest were too densely vegetated for their current size—squeezing through would be difficult, and jumping over was impossible. If they were evolving to prioritize survival over food, it wasn’t entirely implausible.
As for their hoof development, their current speed was likely slower than modern horses but still faster than many forest-dwelling animals.
Take today, for example. If not for being heavily pregnant and close to giving birth, this foal might have escaped unharmed. Instead, they found it badly bitten and bleeding, having fled into the forest.
She guessed that perhaps it had circled the open area many times with the predator chasing it until its physical condition forced it into the forest. Maneuvering through the dense undergrowth was difficult, and though it suffered bites, it managed to escape and shake off the predator. By the time it reached their area, it could run no further.
Relocating their habitat to open areas might mean sacrificing abundant, tender leaves, but the increased speed relative to their size would improve survival rates. Even if the food wasn’t as plentiful, staying alive would be worth it.
This time, it was likely an emergency—the foal had exhausted all its efforts but still couldn’t overcome the situation.
Though unfortunate, this incident created an opportunity for their domestication and breeding plans.
However, given their current circumstances, breeding was impractical, and even taming these three foals would be a challenge—she wasn’t sure if they could survive this difficult period.
Xi Yi was still cutting the meat, but her thoughts turned to the predator that might have followed the foal, making her tense. “Xi Yi, could the thing that attacked the foal come here?”
“I can’t say for sure. It might, or it might not. We’ve had predators pass by before, but back then, we lived in trees, so even if they came, it didn’t affect us.” Smiling at her, he dumped the sliced meat into the stainless-steel basin and added after cleaning up, “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
It sounded like both reassurance and confidence. Either way, his words worked—just as he had always been obedient to her, she was beginning to trust his words completely.
Thanks to his assurance, her unease gradually faded.
Meanwhile, Xi Gu walked over from a distance. Seeing them both sitting silently, he couldn’t help but ask bluntly, “Why are you just sitting here without talking? What should we do with that thing over there? Eat it?”
Sha Yi felt a headache coming on at Xi Gu’s unfiltered honesty.
Truthfully, eating the foal’s carcass felt heartless, but wasting it was also a shame. She was genuinely conflicted, so despite Xi Gu’s question, she remained silent.
When she didn’t answer, Xi Gu turned to his brother and pressed in a low voice, “Hmm?”—still seeking an answer.
Xi Yi also stayed quiet for a long moment before sighing and whispering, “Bury it. Keep the foals to raise.”
His answer surprised her.
She had expected him to defer the decision to her, letting her make the call, but instead, he had perfectly understood her thoughts.
In the end, Xi Gu silently agreed with Xi Yi’s decision, though he questioned the practicality of raising the foals, given the difficulties of feeding them.
She shared the same concern—keeping the foals alive would be extremely challenging.
As silence fell, the boiling mushroom and meat stew filled the air with its aroma. Not only did she feel hungry, but the others, who had been asleep, also began to stir.
It was time to eat.
Exchanging glances, the three of them said no more. As Xi Yi stood up, he suddenly remembered something and leaned in to whisper to her, “We can look for those fruits we used for the baby last time in the forest below the slope. I think I’ve seen them here before. When the time’s right, I’ll go search.”
With that, he quickly left the cooking cave to cover the foal’s remains.
After considering Xi Yi’s suggestion, Sha Yi thought it was feasible—at least for the short term.
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