It seemed even Xi Yi didn’t realize how dangerous this place was, otherwise he wouldn’t have agreed so readily when she suggested moving here temporarily as a stopgap.
To put it bluntly, it was probably because they had never encountered random threats before, so their vigilance was somewhat lacking. Fortunately, the misfortune of this newly discovered horse served as a warning, effectively preventing a tragedy within their settlement.
Given the current situation, they could no longer afford to be careless.
From now on, even simple tasks like washing or picking fruit would likely require going in groups—otherwise…
Looking at this newly discovered horse, despite its small size, it still stood about one and a half meters tall. Even if its defenses were weak, as an ancestor in the evolutionary path of horses, it should at least have some baseline endurance and speed. How could it have ended up in such a state?
As if sensing her confusion, Xi Yi gently set down the barely breathing horse and spoke slowly: “It seems like it’s about to give birth. Look.”
Following his finger, Sha Yi’s gaze landed on the swollen part of its abdomen.
In fact, she had noticed this detail back at the mountain pass, but uncertainty and the urgency of entering the cave had prevented her from dwelling on it. Now that Xi Yi had pointed it out, she fully believed it was indeed pregnant.
However, under their scrutiny, the severely injured horse had no strength left. It lay on the ground, breathing weakly.
It didn’t seem like it had much time left.
Sha Yi felt helpless and sad, knowing there was nothing she could do. In the end, she could only sit there, watching helplessly.
Just as she was racking her brain, the horse suddenly began struggling violently, mustering all its strength to rise from the ground.
Sha Yi was startled by the sudden movement, but the horse showed no signs of aggression or defense. It staggered a few steps before collapsing again.
This time, it fell beside Xi Yi’s leg.
Xi Yi, too, was taken aback. As he moved to step aside, the horse rested its head against his leg, nuzzling lightly. It opened its mouth as if trying to whinny, but no sound came out.
Xi Yi abandoned any thought of moving away and stood still, letting it lean against him.
But sadly, after only a brief moment, the horse slid weakly back to the ground, its chest heaving violently.
Whether it was the unwillingness to die or a silent plea for help, the sight only deepened Sha Yi’s sorrow. Yet, she couldn’t think of any way to save it.
After sitting in silence for a while, Xi Yi suddenly reached out and pulled her up, hesitantly whispering, “Sha Yi, is it… giving birth?”
Giving birth—his words struck her like lightning. Xi Yi was probably right!
Recalling its pitiful state and the way it had nuzzled them twice, it must have been pleading for help all along!
She couldn’t be sure if all animals possessed such awareness, but maternal instinct could transcend everything. Given its injuries, if not for the foal inside, it likely wouldn’t have run so far.
Weak from pregnancy, battered by the storm, fleeing such a distance, severely wounded, and losing so much blood—if not for its determination to protect its unborn foal, it would never have survived this long!
She had been foolish. Even after suspecting its pregnancy, she hadn’t understood its actions, while Xi Yi, a man, had grasped it perfectly.
Glancing at him, he tilted his chin slightly and asked, “How do we help it give birth?”
Delivering a foal? For an animal?
That was indeed a challenge.
Especially since this horse wasn’t dead yet, and Xi Yi was a man!
After a long hesitation, she instinctively placed her hand on its abdomen.
Feeling her touch, the horse struggled to lift its head, panting heavily as it looked back at her. Moments later, it slowly lowered its head again.
In that brief instant, Sha Yi realized the horse’s breathing beneath her hand was fading. Soon, it stopped entirely.
She couldn’t believe it and checked its nostrils, but there was no breath.
It was dead.
After a brief daze, Sha Yi snapped back to reality and urgently tugged at Xi Yi. “Xi Yi, quickly—get me a knife! The kind I use!”
Though confused, Xi Yi didn’t question her. He obediently fetched the sharp, gleaming fruit knife and handed it to her.
Originally, she had been a squeamish girl who couldn’t stand the sight of blood, let alone handle poultry or similar tasks. Though capable, she had grown somewhat spoiled over the years and avoided anything involving blood.
But ever since arriving in this ancient era, she had shed all her former delicacy. Not only that, the girl who once felt nauseous at the sight of blood could now perform an animal dissection without flinching.
Fate truly loved testing people. The distance from one extreme to another was just a single opportunity away.
Now, even with blood staining her hands and performing the most brutal and gory task of dissection, she felt no discomfort. Humans truly had no limits to what they could adapt to!
Under dire circumstances—or driven by survival instincts—potential was unimaginable.
However, she lacked experience and fumbled for a while before finishing.
She extracted three foals. One was in poor condition, while the other two were slightly better but still not optimistic. Neither of them had any experience, so they hesitated to act rashly.
In the end, Xi Yi found some leaves and lined them with small pieces of animal hide before placing the three foals inside. He didn’t even dare wipe the blood off their bodies.
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