Sha Yi felt a bit dizzy from his spinning, and during the process, her stomach uncooperatively growled loudly.
Xi Yi heard the sound of her stomach rumbling and paused mid-spin before stopping altogether.
Both of them had forgotten about the rabbit meat roasting over the fire. If they delayed any longer, the meat would turn to charcoal, and their only meal would likely be ruined.
Sha Yi was embarrassed, but Xi Yi reacted quite the opposite—he scooped her up horizontally and strode swiftly toward the edge of the forest.
By the time they reached the fire, several pieces of rabbit meat were indeed charred on one side, while the other side glistened with oil, the rich aroma making Sha Yi’s mouth water.
Handing her what he was holding, Xi Yi immediately set to work on the rabbit meat, while Sha Yi took the opportunity to spread the still-damp fur and cotton nightgown on a nearby rock.
There was still plenty of time before evening, and the warmth of the rock would be enough to dry the nightgown before they set off again. The fur, being thicker, might take longer, but whether it dried quickly or not wasn’t particularly important.
Xi Yi swiftly used a bone knife to carefully scrape off the charred parts of the rabbit meat before selecting the three most tender pieces and handing them to her.
Sha Yi was truly hungry. She took them without hesitation and began eating. This time, there were no seasonings—not even the spicy fruit powder from before—but she didn’t care. The few wild fruits she had eaten earlier had done little to curb her hunger, and she was so famished she felt almost nauseous.
Seeing her start, Xi Yi also took a piece from his own portion and began eating.
Perhaps because he was accustomed to bland flavors from birth, Xi Yi seemed to enjoy it thoroughly.
Out of the six pieces of rabbit meat, Sha Yi ate two before feeling full. She offered the remaining piece back to Xi Yi, who initially refused but eventually gave in and ate hers as well.
After finishing the roasted meat, they shared the remaining wild fruits, each eating until satisfied.
During their post-meal rest, Sha Yi checked the cotton nightgown and fur on the rock. The nightgown was already dry, while the fur was still slightly damp, though drying faster than she had expected.
Putting on the silk nightgown, Sha Yi estimated that the fur would likely dry completely by the time they left. She reached to take the cotton nightgown from the rock, intending to bandage Xi Yi’s wounds first, but as soon as she lifted it, a slender shadow darted out from the other side of the rock.
Startled, Sha Yi stumbled backward in panic and fell straight into Xi Yi’s arms. He, however, reacted naturally, wrapping an arm around her before pointing toward the rock for her to see.
It was a very small snake, about the length of her arm. It must have been hiding behind the rock earlier. Now, the drowsy Rong Mo, who had been squatting nearby, had already pounced onto its head, dealing with it the same way it had with the giant serpent.
Judging by Xi Yi’s calm reaction, Sha Yi guessed this little snake wasn’t particularly dangerous. Its small size made it an easy target, and after a few swipes from Rong Mo, it wobbled and collapsed.
Within moments, she watched as Rong Mo jumped off the snake’s head, used its tiny claws to pry open the snake’s belly, and pulled out its gallbladder before swallowing it whole.
Sha Yi was astonished—Rong Mo’s main diet was snake gallbladders! No wonder it hadn’t done anything in the morning—the giant serpent’s skin was too thick, and its gallbladder was probably too large for the little creature to handle.
No wonder Xi Yi had never fed it anything after catching it last night…
When Sha Yi turned to look at Xi Yi, he was curiously running his fingers over her silk nightgown, occasionally making admiring sounds, clearly fascinated by the fabric.
Sha Yi found his expression amusing and didn’t stop him—but she regretted it the next second when his large hand slipped inside the neckline of her dress, his rough palm brushing against the soft skin of her chest, sending shivers down her spine.
Sha Yi had had enough. She grabbed his wandering hand and yanked it out of her dress.
Xi Yi let out a disappointed grumble, but his eyes still lingered on the curves of her chest, his expression full of reluctance.
Sha Yi realized that Xi Yi must have developed a fondness for her after that one incident—now, his interest in her chest far outweighed his curiosity about her dress!
She was annoyed, even tempted to refuse bandaging his wounds, but he seemed to sense her irritation. He leaned in close, planting a kiss on her cheek before sliding his hands around her waist and pulling her snugly against him.
Perhaps Xi Yi knew she was upset with him, but he didn’t seem to understand why—nor did he show any intention of letting her go.
The audacity of his shamelessness might just be one of the differences between ancient and modern humans, Sha Yi mused, amused by her own thoughts.
Indeed, she couldn’t be bothered to dwell on his behavior. There was no point in trying to teach an ancient man modern manners when they couldn’t even communicate properly…
Letting it go, Sha Yi gestured for him to spread his arms. He didn’t quite understand, but he generally obeyed her requests—unless she tried to leave him, in which case he would absolutely refuse.
She threaded one of his arms through a sleeve of the cotton nightgown, trying to drape it over him like a robe.
But she had miscalculated. The oversized nightgown that fit her loosely was practically miniature on him—barely reaching his abdomen, and the sleeves were far too tight, stopping just above his elbows.
Xi Yi uncomfortably shook his arms a few times but didn’t try to remove it since she had put it on him. Sha Yi struggled for a while before finally resorting to cutting off the sleeves with her fruit knife and loosening the seams to make it somewhat wearable.
Yet when she finally managed to get the nightgown on him, another problem arose.
The width of the dress wasn’t enough to fully cover his body, leaving even some of his smaller wounds exposed.
Sha Yi’s original intention was to use the nightgown to shield his wounds—preventing sweat from causing infection and keeping out dirt and bacteria. But now…
She suddenly remembered the bone needle they had retrieved from the ugly bird’s cave earlier. If she sewed the detached sleeve fabric onto the dress, it might provide enough coverage for Xi Yi’s wounds.
Calling out to Xi Yi, she quickly dug out the bone needle from the bathtub, gathered some thread from the removed sleeves, and began stitching.
But it wasn’t as easy as she thought. The bone needle was too thick, and the cotton fabric’s weave was too fine. Each stitch required multiple attempts before she could push the needle through.
After some effort, she finally managed to sew the sleeve fabric onto the front of the nightgown. It looked a bit messy, but at least it widened the dress enough to fully cover Xi Yi’s wounds.
Appearance aside, Sha Yi was satisfied with the functionality. She smoothed out the fabric and tied the long straps securely around it, completing the makeshift garment.
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