Chapter 103: Preventing Intra‑Tribal Incestuous Marriage

Acai murmurs, chewing her name, as if she could eat her flesh and drink her fresh blood.

The weather was fine that day, the mountain forest air was fresh, specks of sunlight filtered through the dense woods, and Nan Qinghuan learned from the tribe members about the cave where Shiva lived; when she arrived at a clearing, Shiva was decorating the cave with several tribe members.

Indeed, marriages within the tribe were still somewhat solemn; although they were savages, they still observed the proper sense of ceremony, using the freshest little crown flower blossoms and various colorful wildflowers to decorate the cave, giving a festive wedding feeling, and the tribe members recognized her as soon as she arrived.

"Om has arrived, Om, why have you come?"

A few flower‑gathering women greeted her; Nan Qinghuan smiled and glanced at Shiva, who was also looking at her, and said, "What are you doing…"

"Tonight is the day Azi and her brother get married; we're decorating the cave. Om, will you help too?"

"I'll pass, I won't come; I have business with Shiva."

Shiva, hearing that she was looking for her, responded indifferently, "Why is Om looking for the old woman?"

Nan Qinghuan knew the old woman would give her a cold stare; she stepped forward to look at Shiva, saw her pallid yellow face and foul breath, and she roughly understood something.

"Shiva, I have something to tell you; shall we find a place to talk?"

Shiva seemed to know she would come, and sneered, "Om, are you planning to interfere with Azi's wedding?"

She was startled; she hadn't expected Shiva to guess, but indeed, she intended to intervene in this matter.

"That's right, I welcome tribal marriages, but Azi cannot marry her own brother; such close‑kin marriage will cause a disaster."

"Absurd! For thousands of years our tribe has reproduced this way; what problem could arise? Nan Qinghuan, don't think that Ying's favor lets you look down on anyone. Let me tell you, no one can stop this marriage. If you try to block this good thing, you become the tribe's greatest enemy. Do you dare?"

Shiva was badly humiliated by Nan Qinghuan last time; she doesn't believe she is any Heaven's Daughter, even though she knows she is now the female chief of the Cannibal Tribe and has brought the delicious sweet potatoes. In Shiva's mind, this female is there to undermine her, so this time she must make Ying punish her severely, preferably driving her out of Ying's tribe back to the Cannibal Tribe.

Nan Qinghuan saw the old woman still held a grudge; she didn't argue, since she had come seeking a favor today. She gave an awkward smile, "Shiva, the incident last time was indeed my oversight. From now on we'll get along peacefully; you remain Shiva of the tribe, and everyone will respect you as before. How does that sound?"

Shiva suddenly sensed something off about Nan Qinghuan; how could she want to get along peacefully with her? "What business do you have with the old woman?"

Nan Qinghuan smiled, "That's right, I have business with you: I need a medicine that lets a woman eat it without becoming pregnant."

"You say it prevents pregnancy?"

Shiva stared at her as if seeing a ghost, then seemed to understand, "So you don't want to bear Ying's child? Nan Qinghuan, you are bold; you dare…"

"Whether I dare is my own matter, Shiva. Don't you despise me? I will eventually leave this place, so the child must not be born; a child born without A Mu is also very pitiful, don't you think?"

Hearing this, Shiva was somewhat startled; how did she know she wanted her to leave? "Nan Qinghuan, so many females want to bear Ying's children; why won't you?"

She pursed her lips, "That's them, not me. Give me that kind of medicine, and I promise I won't expose you, and I'll also treat your illness. How about it?"

Shiva sneered, her face contorting, "Treat illness? What illness?"

She leaned in slightly, and her nose instantly caught a foul smell; she made a disgusted comment, "Haven't you been able to defecate lately?"

"You…"

Shiva was a bit embarrassed by her remark, but glared at her fiercely, "How do you know?"

She had been eating those fruits and meat for a full five days and couldn't defecate; the pain swelled her buttocks.

"I'm a doctor, so I obviously know; give me the medicine."

She knew the tribe possessed a natural contraceptive herb, so she planned to take it behind Ying's back; once she knew its ingredients, she wouldn't need to rely on this old woman and could source a matching remedy herself outside.

Having solved the contraception issue, she could pursue agricultural production without worries and lead the tribe toward prosperity.

Shiva already despised her; seeing that she wanted a contraceptive medicine, she took out a few dried leaves from her waist and handed them over, "This is what you asked for; under no circumstances say it came from me, otherwise Ying won't forgive you, and I'll share your misfortune."

She immediately examined the leaves and was surprised to find they were sour‑sweet grass, a natural contraceptive herb; however, it must not be taken in excess, as overuse disrupts menstruation and prevents conception.

"Rest assured, I won't be that foolish to betray you, and you won't be that foolish to betray me, right?"

"Where's the medicine?"

Shiva didn't waste words; she knew Nan Qinghuan's medical skill was superb, but she couldn't obtain the child‑bearing medicine herself—only she had it.

Nan Qinghuan pulled a pack of Sanhuang Tablets from her pocket and handed them to her, "Take three of these, dissolve in water once; I guarantee they'll clear heat and stop the constipation."

Shiva, having never seen modern Sanhuang Tablets, was somewhat skeptical, "What kind of medicine is this?"

Nan Qinghuan, too lazy to bother, said, "Try it and you'll know; I'm leaving."

She turned and walked away; Shiva saw her departing back and sneered, "Someone, come."

A female wildwoman came up from behind, "Shiva, do you need anything?"

"Go tell Dashan that Nan Qinghuan secretly ate sour leaf grass; she doesn't want to give Ying a child."

Hearing this, the female wildwoman was shocked; she glanced toward the direction Nan Qinghuan had gone and asked, "Shiva, was what you just said true?"

After leaving Shiva's cave, Nan Qinghuan prepared to find the bride Azi to try to stop the wedding, but when she set out she heard that Azi had already gone to Chonglin You Mountain and wouldn't return until nightfall.

Thus... the tribe held the celebration in the dead of night; only after the night grew deep and quiet, even the beasts returned to their dens, did the tribe begin to revel.

Under a thin moon and sparse stars, the forest echoed with tribal songs and dances; after preparing everything, Nan Qinghuan sat beside Ying, watching the tribe intermittently.

She had to admit, after they put on coarse hemp robes, they no longer seemed like savages but rather like villagers.

Indeed, the most primitive villagers.

She silently vowed to turn this place into the most prosperous region.

Drum rhythms drifted in, intermittent yet surprisingly pleasant; Dashan and Ji Lei, Ying's capable assistants, unexpectedly also took up drumming.

The drum‑beat passing of the flower was very lively.

The tribe joyfully circled the bonfire, dancing and singing tunes she couldn't understand; Shiva, dressed in a bizarre garb that made her look like a witch, muttered incantations, then dipped a branch in water and sprinkled it over the groom, as if offering a blessing.

Ying saw that she was so obedient and silent tonight; he tightly wrapped his arms around her waist, pressed his head close to her, and said, "Huaner, what are you looking at?"

Nan Qinghuan felt uneasy being waist‑held; she glanced at the scar on Ying's leg, which had already healed into a mark that resembled a snarling centipede crawling over his thigh.

She felt a bit nervous, gently nudged his hand, but found he didn't move at all, so she let it go and continued with the words he disliked, "Ying, siblings cannot marry each other."