Chapter 227: Harvesting Rice and Developing Agriculture

The most primitive tomb.

All around was gloomy; she hurriedly had Ying lay her down, the bleak moonlight shining here, and the place was as silent as dead ash.

"Ying, what is this?"

He knew the man's thoughts; after spending many days together she also understood him. Indeed, Rongdi also knew him well, which is why he said those words.

Even though he knew Rongdi wanted to see him go on a campaign, wanted him to die there, Ying did not waver at all; he still set out to rescue those tribe members.

She is very clear about her own man.

This man cannot be provoked; why would he endure such pointless nonsense? Under the bleak moonlight, Nan Qinghuan saw Ying standing there looking forlorn.

His build was robust, his back broad; over two meters tall, he could overwhelm many at a glance. She once thought herself his prey, unable to escape his palm, and now this man had become her safe harbor.

He wore a Hemp Robe and Hemp Pants, his feet in Shoes made by A Mu, a stone axe at his waist; this man seemed upright, but now she could tell.

He is unhappy.

Having heard the news from that side, he worries about the tribe there and also wants to reclaim the land that was taken before.

Ying gave her a deep look, then pointed to a spot where about a hundred wooden blocks were lodged. "Each of these wooden blocks represents a tribe member; after they were abducted that day, the tribe inserted a wooden block for them. Qinghuan, this is a tribal custom—if a wooden block is placed, they request a Divine Tablet from the gods, which can protect the soul and allow it to reach the Divine Realm for a happy life. We all thought they were already dead, but..."

"We didn't expect they were still alive, now they're about to be killed, so you want to save them?"

Nan Qinghuan hit upon his thoughts; he knew his Qinghuan understood what was in his heart. If it had been before, he would never have told her these things; she would have decided on her own, but now it was different.

He must discuss everything with Nan Qinghuan and obtain her consent.

In other words, he must respect her, love her.

He let out a deep sigh, gently brushed Nan Qinghuan's head, his gaze extremely indulgent. "That's right—when they left, the Old Clan Leader was the clan chief. Back then we couldn't defeat the Giant Quanrong; we could only watch helplessly as land and tribe members were taken. But Qinghuan, now it's different. We are strong enough to rescue them, to reclaim the land seized by the Quanrong. That's what I intend to do now."

Seeing the anger and resentment in his eyes, Nan Qinghuan gently reached out and embraced his waist, then held him tightly; Ying froze, his body rigid, realizing what that meant.

"You also don't want me to campaign against the Quanrong?"

Qinghuan feared something would happen to him and didn't want him to go; she understood that. But he wanted to persuade her—he would be fine, and he would safely rescue all the abducted tribe members.

And reclaim the stolen land!

Although Rongdi was waiting to see him die there, who would actually die was still uncertain. Nan Qinghuan took a deep breath, then gently let go of him. Their gazes met; Ying feared she would refuse, and suddenly he half‑knelt before her.

"Qinghuan, if you let me go rescue them, I will definitely survive; I swear to the moon."

Ying, half‑kneeling, pleaded for her consent, which startled Nan Qinghuan. She hurried to pull him up, "What are you doing? Stand up first."

"Qinghuan, you let me go, I will..."

"You stand up first and speak."

Ying, seeing she seemed to have loosened a bit, finally rose, "You speak, I'm listening. If you don't want me to go, then I also..."

"I let you go."

Suddenly Nan Qinghuan said that, and Ying was utterly astonished, staring at her in disbelief. What did she say—agree to let him go? "You agree to let me go?"

Nan Qinghuan saw the hope in his eyes; yes, she didn't want to crush his hope.

She turned and walked to the wooden blocks; each block represented a life, and there were hundreds of lives here.

"Are all those abducted females?"

Hearing her say that, Ying hurried forward, looking at her, "How do you know?"

How did she know they were all females? Nan Qinghuan turned her head to him; actually she was just guessing. The tribe had few women, and those women taken were surely to be men's playthings or breeding tools.

It seems her guess was correct.

"Ying, I agree to let you go, but you must promise me one thing."

Indeed, Nan Qinghuan agreed.

Ying squinted slightly yet was very happy; Yao and Ashu both discouraged him from going, but Qinghuan agreed. His Qinghuan truly was different from others.

"Tell me, what must I promise?"

At dawn, the Ying Tribe members began preparing to harvest rice; no one had ever harvested before, but Nan Qinghuan knew how. She had iron‑curved blades forged, each person receiving one; the blades had small gears, and a light slash would cut the stalks.

After the rice stalks were cut, they moved on to threshing; the tribe wouldn't rely solely on the most primitive method of hand‑rubbing to strip the grains, which is labor‑intensive. Nan Qinghuan had them prepare wooden barrels.

Golden‑shimmering rice fields were filled with bustling figures.

On the ridge, Youchao Xuan and Yao stood watching them work. They had intended to help, but there were too many tribe members, so they could only stand there and observe.

Both of their gazes naturally fell on Nan Qinghuan, seeing her small figure in the field, her face lit with a sunny smile; under the bright sun, the golden rice and the beautiful folk.

They shone together.

"Youchao Xuan, you have long known that Nan Qinghuan can change this land, so you followed her, right?"

Yao originally thought Nan Qinghuan's status as Spirit Woman was already impressive, but when he learned last night that she might be the one who could change the Ancient Land, his admiration and reluctance grew.

Sometimes he envied Ying; why wasn't he the one who first met Nan Qinghuan, the one who first brought her back to the wolf tribe? Some things, once missed, seem to have no second chance.

This made Yao feel a bit desperate, but he was grateful that Nan Qinghuan hadn't abandoned him, hadn't abandoned the wolf tribe. If she could change this place, then his wolf tribe would also change because of it.

Youchao Xuan's gaze also fell on the working Nan Qinghuan; his silver hair fluttered in the wind, a bitter smile tugging his mouth, "So I must protect her. If anything happens to her, we will never see what the Heavenly Book foretells. Yao, Yao, when will you return?"

"Don't worry, I will also protect her. Spirit Woman said let me wait a bit; after the rice is harvested and sun‑dried, let me eat a fragrant bowl of rice before I go back."

"Eat rice?"