Chapter 236: The Reason Pregnant Women Suffer Stillbirth

"Girl, don't talk nonsense. This isn't a monster, just a deformed child. How do you usually deal with such children around here?"

Actually, she didn't need to ask to guess the child's fate—superstitious as the tribe was, they would kill the child.

Such things were all too common.

That ChaoJi stepped back, her face very ugly. "A Ya gave birth to a monster and died herself. This child is a monster. Where we come from, it gets thrown into the sea. It's a curse, the curse won't disperse—it's the curse of A Baita. Youchao Xuan, what do we do?"

Youchao Xuan's face was also unpleasant; he just stared blankly at the child.

These words left Nan Qinghuan confused. "A curse? What curse are you talking about?"

Wasn't it an illness? How did a curse get dragged into it? Youchao Xuan told her that the women of his tribe couldn't get pregnant, and even if they did, they couldn't carry the child to term. The tribe's numbers were dwindling—the old died and no children were born. It was a vicious cycle.

So he hoped she could take a look.

And so, Nan Qinghuan had come.

But hearing them talk about a curse, she was displeased.

This was definitely a deformed fetus caused by eating something or some other factor.

After a long while, Youchao Xuan took a deep breath and looked at her. "Goddess, I'm sorry. Actually, I lied to you."

"What?"

Youchao Xuan let out a deep sigh, not daring to meet her eyes. His silver hair was blown about by the wind, and his azure, ocean-like eyes were profoundly deep.

"Before this, the tribe had no such situation. But ever since Ashu's rebellion and death, it's become like this."

"It has something to do with your Ashu?"

"Heaven's Daughter, don't blame Youchao Xuan. Ashu's curse came true. The method you gave me was to flood Ashu's people with seawater. He was killed by Youchao Xuan, but he also laid down a vicious curse—that no female here would be able to bear young. The Youchao Tribe will be wiped out within five years."

"What?"

That Nan Qinghuan understood now. This matter was suspicious.

No wonder Youchao Xuan had come back that time looking so gloomy—it was because his uncle had placed a curse on them.

But she didn't believe in any curse. She firmly believed that something was wrong with the people's bodies here.

"Alright, I don't blame you, and don't blame yourself either. Stop talking about curses. There are no curses in this world."

"No? But my people..."

"Your people must have had problems long before this; you just didn't pay attention. I called you two here because I want to save this child's life. Her mother is already dead. I saved this child from the jaws of death—she's innocent. Youchao Xuan, you're the Clan Leader. Think of a way to fool the people outside, or else this child will still die."

Hearing Nan Qinghuan's words, Youchao Xuan was stunned for a long time but finally nodded. "Goddess, are you saying this child isn't a monster? That my people haven't been cursed by Ashu?"

How could that be? Nan Qinghuan knew the tribe was superstitious, so she had to tell them otherwise. She shook her head. "No. I swear in the name of the Heavenly God that she is not a monster, nor is it any curse. I think the child turning out like this must be related to your inability to bear children here. It should be a disease or radiation from some unknown substance."

Although she knew they wouldn't understand 'radiation,' she also found it strange. This was ancient times, with no modern civilization—how could there be radiation? So, it must be a problem with their food. "Radiation... is it a disease?"

Youchao Xuan didn't understand what it meant, but he understood 'disease.'

Nan Qinghuan didn't bother explaining what radiation was. They'd never heard of it and had no concept of it; explaining would be pointless.

"That's right, it should be a disease. You two find a way to secretly raise the child. I'll figure out what disease the tribe actually has, why they give birth to deformed children, and why pregnant women miscarry for no reason."

Hearing that it wasn't a monster, Youchao Xuan finally felt relieved. He still trusted Nan Qinghuan's words.

He trusted her as always.

Her arrival had brought a ray of light to his tribe.

"ChaoJi, go out and say the child is dead, understand?"

ChaoJi was a bit reluctant; she was still very afraid of this monster. But since the Heaven's Daughter said it wasn't a monster, she believed her words.

"Then I'll go calm the tribe."

And so, ChaoJi went out and said the child was already dead. She took the dead child away and disposed of it. Only then did the tribespeople stop pressing the matter, though they all began to doubt the identity of this Heaven's Daughter.

She was the Goddess—why couldn't she save the child? Was it any use for the Clan Leader to have brought her? Everyone began to doubt Nan Qinghuan's abilities.

Such words reached Nan Qinghuan's ears, but she didn't care. She had come here to help them solve their problems. Still, she wasn't a god; some things took time.

Youchao Xuan's matters were her matters. She would do whatever she could.

That night, Youchao Xuan invited her into the house where he lived.

Youchao Xuan actually lived in a two-story wooden cabin. The Clan Leader's treatment was indeed different. Inside the house were a table, a wooden bed, and fishing nets.

Though crude, it was the most advanced tribe she had seen.

It seemed Youchao Xuan's people had long mastered the skills of living by the sea.

"Goddess, you'll stay here tonight. Is it alright?"

Nan Qinghuan opened a wooden window. Outside was a stretch of azure sea, the water incredibly blue. The wind whistled past her ears, very comfortable.

The window was crudely made, just two planks with a strip in between, but it was quite aesthetic. She should have brought Ying to see this.

The Youchao Tribe had developed very well.

Every household was self-sufficient. This was the future she wanted to see for the Ying Tribe.

"Youchao Xuan, your tribe has truly exceeded my expectations. What do you eat?"

Hearing her praise them, Youchao Xuan quickly walked over to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her. His gaze was deep as he looked toward the sea. "We eat fish and some multi-legged things, all from the sea. My ancestors have been here for several hundred years."

"Several hundred years? Have you always lived separately?"

Youchao Xuan nodded. "Yes, Goddess. It's the same where you're from, right? That's why you had the Ying Tribe split up too?"

The 'where you're from' he referred to was the Divine Clan, the place Nan Qinghuan had lived before.

Nan Qinghuan was very surprised. She came from a modern civilization, but this was ancient times. The Youchao Tribe already knew how to live separately and had created so much civilization—it was wonderful.

She didn't answer his question. Instead, she looked at the burning lamp. She noticed the flame had a faint blue tint, as if... "What kind of oil is this?"

It was a lamp stand made of iron, the flame leaping up very brightly.

And it was indeed oil. This was even more convenient than her candles.

Using oil lamps for lighting was also a form of civilization.

She was very curious—what other civilizations within Youchao Xuan's tribe had she not yet discovered? She quickly walked over. "What kind of oil is this?"

Youchao Xuan, seeing her interest, quickly explained, "This is fish oil from the sea. How about it? Isn't it brighter than your candles?"

These words startled her quite a bit. "Sea fish? You can extract oil from sea fish?"

No wonder Youchao Xuan had been somewhat disdainful of everything in the Ying Tribe before—turns out the place he lived was so wealthy and advanced. It was like a rich man visiting a poor man's home, finding nothing quite to his liking.

Youchao Xuan nodded. "Of course we can, Goddess. You really know a lot. Do you also know that sea fish can be rendered for oil?"

Nan Qinghuan felt a bit awkward. Of course she knew. She nodded. "I know a little."

Youchao Xuan's admiration for her grew even more, because among all the tribes he knew, only his own tribe had this skill—yet the Goddess knew it too.

He knew she could bring him hope.

She could definitely save his people.

"Goddess, you said those females weren't cursed by Ashu. So what illness do they have?"

PS: (Little darlings, happy reading, mwah mwah!

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