Chapter 296: Receiving the Women of the Quan Rong Tribe

"I heard it was A Mu who invited her back, so let her stay a few days to taste this rice."

Nan Qinghuan thought of the old ancestor and could still recall how they quarreled back then, almost being dragged out and burned to death by her.

Thinking about it felt like a different lifetime, as if it had happened a long time ago.

Now that the old ancestor has returned, their Tribe has undergone earth-shattering changes; the former Cave is gone, replaced by a Tulou, which must seem very novel to the old ancestor.

"Since the old ancestor is back, we naturally have to go see her. Come, let's go meet her."

You ChaoJi worried about her health, "Goddess, your body..."

"I'm fine, don't worry, my body is good, let's go."

It was noon, and the sunlight was fine.

Over here, the old ancestor appeared in the forest with some Tribe members; inside the forest stood a huge Sacrificial Altar that hadn't been used for a long time, but this time it was put to use again.

Since the last time Shiva was dealt with here, it had been abandoned; the Tribe members made no mistakes, worked on development together, and no one kept the Ritual of moon worship in mind, so no one cared about this place anymore.

But now the place is being used again; the old ancestor intends to kill people here.

Upon learning that these slaves had secretly become pregnant, she had to come help Ying deal with these women.

Ying couldn't act, so she came.

"Bring all the people over."

The old ancestor was still so robust, holding a Scepter that made her look very imposing; she is Ying's grandmother, and the Tribe members all respect her.

Of course, they also obey her.

Soon, those women were dragged up; they were disheveled, wore little, and each had a white mark on her face, a testament to the Ying Tribe's executions.

A full dozen or more women had their hands bound with grass rope, kneeling in a line.

A Mu, standing beside the old ancestor, was a bit nervous, "These females are all pregnant, old ancestor, what are you going to do?"

This A Mu was kind‑hearted and actually knew what the old ancestor intended, but she still tried to persuade; the females hadn't done anything, right? The old ancestor glanced at A Mu with a hint of disdain, "Lei, your heart is too soft. These females want to use their offspring to harm my Tribe; I killed them for Ying."

"Ying? A Mu, did Ying make you do this?"

When Ying was mentioned, the old ancestor became very proud; after arriving here and seeing the changes, she was first pleased, but soon ceased to be.

The Cave is gone, everyone now lives in earthen houses; is that comfortable? And what about the rice, what does it taste like? After being away for so many days, she almost didn't recognize her own Tribe, and since Ying asked her to handle these females, she came.

Yet upon arriving she was surprised; the Tribe was no longer the one she knew, and she almost thought she had gone to the wrong place.

The Tribe could turn out like this? Mentioning Ying made the old ancestor very smug, "Of course it was Ying. He now oversees so many Tribe members; the old ancestor handles the tasks he has no time for."

"A Mu, these females are at fault, but they are now pregnant; killing them might..."

"What do you know? It's because of your gentle nature that Na Yao's father abandoned you."

When this matter was brought up, A Mu instantly fell silent. Indeed, A Mu's admonition was that her nature is very soft; had it not been so, Ying's father wouldn't have gone to the Lang Zu and never returned.

The old ancestor saw Lei remain silent, then waved the Scepter, "You may act now, kill them."

Upon hearing that they were about to be acted upon, the women kept kowtowing and pleading, each looking very pitiful.

"Save us, we know we were wrong, we shouldn't have skipped the medicine, old ancestor, please, we beg you."

The women, knowing death was imminent, kept praying; they feared death more than becoming slaves.

In Quan Rong, they would die here as well; not taking the medicine was merely their way to survive, and they didn't expect these people to discover it.

Moreover, the Ying Tribe's rules are cruel; they must kill them.

With so many women pleading together, the old ancestor seemed accustomed; she had killed many before, not sparing even this few.

"You are so bold to skip the medicine and become pregnant; those offspring have unknown origins and cannot be born. Bring them, give me..."

"Wait, old ancestor, wait."

Nan Qinghuan and Youchao Xuan rushed over; when they saw her arrival, the old ancestor waved her hand, and the people halted their killing.

Seeing Nan Qinghuan arrive, the women looked at her desperately, "Ou Mu is here, please Ou Mu, save us, we beg you."

The women, seeing Nan Qinghuan, begged incessantly as if she were a straw of salvation; Nan Qinghuan glanced at them without speaking, then hurried to greet A Mu and the old ancestor.

"Old ancestor, A Mu."

A Mu was very worried, "What are you here for? Qinghuan, why aren't you resting properly?"

The old ancestor became angry upon seeing Nan Qinghuan, because she had heard that the blue phoenix bird she gave her last time was used for an escape, which angered her.

"Nan Qinghuan, what are you doing here?"

Nan Qinghuan, aware that the old ancestor was angry at her, forced out a faint smile, "Old ancestor, welcome back. These females didn't come easily; perhaps we shouldn't kill them. Our Tribe needs many females to bear offspring and develop the Tribe."

"Indeed, A Mu, Qinghuan is right; our Tribe's females are already few, killing them would be such a waste."

"What a pity, what a pity? These females are all adulterers, and adulterers cannot live in the Tribe."

Indeed, the old ancestor's words carried strong deterrence; no one dared to speak.

Nan Qinghuan glanced at those women, who were actually quite pitiful; they only wanted to survive, and to do so they didn't take the Contraceptive Herb, and now, pregnant, they still couldn't escape this disaster.

She also knew this was Ying's tacit approval, but if she could persuade them, wouldn't that be more useful than killing? The Tribe lacks women; keeping them alive serves a greater purpose than killing.

After thinking, she came up with an idea.

"Why were you sent here by Quan Rong? Be honest, otherwise the old ancestor will kill you, and pleading to me won't help."

A woman begged desperately, "Ou Mu, please, Quan Rong only told us to come here as slaves, and even let us steal your farming skills; he said next Spring he would send people to fetch us."

The women, facing death, spoke truthfully; Nan Qinghuan thought and asked, "Anything else?"

"And..."

Several women exchanged glances, seeming about to speak; Nan Qinghuan sensed there was a secret.

"Then why didn't you take the Contraceptive Herb?"

The women glanced at each other, and a frail one finally answered, "We don't want to be forever bullied; only by bearing offspring can we escape that Cave. Ou Mu, we don't want to return nor die; will you shelter us? We can work, do many tasks, please don't kill us."

A group of women began pleading, but the old ancestor had no such patience, "Silence! You deserve death. Come, kill them."