Chapter 6

The wild apple tree is just at the foot of the mountain, not far away, requiring only a climb to pick. When Big Mountain heard that Male was going to pick green fruits, he also prepared to pick some for Moon.

Emily watched as the tall and strong Male and Big Mountain climbed the tree as agile as monkeys, while Moon skillfully climbed another tree, picking fruits and tossing them down. She couldn't help but feel amazed.

Emily spent the entire time picking up the wild apples the three had picked, and soon filled a basket.

The wild fruits weren't large, but they were definitely environmentally friendly and unpolluted in their vibrant green.

Emily found herself doing things even a three-year-old could do, and couldn't help but think that if she were to survive in this world, she'd probably need to learn some "skills" she didn't have before.

After bringing back the wild apples, several people were already waiting with tools in front of Male's house.

When they saw Emily, they all respectfully addressed her as "Madam." Emily felt a bit embarrassed, but still nodded friendly at them.

Male softly explained to Emily that he was taking the tribe into the mountains for hunting and, if lucky, they would be back by noon. He then instructed Moon to take care of Emily, and pulled her into the house. However, he didn't rush to leave. He embraced Emily, lowering his head to kiss her repeatedly, leaving Emily feeling entirely passive and somewhat embarrassed.

With his absolute physical advantage, she couldn't push him away.

Or rather, her resistance was seen as shyness and a desire to be courted by the man, which only made him more affectionate, reluctant to let go.

After a while of their affectionate moment (or rather, the man's one-sided affection), Male finally took a stone axe and left with the others.

Moon couldn't help but chuckle when she saw Emily's swollen lips.

Embarrassed, Emily pointed to Moon's lips, noting that Big Mountain must have gone hunting with Male, and they must have had their own affectionate moment.

Moon, however, wasn't as shy as Emily and smiled openly, saying, "Intimacy between partners is quite common. I'm just happy because I've always worried that my brother would remain single forever, but I didn't expect him to suddenly come around."

Knowing that Emily could understand but not speak the language of the Nuwa tribe, Moon didn't wait for Emily's reply, and continued.

"In our Nuwa tribe, regardless of gender, once you come of age at sixteen, you can participate in the annual Bite Bite Festival and form couples. There are many people in the tribe who want to be my brother's partner, but he has been of age for six years now. In the first Bite Bite Festival, a dozen girls surrounded him and asked him to be their partner, but he didn't accept any of them. In the following years, he simply didn't participate. This year, I thought he was just coming to see my partner ceremony, but I didn't expect the true goddess Nuwa to bless him with you as his wife. They won't venture deep into the mountains for hunting today; they'll probably be back by evening. My brother will definitely miss you."

The latter part of Moon's speech made Emily blush with embarrassment, but she seriously doubted that the Male Moon was referring to, who hadn't participated in the Bite Bite Festival for six years, was the same Male she knew. The man described by Moon, who showed no interest in the opposite sex, was a far cry from the Male in her memory. The first time they met, he greeted her in broad daylight, and last night, he even greeted her again in the crowded "Bite Bite Festival," and when they returned to the house, he was tirelessly and diligently... 

This was clearly the behavior of someone with a voracious appetite, not a man of abstinence.

How could there be any sign of a celibate man?

Never mind, she wouldn't speak the language of the Nuwa tribe, let alone discuss such private matters with anyone. She wouldn't argue with her; finding the reeds and completing the novice task was the right path!

Emily pointed to the door, and Moon cleverly guessed, "Do you want to go out for a walk?"

Emily nodded, and Moon smiled, "Let's go, I'll show you around our tribe."

Emily shook her head, and Moon continued guessing, "Do you have a place in mind?"

Emily nodded directly; this girl was really smart!

Emily and Moon walked along the main road to the riverbank, then followed a small path upstream. Moon deliberately slowed down her pace, accompanying Emily leisurely, while Emily kept an eye out for reeds along the riverbank.

Along the way, they occasionally encountered Nuwa people washing or fishing in the river. Moon was obviously well-liked, as everyone they met greeted her warmly. Moon also responded with simple greetings and introduced her sister-in-law to the people.

Moon was very talkative; even if Emily didn't say a word, just occasionally nodding, shaking her head, or smiling in response, Moon would chatter endlessly about the tribe's anecdotes and Male's childhood.

Suddenly, a voice from the system rang in Emily's mind: "Large quantities of reeds detected thirty meters ahead."

Emily's heart leaped with joy. Ignoring her sore body, she quickened her pace.

"Sister-in-law?" Moon was puzzled but also quickened her pace to catch up.

Before they could see the reeds, they heard several young voices exclaiming anxiously.

"Qi is missing!"

"Did he fall into the river? He's not very good at swimming."

"Qi... where are you? Come out quickly, don't play hide and seek with us!"

The babbling voices automatically turned into a language Emily could understand when they reached her ears. Someone had fallen into the water? Emily and Moon exchanged a glance, and Emily could see the seriousness on Moon's face.

"I'll go take a look!" With a quick word to Emily, Moon dashed away with her long legs.

This was a small hillside, and they had to climb up a bit and then down again to see what was happening.

Emily also ran over with her sore legs.

The sound of water flowing gently could only be heard when approaching; otherwise, one wouldn't notice the many people here.

Five or six children who looked to be about seven or eight years old stood by the shallow water by the river, looking around anxiously. Two of them were already crying in fear.

Four young, sturdy girls who were washing clothes quickly ran over to the children.

Emily looked anxiously at the water's surface, but there was nothing unusual. She saw Moon dive into the water at high speed, briefly ask the children where they had been playing, and then, after a moment's thought, dive into a deep area next to them.

Emily ran to the nearby shore, her heart pounding as she watched the water surface where Moon had disappeared, her hands involuntarily clasped together nervously.

Unexpectedly, she was suddenly bumped into by someone running over and fell into the water with a splash.

Damn it! She seemed to have a connection with this river! She fell in yesterday, and today she fell in again. Fortunately, the water wasn't deep here, and the water's resistance prevented her from being injured!

Emily was worried about the child who had fallen into the water but remained motionless, as well as about Moon, who was rescuing the person. Her first reaction was that the other person didn't intentionally bump into her, so she just glanced back subconsciously.

She saw An, with her hands crossed provocatively, looking at her, and it didn't seem like she had accidentally bumped into her as Emily had thought.

Emily frowned, thinking about what Moon had said. Even Moon thought she was boldly proposing to Male and declaring her sovereignty. Not to mention An, the person involved, who obviously had hostility towards her!

For her, yesterday was supposed to be a kind gesture to help An out of trouble, but unfortunately, she ended up becoming Male's partner. She had engaged in a relationship with this completely unfamiliar man in less than twenty-four hours, unable to communicate in language, which made her feel extremely frustrated. It was all because of this deceptive tribal custom...

Emily shifted her gaze, unwilling to engage with An. Shortly after, Moon came out to take a breath and quickly plunged back into the water to continue searching for the missing child.

Just because Emily chose not to argue with An didn't mean An wouldn't cause trouble for her.

"So it's this wild woman from who-knows-where." An raised her chin, looking disdainfully at Emily.

Emily understood her words but had no intention of getting involved with her. She just glanced coldly at An and continued to stand by the water, watching Moon's rescue operation.

This woman, now that Moon was urgently rescuing someone, if she didn't want to help, that would be fine. But instead, she was here blabbering about irrelevant matters, and Emily suddenly lost any goodwill towards her.

But Emily's gaze made An furious, convinced that she had stolen Male away and arrogantly disregarded her.

She immediately clenched her fists, jumped into the water, and tried to punch Emily.

Emily frowned, looking at this woman who had no sense of proportion. The difference in height and physique did make her feel threatened.

Fortunately, a young woman beside An quickly jumped into the water, pulled An back, and said disapprovingly, "An, will Qi be okay? He used to play in the water often; how could he suddenly fall into the river today?"

After hearing this, An looked at Emily, showing a contemptuous expression on her face. "Huang Ye, of course it's because this misfortune suddenly appeared that Qi fell into the river. With this misfortune around, who knows what disasters our tribe will encounter!"

The other two sturdy women beside An heard her words and also looked at Emily, their faces showing undisguised displeasure and disdain.

Emily clenched her lips and shifted her gaze to Huang Ye beside An.

By Emily's aesthetic standards, Huang Ye was also beautiful, with distinct features and a hint of wit in her eyes, exuding a charming demeanor.

But Emily felt that Huang Ye seemed to be diverting the topic, defending herself, but actually implying that An was labeling her as "misfortune." Emily didn't believe this was unintentional; she just didn't understand why Huang Ye was targeting her. Was it because she was an outsider? Or because of her relationship with An?

Huang Ye saw Emily looking at her and immediately showed a friendly smile.

Emily cursed inwardly but still put on a harmless smile on her face. Was she going to compete in acting with her? After all, she had seen countless TV dramas and movies; how could she lose to a woman from a primitive tribe?

As for An, Emily didn't want to bother with her. But when she turned her gaze back, she glanced at An's chest and the four words flashed in her mind - "big chest, no brain"!

She looked down at herself; well, she felt very fortunate that she was just ordinary.

This move by Emily made An feel inferior, and she proudly pushed out her chest. But soon, Emily shifted her gaze back to the water's surface, infuriating An.

She was about to say something sarcastic to Emily, but she saw Emily hastily walking towards the river. It turned out that Moon had found Qi.

However, Qi hung his head, pale and lifeless, obviously dead.

For An, Qi was not close to her, and whether he was alive or not was not in her consciousness. But this was indeed a great opportunity to make the tribe believe that Emily was misfortune!

An raised her eyebrows accusingly, pointing at Emily with bitterness in her voice. "It's all because of you, you jinx, you killed Qi!"

Emily didn't bother to pay attention to An. She watched the child's pale face, feeling her heart clench. The child was only six or seven years old, there might still be hope.

Gasping for breath, Moon swiftly swam to the shallow water, stood up, and rushed to the shore with the child in her arms.

Perhaps the screams of the children had attracted many villagers, as over ten people quickly surrounded them when An placed Qi on the grass by the shore.

"Did you send for Granny Feng?" Moon asked anxiously.

"The Bear Tribe took Granny Feng away early this morning." Yellow Leaf's face revealed worry and anxiety.

"Then it's up to you, Yellow Leaf. You've been with Granny Feng for several years, it's your turn to save Qi!" Moon decisively made the decision, and the rest of the tribe agreed, making way for Yellow Leaf.

Yellow Leaf didn't hesitate, quickly walked to Qi's side, crouched down, checked his breathing, then stood up, a sudden wave of sadness enveloping her like magic.

"Qi is already dead, there's no way to save him," she said, her voice not loud but clear.

The crowd fell silent, even Moon was frustrated, wiping the water off her face and asking, "Who will inform Qi's parents?"

Emily frowned. With modern medical advancements, even without a heartbeat, efforts would be made to resuscitate. Wasn't Yellow Leaf too hasty in declaring him dead just by checking his breath?

She took a step towards Qi, wanting to try to save him again, but was stopped by An's excited grip. "It's her who killed Qi!"

Moon frowned, opening An's hand. "Don't talk nonsense. Both my sister-in-law and I arrived after Qi fell into the water!"

At that moment, a sturdy woman followed by two half-grown girls ran over. Seeing Qi lying on the ground, she couldn't help but cry out loud. It turned out to be Qi's mother and two sisters.

An, her hand released by Moon, didn't seem annoyed. She just pointed at Emily, her lips curved in a mocking smile. "It's this woman. She's a jinx! Before she came, our Nuwa tribe was peaceful. But since she came yesterday, Qi drowned today! If it's not her who killed Qi, then who is it?"

With these words, Qi's mother and two sisters immediately directed their resentful gazes towards Emily, and the surrounding people's attitudes towards Emily changed instantly. Even when Emily looked over, they subconsciously took a step back.

Emily inwardly cursed, wishing she could retort in ten different ways if they were all speaking in Chinese. But now she couldn't say a single word in their tribal language. It's frustrating to understand but not be able to speak their language!

"An, stop talking nonsense! Male's dislike for you isn't something new. It has nothing to do with my sister-in-law. Don't vent your anger on her and falsely accuse her!" Moon was anxious; the tribe couldn't stand a jinx. If her sister-in-law was labeled as a jinx, before Male even returned, these people would probably tear her apart.

Emily pressed her lips together. The stigma of being a jinx was too heavy; she didn't want to bear it. It wasn't just a matter of survival for her as an outsider; it could also drag down Moon and Male.

But she couldn't speak up, and her concern for her own situation was far less than her concern for Qi, the child.

What if Qi could still be saved? Time was of the essence!