Chapter 16

In the morning, many animals come out to forage, so there is often a good catch for hunting in the early morning. The people of the Nuwa tribe are accustomed to rising early.

When Male carried Emily to the door of Granny Feng's house, quite a few people had already gathered there.

Emily's pretty face blushed with embarrassment from being held by Male. She wasn't wearing shoes, and although the blisters had scabbed over, she still didn't dare to stand barefoot on the ground because of the dust and bacteria.

Granny Feng sat cross-legged with her eyes closed on the mat at the door, while An stood next to Yellow Leaf for support. The dark circles under their eyes were very obvious, indicating that they hadn't rested well last night.

An looked determined to face her fate, and when she saw Emily and Male in an intimate posture, a hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes.

Despite furrowing her brow slightly, Yellow Leaf still had a gentle expression. She even smiled at Emily, as if she had never done anything wrong to her.

The other members of the Nuwa tribe who had arrived early were standing together chatting quietly, ignoring their scantily clad appearance. Emily found the scene reminiscent of village meetings she had occasionally seen on television dramas.

Seeing Male carrying Emily, some female tribe members showed envious looks, casting admiring glances at their partners, while some male tribe members whistled and cheered.

Emily felt even more embarrassed and buried her hot face in Male's embrace.

Suddenly, there was a dispute among the group of people who had been chatting quietly. A middle-aged man with high cheekbones and a broad chin spoke loudly, "I'm telling the truth. If you don't believe me, go see for yourselves! The bamboo forest by the river was completely cut down overnight."

"Tsk, boasting early in the morning! Who would believe you? Who would go and chop bamboo in the middle of the night? Besides, there's so much bamboo in that forest, how could it be all cut down? Ten people working all night couldn't finish chopping it all!" A slightly shorter man next to him sneered disdainfully.

"Yeah, I bet you're still half-asleep!" others chimed in, laughing.

The man with high cheekbones and a broad chin became even more agitated when everyone doubted him, wishing he could drag everyone there to see what he was talking about.

At this moment, Male leaned down to Emily's ear and whispered, "Let's go see the bamboo I chopped down later."

What? Did Male chop down those bamboos? Emily widened her eyes in surprise. She had seen that bamboo forest from a distance the day before yesterday. It was quite large, with hundreds or even thousands of bamboo trees, right?

Ten people working all night couldn't finish chopping all those bamboos, and he chopped them all down in one night?

Why didn't his bloodline power stimulate his brain? Instead, it only showcased his physical strength?

Alas, this primitive man! How could he be so straightforward?

What if the system doesn't acknowledge it? Then chopping down those bamboos would be in vain?

And even if she had the ability to chop down a hundred bamboo trees, where would she find a hundred bamboo trees?

Emily sighed in her heart and looked at Male with a helpless expression.

Male just smiled at her and then raised his voice to the arguing crowd, "Uncle Feng wasn't boasting. I chopped down all the bamboo by the river last night."

"What?" Everyone looked at Male in astonishment, their faces full of disbelief.

Male wasn't the kind of person who liked to brag, so could what he said be true? How could that be possible? Such a large bamboo forest, and he chopped it all down in one night?

At this point, Granny Feng finally opened her eyes and spoke in a serious tone mixed with maternal affection as she gestured for Male and Emily to come over, "Male, Emily, come here."

Male strode over as if he wasn't holding anyone in his arms, his face calm and composed.

Granny Feng stood up and gestured for Emily, "Male, put Emily on the mat, and I'll apply some medicine to her later."

Male squatted down carefully and placed Emily on the mat, standing behind her.

This doorstep was like a small stage, slightly higher than the outside. In the current meeting setup, this was the podium. Both Granny Feng and Male, as the leaders of the meeting, stood, while the tribe members below the steps also stood. Emily felt uncomfortable sitting down while everyone else stood.

Emily felt like she was on pins and needles, cautiously trying to stand up on the mat.

Male quickly stopped her, while Granny Feng smiled and didn't mind Emily sitting down, "You are a great contributor to our Nuwa tribe, and you're injured. Just sit down!"

Wow! The lady is so lucky! Male is really good to her! Granny Feng is also really good to her!

But why did Granny Feng say that the lady is a great contributor to the Nuwa tribe? Does it mean that because of the lady's presence, Granny Feng noticed that Yellow Leaf sometimes acts too rashly? Some tribe members began to worry for Yellow Leaf again.

Granny Feng's eyes, seemingly seeing through everything, swept over the crowd, "The first thing is yesterday Yellow Leaf... "

Before Granny Feng could finish her sentence, Yellow Leaf bit her lip and knelt down, interrupting Granny Feng, "Granny Feng, Yellow Leaf has something to say."

Although she was very disappointed in Yellow Leaf, after all, Yellow Leaf was her junior who had been learning medicine with her for so many years, and she usually helped her with cleaning and cooking, so their relationship was quite deep.

Although Granny Feng didn't like her interrupting, since she had something to say, she might as well listen.

"You may speak," Granny Feng said with a faint expression on her face.

An thought that Yellow Leaf, being a good friend, was going to take the blame for her, so she got anxious on the spot and pulled Yellow Leaf, whispering, "Yellow Leaf, don't speak nonsense!"

Yellow Leaf shook her head slightly at her.

She hesitated for a moment, then lifted her head as if she had made up her mind, and looked straight at Granny Feng without avoiding her gaze, "Indeed, Granny Feng, I did personally bring the lady into the forbidden area. But it wasn't for the sake of An's children."

"What do you mean?" Granny Feng frowned, and Male also frowned, looking displeased. The talk about the disaster star before, if it wasn't for Yellow Leaf stirring up trouble, how could An so easily pin it on Emily?

And before, when Emily was saving someone, it became kissing that little brat Qi in Yellow Leaf's mouth. He used to think that Yellow Leaf was reliable, but it turned out that he had been mistaken!

Now, no matter how he looked at Yellow Leaf, she wasn't a good person!

"What are you trying to say?" Male followed up with Granny Feng's questioning. If Yellow Leaf brought up the disaster star again to frame Emily, he would make Yellow Leaf suffer the consequences!

Hearing Male's inquiry, Yellow Leaf looked at him somewhat excitedly, "Male, whether you believe it or not, I didn't intend to harm her when I took the lady to the forbidden area."

The Nuwa tribe members listened quietly. Although they were generally healthy and rarely fell ill, those who were skilled in medicine were always seen as life-savers in their eyes. Emotionally, even if Yellow Leaf had done something wrong, they didn't want her to be severely punished, especially since the lady was sitting there fine now. This was the Nuwa tribe; they didn't have a sense of law, and many people judged based on their conscience. And based on conscience, they tended to be biased. If the consequences were serious, then the wrongdoer should be severely punished, but if not, forgiveness was possible!

Yellow Leaf spoke gently as usual, "You may not believe it, but yesterday I originally intended to take the lady to the forest. However, as I stepped out of Granny Feng's house, I heard a gentle call from the mulberry tree, which guided me to take the lady to the forbidden area."

What? The true Nuwa Goddess? The tribal people immediately perked up, their eyes fixed on Yellow Leaf, not even blinking.

Although Granny Feng had not confirmed whether Yellow Leaf was the holy maiden, in their minds, the holy maiden should be like Yellow Leaf—gentle, kind, never angry, surprisingly good-tempered, and exceptionally skilled in medicine.

And the holy maiden should be pure. If the true Nuwa Goddess manifested and guided the holy maiden, it would be convincing.

Granny Feng frowned at Yellow Leaf, seeming pensive.

Male, on the other hand, gazed softly at Emily, neither confirming nor denying Yellow Leaf's words. As long as she dared to harm Emily, he would immediately take action against her!

Emily didn't believe Yellow Leaf's words, but she observed that the majority of the tribe believed Yellow Leaf unquestioningly.

Even though she knew last night that Male had awakened his bloodline power, she was too excited and woke up late, just missing the arrival of the moon.

Of course, Moon believed Yellow Leaf for different reasons. She knew that Male had awakened his bloodline power, and although they had little contact usually, she knew that Yellow Leaf was not someone who acted recklessly and would not risk sending her sister-in-law into the forbidden area.

Yellow Leaf noticed that Male's gaze only lingered on her at the beginning when he questioned her, and it was a displeased gaze. Afterward, he had been gazing at Emily tenderly. Feeling disappointed, she resolved to awaken her bloodline power and make Male take notice of her!

"I didn't admit or explain yesterday because the true Nuwa Goddess told me that Male's change today would make everyone believe me. Male, do you have any change?" Yellow Leaf unexpectedly mentioned his change.

Male was surprised; Yellow Leaf couldn't possibly know about his change. He looked at Yellow Leaf with suspicion, "Did you eavesdrop on our conversation last night?"

Yellow Leaf knelt on the ground with a serious expression, her right palm on her chest, and said firmly, "As the true Nuwa Goddess is my witness, if I speak a half-truth, let thunder punish me immediately!"

People around Yellow Leaf moved away from her, especially An.

Because An knew the truth from yesterday, Yellow Leaf might be trying to save herself, but she dared to swear like this. An nervously looked up at the sky, fearing thunder would strike.

The sky remained as clear as usual, with no sign of thunder. An breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Male intuitively didn't believe Yellow Leaf, her solemn oath might convince the tribe. If he took action against her, the tribe might think he had awakened his bloodline power but repaid kindness with evil towards a good person.

Or perhaps they would think Emily had harmed Yellow Leaf?

Sure enough, the tribe shifted their gaze from the sky to him and Granny Feng, seemingly believing Yellow Leaf's words.

Ignorant! Male was instantly furious, taking a step forward, but was stopped by Granny Feng and Emily simultaneously.

"Male!" Granny Feng and Emily called out to him.

Male turned his head, seeing Granny Feng's disapproving gaze and Emily's anxious expression, so he softened his expression and walked over to Emily.

"Don't act rashly," Emily smiled at Male.

She had underestimated Yellow Leaf; this girl wasn't cut out for palace intrigue!

Ever since Qi fell into the water, Yellow Leaf had harbored animosity towards her, constantly making things difficult for her. From determining Qi's death to later studying medicine, Yellow Leaf's animosity only increased, never diminished.

As for the so-called guidance from the true Nuwa Goddess... Ridiculous! If she knew Emily was coming, why not guide her sooner?

Moreover, why go through the trouble of guiding Male to awaken his bloodline power?

It was obvious that Yellow Leaf wanted to die. But she was clever; she overheard Male telling Granny Feng last night that he had awakened his bloodline power, so she came up with this plan for today. And she dared to swear by the name of the gods, which, for a primitive person, was incredibly audacious!

Even though the truth was otherwise, the majority of the Nuwa tribe clearly believed her.

For now, it was inevitable to let her off the hook.

Granny Feng and Male quietly discussed for a moment, their opinions aligning with Emily's thoughts. Although Yellow Leaf's words were not to be trusted, it wasn't appropriate to punish her now; they would find another opportunity later.

Initially filled with anger, Male's concern shifted when Emily grabbed his hand, not wanting the tribe to see that he still wanted to punish Yellow Leaf, which would cause controversy. So he stood up, holding Emily's hand.

Male's anger turned to worry; although Emily's foot was only a superficial injury, she would still feel pain!

Without hesitation, Male supported Emily in front of everyone.

Emily smiled, looking innocent and naive. "I thought Yellow Leaf and I had no grudges, why would you send me to such a scary forbidden area? It turns out you were guided by the true Nuwa Goddess. Luckily you spoke up; otherwise, I would have mistaken you for a malicious person! Yesterday, didn't you refuse to admit to sending me to the forbidden area?"

Having experienced so many palace intrigues, she was broad-minded and wise!

Emily's cunning was ignited by Yellow Leaf, pretending to be innocent? She had seen this trick before!

Time was on their side; they could take it slow!

Yellow Leaf smiled faintly, as if she didn't understand Emily's sarcasm. "I'm sorry, Madam. The true Nuwa Goddess instructed me to escort you alone to the forbidden area, not allowing anyone else to enter, so that's why I couldn't admit it yesterday."

"It seems the true Nuwa Goddess favors me a lot. She hasn't guided you for so many years, but as soon as I arrive, she gives you guidance and even lets the Nuwa tribe benefit from Male! It's all thanks to you, Yellow Leaf!" Emily smiled with overflowing happiness.