Chapter 17

Huang Ye's expression finally revealed a noticeable stiffness.

Emily gave her a meaningful glance, then turned to Granny Feng and said, "Granny Feng, I'm sure everyone is curious about the changes in Male. Why don't you tell them?" After handing the stage back to Granny Feng, Emily held Male's hand and whispered, "The bigger picture is what matters."

Male's face darkened, clearly not agreeing with her statement. In Male's view, if even his companion couldn't be protected, yet those who sought to harm her could transform into humble benefactors, what was the point of being a leader?

However, seeing Emily's anxious expression, Male restrained himself for the moment and gently brought Emily back to the cushion to sit, standing behind her quietly, listening to Granny Feng speak.

"The first thing I want to discuss was originally about Huang Ye secretly sending the Lady into the forbidden area yesterday. Huang Ye violated the tribe's rules and should be severely punished," Granny Feng said, her gaze sharp as she scanned the faces of the Nüwa tribe members, seeing their worried expressions. She sighed inwardly, then changed the subject, "But since Huang Ye was guided by the Nüwa True God, there must be a reason for it."

Though Granny Feng was old, her mind remained sharp, one of the reasons she was regarded as the tribe's wise elder. She smiled faintly, "The Nüwa True God guided Huang Ye to carry the Lady into the forbidden area. Do you know what the Lady did under the guidance of the Nüwa True God?"

"We don't know."

"What did the Lady do under the guidance of the Nüwa True God?" The tribe members asked Granny Feng in a clamor.

"The Lady, guided by the Nüwa True God, found the Nüwa True God's statue and our tribe's lost totem!" A sudden silence fell over the crowd, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Five seconds later, the tribe members, reacting, erupted into excitement!

"The Nüwa True God's statue?!"

"Our tribe's lost totem?!"

"Doesn't that mean we have the opportunity to awaken our bloodline power?!"

"Yes, this is wonderful!"

Granny Feng smiled quietly, listening to the excited discussions of the tribe members. After a while, she raised the scepter in her hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

"That's the first thing I wanted to discuss today. The second thing is: Male went to the forbidden area to find the Lady and inadvertently awakened his bloodline power, receiving the divine blade bestowed upon him by the Nüwa True God!" Male raised the "divine weapon," a blade less than twenty centimeters long, at the right moment. Unlike a stone blade, this blade had a special luster, looking particularly exquisite and sharp.

"Wow!"

"That's fantastic!"

"I envy Male so much!"

The Nüwa tribe members erupted into excitement once again!

"For nearly a century, we have been unable to awaken our bloodline power, and as a result, we have been bullied and nearly wiped out. Although our Nüwa tribe has lived in another place for a long time, we have settled back in our ancestral land for fifteen years now." Granny Feng sighed with emotion, "We live so close to our tribe's totem, yet we never knew. If it weren't for the Lady coming to our tribe, if it weren't for the Nüwa True God recognizing her, how could Huang Ye have carried her into the forbidden area and guided her to find the Nüwa deity statue and tribe's totem? The Lady is the blessing of our tribe!" Huang Ye's face turned slightly pale when she heard Granny Feng's words. Granny Feng, cunning as she was, clearly intended to place the Lady above her!

Originally, she used the guidance of the Nüwa True God to elevate her own status, implying that she was the saint of the Nüwa tribe, and she indeed succeeded in doing so; most of the Nüwa tribe believed in her.

But Granny Feng's words were like sending a message to the Nüwa tribe: the Nüwa True God only wanted Huang Ye to be a laborer, to carry the noble Lady into the forbidden area, and let the Lady find the long-lost totem of the Nüwa tribe!

This comparison was saying that Huang Ye was an insignificant role, and the Lady was the one favored by the Nüwa True God!

Feeling stuffy in her chest, uncomfortable.

... Forget it, anyway, today, whether it's Granny Feng or Male, they can't harm me, otherwise, the tribe will have big opinions about them! That's enough.

Afterward, waiting for my bloodline power to awaken, I'll have to be respectful to Granny Feng, who looks so confused.

"Male said the bamboo by the river was cut by him, which is true. Before I blew the horn to call everyone over, he told me that this is also related to the fourth thing I want to talk about today."

"Not only did Male awaken his bloodline power, but the Lady also gained the ability to communicate with the Nüwa True God's messenger. According to the messenger's request, if we complete tasks on time every day, the messenger will reward us with some things, which can help alleviate the famine in our Nüwa tribe during the cold season." Granny Feng looked at the gleaming eyes of the tribe members, smiled slightly, "The messenger of the Nüwa True God requests us to collect one hundred Nan bamboo today. If completed, we will be rewarded with one hundred soybean seeds."

Granny Feng raised a small bag, "Here are one hundred soybean seeds, we can use them to grow more soybeans."

Emily looked bewildered.

The messenger of the Nüwa True God? Is it the little pink egg? Granny Feng gave it such a grand title so quickly?

Isn't this the task given to me by the system? Can I get rewards without going through myself?

She looked at Male with some doubt, but there was a faint impression in her mind. In a daze, she was carried by Male to the edge of the bamboo forest, where she saw bamboo scattered all over the ground. The system seemed to automatically tally: "Collected 122 Nan bamboo, rewarded with one hundred soybean seeds! Collecting 78 more Nan bamboo within the day will earn another reward of one hundred soybean seeds!"

She casually received the reward from the system and handed it to Male, seemingly wiped off some suspicious liquid from the corner of her mouth, then closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep...

So embarrassing!

Not to mention Emily's confusion, Granny Feng's words sparked another round of discussion among the Nüwa tribe members, this time mixed with joy and sorrow.

The large bamboo forest by the river was all cut down, turned out to be Male's doing!

He cut down so many bamboos overnight, and now he looks energetic as if he hadn't been affected at all. It's evident that his abilities have greatly increased since awakening his bloodline power! That's great!

Of course, it would be good if we didn't lack food during the cold season!

But these few soybean seeds in this small bag, so few, I'm afraid they won't even be enough to fill one person's stomach, considering the large swath of Nan bamboo that was cut down by the river!

Is it worth it?

This messenger of the Nüwa True God, isn't it just something concocted by the Lady to deceive them?

The skeptical eyes of the Nüwa tribe members gathered on Emily.

They didn't doubt Granny Feng and Male's words, but Emily was different. After all, her origins were unknown, and she even managed to captivate the heart of Male, the leader of their Nüwa tribe, as soon as she arrived, which was astonishing enough. She even found the Nüwa deity statue, the totem of the Nüwa tribe, and could communicate with the messenger of the Nüwa True God.

Although she appeared fair, delicate, and petite, and everything she had done so far seemed beneficial to the Nüwa tribe, she didn't seem like a bad person.

But trading so much bamboo for so little food clearly wasn't worthwhile! The Nüwa tribe members all murmured silently to themselves but didn't dare to speak up.

An voiced her doubts directly, "Cutting down so much bamboo in exchange for so few soybean seeds, Granny Feng, could it be that this woman has fabricated a scam? Are these soybean seeds truly from the messenger of the Nüwa True God?"

Granny Feng didn't refute An's words either. Seeing that everyone had the same doubts, she nodded, "It's normal for everyone to have doubts about this, so why don't we all go and see how the Lady exchanges the bamboo and receives the rewards."

Emily didn't mind communicating with the system in front of everyone because the tasks afterward required the cooperation of the Nüwa tribe members. Not only would it make things easier for her, but she would also receive more rewards. Based on the daily tasks completed yesterday and today, it seemed that there would be corresponding rewards for completing a certain quantity.

However, when Male carried her to the original bamboo forest and she saw the ground covered with a mountain of bamboo, she was still shocked! How did Male manage this? Did he not sleep all night? He looked so energetic, not even a hint of dark circles under his eyes, radiant!

Suddenly, the mechanical voice of the system sounded, "Detected a large quantity of cut Nan bamboo twenty meters ahead, ownership unknown. Shall the master collect it?"

Emily responded affirmatively in her mind, "Yes!"

"Collected 902 Nan bamboo, rewarded with nine hundred soybean seeds! Collecting 98 more Nan bamboo within the day will earn another reward of one hundred soybean seeds!"

Something jaw-dropping happened; the mountain-like pile of bamboo in front of her suddenly disappeared, while nine small bags of soybean seeds appeared in the system's package. Each bag contained approximately one hundred seeds. She casually took out the nine small bags of soybean seeds.

Not only was Emily surprised, but everyone in the Nüwa tribe, including Granny Feng, rushed to the spot where the pile of bamboo had been, carefully inspecting the ground as if suspecting that the bamboo had shrunk to a fraction of its size, leaving behind a mess.

Moon felt her voice trembling, "Sister... I just saw a huge pile of bamboo here, cut and stripped of branches and tips... Am I seeing things? Is there something wrong with my eyes?" The other members of the Nüwa tribe also stared dumbfoundedly at Emily; like Moon, they had also seen the massive pile of bamboo!

Only Granny Feng, Huang Ye, and An remained somewhat calm.

Granny Feng was greatly shocked internally, but when she saw the bags in Emily's hands and the similar-sized, shape, and unknown material soft bags she had received from Male, she understood. It was the little pink egg that had collected the bamboo and then gave Emily the soybean seeds.

As for Huang Ye, she looked at Emily and what she held with envy and jealousy. Although she hadn't seen the little pink egg last night, she had heard their conversation and the name they used for it, knowing that the so-called "messenger of the Nüwa True God" was that unknown, sentient little pink egg, acknowledging Emily as its master. She hadn't expected that thing to be so magical; it collected the mountain-like pile of bamboo in the blink of an eye and turned it into the "soybean seeds" she had heard about last night.

Emily suppressed her surprise, smiled at the moon and the others, and was about to explain that these bamboo had been collected by the "Messenger of the Nüwa True God," as Granny Feng had said, and that she had already received a reward of nine hundred soybean seeds.

But at that moment, An suddenly pointed at her, glowering, "You witch! What kind of sorcery are you using? What are you planning to do to us?"

Immediately, some of the Nüwa tribe members subconsciously stepped back from her.

Emily felt extremely helpless. This stubborn girl An, just because Male had chosen her as a partner, harbored hostility towards her. In An's eyes, she had become a disaster or a witch!

She inwardly blamed Male, gave him a fierce glare, then smiled and handed the nine small bags of soybeans to Male, saying, "These are the rewards given by the Messenger of the Nüwa True God. It seems that you've already cut down all the bamboo nearby, so there's no need to continue this task."

Then, she turned to An, but this time, Emily didn't need to confront An directly, because Granny Feng spoke up, "An, you've gone too far! I've already said it before, the lady has the ability to communicate with the Messenger of the Nüwa True God! She's a blessing to our Nüwa tribe! She brings us hope! Are you daring to disrespect the lady? Aren't you afraid of being punished by the Nüwa True God?!"

As soon as Granny Feng finished speaking, An fell to the ground in terror, clutching her knees and wailing.

Others didn't notice, but Emily noticed that Male seemed to lightly flick in An's direction...

If anyone saw it, wouldn't Emily become like Daji or Bao Si, known as a "disaster beauty"?

Emily pursed her lips and subconsciously looked at Male, only to find him calmly stroking the bag of soybeans in his hand.

An, bleeding from the gaps between her fingers as she clutched her knees, looked around in horror but found nothing unusual. She glanced at Emily again but dared not say another word.

"Wow! The messenger of the Nüwa True God has punished An!" Moon exclaimed in astonishment, looking around, and other Nüwa tribe members followed suit. The pile of bamboo, towering like a mountain, suddenly disappeared before their eyes, and Emily's bags of items appeared out of nowhere.

Even the Nüwa tribe members who still harbored suspicions against Emily, seeing An only verbally scold Emily before being punished by the messenger of the Nüwa True God, felt awe towards Emily, who seemed harmless. They dared not speak further.

Even Huang Ye, who dared to make reckless vows, turned pale with relief at this sight. Luckily, when she made her vow, real thunder didn't strike.

Granny Feng didn't realize it was Male's doing. She had experienced firsthand the strange little powder egg incident from yesterday, which only recognized Emily, although it was somewhat different from the legendary monster, it should also have the ability to protect its master.

Granny Feng felt relieved, "Although all the bamboo has been cut down by Male now, the roots are still there. When the weather cools down, bamboo shoots will soon emerge from the ground, and after two seasons, bamboo forests will grow here again. Let the sun dry these bamboo branches and leaves for a few days, then collect them as firewood, and the bamboo branches and leaves won't go to waste."

"Everyone has seen it. After the lady handed over the bamboo to the messenger of the Nüwa True God, she received the corresponding reward. In the future, the messenger of the Nüwa True God will have tasks for our Nüwa tribe to complete every day. I hope everyone can actively listen to the lady's instructions and complete the tasks accordingly! The Nüwa True God will surely bless our Nüwa tribe with abundant food!"

"If there's anything, Sister-in-law, just command it. I, Moon, will do my best!" Moon eagerly expressed her willingness.

"Please, Lady, give your orders!" The people of the Nüwa tribe echoed unanimously.