A butterfly flew out of the grass.

A tiger cub followed closely behind it.

This little tiger was only half a person's height, and its black eyes sparkled with a clever little glint. It was so busy chasing butterflies that it tripped and rolled over in the grass.

The women retreated warily. They knew there was a tigress with cubs nearby, but they hadn't encountered it in a long time. They hadn't come out prepared to hunt large prey...

They exchanged cautious glances and retreated lightly.

Jiang Ai followed them back. She was the woman closest to the little tiger, so she naturally led the retreat.

But the ball of light in her mind said, "You from the past have found you."

Jiang Ai paused in her retreat.

The little tiger, lazily rolling over in the grass, also saw her. It stiffly rolled over, its four paws pawing in the air, struggling to turn itself over.

It was somewhat wary of the people in front of it, but not much.

The women gently tugged at Jiang Ai's hem. Their hands lightly and quickly brushed against her back, silently reminding her to continue backing away.

Jiang Ai glanced at her past self again. The little tiger, which had never killed any humans and was seeing humans for the first time, showed no fear of these two-legged creatures, simply lying there watching them.

Jiang Ai silently continued to retreat.

The ball of light asked, "Aren't you going to say goodbye to your past self?"

The mugwort replied bluntly, "I'm afraid it will bite me to death."

She is not an animal now. She doesn't have supple fur to protect her fragile blood vessels. If she and this tiger cub were to be placed in the arena bare-handed, she would probably be mauled to death by the tiger cub.

Artemisia trusts her past self, and she won't exaggerate her abilities.

She couldn't kill a tiger cub that was half her height.

Moreover, its mother, the mature tigress, is likely patrolling nearby. Aside from foraging for food, she wouldn't leave her cub alone here.

She didn't want to become food for her mother in the past.

How could she then possess the world?

The ball of light, having failed to be coaxed, let out a soft "tsk".

The ball of light said, "Then when your mother dies—oh, I mean when the little tiger's mother dies—I will give it a revelation so that it can come to you."

"Should it come to me?" Artemisia asked. "Why should it come to me?"

“I’ll let you feed it,” the ball of light said matter-of-factly. “That’s a part of your soul. As the only and first god in this world, I naturally hope that you can return your soul to your current body.”

Artemisia remained silent, no longer responding to the ball of light. If she remembered correctly, she, as a little tiger, had lived a long and peaceful life before dying.

She couldn't quite figure out what the ball of light was planning.

But she didn't care what it wanted to do. In her heart, it held a similar position to men in the past system and in this world.

Although it claims to be "Nuwa," Nuwa never actually appears before her; it previously claimed to be a stone, which has long been categorized by the mugwort as a liar.

Mugwort only selectively believes what it says.

The women retreated quietly and orderly. Fortunately, they had already set a trap; they only needed to check it tomorrow.

They divided into small groups according to their blood relations and each went to other parts of the tribe to find food.

Jiang Ai stood with her birth mother. Her other mothers wanted to join her, but were ruthlessly dragged away by the older women.

Jiang Ai couldn't help but smile.

She and her birth mother went to inspect the old traps, then took the prey from them and set new ones. Accompanying them, Jiang Ai's birth mother's sister praised Jiang Ai all the way.

From praising Jiang Ai's extraordinary talent as a child to her current shrewdness and competence.

Jiang Ai accepted all the praise and, smiling, handed the mother a pheasant with a broken wing.

The woman smiled as she tied up the pheasant, saying, "I see this bird has some particularly beautiful feathers. I'll add a few to the tuft of feathers around your waist later."

Jiang Ai smiled and agreed.

After setting up the traps, they tied up the pheasants they had caught. Since it was still early, the women gathered some tall grass leaves from the side and wove them into mats to lay on the dirt path.

Their palms were calloused from holding knives, and they were completely unafraid of the sharp edges of the blades of grass.

As the women made up their stories, they chatted amongst themselves: "I talked to my sisters last night, and everyone really wants to incorporate the Ji clan first."

The woman who brought up the topic smiled slyly: "After all, there are no women among the younger generation of the Ji clan, and even the clan leader is a man. It's much easier than competing with the women."

"And," the woman continued, nudging Jiang Ai with her elbow, "that little boy surnamed Ji seems to like you quite a bit. How about we suggest he become the Ji clan chief?"

Jiang Ai smiled as she put down a piece of woven grass mat and picked up a handful of grass leaves: "He and I aren't that close."

"Why do you say that?" The woman winked at Jiang Ai's birth mother. "I think that boy is quite handsome. Why don't we arrange a marriage as soon as possible, so that women from other tribes won't be tempted."

“If you were to offer three rabbit skins—well, never mind, I’d need half a bear skin in exchange.” The woman stroked her chin, wiping the grass clippings off her face. “If any woman were to offer half a bear skin in exchange, it would be worth it.”

There were no bears near the Jiang tribe; the women had only seen bear skins in the homes of other tribes' chieftains. Those who had seen them were extremely envious, hoping a bear would come near them so they could also hunt down a bear skin to show off.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!