Chapter 188 If you can't protect her, send her back to me.
Sacred Tree?
Qin Suisui frowned.
Back when she last came to the Snake Witch Tribe to seek medicine, her master mentioned when teaching her the method of detoxification that the tribe's location was determined by two factors: "divination" and "the location of the sacred tree."
The reason they chose this location for their settlement was not only because of its terrain and high degree of seclusion, but also because there was a sacred tree here that could stabilize the settlement.
Last time, due to the rush, Qin Suisui didn't have a chance to see this sacred tree, but now that she has finally seen it, she can't help but be shocked!
It turns out that the sacred tree that marks the settlement of the Snake Witch tribe is actually a rosewood tree that is nearly a thousand years old!
The torrential rain continued, and this nearly thousand-year-old rosewood tree, like an old man nearing the end of his life, collapsed from a height of tens of meters under the onslaught of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, slowly losing its vitality.
Almost everyone in the tribe who could move came, and they all knelt down beside the sacred tree, prostrating themselves and weeping.
The wind and rain gradually subsided, but the cries of the clansmen echoed throughout the heavens and earth, low, sorrowful, and helpless.
In their minds, the falling of the sacred tree meant that this place no longer welcomed them, that this land would no longer protect them, and that they had once again become tourists in the forest, with nowhere to settle down.
Amidst a low, mournful cry, a barefoot boy suddenly came running in a panic. The wind and rain had soaked his clothes, but he was oblivious to it. He strode up to Palon and mumbled something in his tongue.
“@￥@#￥#……%……*&……”
"@#￥%￥#%……&……*"
Qin Suisui couldn't understand the conversation between the two, but she could clearly see Palon's face turn deathly pale in an instant.
She glanced at Parman beside her, only to find that Parman's face had also turned frighteningly pale.
Seeing the worried look on Qin Suisui's face, Paman calmed himself down before speaking softly, "The rice paddies have been destroyed. We may not have any food to eat in the second half of the year."
Qin Suisui frowned and followed Paman and the others to the rice paddies to investigate.
Because the tribe chose a location on a cliff, next to a canyon with a large fertile land and a stream flowing through it, the industrious tribespeople turned this land into paddy fields.
For decades, more than 100,000 kilograms of mountain rice have been grown here, feeding several generations of tribesmen.
On this stormy night, the rice paddies that were about to be harvested were destroyed by a sudden flash flood. The full ears of rice were buried under rocks and mud, just like the tribe that was being suffocated by the strange natural phenomenon.
Palon's white hair doubled overnight. He waved his hand weakly and said to Parman, "Give the order: harvest what you can, and for what you can't... just forget about it. Consider it our last contribution to this land."
Human beings are always small and powerless in the face of nature.
Even though Qin Suisui possessed extraordinary abilities, she was powerless in the face of this sudden natural disaster.
She and Pei Jiuyan joined Paman and more than two hundred young tribesmen in the effort to harvest the grain.
Although the grain was destroyed by the flash flood and most of it was buried under mud and stones, by late October, the grain that was going to ripen had ripened. It could still be eaten after being dug out from under the mud and washed, but it could no longer be used as rice seed or stored for long.
From late at night until the next morning, hundreds of people from the tribe persisted in harvesting rice in the paddy fields. Qin Suisui had injured her lower back before, and even though she had been recuperating for so long, she could not support such a long period of bending over to work.
So she had only been working for a short while when Pei Jiuyan and Paman sent her off to rest.
She naturally couldn't rest peacefully, so she simply ran to her master's courtyard and used the water from the spatial stream to brew several buckets of strong tea for everyone. The tea water was refreshing, and the spatial stream water could provide energy; the combination of the two was excellent.
The next morning, she and her master cooked several large pots of sweet potato porridge for everyone in a big iron pot.
Paron, holding his bowl, squatted down on the ground, took a slurp, and then sighed.
Seeing his expression, Qin Suisui whispered, "Master, why don't we do as I suggested yesterday and move our entire clan to a place a little outside the forest? At least the terrain there is flat, there are fewer natural disasters, and the safety of our clan can be guaranteed. Moreover, it's suitable for growing rice there, and it's convenient to go out and buy things."
“Master, I know the rules of our tribe, but back then we had to hide in the deep mountains for safety because of natural disasters and wars in history.”
“But now we live in a time of peace. Whether we hide in here or go out, it’s all for the safety of our people and the continuation of our tribe. Think about it, the outside world is developing much faster than our tribe. Whether it’s in terms of living conditions, food cultivation, or medical care, it’s much more convenient than when we live deep in the mountains.”
“By connecting with the outside world and improving the living standards and conditions of our people, we can increase both the average lifespan and fertility rate of our people, and the chances of children surviving will also increase. Wouldn’t that be more beneficial to the development of the tribe?”
"To put it another way, whether we are Han Chinese or Li people, we are all descendants of Yan and Huang, and children of China. We have no irreconcilable conflicts, either in history or now. I believe everyone will welcome your willingness to come forward."
Qin Suisui wasn't lying. Long before she came to the tribe, she had asked Pei Jiuyan about the organization's attitude towards these ethnic minorities.
Pei Jiuyan told her that the organization would welcome their return, and that ethnic autonomy could now be achieved. Even if they moved out, they could still manage the internal affairs of their tribe to a certain extent, which would not conflict with their current situation or affect the development of the tribe.
Just then, Parman walked over. Paron looked up from the large bowl at him: "Parman, what do you think of what your junior sister said?"
Parman didn't stop. He walked over, picked up the cooled tea from the side, and drank it all in one gulp: "Master, I think Junior Sister is right."
Palon raised an eyebrow in surprise: "Didn't you used to hate associating with Han Chinese?"
Parman remained expressionless and poured himself another bowl of tea: "That was in the past. Now I think many things and aspects of Han Chinese culture are quite interesting."
Palon snorted and muttered under his breath, "You and I both know exactly what we find interesting."
Pei Jiuyan, who was also aware of the situation, came over, picked up a bowl of tea and gulped it down in one go, then looked at Qin Suisui: "How are you? Does the wound still hurt? Is there anything uncomfortable?"
Palon lifted his head from the bowl, his eyes sharp: "You still say you're not injured?"
Qin Suisui touched her nose and glared at Pei Jiuyan again.
Yesterday afternoon, when Palon was testing her, he immediately noticed that her complexion was off and insisted on taking her pulse. Qin Suisui was afraid that he would worry, so she just said that she was tired from walking all the way and laughed it off, so she didn't let him take her pulse.
Qin Suisui knew that her master was a skilled doctor, but she did not expect that he was so skilled that he could tell at a glance that her body had been injured before.
Even though she used her own medicine, which made her wounds heal several times faster than the average person and her recovery was much better than that of other injured people, the body's self-healing still takes time. No matter how well it heals, it is impossible to truly recover to its original state in the short term, so Palon still noticed.
At this moment, her coquettishness and flattery were no longer effective, so she could only awkwardly extend her hand to let her master take her pulse.
Palon grabbed her pulse, his brows furrowed, his face darkening, and his expression grew increasingly grim.
Then he flung her hand away and turned his sharp eyes to Pei Jiuyan: "The pulse is weak and difficult, like a light knife scraping bamboo, indicating stagnation of qi and blood. She suffered a serious knife wound to her waist not long ago."
"If you can't protect her, send her to me. Parman and I will take good care of her!"
Pei Jiuyan was taken aback, then lowered his head slightly: "It was my fault for not protecting her well. I promise it won't happen again!"
Paron snorted coldly: "I know your identity is special, but in our tribe, if a man can't even protect his own woman, how can he protect the entire tribe? I hope this is the first and the last time."
"Even if I die in the future, her senior brother will still be here. If we find out that she is injured or has been wronged by you, no matter where she is, her senior brother will definitely bring her back!"
Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming tense, Qin Suisui quickly spoke up: "Master, actually this can't be blamed on him. It's mainly because your disciple is too amazing. I concocted an antidote that makes people envious. It's the one you taught me last time..." She went on and on, telling Palon everything that had happened before.
Upon learning what had happened, Palon snorted coldly, his expression softening somewhat, but he still looked at Pei Jiuyan with disdain.
After a night and most of the day, with the combined efforts of the clansmen, a small portion of the more than ten acres of rice fields were finally harvested. Although the losses were heavy, this was the best possible outcome under such dire circumstances.
Qin Suisui returned late yesterday and didn't look around carefully. It wasn't until she was walking around the tribe today that she discovered that many houses had been destroyed by rocks and mud. The tribe was no longer as peaceful as it had been when she last visited; instead, it exuded an atmosphere of desolation after a great disaster.
Looking at Palon, who seemed to have aged considerably overnight, she suggested again, "Master, please consider my suggestion."
Palon didn't say anything, but during dinner, he suddenly slammed his bowl down on the table: "You all go back tomorrow!"
Qin Suisui choked on her food, finally managing to swallow it. She looked completely bewildered: "Master, what did I do wrong? Why are you suddenly kicking me out?"
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