Chapter 029: Redwater Tribe

They found no other new ingredients, but they did discover a significant number of "purple rice pomegranates."

Mu Tong naturally didn't want to miss out, so she called the men over to climb the trees and harvest them. Ah Yu scratched his head, asking naively, "Can this hard-hearted fruit be eaten?" It was no wonder he was confused; this type of fruit was abundant in the areas where they often roamed, but since it wasn't edible, they never bothered to pick it. At most, the tribe’s children would gather them to throw the hard seeds inside at each other for fun.

"This is called purple rice fruit," Mu Tong decided to give this fruit, which was packed with purple grains, a new name. "Of course it can be eaten, and it’s actually quite delicious. You just can't eat it raw; it has to be cooked."

Oh, Ah Yu had an epiphany: it had to be cooked? Was it the same as the green beans they had just found? Ah, the Messenger of God was truly worthy of the title. She had barely arrived, yet she had already discovered two types of food the tribe had never eaten before. Once they returned to the tribe, he would have to ask the Messenger to teach them how to prepare these two foods.

"Come here." With the others busy climbing trees to pick the fruit, Mu Tong felt a surge of curiosity about the disheveled Ah Yu: what did this man, who had caught Shen Kai’s eye, actually look like?

Ah Yu knelt halfway, looking puzzled and allowing Mu Tong to fiddle with his hair: What was the Messenger of God doing?

Mu Tong swiftly pulled a pair of scissors and a manual hair clipper from her backpack (in reality, her storage ring) and began to trim the hair on top of Ah Yu’s head. Before long, she had styled it into a clean, crisp, short-layered men's haircut.

Ah Yu only saw hair drifting before his eyes and felt his head growing cooler. Finally, when he heard Mu Tong say it was done, he stood up. He really wanted to go to the Chishui River and take a look—what had the Messenger of God done to his hair?

Watching Ah Yu’s face, now unobstructed by messy locks, Mu Tong’s pupils constricted: The forehead, the brows, the eyes, the high bridge of the nose—he looked far too much like Shen Kai!

Seeing the unkempt beard on Ah Yu’s face, Mu Tong took out a safety razor. With a few swift strokes, she cleared away the facial hair. This time, Mu Tong was truly stunned: he was essentially another Shen Kai.

Except for a difference in temperament and physique, their features were nearly identical. If she didn't know that Ah Yu came from a primitive tribe, she would have thought they were twins.

Shen Kai had a melancholy, refined air and a slender frame, while Ah Yu was vibrant and sun-kissed with a muscular build. Even with the same features, they gave off completely different impressions. Could it be that this resemblance was exactly why Shen Kai’s blood bead had chosen him?

Mu Tong’s mind was full of questions, but there was no one to answer them. Looking at Ah Yu, who shared such similar features with Shen Kai, Mu Tong could no longer ignore him, nor could she let him continue walking around in front of her looking like a savage.

She retrieved a pair of cotton shorts of a suitable size from her storage ring and had Ah Yu put them on.

Ah Yu touched his much lighter head, looking at Mu Tong in confusion. Mu Tong sighed and pointed to the pants she was wearing. "These are pants. Where I come from, it's not good to go without them."

Ah Yu blushed. In their tribe, everyone—men, women, young, and old—walked around just like this, and no one thought anything of it. But with Mu Tong putting it that way, he suddenly felt it was improper. He quickly took the shorts and, under her guidance, put them on.

The rest of the tribesmen, having finished picking the fruit and descending from the trees, stared in amazement at Ah Yu’s new hairstyle and the shorts he was wearing. They felt the fabric—it was soft, much more comfortable than animal hide!

The group looked at Mu Tong with hopeful eyes: anything given by the Messenger of God must be good!

Under such gazes, Mu Tong found it hard not to provide something. Besides, having a dozen large, naked men flying about in front of her wasn't ideal. She pretended to pull another dozen pairs of shorts from her backpack, then shrugged to indicate she had no more. Otherwise, once they reached the tribe, if everyone asked for clothing, how much could she really carry in one bag?

It was obvious to anyone with eyes. So, it was better to be clear now: what was gone was gone, to prevent others in the tribe from asking later.

In truth, she had plenty of clothing, scavenged from various countries. Beyond the suitable items she kept for her parents, brother, and nephew, the rest were stored in a sealed storage space, with only a small portion in her earring. Even this small portion was enough to clothe hundreds of people for over a decade.

The tribesmen who received the shorts didn't care about the details. They set down their baskets and, following Ah Yu’s example, pulled them on. Then, they poked at each other’s pants, grinning foolishly.

Once these few fruit trees were picked, the dozen or so baskets were nearly full. They quickened their pace toward the tribe. The distance from here to the tribe was not far.

Along the way, several creatures resembling wild rabbits and pheasants appeared in the distance within the forest, only to be instantly killed by the men using stone spears. Their fierce power, precise aim, and rapid reflexes left Mu Tong secretly astonished: the combat strength of these primitive people was not to be underestimated!

Ah Yu, in particular, seemed to be the standout among them.

After walking for another half hour or so, Mu Tong finally spotted a sizable valley in the distance. The flat valley was shaded by lush trees, with a few huts faintly visible. The valley was surrounded by high cliffs on three sides, and the open side was guarded by a tall defensive wall made of stones and wooden stakes, presumably to keep out wild beasts.

Not far from the valley entrance flowed a wide river. The tribesmen said that was the Chishui River. The Chishui Tribe was named after it.

The water of the Chishui River was sweet and clear, used by the tribe for washing, cooking, and bathing. There were plenty of fish in the river, and when food was scarce, the tribe would sometimes fish to roast.

However, the fish were very fishy and bony, so whenever they could hunt enough game, the tribesmen preferred not to fish.

These people actually knew how to fish? Mu Tong raised an eyebrow slightly. It seemed the people of the primitive tribe weren't really that stupid. Upon reflection, it wasn't surprising; she had once read that early humans speared fish from rivers to eat. Even indigenous people in the Amazon forest used their own weapons to spear fish, using local forest spices to make delicious roasted fish.

Ah Yu pointed toward the valley. "Messenger of God, that is our Chishui Tribe." The rest of the group cheered at the sight of their home, surrounding Mu Tong as they rushed toward the settlement.

The children keeping watch at the valley entrance saw Ah Yu’s group returning and ran like the wind toward the tribal meeting hall, shouting as they went, "They’re back! Ah Yu has brought back the Messenger of God!"

Upon hearing the shouts, the Chief and the Shaman stood up in unison and ran out of the tribe: the noble Messenger of God had arrived, and they must go to welcome her!