huge splash of water.The impact was too strong, I couldn't hold the stone man anymore, and I was knocked back and lay down.First, there was a feeling of coldness on my back, then the whole body felt c...On the road, we kept encountering Qia people. A few young boys angrily threw stones at us, and Aza had bad luck, getting a red scratch on his eye from one of them.

Azha kept shouting and clamoring, but when a scholar meets a soldier, there's no reasoning to be had. He wasn't much of a fighter, so we were carried to the bottle tree.

Now I understand why the bottle tree here is made of solid earth instead of yellow sand, and also why there's a row of stones piled up beneath it. It was all done intentionally by the Kejia people as a way to worship and protect their tribal guardian tree.

They gathered dry grass and rotten wood, piling it into three bonfires. All the Kya people lay on the ground, hands raised above their heads, devoutly bowing their heads towards the bottle tree.

After bumping his head, an elderly K'ya elder stood up first, muttering words as he went, and the fire was lit.

Three or five Ya people held hands, circling the bottle tree and dancing. The dance lasted for about ten minutes.

Once they finished dancing, Aza was the first to be pushed towards the bonfire. Being so close, the heat waves scorched my face painfully.

Azza shouted angrily.

Xiaoxuan fearfully closed her eyes, she didn't dare to look. Next it was our turn.

As the Azari man was being hoisted up with a stick, just as he was about to be thrown into the fire, a sudden roar echoed from behind him.

"Baggett! Stop!"

A girl wearing glasses and modern clothes, holding a torch in one hand, ran over panting.

How is it her

This girl who came running anxiously, I know her. When I first arrived in Yinchuan, we went to see Gan reporter together. At that time, there was a girl with glasses beside Gan reporter, who said she was his colleague. This girl is the one.

The man called Bagk's face lit up, and he reached out to touch the girl with glasses.

The girl with glasses angrily spoke in Kyran, a whole string of words. Those who heard it from the Kyrans had their faces turn dark and uncertain.

The girl helped me untie.

She spoke in standard Mandarin, with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry everyone," she said, "On behalf of the Kya tribe, I apologize to you."

We've met before, I'm Gan's colleague, you can just call me Xia.

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"You people from the Kya tribe You're a Kya!" This sudden reprieve left me momentarily stunned.

She nodded. "I am indeed a Kaya person, and the first Kaya person to go to school outside the tribe. Except for Gan the reporter, no one else knows this. Don't be surprised. The Sacred Tree is our Kaya people's spiritual sustenance. Things have escalated to this point, so it's time to call it quits."

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I hastily said, "We were wrong to begin with because we didn't understand your tribe's beliefs and caused trouble. We are willing to provide some economic compensation."

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The girl smiled and said that money was useless to the Ke'ya people, as they were self-sufficient in food and clothing. They didn't go to the hospital when they got sick and didn't need money for everyday life.

"Thank you so much, beautiful!" Azha had just been on the edge of death and now she was feeling the relief of surviving.

On the way back to the tribe, those Kya men seemed to hold that girl in high regard. Several of them came up to her from time to time to offer their attention.

"Beauty, are we done now Can we go" Aza asked.

"You cannot leave yet. While I can speak in the tribe, I still need to persuade the chief to abandon his punishment for you. Our K'ya elder holds great authority within the tribe, and I need a day or two."

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To ease our worries, she added, "Rest assured, I can guarantee your safety during this time. Food and water will be delivered to you on schedule."

We stayed in the village for a day and a half. This girl named Huiya, who was from the village, did indeed keep her promise. She convinced the elder chief, and the Ke'ya tribe agreed to spare our lives, but there was one condition: we three had to sincerely apologize to the Bottle Tree by bowing our heads, in order to seek forgiveness from the sacred tree..Hong Jie held a small dagger in her hand. She kept her palm facing down, concealing it with her sleeve.In my hand, and in Jian Sheng's hand too, was a short, sharpened piece of wood. We held it under...