On a midsummer afternoon in the densely forested mountains, the cicadas chirped incessantly.0

Even under the shade of the trees, the heat was penetrating. The refreshing coolness of spring had passed.0

Sisi had changed out of her formal attire, now wearing her usual outfit that left her waist and feet bare. She made her way gracefully through the forest, carefully leading Zhao Changhe.0

Zhao Changhe followed behind, silently watching her slender waist and delicate feet.0

The burial ground of the Spirit Tribe in this era was at a designated location, but the ancient tombs had no such order and could be found scattered everywhere. The people of the Spirit Tribe no longer knew which tombs belonged to which ancestors, so they could not perform proper rituals for them. Instead, they conducted ceremonies centrally at the sacred mountain and temple, and marked areas with clusters of ancient tombs as forbidden zones to prevent those desperate for riches from looting them.0

As for the scattered, isolated tombs elsewhere, they essentially turned a blind eye to them—if someone happened to stumble upon one and dig it up, then so be it.0

In truth, the Spirit Tribe was largely self-sufficient. Even during...0