ds still clung to this barbaric custom from the Shang Dynasty.Back then, women's social status wasn't as high as it is now. In the cases of sacrificial burial, women made up a very large proportion. T..."That should be enough," I counted, not too many, not too few, a total of five prickly pear pots filled.

Thirst is worse than hunger, relying on the bottle tree for rest until sunset. We set off with our water bottles.

Climbing up the sand dune, Xiao Xuan turned her head and looked around before asking me, "Shall we go west or east"

"Still west, my gut tells me we should go west."

I patted the cactus water bottle hanging on my body and said, "With these, we have enough water for two or three days. We have to take good care of them, this is our lifeline."

"

"

"Xiaoxuan, what are you daydreaming about Did you hear me speaking"

She seemed not to hear me speaking. Her eyes were fixed straight ahead, and suddenly she exclaimed excitedly: "Person... ! There's someone! Someone!"

"Person! Where is there a person!" I followed the direction of her finger.

In the distance, a few hundred meters away, several small dots appeared and were moving towards us.

"What a surprise! Could they have brought their heads back"

"Hey!"

"Hey! We're over here!" I shouted, waving my hands toward them.

Those few people in the distance paused for several dozen seconds. They should have spotted us and are now hurrying over here.

Only when he came closer did I see him clearly.

These people are not our camel handlers, and this is not their leader.

The other party consisted of three people, two men and one woman. Their clothes didn't look like those worn by modern people and resembled some nomadic groups in the Tibetan region. The two men were shaved except for a small braid at the temples, while the woman had a blue cloth band tied around her head and a large earring on her left ear.

The two men and one woman still held small baskets in their hands, covered with cloth on top, so you couldn't see what was inside.

Could these be the Hutu people That was my first thought.

"Hello! Hello!" I ran up two steps and gestured, "We are from the big city, we got lost in the desert, we're looking for the Hutu people tribe, are you Hutu"

Two men and a woman glanced at each other and chatted away. I couldn't understand what they were saying; it wasn't the local Yinchuan dialect, nor Mandarin.

After a few minutes, the girl with big earrings pointed at me, then down towards the sand dunes. She reached out and mimed a shape in the air, trying to communicate with me.

I pondered over her gestures and suddenly realized, "Miss, you were gesturing about trees, weren't you"

"You're right!" I pointed down the sand dune and gestured. "There's a big tree down there, a bottle tree! That tree can collect water. Are you also here to get water"

Having said that, I took off my handmade cactus water bottle and handed it to her.

The girl didn't understand what I was saying. She took the water bottle with a puzzled look on her face and tasted it by dipping her finger in and putting it in her mouth.

I grinned and said, "How is it Isn't it pretty good It has a nice aroma."

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She suddenly paled, whispering urgently to the man with her. Her expression grew increasingly agitated, her face flushing red.

Two men, hearing this, suddenly became angry and rushed forward, grabbing my shoulders from left to right. They were muscular and strong, forcefully pulling me down the path.

What are you guys doing!

"Let me go!"

"Where are you taking us!" I realized something was wrong, and so did Zhao Xuanyan. She was grabbed by the arm by the girl with earrings and dragged down the slope.

When they reached the bottle tree, these people discovered wounds on its bark.

That wound was made by me hitting it with a stone from the ground.

"Plop!" One of them suddenly knelt down before the bottle, muttering words repeatedly. From his tone and expression, I realized something at that moment.

I and Zhao Xuaxuan might have caused trouble...

This big bottle tree right here was probably planted by them! huh Well then, I'm going to report you!"Huh"I stared at her, puzzled. "What did you report me for""I.... I," Li Jing's face flushed red, and he suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "I'll report you f...