“This is the medicine the witch doctor gave my little brother!
What right do you have to take it?”
“Little monsters don’t deserve to use our witch doctor’s medicine.” The little fox cub held up the stolen herbs and shook them.
“We’re not monsters!
My little brother is hurt, and the witch doctor gave us this medicine!”
Xi Nan tried to snatch it back, but a little brown bear and a little tiger blocked him.
“Hmph, why would the witch doctor give *you* medicine?
You must have stolen it.
We’re just stopping you from doing something bad.” The little brown bear waved its claws at Xi Nan.
“You’re lying!” Xi Nan watched as the medicine from the witch doctor was thrown on the ground and stomped to pieces, so distraught he was on the verge of tears.
“My Mother said that ominous beasts like you shouldn’t be allowed in the tribe.
You should have died long ago.”
The little tiger took a step forward, preparing to pounce on Xi Nan.
…
When Xi Yao rushed over, Xi Nan was brawling with several young Beastmen.
Beastmen usually only began to take human form at the age of six.
From a distance, it looked like a few small animals viciously fighting and biting each other.
The little Tiger Beastman was sitting on top of Xi Nan, his hands gripping the horns on Xi Nan’s head, shouting, “And you say you’re not a little monster?
Then what are these on your head?”
Xi Nan whimpered in pain, his limbs flailing, but he couldn’t shake off the little Beastman on top of him.
A little lion Beastman at the side saw his chance and raised a paw to stomp on Xi Nan’s stomach.
The little fox Beastman would occasionally lash out with its sharp claws to scratch Xi Nan.
The other young Beastmen were cheering them on from the side.
“Get him!
Beat that little monster to death!”
Seeing this, Xi Yao rushed forward, grabbed the little tiger on top of Xi Nan, and tossed him aside like a chick.
“OOF!”
The little Beastman tumbled across the ground for several rolls before coming to a stop.
She then grabbed the few little brats who had just been spouting nasty curses, walked over to the nearby cesspit, and tossed them in.
“Since your mouths are so filthy, they could use a good washing.”
This was where the tribe’s Beastmen normally relieved themselves, a method they had supposedly learned from a larger tribe.
It was very simple: just a large, deep pit with a few wooden logs laid across the top.
The little brats Xi Yao had picked up fell into the cesspit before they could even react.
“AHH!
It stinks!” the little fox Beastman shrieked.
He thrashed about in the cesspit, trying to grab the edge to climb out, but the walls were wet and slippery, offering no purchase.
“Help…
Help us!” the little lion Beastman also cried out, his head and body covered in filth, a truly pathetic sight.
“You…
you unwanted female!
How dare you throw us in here!
I…
I’m going to tell my Father when I get back and have him deal with you!”
The little brown bear Beastman struggled in the cesspit, not forgetting to make threats.
Xi Yao crossed her arms, watching them coldly, and said with contempt:
“Go ahead, have your Fathers come find me.
Let’s see who dares to touch me and my cubs!”
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the little tiger trying to escape.
He had been the one hitting the hardest.
She strode over, picked him up, and tossed him in.
“If I ever see you bullying my cubs again, it won’t be this simple!”
The little tiger struggled to lift his head in the cesspit, wanting to say something threatening, but the moment he opened his mouth, a splash of filth poured in.
He could only manage a few muffled whimpers of protest.
The other young Beastmen in the tribe watched this scene from a distance, too frightened to make a sound.
They had often bullied Xi Nan and his siblings in the past, and Xi Yao, that cruel female, had never intervened.
They never expected that not only would she get involved today, but she would be so ruthless as to throw them directly into a cesspit.
Xi Nan stood dumbfounded behind Xi Yao, watching the little Beastmen struggling in the cesspit.
He felt both scared and strangely thrilled.
“Alright, let’s go home.”
Xi Yao picked Xi Nan up and started walking home.
Normally, Xi Nan would have struggled immediately, but this time he didn’t move, letting her carry him.
He had heard those kinds of words since he was little; he was already used to them.
He never thought that cruel female would stand up for him.
‘She seems different now.’
…
The cave was lit only by a flickering fire, and the faint aroma of roasting meat filled the air.
Xi Yao had just finished roasting the meat and was about to eat.
The sound of hurried footsteps approached from the distance.
A moment later, several females burst in belligerently, followed by a group of Beastmen.
The one in the lead was a slightly plump female with matted hair.
Xi Yao’s gaze shifted from the large, bright red flower stuck in her nest-like hair.
She glanced past the three well-built Beastmen behind her to two other females with similarly tangled, messy hair.
It was impossible to know how many days it had been since they’d washed it.
Behind them were several more Beastmen.
They were probably their Beast Husbands.
It had to be said, the Beastmen were all well-built, and each was more handsome than the last.
Xi Yao clicked her tongue.
‘Are they here for a showdown?’
‘A few more people and they won’t even fit in this shabby cave of mine.’
“Well, well, Xi Yao!
How dare you throw my Zaizai into the cesspit?
Do you think we’re dead?!”
The plump female in the lead pointed a finger at Xi Yao, her face contorted with rage.
Xi Yao met her gaze without fear, her voice calm.
“Their mouths were filthy, and they were cursing my cub.
I was just giving them a little discipline.”
Behind Xi Yao, Xi Nan crouched slightly in a defensive stance.
Xi Bei hid behind Xi Nan, watching timidly.
Xi Yao held the roasted meat out to them, soothing them in a low voice.
“There, there.
Go eat over there.”
Xi Nan didn’t take the meat; instead, he was so startled he took a few steps back.
This had happened before.
He would fight back against the young Beastmen who bullied them, and their Beast Fathers and mothers would show up at their door.
Not only would the cruel female not help them, she would join in on beating them.
‘It’s sure to be the same this time.’
Seeing Xi Nan’s reaction, Xi Yao’s heart felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, a dull ache spreading through her chest.
She knew the cubs had suffered too much injustice in the past, which was why they were so guarded against her.
She raised her hand to pat Xi Nan’s head, but he thought she was angry and about to hit him, so he turned his head and dodged.
Xi Yao awkwardly withdrew her hand.
She looked at the trembling Xi Bei and softened her voice to comfort him.
“Xi Bei, trust your Mother.
This time, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“Go over there and eat the roasted meat.
Your Mother will handle this.”
Xi Bei shook his head in fear, hiding behind Xi Nan and biting his tail to pull him back.
“…”
Seeing herself being ignored, the plump female grew even angrier.
“I don’t know anything about ‘little tricks’!
All I know is that you harmed our Zaizai, and you’d better give us an explanation today!”
Xi Yao put down the roasted meat, stood up, and walked step-by-step toward the female.
“An explanation?
You people don’t even bother to discipline your own brats.
I taught them a lesson for you.
Shouldn’t you be thanking me?
How dare you come to me demanding an explanation?”
The plump female, enraged by the humiliation, shrieked and lunged at Xi Yao.
The two females with equally messy hair behind her also charged forward.
Xi Yao sidestepped, easily dodging the plump female’s attack.
With a deft pull, the female couldn’t stop her own momentum and went sprawling, eating dirt.
Seeing this, the other two females tried to flank her, reaching out to scratch at her face.
Xi Yao quickly dropped into a crouch and executed a leg sweep, tripping both females and sending them to the ground.
“You useless trash!”
The plump female scrambled up from the ground and yelled at her Beast Husbands, “What are you standing around for?
Teach her a lesson for me!”
The Beastmen exchanged glances.
According to tribal law, Beastmen were forbidden from striking females.
The lightest punishment was a penalty; the most severe was exile from the tribe.
When the plump female saw they still weren’t moving, she erupted in a stream of curses.
“I can’t order you around anymore, is that it?
Whoever doesn’t fight today, I’ll abandon them when we get back.”
Hearing this, the Beast Husbands panicked.
More than being exiled from the tribe, they feared being abandoned by their female.
Once abandoned by their female master, they would become forsaken beasts, forced to endure the daily torment of the contract’s backlash until they died.
A tall, powerfully built Beastman let out a roar and threw a punch at Xi Yao, his fist whistling through the air.