"Hurry and stop him!"
Jaxon clenched his teeth tightly, clutching his chest and coughing up blood. He had been struck by Sane's tail and smashed hard against the cliff wall; he guessed several ribs were already broken.
Ever since this kid found Kaelen's belongings and scent on the cliff, he had fallen into a state of berserk frenzy, and nothing could stop him from seeking his own death.
The precipitous cliff couldn't be climbed down, so Sane tried to climb up from the bottom. Not finding Kaelen's body at the bottom of the abyss, he stubbornly insisted that Kaelen was merely trapped on the cliff, waiting for them to come to the rescue. He would rather fall until his skin peeled and flesh tore apart than believe the assumption that Kaelen had been eaten by wild beasts without a single bone left.
Sane had been like this for seven days, his entire body already mangled, yet he still refused to give up. Beastmen who tried to intervene were all whipped away by him, every one of them covered in injuries.
While searching for Kaelen's whereabouts, they also discovered the scent of magic beasts. Facing the safety of the tribe, Jaxon had gradually lost patience. Kaelen was gone, and Jaxon was more heartbroken than anyone else, but he couldn't just let Sane go crazy and indiscriminately attack tribesmen because of it.
"Increase the anesthetic flowers, I don't believe he can still hold on!"
Everyone immediately covered themselves with animal skins, ran to the Priest's medicinal plant area, and plucked more flowers. Flowers were thrown at Sane like they cost nothing. He stuck out his tongue and shook his head, slithering his bloody body to continue climbing the cliff face, then fell with a heavy thud, transformed into human form, and lay motionless.
"Quick, take him to the Priest's place!"
The beastman group immediately transformed into their beast forms, carefully placing Sane onto a stretcher. The sound of his bones grinding against each other made everyone's scalp tingle, their hearts unable to help but ache.
By now, everyone knew Sane liked Kaelen, and they also felt sorrow for their tragic situation of being separated by life and death. Snake tribe beastmen were inherently fickle, but if they had a mate, they were strangely loyal. Especially Sane, who was famously allergic to sub-beasts; now he liked a sub-beast hated by the whole tribe, and to top it off, ill-fated with a short life.
Nyx received Sane in a critical condition and sadly shook his head.
The beastmen in the tribe let out mournful roars, and for a time, many voices of disapproval, and even resentment, echoed in the tribe.
"What was Sane thinking? He is a warrior beastman, why would he like someone so deserving of being cursed?"
"An unlucky sub-beast, if he dies, he dies. The most pitiful one is the Avian tribe's child, suffering an unexpected disaster out of nowhere!"
"I already said, that cursed thing should have been hung on the stake and burned to death a long time ago!"
"SHUT UP!"
Jaxon roared, his roar shaking the entire mountain range and forest, carrying ultimate sorrow. Kaelen, look, these are the tribesmen you wholeheartedly cared for! These are the ones you worried about and could never let go of! A bunch of fools, they are beyond saving!
Nyx stopped his hands that were bandaging Sane, his cloudy eyes staring fixedly at the crowd outside. He looked at Jaxon and also recognized the ultimate disappointment in Jaxon's eyes.
"Jaxon, I will only stay in the tribe until the end of this winter. After winter, I will return to the Beast City to keep the Beast God company."
Nyx spoke indifferently to Jaxon, lowered his head, and continued his work. Looking at Sane's dull, lifeless pupils, waves of sorrow surged in his heart as well. These children, he loved every single one of them. He had also been angry at Sane for accidentally hurting Kaelen, but also felt sympathy for his difficult circumstances. Now knowing Sane's deep affection for Kaelen, he felt even more heartbroken.
There was also Walter, the frail child who had been accompanied by his medicine since childhood. His Papa had been unconscious for several days and still hadn't woken up.
What fault did they have, after all?
"High Priest, I will follow you." Jaxon said coldly, turning around to walk towards his mate. He had worked hard for this tribe for a hundred years; now he didn't want to keep trying anymore, letting them live however they pleased.
Zephyr hugged the large white tiger's head, sorrowfully rubbing his own head against the sparse fur on Jaxon's neck. His eyes were already swollen from crying, his tears having dried up long ago. If you asked who in this tribe loved Kaelen the most, it probably had to be Zephyr.
He had given birth to three beastmen consecutively but hadn't had any sub-beasts, always wanting a sub-beast child in his heart. Kaelen was orphaned at birth; when Kaelen was hungry for milk, Zephyr personally fed him bit by bit, and when Kaelen learned to walk, Zephyr guided him single-handedly. In Zephyr's heart, Kaelen was his son.
With the words Nyx and Jaxon just uttered, the whole tribe immediately erupted into chaos. What is this? Both the Tribe Leader and the Priest want to abandon them? Why? Because of someone cursed by the Beast God?
Quite a few people voiced it out loud; although spoken very softly, no one here was deaf, they all heard it.
Mossi sat in a corner, raised his head, swept his gaze over his tribesmen once, and couldn't help but sneer inwardly. It turned out he was just as ridiculous as they were before; now that he understood, it was too late. Kaelen couldn't even hear the apology from him anymore.
He spread his arms to part the crowd to both sides, stepped out, knelt on one knee before Nyx and Jaxon, and said loudly:
"Tribe Leader, High Priest, if you two want to leave, please take me with you as well. Although my combat strength is not worth much, there are still a few pounds of flesh on my body; in times of danger, I can still step forward to block a little."
The beastmen and sub-beasts who had worked with Kaelen also stepped forward, kneeling on one knee to show their sincerity. Even Elder Randy led the entire Avian tribe, kneeling on one knee. They didn't speak or swear oaths, but their intentions were crystal clear to everyone.
The remaining elders looked at each other. Although they knew of Kaelen's silent contributions, they didn't think he was worth splitting the tribe and causing internal turmoil. Obviously, there were many in the tribe who voiced their inner thoughts.
"Cursed by the Beast God?" Mossi pushed off the ground to stand up, glaring intensely at every single person standing there, and gritted his teeth: "If the Tribe Leader won't say it, then I will."
He swept a sharp gaze over the crowd, calling them out one by one:
"George, your mate sacrificed herself nearly thirty years ago. At that time, Moly was still a child, and Pansi was who-knows-where; those two weren't even mates yet, and Kaelen's soul was still wandering who-knows-where. Tell me, how did he harm your mate?"
"Morp, that year when Kaelen was still a fetus, your mate left the protection zone on his own accord and was captured by the Cipher tribe beastmen. At that time, did Kaelen crawl out of Pansi's belly to incite him?"
"Lewlyn, that year when fleeing as refugees, we took the wrong path. Kaelen cried out to signal us, and the High Priest had already led us to take another path, but you stubbornly insisted on doing it your way. Your mate was chewed by magic beasts until not even bones were left; did Kaelen tell you to take that path?"
"Naokri, Cobb, Xavier,... you guys, myself included, that year did Kaelen incite us to stay in that mountain cave? Did that child incite us to steal magic beast eggs to bring back and eat?"
Mossi pointed at them one by one, laying out the causes and consequences, and finally concluded with a sentence:
"All those misfortunes that year, which one wasn't brought upon ourselves? Pushing all of our own uselessness onto a child's head, you're very proud, aren't you? Very at peace, aren't you?"
Mossi smiled bitterly. Every word he said to them was also a slap to his own face.
"I don't believe you didn't realize it, you're just too cowardly to face it."
Just like him, knowing he was wrong but unable to let go of his pride, gradually forming a love-hate feeling towards Kaelen, every time looking at him with a gloomy gaze.
At this time, Randy also turned around to look at them, heavily striking his cane on the ground, and said hoarsely:
"Because of the adults' unreasonableness, the children's exclusion followed. I ask you children, has Kaelen ever done anything to hurt you, hurt the tribe?"
The young beastmen and sub-beasts looked at each other, unable to find a reason to refute. They always heard the adults call Kaelen someone cursed by the Beast God, so they instinctively excluded him. In reality, Kaelen hadn't done anything harmful to them at all.
Randy then looked over the group of young sub-beasts and said softly: "Don't think I don't know who plucked the feathers from Walter's wings. I am a tribe elder; I couldn't stand up for the cubs in my own tribe because people would think I was biased and unfit for the position. I stand here and ask you, what has Walter done to harm you? Just because he is frail and can't fly and jump like you? Or because his feather color isn't beautiful?"
Orion and Mie hid among the sub-beasts, their complexions pale white, their trembling hands gripping their animal-skin skirts. The sub-beast group standing with them also lowered their heads, reflecting on their behavior for the first time. Rylan lowered his eyes slightly, not letting anyone read his thoughts, but inwardly he scoffed: *If he died, he died; putting on a show for who to see.*
Randy looked at everyone in the tribe once more, the corner of his mouth lifting in a mocking smile:
"Before, I couldn't speak, but now I cannot not speak. Choosing to lead the entire Avian tribe to follow the High Priest means I'm determined to separate from you foolish lot. I don't mind letting you know a few things either.
The white starchy tubers that saved you from starvation for many winters were found by Kaelen. The medicinal herbs that saved you from the hot-head sickness were found by Kaelen. Using animal skins as mats and warm clothes was Kaelen's idea.
Even the yellow tuber starch strands you ate recently were made by Kaelen. You always reject things related to Kaelen, but you didn't know that the things you eat and wear every day all came from Kaelen, did you?"
He turned and walked towards the High Priest's cave, brought out a purple-glazed stoneware bowl and a patterned belt, held them up in front of everyone, and shouted loudly:
"Tell me, someone cursed by the Beast God could make a beautiful fired clay bowl like this?! Tell me, someone cursed by the Beast God could weave fabric that only the Beast City possesses?!"
The more he spoke, the more emotional he became, gripping the corner of the fabric embroidered with the Lac bird holding a lotus flower right up to the crowd's faces:
"Didn't you ask why the Beast God didn't bestow a protective totem upon our tribe? Then open your eyes wide and look closely for me, what is this?
WHAT IS THIS? HUH?
DID THE BEAST GOD NOT BESTOW IT UPON US? HE ALREADY GAVE IT, GAVE IT NINETEEN YEARS AGO! WE WERE THE ONES WHO THREW IT AWAY WITH OUR OWN HANDS!"
Randy forcefully threw the ceramic bowl and the belt onto the ground. The bowl shattered into pieces, letting out a sharp clattering sound that struck deep into people's hearts. The precious pottery and fabric were now no different from discarded trash, just like them.
Even the elders who previously felt it wasn't worth it lowered their heads. At this moment, not a single person in the tribe could raise their head to answer Randy's questioning.
They had no right to speak!