Chapter 142 - 143: A Little Cub?

Chapter 142: Chapter 143: A Little Cub?

Su Yang nodded and called out, "Su Zhao, see the Wizard home."

Su Zhao walked in at his words, glancing at Su Nuannuan in the corner with a conflicted look on his face.

’He’d come back from a long talk with Bai Meng yesterday only to find out Su Nuannuan had done something so foolish. He’d even planned to plead her case with Su Yang today.’

’But who would have thought his Father would ask him to escort the Witch Doctor home.’

He wanted to refuse, but Su Yang seemed to know what he was going to say and glared at him. "Hurry up. Can’t you see the Wizard is waiting? Luan Ting was up all night, too. He needs to get some rest."

Hearing this, Su Zhao couldn’t very well refuse. He immediately transformed into a wolf and crouched before the Wizard. "Wizard, please."

At his word, the Wizard climbed onto his back, and they quickly vanished from sight.

Once they had left, Su Yang shouted to those outside, "Come in, all of you! I will give you an answer for what happened yesterday."

The words had barely left his mouth when the beastmen outside, no longer able to restrain themselves, all crowded in.

Su Yang’s gaze swept over the crowd as he said in a heavy voice, "Ah Li, step forward. Before the salt was distributed, were you the one who told me it was damp and needed to be sun-dried?"

The werewolf called Dali stepped out from the crowd, trembling. "Leader, this poisoned salt has nothing to do with me. It was Su Nuannuan who told me that day that the salt was damp and needed to be sun-dried, otherwise it would clump up and not taste as good."

"Su Nuannuan, do you have anything else to say?" Su Yang asked after listening in silence, his sharp gaze falling on Su Nuannuan, who was huddled in a corner.

Su Nuannuan was silent for a moment before speaking. "I have nothing to say for myself. I did it."

"According to tribal law, harming another member of the tribe is punishable by being stoned to death by your own people," Su Yang said, his eyes dark and grim.

Su Nuannuan said nothing. Lan Ya rushed in with a heart-rending cry, shielding Su Nuannuan with her body. "No! Nuannuan, there must be some kind of misunderstanding, right? Just explain everything to your Father."

"How could you poison our own people? You’re always so kind to everyone in the tribe, and none of them have any grudge against you." Lan Ya shook her head, addressing Su Yang and the crowd.

’No grudge?’

Su Luoluo scoffed inwardly. ’Su Nuannuan was clearly targeting me. She just didn’t expect me to figure it out so fast!’

’If I hadn’t figured it out, I’d be the one standing here being questioned right now!’

’Lan Ya’s heart is so biased it’s absurd. It’s as if she can’t even see me.’

At this thought, Su Luoluo couldn’t help but scoff. She lifted her chin, about to speak.

But a voice from the crowd spoke up before she could. "’No grudge against anyone?’ I wouldn’t be so sure. Su Nuannuan must really dislike Luoluo, right?"

Su Luoluo looked toward the crowd to see Cai Xia speaking.

A warmth spread through Su Luoluo’s heart. ’She hadn’t befriended her for nothing.’

Cai Xia’s words were like a stone tossed into a still pond, creating a thousand ripples. Many in the tribe began to mutter amongst themselves.

"Su Luoluo stole her Beastman mate. It’s impossible for her not to hold a grudge."

"That’s right. Luoluo was the one who taught us how to purify the salt. If we had all gotten sick, wouldn’t she be the first person we’d blame?"

"That makes her even more malicious. She was willing to poison the entire tribe just to frame Luoluo."

...

"What nonsense are you spouting? Nuannuan is so kind, how could she possibly do something like this?" Lan Ya retorted sharply, dismissing Cai Xia’s words.

Cai Xia snorted. "Leader’s Wife, forgive me for speaking out of turn, but they’re both your daughters, and you’ve never been this good to Luoluo."

"You..."

Cai Xia’s words left Lan Ya speechless, and she fell silent.

The bickering gave Su Yang a headache. He raised his hand to signal for silence, then looked at Su Nuannuan again. "Do you really have nothing to say for yourself?"

’Even though Su Nuannuan had done wrong, he had still raised her. In his heart, Su Yang wanted to give her one more chance.’

’As long as she showed genuine remorse, he could let her slowly atone for her mistake.’

Seeing Su Nuannuan remain silent, Lan Ya grew anxious. She grabbed Su Nuannuan’s hand. "Nuannuan, just listen to your Mother. Apologize to your Father and the tribe. They won’t be so heartless as to kill you. Your Father is still very good to you."

Hearing this, Su Nuannuan burst out laughing. "Apologize? What did I do wrong? Wasn’t it Su Luoluo who stole my Beastman mate?"

"And you say Su Yang is good to me? If he were actually good to me, he wouldn’t have given the Beastman mate who rightfully belonged to me to Su Luoluo, who just showed up out of nowhere."

Lan Ya was stunned by Su Nuannuan’s words. "Nuannuan, how can you talk about your Father like that? If he wasn’t good to you, you wouldn’t have grown up by my side. He and I have both treated you as our own flesh and blood."

’Why is this child so unreasonable? The only way Su Yang will be lenient is if she makes him feel sorry for her.’

Lan Ya thought she was patiently persuading her wayward daughter to see the error of her ways, but when Su Nuannuan heard her, she shot her a vicious glare. "And don’t you pretend to be so good to me. You’re just as hypocritical as Su Yang."

Lan Ya never imagined the daughter she had raised with her own hands would speak to her like this. Her face turned deathly pale with shock. "Nuannuan, how could you think such a thing?"

"Isn’t it normal for me to think that? You only liked me because I was prettier than Su Luoluo, because I was someone you could be proud of. Now that I’m disfigured, how much of your affection could possibly be genuine?"

"But from now on, you won’t have to compare us anymore. I’m ugly, and Su Luoluo isn’t much of a beauty either, so there’s no one left to win you any face."

Lan Ya was struck speechless by Su Nuannuan’s tirade. Luan Ting watched Su Luoluo standing off to the side, perfectly still, and felt a knot form in his stomach.

’He knew Lan Ya had never been fond of Su Luoluo, but he hadn’t realized how deeply unfair her treatment had been.’

Su Luoluo’s expression remained placid; she was already accustomed to being treated this way by Lan Ya.

After her tirade, Su Nuannuan swept her gaze over the beastmen in the crowd. "And all of you! When I was beautiful, every one of you fawned over me. Now that I’m ugly, you ignore me. Not a single one of you is any good."

Her words caused an immediate uproar in the crowd.

"Su Nuannuan, how can you say that?"

"Aren’t you the one who did something wrong?" ℴ

"Exactly! When you first arrived as a child, didn’t we take good care of you?"

...

Su Yang looked at the incorrigible young woman before him and waved his hand dismissively. "Lock her in the dungeon. She can be released when she has repented."

With that, Su Yang turned and left, a look of profound disappointment on his face.

All the beastmen felt Su Nuannuan had gone too far this time, but none of them had ever wanted her to die.

And though she had said some nasty things, no one felt Su Yang was wrong for locking her up.

However, that afternoon, when a beastman went to the dungeon to bring her food, they discovered that Su Nuannuan had escaped.

Su Yang sent out a search party, but they couldn’t find her after looking all afternoon.

Seeing how obstinate she was, Su Yang simply waved his hand. "Forget it. If she wants to go, then let her. We won’t concern ourselves with her any longer."

...

Because Nuannuan had rendered the salt inedible by pouring a layer of toxic brine over it, Su Luoluo led the tribe in filtering it all over again.

When the people received the edible salt once more, they were immensely grateful to Su Luoluo.

Someone suggested holding a bonfire party to thank Su Luoluo.

And so, dinner was held around a bonfire, with Su Luoluo leading the tribe in preparing a large barbecue.

Amidst all the singing and dancing, Su Luoluo felt a sense of lively camaraderie she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

’There was never a time with this much human connection back in the Post-apocalypse.’

She was eating the food people offered her, but just as she took a bite, she covered her mouth, feeling a sudden wave of nausea.

A female who had given birth to cubs before saw her reaction and immediately laughed. "Luoluo, don’t tell me you’re pregnant with a little cub!"