Chapter – 70
Litte’s Scheme
Mu Ling’s words put the several beast-husbands in the room on high alert.
Horen narrowed his lion eyes and spoke as well.
“Maybe the female master shouldn’t go.”
“The pollution in the Cursed Lands has existed for a long time. If a female envoy truly could cure it, the Sacred Female would have sent one long ago.”
“Since there’s never been any such news, there’s no need for the female master to risk herself.”
“Treatment is a small matter—if the female master gets polluted, that would be disastrous.”
Mu Ling added, “And judging from the degree of pollution in those two beastmen, their brains have already been completely eroded. Even if treatment were possible, they wouldn’t survive.”
Seeing them all talking over one another and unanimously opposing her treating the pollution, Jiang Xi felt conflicted.
After all, their lives were tied to hers.
If her life belonged only to herself, she could do whatever she wanted—but now she was carrying five lives on her shoulders.
Under such circumstances, she had no choice but to take it seriously.
Jiang Xi pressed her lips together, lightly furrowing her brows.
After thinking carefully for a while, she looked up at them and said,
“Let’s go take a look first and decide based on the situation at the site?”
“The First Female and the Chief are already waiting. Backing out now wouldn’t be appropriate. Let’s see the situation first—if something feels off, we can refuse then.”
The First Female and the Chief were acting for the good of the tribe and had treated her and everyone well. Since she had already agreed, she should at least make the trip so as not to damage her credibility.
Since the female master had said so, they couldn’t argue further.
And so it was settled.
The two polluted beastmen were locked inside blackwood cages, placed in an uninhabited courtyard within the tribe. At night, wooden boards and hay were used to shield them from wind and snow.
When Jiang Xi arrived with her four beast-husbands, there were already many beastmen and females standing in the courtyard.
She was startled—she hadn’t expected so many people.
“They’re here! They’re here!”
“The female envoy is here!”
As soon as Jiang Xi appeared, the crowd automatically parted.
She noticed several fairly good-looking beastmen at the front, twitching their faces and constantly winking at her.
She didn’t look at them again and walked straight in.
The First Female and the Chief hurried over to greet her.
“Female Envoy, everything is ready.”
Seeing so many beastmen gathered there, Lu Liufeng frowned slightly and said,
“Have the beastmen and females disperse. If the pollution spreads, the tribe will suffer even more.”
With so many people watching, if the female master failed to treat it, word would spread and damage her reputation.
At that moment, Nanasi, who was standing in the courtyard, suddenly snorted.
“Isn’t she supposed to be able to cure it? If she gets polluted, she can just cure herself.”
Before Lu Liufeng could speak, an older female beside Nanasi pulled her back with a stern face.
“Nanasi, do not be rude to the female envoy.”
Though the middle-aged female said this, there was little reproach in her tone.
After that, she smiled at Jiang Xi.
“Please don’t take offense, Female Envoy. Nanasi has been spoiled by me since childhood. She was born with manifested mental power as well, but unfortunately, I couldn’t let her grow up in a better tribe. The curse power of the Cursed Lands caused her to lose her manifested mental power.”
“Now that the tribe has a female envoy, the beastmen who are polluted finally have hope.”
Jiang Xi looked at her and narrowed her eyes slightly.
“I don’t recall ever saying that I could treat curse pollution.”
She turned and looked at the surrounding onlookers.
“You all came here—was it to watch me treat pollution?”
The beastmen and females around them froze. Someone scratched their head in confusion.
“Yeah…”
“I heard the female envoy could treat pollution, so I came.”
“Me too.”
“Same here…”
Now even the First Female and the Chief realized something was wrong.
They had thought the tribe members came merely to witness the female envoy’s presence, but they hadn’t expected this layer beneath it.
Wasn’t this putting the female envoy over an open fire?
First Female Natalie stepped forward and said coldly,
“The curse has spread across this land for how many years? If it were truly curable, there would be no curse pollution by now!”
“I don’t know who spread this rumor! But the female envoy is already risking pollution to try—we of Lion Roar Tribe should be grateful! Not demanding she must cure it! The female envoy has no obligation to do any of this!”
As she spoke, Natalie looked toward Nanasi’s mother.
“Litte, as a tribal elder, you should know what should and should not be said. Where did you hear such words?”
Lion Roar Tribe had four tribal elders, all older females who had failed to compete for First Female, had given birth to females, and held prestige within the tribe.
Aside from Litte, there were Vinal, Chen Yun, and Bawa.
The ones polluted today were Chen Yun’s daughter Chen Ya’s two beast-husbands.
Litte smiled. “Why is the First Female so angry? I don’t even remember where I heard it. I’m old—my memory isn’t so good.”
“Besides, the female envoy herself doesn’t mind. Why is the First Female making such a fuss? Could it be for your own Gaxi and Hetilda? Wanting them to marry the female envoy?”
Hetilda had awakened ancestral Six-Winged White Lion bloodline and was born with wings.
If nothing unexpected happened, Hetilda would become the next chief, and his female master would become the tribe’s next First Female.
Litte had failed to become First Female and had harbored resentment ever since. But her daughter Nanasi was outstanding—clearly the most sought-after female in the tribe.
If Jiang Xi hadn’t regained her manifested mental power and become a female envoy, then with her support, Nanasi would surely have become First Female in the future.
So Litte had always believed Hetilda would marry her daughter Nanasi.
But everything was ruined by Jiang Xi.
Because of this, she would never let Jiang Xi have an easy time and would find a way to drive her out of Lion Roar Tribe.
Only then could Nanasi once again become the most favored female in the tribe.
She knew Sacred-Blessed Females could not cure curse pollution.
So she spread the rumor, thinking that as long as Jiang Xi failed to treat the pollution in public, she would be too ashamed to remain in Lion Roar Tribe.
She just hadn’t expected to be exposed.
“Litte! You are insulting the female envoy! Apologize immediately!”
Natalie’s face darkened.
“If you refuse to apologize, I have the authority to remove you from the position of tribal elder!”
The role of tribal elders existed to assist the First Female in managing the tribe. If an elder harmed the tribe, the First Female had the right to dismiss her.
At that moment, another elder, Bawa, spoke up.
“We were all chosen by the tribe. Does the First Female really think she can remove us just because she wants to? Isn’t that too autocratic, too unfair, and too dismissive of the tribe’s females?”
“Weren’t you also chosen by everyone? Or have you forgotten the people of the tribe now that you’re First Female? You shouldn’t be so domineering.”
As soon as she spoke, the surrounding females began whispering among themselves.
Natalie’s face instantly changed with anger. Just as she was about to retort, Jiang Xi spoke.
She said coldly,
“Then perhaps, when spring comes, I’ll take my beast-husbands and leave.”
“There are seven tribes in the Cursed Lands. I believe other tribes would be more than willing to accept us—and likely wouldn’t allow this kind of rumor that puts me on display to spread through the entire tribe, nor use the tribe’s beastmen and females to watch a female envoy’s humiliation.”
