Chapter 227: Little Tiger’s Roar in the Beast World – 16

Most of the time, the Priest wouldn’t summon him during heavy snowfall. The Client had sustained injuries during his younger hunting days, and now his joints ached in the snow.

But since someone had come to fetch him, it meant the matter was urgent.

Xie Hui wrapped the two Little Tigers, who were leisurely watching the snow, in animal skins. As soon as they were bundled up, their two heads eagerly popped out.

“I’m going to see the Priest now. Please take them to Sheng.”

“Understood, Tribe Leader.”

When Xie Hui arrived, he saw Xue and her beastman kneeling in the snow, their exposed skin reddened from the cold. The surrounding beastmen, however, showed no pity, their eyes filled with disdain.

The Priest, leaning on her staff, emerged and nodded slightly to Xie Hui.

“Tribe Leader.”

“The reason I called you here despite the heavy snow is because this matter cannot be delayed.”

The Priest deeply regretted her past softness in allowing Xue to stay. If given another chance, she wouldn’t hesitate to watch Xue die before her eyes.

“What did I do wrong? Why do I deserve this? Mi worked hard hunting all year, yet the food we got was so little, not enough for us to eat. Meanwhile, those useless old ones do nothing and still eat their fill! It’s utterly unfair!”

“They’re so old, they won’t live much longer. Why not give the food to us?”

Hearing this, Xie Hui finally understood why the Priest and the beastmen looked so grim earlier.

Perhaps when their tribe prospers and daily struggles are no longer about filling their bellies, such thoughts might gain support. But for their current tribe, her words were like stirring a hornet’s nest.

“Do you want to know why Mi, despite not being lazy, doesn’t get enough food?”

Xie Hui approached Xue, observing her stubborn defiance, and smirked slightly.

“Fine, I’ll tell you now.”

“Because you are selfish and lazy, never contributing anything.”

“If the food were just for Mi, it would be enough to fill him. Unfortunately, there’s also you.”

The beastmen who had emerged from hardship thought differently from Xue. She felt Mi’s efforts were mismatched, but these beastmen considered surviving the winter a blessing.

They had watched their elders starve to death, refusing food to give them a chance at life. In earlier years, most of the tribe’s young hadn’t grown up before their parents passed, essentially being raised by the whole tribe, which gave them a strong sense of belonging.

They didn’t see anything wrong with the Elderly Beastmen doing nothing. No young beastman could confidently say they hadn’t been fed by those elders when they were little.

Even Sheng would occasionally sneak over for a bite.

When Xue called the beastmen useless old things, many beastmen wanted to transform and strike her down.

“But Mi hunted more than that!”

Even now, Xue remained defiant, only kneeling quietly after being punished, her tearful complaints somewhat pitiful.

Kind beastmen are easily moved to pity, but not for someone who insulted those old beastmen.

Seeing her cry and complain, they felt immense satisfaction.

“Yes, cry like that, louder! We love watching this!”

“Yes, Mi hunted more than that. But did he cure the meat? Did he process those animal skins in his cave? Did he trade for those tools by carrying goods to the seaside? Can he sleep soundly at night because he gets up to stand guard?”

The Tribe Leader’s questions made Mi lower his head, grasping Xue’s arm to stop her from speaking further.

After the Tribe Leader finished, the Priest surveyed the gathered beastmen and declared:

“Today, Xue insulted the elderly beastmen of our tribe. I have decided to expel her from the tribe.”

“Tribe Leader, what do you think?”

Xie Hui looked at Xue and slowly nodded.

“I defer to your decision, Priest.”

Initially, after Xue and another beastman became partners, Xie Hui hadn’t planned to concern himself with her anymore.

But now, hearing her complaints of unfairness, he agreed with the Priest’s decision to expel her.

Though the tribe’s cohesion was strong, constant provocation could still cause disruption, which would complicate their management.

“No, Priest, please, if Xue is expelled now, she’ll freeze to death outside!”

“Xue only spoke out of hunger, losing her sense of propriety.”

“Priest, please be magnanimous and forgive her this once, okay?”

Seeing Mi’s determination to defend Xue, the Priest felt disappointed in the child she had watched grow up.

“Do you remember Kang? He gave you his share of food so you could survive. Before he passed, he patted your head, wishing you a safe upbringing.”

“Kang, who starved to death, never said such things. Why should she after missing one meal?”

With that, the Priest struck the ground with her staff.

“Ask the tribe how many haven’t gone hungry? Since she finds the tribe’s arrangements unfair, she must leave the Heaven Tribe.”

“You too.”

“Even if I end up with a reputation for being unforgiving, what’s the harm in driving her out?”

Despite Mi’s desperate pleas, he and Xue were expelled from the tribe. On this continent, it was said that beastmen abandoned by their tribe would not return to the side of the Beast God even in death.

The cold wind blew fiercely, causing Mi’s face to sting. He looked at Xue, who had fainted from the cold, and struggled to lift her up.

In such a freezing snowstorm, they had no way to find shelter. Instinctively, Mi headed towards the forest, even though he knew death awaited them there.

After the other beastmen gradually returned, the Priest called the Tribe Leader into her cave. With a sigh of resignation, she admitted her mistake.

“It’s my fault. I should never have let her stay. If I hadn’t, none of this would have happened.”

The Priest was decisive in handling matters, but thinking of Mi, the child she had watched grow up, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.

Kang was her biological brother. After Mi lost his parents, his brother raised him. During that particularly harsh winter, her brother left the last of their food for Kang.

Looking back now, it seemed more and more unworthy.

If only Xue had a different reason, the Priest wouldn’t have been so angry. But it was simply because she was hungry! And the outcome was her own doing.

If she had been willing to help with the work before the weather turned cold, even just a little, she wouldn’t have been left without any food when the snow came.

How could two people survive on food meant for one?

“Priest, take care of your health.”

Xie Hui reminded from the side. The Priest propped her head with her hand and nodded slightly.

“Yes.”

After leaving, on the way back to the cave, Xie Hui kept thinking about the matters related to the female lead. He wasn’t surprised by her thoughts at all.

In the original story, someone was willing to voice her thoughts and take all the blame for her.

In such a fierce snowstorm, even if Sheng went out, he might not survive a day, let alone them.

After the snow passed, the beastmen from their tribe went hunting and unexpectedly found two deceased beastmen in the nearby forest. From their features, they recognized them as Xue and Mi.

When the Priest heard the news, she remained silent for a long time and instructed that they be buried in the forest.

Those expelled from the tribe could not be buried in the place where the tribe buried their beastmen. This was a long-standing rule.

After spring arrived, the two Little Tigers had grown and were even more mischievous than Sheng had been as a child.

While Sheng merely liked wearing a flower on his ear, these two cubs preferred sleeping on a bed of flowers. Only the fragrant flowers could lull them to sleep.

The brothers, who usually fought every day, surprisingly united over this matter. Even if they occasionally got stung by bees hidden in the flowers, they still loved it the next day.

One day, Sheng returned exhausted from trading at the seaside with the beastmen, and Luo was too worried about him, momentarily neglecting the cubs.

These two cubs had quite the temper. They scratched the ground with their paws, touched tails, and decided to run away from home.

Though they were still unsteady on their feet and too plump from being overfed, they were determined.

Following their memory, they ran to their grandfather’s cave, climbed into his arms with effort, and nudged Xie Hui with their heads, constantly whining as if complaining about their grievances.

Xie Hui held the two little ones in his arms and kissed their ears.

Having never been so close to their father, the two cubs were stunned, then covered their faces with their paws, collapsing directly into their grandfather’s embrace.

Their front paws busily covered their faces, while their back paws kicked excitedly. After rolling around in their grandfather’s arms, they imitated him by rubbing their pink noses against his.

After a brief rest, Sheng noticed the absence of the two fighting Little Tigers. Luo, who was applying medicine to his wounds, panicked when she realized they were missing and searched the tribe but couldn’t find them.

Terrified, she was about to ask her father-in-law for help when she walked in to see the two Little Tigers sitting obediently, eyes closed, accepting Xie Hui’s feeding.

The meat was cut into thin strips and fed to them. The two cubs chewed diligently, their eating manners very well-behaved.