Chapter 24: The Council of Elders

"Are all the members of the Council of Elders present? Would the elders please step forward?" Qiyue stood beside the summons bell, looking at the crowd with a calm and composed demeanor.

Five elders emerged from the crowd. Qiyue recognized three of them from the Sacred Fire Cave, while the other two were less familiar.

The five men looked at each other and then at the young female. "Little female, why have you summoned the Council of Elders today? For ordinary matters, addressing the Clan Chief is sufficient."

Qiyue bowed slightly and said, "Elders, I apologize for the trouble. I am requesting a formal adjudication, and the Clan Chief must recuse himself. As this matter involves his family, he cannot participate."

Hu Wei’s expression darkened instantly. To accuse his own family—this was a direct slap in the face! It was akin to plucking the whiskers of a tiger, a grave challenge to his authority as Chief.

Had Qiyue known what Hu Wei was thinking, she surely would have retorted, "Disrespect you? Your family has left me no way to survive; who has the luxury to worry about the price of pride?"

"Requesting an adjudication against the Clan Chief’s family? Interesting! Speak, then. We would like to hear exactly what has happened," said High Elder Shi Yue, facing such a situation for the first time since taking office.

"I am filing for adjudication against the masterminds and executors who, three years ago, drugged me, abducted me, and abandoned me in a desolate cave three thousand miles away, and I am demanding compensation." Qiyue’s words stunned everyone present.

"What? Such a thing actually happened!" High Elder Shi Yue exclaimed in shock. The surrounding crowd began to murmur in agitation.

"Tell us, who did this?" Second Elder Hu Man demanded sternly; he was the most hot-tempered of the elders.

At this moment, Hu Jia stepped forward to challenge her. "Qiyue, you promised not to pursue this. Do you intend to break your word?"

"Clan Matriarch, do you recall what I said at the time? I said that as long as we could live in peace, I would treat it as if I had lost my memory; even if I remembered, I did not want to pursue it. May I ask if I was wrong? It was you who broke the promise first. Do you dare swear to the Beast God that you had no part in the rumors spread in the trading street today?" Qiyue retorted. She did not believe that Hu Li’er had acted alone, and therefore, she did not believe Hu Jia would dare to swear.

"Who exactly did this back then?" Second Elder Hu Man shouted again. That such a thing could happen within his own tribe was inconceivable. He only wanted to know who had the audacity to ignore the laws of the beast world and abduct a female at will.

"Hu Wei! Men may act, but the heavens are watching! You must bear the consequences for what you have done," Qiyue shouted toward the crowd.

"Hu Wei, come forward and swear before the Beast God!" Hu Man commanded.

Hu Wei stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and swore: "With the Beast God as my witness, I, Hu Wei, hereby vow: everything I say today is the truth. Should I speak any falsehoods, may I die a wretched death."

"Good. Tell us, what did you do three years ago, and at whose instigation?" Hu Man asked with a stern expression.

Knowing this was his chance for release—having not slept soundly for three years—Hu Wei confessed everything. "Three years ago, on the night of the pairing ceremony between Shi De and Qiyue, Hu Li’er threw incense into Qiyue’s room. My aunt, Hu Jia, ordered me to take her away. I left her in a cave three thousand miles away. I was always uneasy, and a month later, I goaded Xiong An to track a swift-beast, leading him to the cave where I had abandoned her. I didn’t expect her to still be there, though I don’t know why she was unconscious. All these years, I have been tormented by my conscience."

"Qiyue, can you tell us what happened after you arrived at the cave?" Shi Yue asked.

"When I woke up in the cave, it began to rain. That night, Feng Yu came to the cave for shelter, and we met. We did not notice a colorful powder-butterfly in the cave," a gasp went through the crowd at this mention. "The next day, I fell into a coma."

Feng Yu stepped forward, patted Qiyue on the shoulder, and said, "Let me explain the rest. After Qiyue fell into a coma, she never woke up. I could neither take her with me nor leave her alone to seek a witch doctor. I cared for her for a month, desperate and helpless. Then, I sensed beasts approaching. Thinking they might be from a nearby tribe and could save her, I hid. Once they left, I intended to follow, but I was urgently recalled by my own tribe. Later, I searched for her for a long time but could not find her."

"Hu Jia, Hu Li’er, do you have any defense?" Hu Man asked the other two involved.

Hu Jia glared at Qiyue with hatred. "I have nothing to say."

"Hu Li’er, what about you?" Hu Man turned to her.

"What right does she have? She wants the best of everything just because she has an alluring face! As an orphan, she doesn't deserve it!" Hu Li’er pointed at Qiyue and accused her loudly.

"What don't I deserve? What have I asked for?" Qiyue asked, bewildered.

"Shi De, and him!" Hu Li’er pointed at Feng Yu.

"I have no interest in a beast like Shi De, who is fickle, shallow, and breaks his vows. In that regard, I should thank you for helping me get rid of him." Upon hearing this, Shi De’s face turned an ugly shade of embarrassment.

"As for Feng Yu, did I actively pursue him? Did I know him before? Or are you unhappy regardless of whom I choose as my partner?" The crowd began to murmur at Qiyue’s words.

"Just because I am beautiful, you target me everywhere? My looks were given to me by my parents; is that my fault? Because I am an orphan, I deserve to be bullied? If someone is more beautiful than you, should they also be destroyed by you? Just because I am an orphan, can you bully me at will? Then what is the point of tribal rules? Is the Council of Elders just for show? Do you think the Clan Chief has no power to manage this? Because of your reckless behavior, my son was born with a deficiency and cannot transform; he must endure the agony of forty-nine days of lava tempering to make up for it. You... are you not afraid of retribution?!" By this point, Qiyue was sobbing, and Feng Yu held her tightly in his arms.

The crowd was in an uproar. Forty-nine days of lava tempering—could anyone possibly survive that?

"Qiyue, is what you say true? Is the child..." Lu Li, the witch doctor, emerged from the crowd, asking anxiously.

"Witch Doctor Lu Li, I swear to the Beast God that every word is true. You know that after a female conceives, the embryo needs the essence of the male to nourish its growth, especially in the latter stages. A female’s needs increase significantly, and the tribe of Feng Yu has even more specific requirements. These are things my son missed out on," Qiyue explained slowly to Lu Li.

"Only that method can compensate... but can the child survive it?" Lu Li asked with concern.

"He must survive, even if he has to force it. Living as a beast for the rest of his life would be worse than death. I will not let him live without dignity." Qiyue would not back down; if her son were here, he would surely support her decision.

Indeed, what greater sorrow is there for a beastman than being stripped of his right to be human? The crowd looked upon the child with infinite sympathy.