Chapter 292: Taking the Fall

Chapter 292: Chapter 292: Taking the Fall

"Bai Wanwan, this is all your fault!"

"Get out of our tribe!"

Seeing the Beastmen snarling viciously at his female, a murderous glint flashed through Xin Feng’s vertical pupils.

Bai Wanwan, however, dug a finger into her ear. "Are you done shouting? If you’ve got this much free time, how about I give you all a little itching powder so you can go home and scratch yourselves..."

Bai Wanwan’s words carried significant weight, instantly silencing the clamoring pack.

The story of how the females had been dosed with Bai Wanwan’s itching powder, scratching themselves raw and being forced to drink manure water for three days, had already spread throughout the entire tribe.

No matter how furious they were, none of them dared to test the might of the itching powder.

"Bai Wanwan, you vicious female! We’re going to tell the Clan Leader and have him banish you from our tribe."

"Fine, but you have to at least give me a reason."

Bai Wanwan felt she bore some responsibility for the current predicament facing the Golden Lion Tribe.

But feeling responsible was a world away from having others forcibly pin all the blame on her.

’Besides, only a select few know that I killed Xiong Zong.’

’These Beastmen shouldn’t know about that, so why are they coming to make trouble for me now?’

"Fine! You want a reason? We’ll give you a reason."

A male roared at her, "Jin Yuan already told us! Before Zhuo Ling died, she told her that you were the one who offended the Bear Clan’s Young Clan Leader!"

"If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be in a position where the Bear Clan has made it impossible for us to hunt! If anyone in our tribe starves to death this snow season because of you, you will be the scourge of our entire tribe!"

In his anger, the male had blurted out Jin Yuan’s name.

When Bai Wanwan’s gaze drifted over to Jin Yuan, Jin Yuan wished she could curl into a ball.

She hated Bai Wanwan for everything she had done to her, and she hated her for getting Zhuo Ling killed.

But she lacked the courage to face Bai Wanwan’s wrath again. That’s why she’d seized this opportunity to incite her tribesmen to cause trouble for Bai Wanwan.

She kept backing away, and backing away...

When she reached the edge of the crowd, she couldn’t help but look up at Bai Wanwan, only to see the other woman flash her a smile.

But that smile was terrifyingly creepy, and Jin Yuan couldn’t help but shudder.

"You all really think too highly of me. Are we just going to ignore the centuries of conflict between your tribe and the Bear Clan? Am I, a single, ordinary female, really capable of making the Bear Clan risk its own annihilation just to pick a fight with the Golden Lion Tribe?"

The pack fell silent for a moment. Jin Yuan worried that if this attack on Bai Wanwan ended, Bai Wanwan would come after her.

’In that case, I might as well crush her completely.’

"Don’t believe her! She’s the one who caused all this! She not only brought disaster upon our tribe, but she also got the female Zhuo Ling killed! The reason you’re all still starving is her fault!"

Jin Yuan’s words clearly fanned the flames of the crowd’s anger once more.

Hiding in the back, she shouted, "We have to make her pay! We have to drive her out of the tribe!"

The males’ fury had become a wildfire. They even ignored the oppressive aura of Xin Feng, a High Rank Male, and launched a group attack on him.

"Wolf Cub, take your younger siblings and protect your Mother."

The wolf cubs who had already transformed now had some offensive power.

Hearing their Father Beast’s command, the cubs who were already surrounding Bai Wanwan instantly tensed their muscles, their fur standing on end.

The wolf cubs let out continuous, threatening growls at the males drawing near.

Several incredibly deadly snake cubs also shot out like lightning.

Xin Feng was quick-eyed and nimble-handed. He snatched two of the male snake cubs and tossed them back to Bai Wanwan’s side.

"Don’t attack. Just protect your Mother."

The snake cubs let out unwilling HISSES, but ultimately settled obediently on Bai Wanwan’s arm.

In the blink of an eye, with just a few leaps, Xin Feng had already bitten and injured several Golden Lions.

But they seemed fearless in the face of death. Enraged, they came at him in waves, taking turns to fight Xin Feng.

Bai Wanwan was burning with fury. She had originally thought that the Golden Lion Tribe’s Clan Leader had always treated her well.

And so, she had a bit more patience for these Golden Lion Tribe Beastmen.

But now they were pressing him relentlessly, and wounds gradually began to appear on Xin Feng’s body.

In her fury, she quickly opened her system panel. She decided to take down these males first and deal with the consequences later.

Just as she was about to press the confirm button, a familiar voice came from behind the pack of Beastmen. "Stop! What are you doing?"

Jin Yi’s voice was filled with thunderous rage. The crowd of Beastmen parted, and he walked through the middle.

"Do you think we don’t have enough injured tribespeople already?"

Jin Yi’s face was like a mask of ice, his intensely oppressive gaze sweeping over every Beastman present.

Jin Yi was the successor to the Clan Leader, and on top of that, he was exceptionally capable.

He had always held great prestige within the tribe.

The Beastmen forcibly suppressed their bloodthirsty urges. They looked toward Xin Feng and Bai Wanwan.

"Young Clan Leader, our current predicament is all their fault. If it weren’t for them, our people wouldn’t have been injured, and we certainly wouldn’t be short on food."

"Young Clan Leader! Please banish them!"

"Banish them!"

"Banish them!"

The roars, one after another, vented the fury that the Golden Lion Beastmen had been holding in for days.

"Stop!"

Jin Yi stopped them. With his back to Bai Wanwan and Xin Feng, he faced his own people.

Xin Feng didn’t know what Jin Yi would decide. Even though they had once gone through hardship together, their positions were now opposed.

He was the Young Clan Leader of the Golden Lion Tribe, and he shouldered the responsibility for the entire tribe.

And they... they were outsiders.

In a situation like this, most Beastmen would choose to sacrifice the outsiders to pacify the anger of their own tribe.

’Jin Yi... what will he choose?’

Xin Feng shifted his position, firmly shielding his female behind him.

But Jin Yi didn’t turn back. He spoke directly to his tribesmen: "If you must find someone to take responsibility, then the one who should bear that responsibility is me."

The Beastmen of the Golden Lion Tribe stared at him in astonishment.

"Young Clan Leader, what do you mean?"

"That’s right! Young Clan Leader, it’s all these outsiders’ fault. What does it have to do with you?"

"Weren’t you looking for the Beastman responsible for this crisis? Well, the one responsible isn’t them, it’s me. The Bear Clan’s Young Clan Leader has always been against me, and this time was no exception. He tried to kill me, but I killed him instead. So... I’m the one who caused this crisis."

"What?"

"Young Clan Leader, even if that’s true, it’s not your fault."

The surroundings erupted in a clamor. Bai Wanwan stared at Jin Yi’s tall, upright back, a mix of complicated feelings swirling within her.

’Why does he insist on taking the blame for this?’

’Isn’t he afraid of losing his people’s trust, of being blamed by them, of losing his right to inherit the Clan Leader’s position in the future?’

Xin Feng also stared at Jin Yi’s back. He seemed to have understood something, and an unreadable emotion flickered in his eyes.

"Young Clan Leader, we don’t blame you. The Bear Clan and us have always had our conflicts..."

It was unclear who had said it.

Jin Yi’s gaze swept to the male who had spoken. "You don’t blame me? Then why do you blame them? They just arrived. They don’t even know any Beastmen from the Bear Clan. This time, I was the one who implicated the female Bai Wanwan. I’m the one who owes her, and yet you want to blame her for a crisis that threatens the very survival of our tribe!"