Chapter 33: There Is No Medicine for Regret

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Two days after Qiyue’s departure, Luli cast a divination and was so horrified that she kept murmuring, “How could this happen? How could this happen?”

The five elders gathered around her pressed her for an explanation. “What exactly happened?”

“The divine maiden has left!” Luli cried out.

The five elders were equally stunned.

“Qiyue is the divine maiden?”

“What are we supposed to do?”

“Should we bring them back?”

Elders Two, Three, and Five asked the questions at the same time.

“Can we even bring them back?” Baosi said, somewhat dispirited. “She swore by the Beast God that she would sever all ties with us.”

“And she has to save her cub,” the Fifth Elder added.

“Are we really going to let things end like this?” Humman asked unwillingly.

“We wounded her deeply. When she was being bullied, we did nothing. When we learned that someone had betrayed the tribe, she helped us devise a plan to protect the tribe. Yet once the rebellion was put down, we drove her out of the tribe.” Baosi spoke from Qiyue’s point of view.

“How could she be the divine maiden? She seems no different from anyone else,” Humman asked.

“Ling’er has been with her all this time. Bring her here and ask her,” Luli said, feeling deeply troubled. Although she had not spent much time with Qiyue over the past ten days, she had nevertheless cared for her for three years. Yet at that moment, she felt that she owed Qiyue even more.

When Shiyang brought Ling’er over and they listened to her account of Qiyue’s conduct during the past ten days, everyone sensed that Qiyue had changed. She seemed to know many things they did not, yet for the sake of Chier’s safety, she had held back, unwilling to create further complications.

After sending Ling’er away, the group continued their discussion.

“It’s all that Hufang’s fault. Qiyue never did anything to harm her. Why did she have to drive Qiyue away?” Humman complained.

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“Have you forgotten? Hufang is Hu Wei’s elder sister.” Baosi gave Humman a sidelong glance. “She’s your relative.”

Humman scratched his head. “Heh heh, I forgot.”

“Besides, we don’t even know where they went,” the Third Elder, Xiong Jiang, said.

“They said they would pass through the Moqi Tribe to look for several kinds of medicinal herbs, and then go in search of the lava,” Luli said after thinking for a moment. “Perhaps we should send someone to talk to them. Even if they refuse to return, there’s no need for us to let the relationship become so strained.”

“Now is probably not the right time. She is busy dealing with matters concerning her cub and won’t have the energy to concern herself with anything else. Let’s wait a while before bringing it up again. For now, our most urgent task is to choose a new tribal chief.” Shiyue did not want to waste time on matters that would yield no result for the foreseeable future.

No one expected that, less than two days later, Shiyu, Baosi, and Ling’er would appear wearing snakeskin skirts. Before long, snakeskin skirts became wildly popular throughout the tribe. Many beastmen rushed into the deep forest to hunt pythons. Just as Qiyue had warned, quite a few beastmen were injured, and two even died from poisoning. Yet despite that, the females’ enthusiasm for snakeskin skirts did not diminish in the slightest.

One day, Hufang brought a snakeskin to Shiyu.

“Shiyu, make me a snakeskin skirt.”

“No time!” The moment Shiyu realized who it was, she did not even lift her eyes, continuing with the work in front of her.

“It’s not as though I’m refusing to pay you. What kind of attitude is that?” Hufang snorted unhappily.

“Heh! Do you know who invented snakeskin skirts? Qiyue! You drove my friend out of the tribe, so you have no right to wear clothes made by me. From now on, I won’t accept work from your family.”

Shiyu did not care whether she had a customer like Hufang. The females had opened shops for amusement and to pass the time; she did not depend on this work for a living.

“If you won’t make one, someone else will. I refuse to believe that I can’t wear a snakeskin skirt without you!” Hufang tossed her head and left Shiyu’s clothing shop.

Shiyu suddenly missed Qiyue terribly. She had no idea where Qiyue and the others had gone, or where they would go next. Would Chier survive the agony of having her body tempered by lava? Would Shiyu ever see them again?

Although she had not spent that much time with Qiyue, ever since Qiyue had awoken again, Shiyu had felt an extraordinary affinity with her.

Sigh. The longer she stayed in this tribe, the more pointless everything seemed.

Another two days passed. Ling’er handed Luli a large rhinoceros horn, a small bag of mung beans, and a small bag of millet.

“Big Sister Yue said the rhinoceros horn can be ground into powder and used as medicine, though we’ll have to study its exact effects ourselves. Mung beans clear heat and detoxify the body; cooked into soup, they can relieve summer heat. Millet gently nourishes the internal organs and is suitable for people recovering from serious illnesses or those in poor health. Big Sister Yue seemed to say that it replenishes vital energy and strengthens the stomach.”

“Ling’er, why didn’t you give these to me sooner?” Luli asked irritably.

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“Big Sister Yue didn’t want to attract trouble. She had only just broken her contract with Shide when Hujia came looking for trouble with her. None of us dared stand up for her then, and she didn’t want to bring trouble upon us either. That’s why we could only take these things out after she left,” Ling’er said miserably.

Suddenly, Ling’er threw herself into Luli’s arms and began to cry.

“Teacher, it’s so unfair! Big Sister Yue is such a wonderful female. Why did they treat her like that? What did she do wrong?”

“Ling’er, your Big Sister Yue did nothing wrong. We were the ones who were wrong.” Luli patted Ling’er’s back as she spoke.

An incident that occurred a month later made Luli regret everything even more, though regret could not change what had already happened.

Baoxue became pregnant. She and Huyue had been paired for more than ten years without any result, yet barely a month after following Qiyue’s advice, she had conceived.

Luli watched the delighted couple embrace, feeling both moved and deeply reflective. Although the Luyu Tribe had a higher conception rate than the tribes made up of a single species, it was higher by only ten or twenty percent. Who would not want to have a cub after forming a pair? It was simply common knowledge that, because living conditions on the Beastman Continent were so harsh, females had a low conception rate.

Once news of Baoxue’s pregnancy spread, every household began treating grass seeds as precious as gold. Several females who wished to become pregnant but could not gather enough seeds went together to see the shaman, hoping she could help them trade with Huyue’s household for some.

The shaman found the couple and explained the reason for her visit. Huyue and Baoxue’s expressions immediately fell.

“Lady Shaman, Baoxue has only just become pregnant. Although I traded for some grass seeds a while ago, we don’t even know whether they’ll be enough to last until the child is born. How can we trade any away? If our child fails to receive enough nourishment and something happens, who will bear the responsibility? If they want grass seeds, why don’t they trade for them during the Luojia Festival? Why are they fighting us over them?” Huyue demanded righteously.

“Don’t be angry. I failed to consider the matter properly. I’ll refuse them when I return. Everything must be done with the child’s welfare in mind.” After saying this, Luli left.

Yet soon afterward, rumors began to spread.

People said that now Baoxue was pregnant, she no longer cared about the other females. They said her family had collected all the grass seeds in the tribe, extinguishing everyone else’s hopes. They called her selfish and accused her of stealing other females’ right to become pregnant.

When Baoxue heard these words, anger and frustration rose within her.

“If I had known things would turn out like this, I should have left with Qiyue and the others. What kind of people are they?”