It was getting dark. From a high place, the village looked peaceful and calm, with smoke from cooking fires rising into the air.
But that peace was broken when Rocky came running in.
He shouted what Tanya had taught him to say, "Something bad happened! Bogart has been punished by the Ancestress! He teamed up with the beast tribe to hurt our people. The Ancestress punished him!"
Hora had already sneaked back home earlier when Tanya and the others weren't paying attention. When she heard the noise outside and saw her brother trying to go out, she quickly stopped him. "Brother, don't go!"
Ash said, "I think something happened to Bogart. You stay at home, I'll go see what's going on." Then he walked out.
He found it strange. His sister had always cared a lot about Bogart, especially lately. She knew Bogart was about to leave for the central tribe with Maya, so she kept trying to be near him. Others might not know the details, but as her brother, he clearly knew what his sister was thinking.
But how could his little sister compare to someone like Maya?
To protect his sister's pride, he chose to ignore it, thinking that Bogart and Maya would leave soon anyway.
First, he wasn't being careful enough, and second, it was getting dark. He really didn't notice the marks on Hora's body that could make people suspicious.
Hora couldn't stop her brother. She felt guilty and worried about Bogart, so she changed into a different animal skin outfit to cover herself more properly. That way, no one would notice anything strange. Then she quietly followed the crowd, hiding in the back.
When the people of the tribe reached the small river at the village entrance, they were shocked by what they saw.
The chief hadn't arrived yet, but Maya rushed forward first. "Bogart! What happened to you?"
Then she glared angrily at Tanya. "You evil woman! How could you treat Bogart like this!"
Tanya clapped for her in her heart. This woman had good instincts, recognizing her right away as the one who did it.
Tanya didn't deny it. She calmly listed all of Bogart's crimes again.
Maya didn't believe her. "Impossible! Bogart is the top warrior in our central tribe! He would never harm our tribe!"
He used to be the second-best warrior, after Miles. But since Miles had been crippled, in her eyes, Bogart naturally became the top warrior.
Just then, the chief arrived with people surrounding him. Maya quickly ran up to him. "Father! Tanya is working with the beast tribe to harm Bogart! Look what she did to him!"
Tanya was shocked. This woman could lie like that so easily. Impressive.
The chief was also surprised. His tribe had finally raised a well-known warrior, and now he was being humiliated like this. But he was still a village leader. On the way, Rocky had already told him everything.
Now hearing Maya cry made him impatient. "Enough! Be quiet!"
Then he looked at Tanya and Miles. Mostly, he asked Miles, "You say he worked with the beast tribe. Do you have proof?"
In this time, people naturally saw females as weaker. So in serious matters, they usually talked to the men first.
Miles frowned. "He worked with the beast tribe. He planned to give the small river village to them."
As he spoke, he felt regret. All those beastmen had been killed by her. He should have stopped her. If someone could have testified, it would have sealed Bogart's guilt.
Actually, he hadn't really believed Tanya's plan to come here. They had no real evidence, and they had already been kicked out of the tribe. No one would believe them.
Bogart had been hanging upside down for so long that the blood had rushed to his head. When he saw the chief seemed to believe him and Maya was on his side, he immediately started to struggle. "Chief! They're the ones who worked with—"
Before he could finish, Tanya kicked him. His body swung from the tree, and he couldn't speak anymore.
A proud warrior of the tribe was kicked by a small female. And it wasn't a light kick either. He couldn't even say a word afterward.
The people in the tribe looked at each other, and the place fell into silence.
Only Maya looked furious. How could someone like Tanya treat the male she had chosen this way?
In the back of the crowd, Hora trembled with pain. Ouch. That hurt!
Tanya said, "Whether he worked with the beast tribe or not, the Ancestress will give you the answer tonight. If you want the truth, stay here and don't leave. And don't let him down."
Before leaving, she gave a warning. "Don't let him down, or the Ancestress will get angry and punish you."
Maya wanted to argue, but when it involved the Ancestress, she didn't dare.
In this wild world, humans believed in the Ancestress, and the beastmen believed in the Beast God. In front of gods, no one dared to act carelessly.
Tanya walked away slowly, in a good mood.
Miles was confused. "Will the Ancestress really punish Bogart tonight?"
"Maybe."
She didn't know about the Ancestress, but she would definitely make Bogart pay tonight.
The rule from the post-apocalyptic world was: If people don't hurt me, I don't hurt them. If they hurt me, I fight back hard.
Bogart tried to kill them. How could she forgive him?
Dream on.
Miles looked at her, deep in thought. They hadn't walked far when a sudden loud noise came from behind. He looked back and saw a strong wind surrounding Bogart, like a tornado wrapping around him.
Maya had tried to go forward to let him down after Tanya and Miles left, but the sharp wind suddenly cut her skin. Her face and hands started to bleed.
Miles widened his eyes. He remembered how a few days ago, Tanya suddenly controlled wind blades and killed those hornet beastmen.
So...
"What are you staring at? Aren't you hungry? Don't you want dinner?"
Miles quickly turned away and caught up with her. On the way home, he couldn't help asking, "Are you really... a divine messenger?"
Tanya paused. "What do you think?"
Miles suddenly smiled and walked beside her. Whether she was or not didn't matter. He had to stay close to her. A precious female like her couldn't be taken by someone else.
When they got back to the bamboo house, Star and Moon had already handled the rabbit. The fur was neatly removed. These animal skins would be important for staying warm in the winter. Star handed the fur to her sister to keep safe.
Tanya asked, "Where's Mily?"
"Uncle Arnold came back from hunting and took Mily home."
Tanya nodded and started teaching Star how to cook rabbit meat. She didn't mention anything about what happened today.