Miles was about to go up to save someone when Tanya stopped him, "Wait a minute, let's see what she's planning."
There were nearly a hundred people in the village, with only about ten females, including the exiled Tanya and Star. Of the young adult females, only three, including Tanya, remained. With so few females, the number of suitors behind Maya was quite large.
Previously, she had set her sights on Miles and Bogart, both of whom were the top warriors in the tribe. According to tradition, they were supposed to go to the center of the tribe, and Maya would certainly go with them. The other males would have to silently withdraw.
But now, Bogart was a traitor and had been punished by the matriarch, and Miles had been exiled from the tribe. Maya no longer had the chance to go to the center, so the opportunity for the young, strong males had arrived!
When Maya said she wanted to bring Star and Moon over, the males, though unsure and feeling something was off, helped her out.
However, they didn't do anything too extreme. They were still afraid of being punished by the matriarch, so they just forcefully "invited" them over without tying them up.
At this point, Maya got frightened by the wind Tanya had stirred up and dared not make any further trouble. She remembered the purpose of her visit today and then glared at Star, threatening her fiercely, "Tell me how you make your food! If you do, I'll let you go today!"
"So you want to steal my sister's skills!"
Moon immediately understood as Star exposed Maya's intentions.
Moon, protecting his sister, scorned Maya: "If you want to learn how to cook, you could just openly ask my sister! You don't need to force us to tell you!"
These words clearly hit Maya's sore spot. She was so angry she pointed at Moon, "I'm the most powerful female in the village! Why would I need to learn from Tanya? I'm just curious how Tanya, such a foolish female, suddenly became clever. I want to see if she's been using some beast tribe methods to harm people!"
Star immediately rebutted, "We're not beast people! My sister is just really capable!"
"You're just jealous of my sister's abilities! You want to steal her skills! You're not the most powerful female in the village!"
"We won't tell you anything!"
Maya's anger was completely stirred up by these two troublemakers' words. Her eyes went red with fury as she ordered the males around her, "Throw them into the river! If they don't confess, don't let them out!"
The males exchanged glances, worried about the potential for a life to be lost.
Seeing their hesitation, Maya angrily stared at one male, "Arnold, aren't you going to listen to me now?"
Arnold was the strongest of the males and had the most chance of being taken by Maya.
He could sense her anger and feared that if he displeased her over this matter...
After a moment of hesitation, Arnold walked toward Star.
Star, scared, grabbed Moon's arm. Moon, like a little lion, stood in front of Star, baring his teeth, ready to challenge Arnold.
However, the expected scene of the two children falling into the water didn't happen.
Before Arnold's hand could even touch Moon, a strong gust of wind appeared out of nowhere, halting Arnold's steps immediately.
Everyone froze, too scared to move. Arnold, feeling the force of the wind, immediately knelt down and apologized, "Matriarch, please calm down! Matriarch, please calm down!"
Maya was also frightened and knelt with the others, but she felt suspicious and unwilling in her heart.
She absolutely did not believe that Tanya had the matriarch's protection, but the timing of this wind was just too perfect.
Tanya was about to step out of the woods to confront Maya when Miles suddenly grabbed her and hid them both behind a big tree.
"Shh." Miles put a finger to his lips, signaling her to calm down.
Following his cue, Tanya looked out and saw the shaman, Leon, walking toward the river.
The two were very close now. Tanya almost leaned against his chest. Her intuition told her that Leon was no ordinary person, but she couldn't pinpoint what was off. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice how close they were, and their position was somewhat ambiguous.
Miles looked down at the soft top of her head. The females in the tribe weren't particularly clean, but ever since Tanya arrived, she had built a clean and beautiful bamboo hut, woven neat bamboo mats, and insisted on cleaning the inside every day.
The other females in the village often had messy, dirty hair with an unpleasant odor, but Tanya's hair was always clean and tidy. She washed it almost every day.
Out of a strange impulse, he couldn't help but reach up to touch her hair. It was so soft.
Tanya stiffened, glaring at him with wide eyes, silently asking, "What are you doing?"
Miles felt a bit embarrassed, his gaze flickering. He quickly gestured for her to look toward the river.
Tanya, concerned about the situation at the river, turned her attention away from his earlier behavior and focused on what was happening.
Miles sighed in relief, but his hand, now lowered, couldn't help but linger as his fingers brushed lightly, remembering the soft feeling.
Leon had just been about to enter the village when he saw the wind blowing by the river, while the rest of the area remained quiet. This wind felt odd, so he changed direction and walked toward the river.
After just a couple of steps, he saw the group of people kneeling, with two children standing in the middle.
His expression changed drastically, and he quickly moved toward them.
"What happened?"
The closer he got, the more he could feel the wind's power. The wind carried a certain oppressive energy.
But when he reached the crowd and stood in front of Maya, the wind miraculously disappeared.
It wasn't that Tanya was afraid of him. She simply wanted to see what the shaman was going to do.
But to Maya and the others, this scene had a completely different interpretation.
Maya stood up excitedly and thanked Leon, "Thank you, Shaman Leon, for coming back! Thank you for saving us!"
In her eyes, the only reason the matriarch's anger had calmed down was because the shaman had arrived, though she didn't think she had done anything wrong.
Leon frowned deeply. "What exactly is going on?"
"These two little devils made a mistake, and I was going to punish them, but..."
Maya didn't want to explain, but in front of Leon, she didn't dare lie, so she reluctantly continued, "... and then the matriarch got angry."
"The matriarch got angry?" Leon froze, his brow furrowing, his gaze flickering. Clearly, much had happened in the village while he had been away.
"Yes."
Maya thought Leon didn't believe her, so she quickly explained, "It's true. Just now, that gust of wind was the matriarch's anger. Before, Bogart had conspired with the stray beastmen to harm our village, and the matriarch found out and punished him with that wind."
The shaman was a sacred figure in the village. He could communicate with the gods, and everyone had great respect for him, especially for his abilities.
Maya quickly thought of her plan and began embellishing the events, especially emphasizing how Tanya had changed.