Once she was done speaking, Leader Xie turned on her feet and walked away with her hands crossed behind her back.
Elder Ou watched her leave and snorted; she didn't take her words seriously at all. Ruan Zeqiu was born and grew up in this tribe; even if Ruan Chanchan was killed or died for some reason, where would Ruan Zeqiu go?
She turned to look at the rest of the elders before saying, "Let's go back. We will think of some other way to handle this matter." She would never ask Ruan Zeqiu to come back and join the hunt but that mer was not allowed not to join the hunt!
Just wait. Once his sister started starving and he, himself, didn't get enough to eat, he would beg them on his own.
Ruan Chanchan had no idea that the elders had already started targeting her; she was sitting in the cave, watching Ruan Zeqiu pace sharply.
"How dare they! How dare they bar us from taking your share of meat?" he bristled. Ruan Zeqiu was not only angry, but he was also really worried. He didn't dare to hunt a beast on his own; he was still way too young for that, and the share of meat that he got was not enough for the two of them.
He was a growing bear beast mer and he needed a lot of meat to eat to grow stronger and taller. The meat was not even enough for him sometimes; if he shared with Ruan Chanchan, he was worried that he would not have enough to eat, and his growth would become stunted.
But starving his sister and not giving her enough to eat was even more out of the question. Ruan Zeqiu, of course, knew of the petty thoughts that the people in the tribe had. They took Ruan Chanchan as baggage and a piece of burden.
In their eyes, as long as Ruan Chanchan was not dragging Ruan Zeqiu down, he could join more hunts and help the tribe grow; what was more, he was a strong warrior kind beast mer.
If not for Ruan Chanchan, he would have found a mate and given birth to more beasts. But because he had to take care of Ruan Chanchan, Ruan Zeqiu never thought of finding a mate. So how could he not notice the disgruntled voices and gazes? As a mer, it was his duty to make the tribe bigger, and by refusing to mate with a woman or mer, he was doing something wrong and sinful in the eyes of the elders.
As if!
He was his own person. Whether he mated or not, it was all his decision. So why did he become the sinner of the tribe? Why was his sister treated as if she were some kind of burden on the tribe?
They didn't rely on anyone but themselves.
Seeing the mer pace in the cave, Ruan Chanchan felt a bit bad. She had enough to eat and drink and didn't need anyone to feed her. She raised her head and looked at her brother, wanting to say something.
"Sister, don't worry," Ruan Zeqiu turned to look at Ruan Chanchan when he sensed her looking at him. He sensed that she was nervous and crouched down to hold her hands. "I will make sure that you get enough to eat and drink. Even if I have to go on a hunt alone, I will do it."
Though Ruan Zeqiu was scared to hunt alone, he couldn't starve his sister, right?
Ruan Chanchan: "..."
Ruan Chanchan: !!!
This was not what she wanted.
When she heard that the mer wanted to go on hunts alone, Ruan Chanchan was so scared that she didn't think twice and took out two rolls of candy from her space and stuffed them in the mouth of her brother.
This little mer treated her quite well; she couldn't let him die!
What was more, if Ruan Zeqiu died, then those elders in the tribe would surely chase her out or, worse, kill her. She hadn't come up with a way to suddenly get better yet and could only rely on Ruan Zeqiu to protect her.
Even if she were to really starve. This mer couldn't be allowed to die.
Ruan Zeqiu was stunned when the sweetness exploded in his mouth. He sucked on the sugary delight and looked at his sister. "You… did you find something to eat, sister?"
This thing was really good. It was even sweeter than the Sun Blessing Fruits.
Ruan Chanchan nodded. She hoped that Ruan Zeqiu would give up on his idea of hunting alone and stammered, "I—I hunt."
She wanted to tell him that she could hunt and eat on her own and didn't need to rely on him anymore. So he better stop thinking about going out to hunt alone.
"You don't—go," she clutched his giant deerskin skirt.
When Ruan Zeqiu heard his sister speak, his eyes brightened. This—this—it seems like his sister was getting better slowly. Now she could not only look for food on her own, but she even knew how to care for her brother.
"Good, good," Ruan Zeqiu nodded as he clasped his sister's hands. "It's a good thing that you have finally learnt to take care of your brother. But make sure that you don't get fooled by others. Don't take them to the valley where you found this fruit."
He paused and asked, "But where did you find them?"
At this moment, Ruan Chanchan once again started to play the role of a fool. She looked at Ruan Zeqiu and laughed foolishly as if she didn't know what he was trying to ask her.
Seeing this, Ruan Zeqiu also didn't push her.
"Zeqiu!"
Ruan Zeqiu turned to look at the woman who was waiting for him outside and frowned. He patted his sister on the head and walked outside the cave.
"What is it?" He asked.
**
My lovely readers! thank you for leaving such reviews; it was really such a pleasant surprise to read them early in the morning. hehe. And deferr thank you for the massage chair! This chapter is dedicated to you, my little fairy~