Xi ger thought, if he had spoken up earlier, Yuan Heng wouldn’t have left the tribe, and the beast horde would’ve posed no threat at all.
But now...
Xi ger scanned the courtyard. Nearly the entire tribe was gathered here. The hunting party still hadn’t returned—they were likely dead or worse. Several beastmen had died trying to save him, and Brother Hua was severely injured...
And the beastmen still in the courtyard were all wounded. If a beast attacked now, their ability to fight back would be pitifully weak...
But if Yuan Heng were here, it would be completely different. It was all his fault—he’d hesitated, clinging to some foolish sense of nostalgia...
If he’d spoken up sooner, Yue ger would’ve been stopped earlier. Then he wouldn’t have been able to lure the beasts with raw meat, and the tribe wouldn’t have suffered such heavy losses. Wang Jin wouldn’t have...
That man’s knowledge of medicine had been unparalleled. Losing him... was a huge blow to the tribe.
And if Yuan Heng returned to find his ger gone... Xi ger didn’t dare imagine what would happen to Danmu Tribe then.
"No, I don’t believe it." The leader stared at Yue ger, his face ashen.
Xi ger watched the beastman coldly.
He had followed Yue ger for years—he knew exactly how this man had pursued him.
Back when Yue ger said he’d fallen for the leader, Xi ger had been genuinely happy for him...
Because the leader was a good beastman, he doted on his ger, spoiled him.
And that had proven true.
After the marriage, the leader granted Yue ger’s every wish. Even things he couldn’t accomplish himself, he’d beg others to help with.
Even though he was too proud to admit Yuan Heng was stronger, he’d still swallowed his pride and sought his help for Yue ger’s sake...
Even now, when everyone else shunned Yue ger—fearing, loathing, despising him—the leader still refused to believe he’d done wrong, still protected him...
Yue ger would never realize what a good man he’d lost...
Steeling himself, Xi ger spoke again. "There’s one more thing I think the leader should know."
"What?" The leader looked up.
Xi ger said, "That time you... lost control after drinking. I think Yue ger arranged it."
"!" The leader’s eyes widened in shock.
Xi ger lowered his gaze. "That bottle of wine was a gift from A-jin to me. Before I could drink it, Yue ger took it, saying he wanted to try it. I warned him not to drink it with a beastman, and he promised... but then he gave it to you, leader. What happened after that... you know better than anyone."
"..." The leader suddenly remembered waking up that day, consumed by guilt and secret delight, thinking he’d forced himself on Yue ger...
His heart ached bitterly.
"Why would he...?"
"Maybe because you’re the leader. He needed your power..." Xi ger said.
The leader’s fingers trembled. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, the person in his arms slipping free and rolling onto the dirt, whimpering in pain...
The leader reached out to comfort him, but his hand paused mid-air, unable to bring himself to touch the ger due to the growing resentment in his heart...
The distance between him and Yue ger was just a small step, yet the leader felt they were worlds apart...
So this was how it was...
The happiness he had imagined was nothing but this ger's scheme...
"Think about it, since you married him, when has our family ever known peace? A-Yu argued with him again and again... He was always whining and demanding this and that, barely spending any time alone with you. Does that look like someone who cares for you?" The leader's a-die spoke up, his tone sharp with warning.
"......" The leader recalled the past and remained silent.
He wanted to refute it, he desperately wanted to argue, but he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal—because his a-die spoke the truth.
Their time together had been pitifully short, and Yue ger had never once said he missed him.
Compared to Yuan Heng and Wang Jin, who were always inseparable, the two of them had been far too distant...
The leader's a-die continued, "He killed A-Yu. By our laws, he should be exiled from the tribe. He lured beasts into the tribe with raw meat, even if no great disaster came of it, such an act cannot be easily forgiven. His entire family should be cast out. Toss him away now, throw him to the wild beasts, let him be torn apart and devoured!"
Filled with hatred, the leader's a-die stepped forward and kicked Yue ger. Yue ger cried out in pain, his voice weak, like that of a young animal. The leader watched, a flicker of heartache flashing in his eyes. His fingers twitched slightly, as if he wanted to shield him, but he clenched them tightly instead.
He had endured everything else, but Yu ger was his younger brother... How could he...?
Xi ger stared at Yue ger, who was whimpering in pain, and suddenly remembered all the moments they had shared since childhood. He turned his head away.
"He's hurt so badly... I can't save him..." he murmured, as if reminding himself.
The leader's a-die, hearing this, roared in anger, "Save him? Why waste medicine on someone like him?!"
Mu ger, who had been held in Lai Yuan's arms, quietly comforted, now glared at the leader with reddened eyes as the truth came to light. "Leader, look at you... You abandoned A-jin for someone like this!"
"Ha..." Mu ger choked back a sob, laughing bitterly. "A-jin is so good... Yue ger is the one who deserves to die, but Xi ger, you knew all his wrongdoings and turned a blind eye, even covered up for him! You're no innocent either! And you—"
Mu ger pointed at the leader. Lai Yuan, worried, tugged at Mu ger's sleeve and called softly, "A-Mu..."
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