CHAPTER 89: CHAPTER 81 DOG BITES DOG, A MOUTHFUL OF FUR_1

Making baseless accusations and slandering others—anyone could do that, couldn’t they?

Standing to one side, Hu Que was stunned by Si Yan’s wild antics, failing to react for a long while.

Si Yan’s eyes twinkled with mirth as she looked at Jie Ling. But that mirth was ice-cold, making Jie Ling burst into tears on the spot.

Jie Ling’s crying was a very effective tactic.

It swayed the wavering Beastmen at the scene, who began to accuse Si Yan one after another.

"It’s just a piece of leather, isn’t it? What’s the big deal if little Jie Ling fancies it and you give it to her? Really now."

"Exactly! Si Yan, can’t you be a bit more sensible? Making a young female cry in broad daylight, is that proper behavior?"

"We can just compensate you with another one. Don’t cry, Jie Ling, don’t cry."

Hearing this, Si Yan found it quite amusing.

Suddenly, Dongchi laughed too. He stepped forward. "Big brother, you really aren’t adept at treating women with tender care."

Without missing a beat, Dongchi continued, "Little Jie Ling likes that leather so much; if she stole it, then she stole it. Though I didn’t expect her to steal anything. But if she did, she did."

Xi Qing nodded in agreement. "Yeah, not only our family’s leather skirts, but also our salt—let her steal if she likes it. It’s an honor for us anyway."

Bei Ji chimed in, "Exactly, exactly! Besides the leather and salt, there’s the meat. Let’s all just let little Jie Ling steal. If she likes it, it’s your honor. If she steals, it’s still your honor. You can’t call Jie Ling a thief just for that. Right?"

Si Yan, Xi Qing, and Dongchi all nodded in unison. "Right, right, right."

Suddenly, Jie Ling was so furious, she cried out, "No, I didn’t steal! Don’t call me a thief!"

"But the leather skirt you’re wearing is evidence," Bei Ji added.

Panicked, Jie Ling said, "It’s not like that! It was a gift from Brother Hu Que! I didn’t know he’d stolen it from you. If I’d known it was stolen, I wouldn’t have accepted it. Brother Hu Que, you have to explain for me!"

"Hu Que stole it?"

"I never knew Hu Que was that kind of person."

The chattering made Hu Que restless, and he immediately stepped forward. "What nonsense are you talking about? This hide is from game I hunted; it’s not stolen at all."

"Oh?" Si Yan chuckled softly. "And how do you prove that?"

Hu Que’s face turned pale in an instant. This piece of hide wasn’t from a hunt in the last few days; it was from an earlier one. How was he to prove that now?

Si Yan discreetly signaled with her hand behind her back, and Xi Qing was the first to catch her cue, rushing to the side.

Hu Que declared, "This hide is from my hunt, anyway! As a Red Crystal Beastman, isn’t acquiring a piece of hide a trivial matter? It’s not stolen; it was mine, and I gave it to Jie Ling!"

A discussion started around them. Some believed Hu Que, while others thought Si Yan also had a point.

Si Yan was not at all surprised by the situation. After all, having been around for so long, even though Jie Ling had her ’cheats,’ Si Yan herself had also built up some renown. In a confrontation with Hu Que, she wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.

Jie Ling gritted her teeth. She glanced at Hu Que, suddenly feeling a wave of disgust. So useless, this Hu Que, utterly useless.

"I found Jie Ling’s meat!" Xi Qing shouted, lifting the meat he found at the spot where Hu Que had just been.

Seeing the meat Xi Qing held aloft, Jie Ling’s face turned ashen. She looked at Hu Que, her eyes screaming an unspoken question: Didn’t I tell you to throw it away?

Hu Que’s face paled as well. The original plan had been to discard the meat. But with food becoming increasingly scarce, he had thought it would be fine,

so he hadn’t been able to bring himself to throw it away.

"I found this meat where Brother Hu Que was just standing," Xi Qing said, bringing the meat over. "Perhaps Brother Hu Que found it first."

As Xi Qing spoke, he glanced at Hu Que.

Si Yan said with a smile, "Did Hu Que find it, or did he steal it?"

The moment Hu Que heard that, he was so angry smoke could have come out of his ears. "Si Yan, stop spouting nonsense! How can you prove this meat belongs to Jie Ling? Jie Ling, take a look, is this your piece?"

Jie Ling definitely won’t admit it. Without evidence, I still have control of the situation.

As expected, after looking at the meat, Jie Ling hesitated. "No, it doesn’t quite look like it. The piece those three have looks more like mine."

Suddenly, Si Yan laughed, and she said meaningfully, "Did you know? Meat can actually talk."

The surrounding Tiger Beastmen questioned, "What? Meat can talk?"

"How is that possible? How can it speak if it’s dead?"

Si Yan said with a smile, "Yes, meat can talk. And it’s very truthful."

She lifted the meat belonging to Dongchi and the others. "You see, my younger brothers are Snake Beastmen, and the piece of meat in my hand only has marks left by snakes. But this piece of meat from Hu Que..."

She gently brushed the white fur on that piece of meat. "...has Fox Clan fur on it. Look. Isn’t this Jie Ling’s fur?"

The faces of Jie Ling and Hu Que turned completely white in an instant.

After observing, the surrounding Tiger Beastmen said, "It’s true! It really is like that."

"So that’s how meat speaks."

"This piece really is from Jie Ling’s share. But how did this piece end up in Hu Que’s hands?"

"Could it be that Hu Que stole it?"

"Hu Que is a thief? I didn’t even know he was a thief!"

"Oh my gods!"

Hu Que was frantic.

Wanting to distance herself from the situation, Jie Ling said, "I had no idea! I didn’t know Brother Hu Que would steal things. Brother Hu Que, if you had told me you wanted it, I would have given it to you..."

Hu Que looked at Jie Ling in shock. Are you trying to shift the blame right now?!

I can’t be branded a thief! If I’m labeled a thief, not a single male in Black Tiger City will ever respect me again!

Desperate, Hu Que shouted at the top of his lungs, "I’m not a thief, I’m not! This meat is Jie Ling’s! She gave it to me to frame Dongchi and the others! It was all Jie Ling!"

Jie Ling didn’t get the chance to cover Hu Que’s mouth. "Brother Hu Que, what nonsense are you spouting? Clearly, you were the one who looked down on them for being outsiders! You were the one who wanted to deal with them!"

"Jie Ling, after I’ve treated you so well all this time, I can’t believe you’d betray me!" Hu Que yelled. "The meat is Jie Ling’s! If she hadn’t given it to me, how could I have gotten it? How was I supposed to know she wanted to use this piece of meat to frame them?!"

Jie Ling and Hu Que started arguing, and the Beastmen of Black Tiger City watched the spectacle for a while.

It was only when Hu Yong hurried over that the two were separated.

Hu Qiao stepped forward and said to Si Yan, "Now it’s clear. The meat in your hands wasn’t stolen." Hu Qiao spoke softly, "No wonder you were smiling earlier. You trust your younger brothers a lot."

Si Yan smiled. Her own sons, how could she not trust them?

Dragging Hu Que, Hu Yong made him kneel in front of Si Yan and said, "Teacher Si Yan, I’m sorry. Hu Que, after all, is someone I watched grow up. I’ll take him to Lord Ming Yan to receive punishment."

Si Yan smiled. "Lord Hu Yong, this thieving habit of Hu Que’s is not a small issue. Please make sure the punishment isn’t too light."

Hu Yong staggered slightly.

Hu Que seethed, "Si Yan, don’t get cocky!"

Hu Yong punched Hu Que on the head, temporarily silencing him.

"Females don’t get punished for their mistakes. But it’s different for you—you’re a male! You’re not even Jie Ling’s mate yet, and you’re already helping her with this sort of thing? Have you lost your mind? And picking a fight with Si Yan—don’t you even know your own limits?"