CHAPTER 96: RUAN CHANCHAN : THEY ARE RUTHLESS

Ruan Chanchan looked at the glowing fungi, and her head started to spin with all kinds of thoughts. Now, what was she supposed to do? Though her thoughts were out of control, her hands were already moving. She collected the herbs in her basket but, at the same time, kept wondering what she was going to do.

If I sell these herbs in the supermarket, then surely I will garner a lot of faith energy, but what if someone finds out about these herbs and their uses? If that happens, then I will be in a lot of trouble. But if I am careful enough, then I can use these herbs to earn a lot of points or maybe even better things.

She was still collecting the fungi when she heard the sound of footsteps echoing behind her. Ruan Chanchan froze and immediately crouched down, her front pressed overly close to the ground.

"It smells really weird here," said one of the beastwomen. She was sniffing the air around the forest. "I always feel spooky when I come here. Tell me, why did Elder Lin ask us to follow Ruan Chanchan and Xie Daiyu?"

"Who knows? That woman has gotten more and more paranoid," said another one with a look of annoyance on her face. "She is afraid that Ruan Chanchan would make her look like a fool, as she is slowly losing her abilities and strength. The other elders are the same; they fear losing their reverence and the benefits that they get from the other tribe members. Cannot have another hero. Can they?"

"Do you think that Ruan Chanchan could even get any closer to becoming a hero or something of the sort?" snorted the first beast woman. She rolled her eyes and padded past Ruan Chanchan. "They are thinking too much."

"You are the one who is taking her way too lightly. Didn’t you see? She pulled out some kind of weird thing from thin air and then boom—she brought Nan Wu to life. Have you ever seen something like this happen before? Every beast woman who received such dire injuries before died after succumbing to their injuries. But not Nan Wu."

"Of course, I have seen it," the one with flaming red hair looked sharply at the corner where Ruan Chanchan was hiding, causing her to duck even deeper. She didn’t have the slightest bit of an idea why the elders had sent these two after her, but knowing the elders, it might not be anything good. When the beastwoman saw that there was no one, she pursed her lips and turned to look at her friend. "And so have the elders, why else do you think they sent us here? They are unsettled."

The other woman nodded. "She threatens their positions in the territory. With her skills, she could save the lives of the tribe members without the help or advice of the elders. What use will they be if Chief Xie starts relying on Ruan Chanchan?"

The red-haired woman raised her hand and smacked her partner on the back of the head. "Careful with your tongue."

"I am not wrong, am I?"

"Of course you are not wrong," conceded the red-haired woman. "The elders’ powers and authority rely on their wisdom and knowledge. There is a reason why they didn’t help Nan Wu when she was burning with fever; it was to assert their authority. Now that Ruan Chanchan had dealt with the problem, she had practically snatched the time for them to show off their knowledge. Of course, they are going to be upset about it; Ruan Chanchan is practically weakening their authority without even realising."

Clenching her jaw, the other female warrior stated coldly, "And that’s not the worst. Since the elders have started to feel threatened by her abilities, they will certainly call her dangerous and try to cast her out. Do you remember what they did the last time?"

"How can I forget?" the red-haired woman said with a wry smile. "The poor woman did nothing but find a way to create a salve to treat fever, and what did they do? Just because the salve for the fever didn’t work, they declared her a traitor and sent her out of the tribe to fend for herself. All because they were afraid... sigh, if that woman had been sent to the beast temple, she could have easily reached greater heights, but she was killed by the elders. I don’t see any different fate for Ruan Chanchan."

A heavy silence fell between the two women, and after a pause, the other warrior remarked, "Or unless she finds a protector who could suppress the elders. Like Xie Daiyu...."

"Haha, that’s like asking for a miracle to happen. How could Xie Daiyu be involved with a woman like Ruan Chanchan? His nose is touching the sky, and with how picky he is, he might not even look at Ruan Chanchan."

The two of them walked away, leaving nothing but silence behind and the heaviness of their words. Ruan Chanchan, who was crouching near the tree, slowly got to her feet.

They will call her dangerous... they have killed someone before... they will try to do the same to her again...

Ruan Chanchan’s fingers curled tightly around the herbs that she was holding in her hands. She could feel her chest getting constricted—not just because of the fear of the elders and their schemes but also from the weight of the recognition. She had stumbled into this world where power didn’t belong to people like her but to those who had strength and authority. As for the elders, Ruan Chanchan knew that they had a lot of supporters and authority in the territory.

For a moment, Ruan Chanchan felt panic surge through her veins. What should she do now? Should I just run away? Or should I keep my abilities hidden? But if I hide them now...how will I save this world?

"Chanchan, what are you doing here?"