CHAPTER 20: CHAPTER 18: SI YAN MUST BE EXPELLED!_1

The fire before their eyes suddenly leaped up. The sight of the roaring flames seemed to provoke Xi Qing, who stumbled backward repeatedly. Bei Ji pulled him back and sat him down on a rock.

Si Yan clutched Dongchi and leaped back, executing several large jumps before setting Dongchi down on the same patch of ground as Xi Qing and Bei Ji.

Dongchi was a bit stunned. He looked at Si Yan in surprise. Si Yan immediately picked up a whole beast skin lying nearby and rushed to smother the fire.

"Mother, don’t go!" Bei Ji shouted loudly.

Fire was an immensely sacred entity, and Beastmen were very fearful of it. Even after seeing Si Yan use fire to cook in the cave, Bei Ji and the others still feared it.

Si Yan ignored him, vigorously waving the beast skin as she desperately tried to beat out the fire. However, the fire had grown too intense, and ordinary methods of extinguishing it were completely ineffective.

Si Yan gritted her teeth. Just then, an unpleasant shriek suddenly filled the air. Xiong Rou, that hefty bear, shouted loudly as if afraid no one would know, "Si Yan, you damn, wicked female! It wasn’t enough for you to steal my salt, you even dared to steal the Holy Fire’s embers! You used the Holy Fire to burn my cave!!!"

Xiong Rou’s voice was particularly loud, and the Beastmen had exceptionally good hearing.

So, it wasn’t long before the chieftain, Tai Seng, and all the males of the village had arrived.

Beastmen had a natural reverence for flames. They watched Si Yan fighting the fire, maintaining a safe distance, not daring to approach.

Tai Seng frowned and walked toward Si Yan.

"Tai Seng, don’t go! It’s dangerous!" Lang Xin shouted.

But despite many trying to persuade Tai Seng, he still walked toward Si Yan.

Lang Xin glanced at Tai Seng, the most exceptional male of the Wolf Clan, then at Si Yan, the thinnest and ugliest female of the tribe. The jealousy in her eyes deepened.

Si Yan coldly turned to give Xiong Rou a glance. She found a thick branch nearby, quickly carved it into a shovel with a snake scale, and then directly shoveled sand to bury the fire!

It was unclear if it was out of excessive awe, or perhaps because they didn’t understand the significance of Si Yan’s actions. But as the fire gradually diminished, their gazes held not only awe and fear but also confusion.

It wasn’t until Si Yan had thrown the last shovelful of sand and the final flame was extinguished that the chieftain belatedly shouted, "Wait!"

But it was too late. The sand covered everything, and the fire was out.

Realizing what had happened, the chieftain suddenly wailed, "Oh, Heavens! Oh, Earth! The Holy Fire! The Holy Fire is extinguished!!"

Si Yan’s eyelid twitched.

Seeing the fire extinguished, Xiong Rou immediately strode forward, furious beyond measure and ready to settle new scores and old grievances at once!

"Si Yan, you truly are a vile female! You dared to steal the Holy Fire and even used it to burn my cave! The Yanxiang Tribe will not let you off! The chieftain will punish you! You and your four annoying snake brats must leave the Yanxiang Tribe!!!"

After Xiong Rou finished, Lang Xin chimed in opportunistically, "Stealing the Holy Fire, extinguishing the Holy Fire. Si Yan, are you a spy sent by another tribe to destroy our Yanxiang Tribe!"

Once Lang Xin finished speaking, the Beastmen of the tribe exchanged looks, and their gaze toward Si Yan and her brats became unfriendly.

Just then, Tai Seng stepped forward. "Chieftain, Si Yan is not that kind of female."

The chieftain, wailing over the Holy Fire, was in no mood to listen to Tai Seng.

The Beastmen began to buzz with conversation.

"Tai Seng, you still defend her. Don’t be deceived by this skinny, ugly female; she is wicked enough to sell her own brats!"

Tai Seng replied with a cold expression, "Si Yan did not sell her brats!"

He had heard from Mei Wen that Si Yan merely had her brats work. For Beastmen, working was never shameful! It was a way to be recognized, to prove one’s abilities and worth! He didn’t think Si Yan was in the wrong!

"Tai Seng, Si Yan has consumed the tribe’s food for so many years without contributing! Instead, she bites the hand that feeds her by stealing the Holy Fire and extinguishing it! Now the tribe no longer has the Holy Fire—the tribe is doomed!!!"

"Yes, Tai Seng, open your eyes. This wicked female Si Yan is truly no good."

Tai Seng’s brow furrowed slightly.

Seeing the crowd growing agitated, Xiong Rou bellowed, "Exile Si Yan! She must be exiled!!"

The other Beastmen in the tribe took up the cry, "Exile Si Yan! She must be exiled!!"

The majestic male, Tai Seng, did not hesitate to stand before the solitary, thin female. He outstretched an arm to shield her from everyone’s view and said in a deep voice, "If you want to exile Si Yan, then exile me along with her."

"Tai Seng!!"

Tai Seng was the bravest warrior in the tribe, and he held great prestige among them.

Si Yan could be exiled, but Tai Seng could not!

Dongchi watched the scene unfolding before him. His pupils narrowed slightly, and his heart was a chaotic mess.

What was going on? Why did everything he did end up being blamed on her? And what about the Holy Fire? He didn’t understand what was happening. However, even if he didn’t understand everything, Dongchi knew at this moment that he had caused trouble!

Dongchi took a step forward with a limp, stretched out his uninjured arm, and shouted loudly, "It’s not her! She didn’t do it! It was me! It was me! I alone should answer for my actions. Why do you blame her?!"

Si Yan let out a snort. "Dongchi! Shut up!"

Xiong Rou said coldly, "Listen! They’ve admitted it! They’ve admitted it! Si Yan, that despicable female, instigated her brat to steal the Holy Fire and then extinguished it herself!!"

Xiong Rou’s words were widely accepted by the Beastmen of the Yanxiang Tribe.

For a moment, the calls to "exile Si Yan" echoed through the air.

Xiong Rou, watching Si Yan being ostracized by everyone, revealed a victorious smile. Even Lang Xin wore a sly grin.

Si Yan watched this scene coldly, and suddenly, she also smiled.

When Xiong Rou saw Si Yan’s smile, she suddenly felt a chilling dread.

Si Yan said with a smile, "If you exile me from the Yanxiang Tribe, I’m afraid you won’t be able to rekindle the Holy Fire within a day."

The grief-stricken chieftain, upon hearing this, suddenly sprang to life. He grabbed Si Yan. "What do you mean?!"

Si Yan smiled faintly. "The Holy Fire has not yet gone out. But if you want me gone, it will probably be extinguished completely soon."

The chieftain immediately grabbed Si Yan violently. "You say the Holy Fire isn’t extinguished? What do you mean? Can you rekindle the Holy Fire??"

"I was able to extinguish it, so naturally, I can make it burn again," Si Yan stated.

The chieftain immediately released Si Yan and said without hesitation, "Si Yan, as long as you can rekindle the Holy Fire, I’ll agree to any demand!!!"

"Chieftain, don’t!" Xiong Rou hurriedly interjected. "Si Yan is a cunning, wicked female! Don’t be fooled by her!"

Si Yan gave a cool smile in Xiong Rou’s direction and said, "Chieftain, you see, it’s not that I don’t want to save the Holy Fire; it’s they who want me gone. If I leave, how can I rekindle it? Isn’t that right?"

In just an instant, the chieftain had weighed the pros and cons. He said urgently, "No one can drive you away! As long as you can rekindle the Holy Fire, no one can drive you away!!"

"Fine. I can rekindle the Holy Fire." Si Yan looked coolly at Xiong Rou. "But I want her to leave the Yanxiang Tribe forever!"

The chieftain was stunned. Xiong Rou’s eyes widened in shock!

"Chieftain, don’t listen to her! Si Yan is a liar! She’s just a liar!"

The chieftain was aware of the conflict between Si Yan and Xiong Rou, but...

The chieftain said, feeling somewhat guilty, "Si Yan, there are too few females in the tribe; we need females for reproduction... Xiong Rou might have a bad temper... but at least she’s a female. Could you possibly consider another condition...?"

Si Yan sneered. Then she said, "Chieftain, I don’t want to make things difficult for you either."

She stepped forward, helped the chieftain to his feet, and said with a smile, "Since you say Xiong Rou can’t be driven away, then let’s forget it."

Having said that, Si Yan struck a pose as if she were about to leave the Yanxiang Tribe.

"Si Yan!" The chieftain clutched her hand anxiously. Unable to fulfill Si Yan’s condition, he felt diminished and pleaded, "The Holy Fire... please help the tribe! Help the Holy Fire!"

Si Yan replied with a casual smile and then lifted her head proudly, her stature seeming to rise in that instant. "By the Beast God above, even if the Yanxiang Tribe cannot meet my conditions, I will still rekindle the Holy Fire."

The Beastmen present looked at Si Yan, their gazes filled with a mix of doubt and respect.

Si Yan’s gaze swept around and landed on Tai Seng, the Beastman who had defended her earlier. She smiled gratefully at him.

Si Yan didn’t know that her casual smile had deeply struck Tai Seng. He felt as if a sweet fragrance had wafted over him; his heart pounded, and he was utterly captivated.

"Tai Seng, you are the warrior of the Beast God. Can you help rekindle the Holy Fire?"

Tai Seng gazed at the pockmarked, petite female before him, his eyes struggling to focus. He tried hard to concentrate, nodded vaguely as a blush crept onto his cheeks, and said, "Of course."