CHAPTER 158: RUAN CHANCHAN IS A JINX

Ruan Chanchan had no idea what was going on or that she was being targeted all over again. She returned to her cave and was just about to take a nap when the sound of crying echoed through the cliff. Startled, she rushed out of the cave dwelling and saw an old mer holding a mutilated body lying in the middle of the gathering ground. The old mer was hugging the corpse and crying loudly. There was so much pain in his voice that even Ruan Chanchan, who didn’t know what was going on, felt a bit troubled.

Behind her, the sound of hurried footsteps came, and she turned to look at the person who arrived. It was Nan Wu and Nan Zhi. The two of them had moved out of the Nan family cave and moved next to her and Ruan Zeqiu, but the two siblings were still settling down, and Nan Wu couldn’t leave her cave for the time being because of her injuries. Thus, neither Ruan Chanchan nor Nan Wu had run into one another for a while.

"It seems like the Black Snake Tribe sent another body back," Nan Wu spoke in a solemn voice.

"What?" Ruan Chanchan whipped her head to one side and questioned. Her eyes widened slightly as she felt like she had fallen out of the loop. She knew that the Black Snake Tribe had a feud with the Big Bear Tribe, but what did that have to do with the current situation?

Neither Nan Zhi nor Nan Wu felt that there was anything wrong with what Ruan Chanchan said, as she had no idea what had happened to their tribe in the past. Sighing, Nan Wu explained, "Our tribe originally had more than fifty totem warriors, but they were taken away by the black snake tribe when they won the war against the tribes. These totem warriors had been held as prisoners by the black snake ever since then. Every now and then, they would send the corpse of the totem warriors they killed while making them work as their slaves." She spoke through gritted teeth. Anger was evident in her voice.

Ruan Chanchan frowned. "Do we have some kind of deep feud with the black snake tribe other than the ancestral land?" If not, why were they going to such lengths to harm the Big Bear Tribe?

"We don’t know." Nan Zhi shook his head with tears hanging delicately on his eyelashes. He sniffed, trying to control his grief while watching Uncle Yan shed tears of pain. He couldn’t understand the pain that Uncle Yan was going through, but having tasted the anguish of almost losing his sister made him a bit more empathetic. "We only know that the black snake tribe often chases us down and tries to kill as many totem warriors of our tribe as possible. They even made more than twenty totem warriors of our tribe as their slaves. And just to make some nasty point, they would send the corpses of the totem warriors whom they tormented to death. They are sick to their bones!"

"Then is our tribe under the threat of getting attacked by them?" Ruan Chanchan asked sharply.

"No." Nan Wu shook her head. "They can no longer attack us."

"Why?"

"Because we have nothing left," Nan Wu smiled wryly and replied with a gloomy expression. "Our new territory has no prey, and there is not a single thing worth attacking for. If they attack our tribe, then the beast temple will intervene because attacking a tribe without reason and just for a simple massacre is not allowed. The beast temple will not allow them to hurt us, at least not without severe consequences." It was precisely because of this that their tribe managed to escape the disaster.

"While it’s safe to stay here, we cannot develop any further here," murmured Ruan Chanchan as she watched people consoling the old mer who was crying his heart out. She felt sorry for him, but there was nothing that she could do to help the poor old mer.

"Yes, you are right." Nan Wu hesitated before nodding.

Ruan Chanchan glanced at the woman but didn’t say anything. She simply pursed her lips and fell into thought. Though the current situation did make it impossible for them to grow, she didn’t believe that they would stay where they were. Sooner or later, she would somehow manage to climb her way higher and past this terrain.

She would take these matters slowly and steadily before coming up with a plan to help this tribe get better and take back the land that belonged to it.

"I am telling you it’s her fault!"

A loud, boisterous voice broke through the slowly returning silence, and everyone turned to look at the woman standing near the corpse and pointing at Ruan Chanchan as if the latter had done her some great personal wrong. When Ruan Chanchan saw that the woman was pointing at her, she couldn’t help but turn and look behind her. She expected to see someone else, but she didn’t, which brought her back to stare at the woman who was pointing at her. She turned to look at Nan Wu and whispered, "Who is this?"

"She is Elder Lin," replied Nan Wu. She was frowning alongside Ruan Chanchan, as she couldn’t understand what was going on. The one who died was Yan’s family’s daughter, and she had nothing to do with Ruan Chanchan; in fact, the two of them had never even conversed with one another, as the woman who died looked down at Ruan Chanchan for being a fool. So, how come Elder Lin suddenly started to blame Ruan Chanchan for her death?

This was something that Ruan Chanchan couldn’t understand either, but before she could put forth her confusion, she heard Elder Lin say loudly, "Ruan Chanchan! Is a jinx!"

Ruan Chanchan: "..."

What?

A loud booming silence stretched over the territory as everyone turned to look at Ruan Chanchan.

Ruan Chanchan: "..." No, I have no idea about this. Don’t look at me.