Chapter 56: Shao Xia: Keep eating all the meat!
Chief Xie was waiting for Xie Daiyu to say that he was just joking, but when he didn’t, her expression turned even colder. It seemed like, even if she didn’t want to, she had no other choice but to accept that Ruan Chanchan was going to become the mate of her precious son. The more she thought about it, the more Chief Xie looked like she had eaten a fly.
How could Xie Daiyu not see what was going on in his mother’s head? He sighed and said, "Mother, don’t think too much. Even if Ruan Chanchan is not a normal beastwoman, at least she is kind and doesn’t talk much. She is not overly ambitious, which means that she will not fight with me over petty reasons like who will be the leader of the tribe once we mate."
"With her by my side, I will have nothing to worry about."
Chief Xie narrowed her eyes. "What is this? Did Shao Xia tell you that she wanted to become the leader of the tribe when you two were talking about the mating ceremony?" She had talked with Shao Xia and had clarified her stance. Even though Shao Xia was a powerful beastwoman, she was too impulsive and easy to lead and fool. She was not the kind of woman who could lead their tribe.
While Xie Daiyu might be hot-tempered, he knows how to control the tribe and cares for his tribe members. Unlike him, Shao Xia was way more worried about her image and how others perceived her. What was more, ever since the girl had woken up after getting injured in the hunt, she had become more arrogant, and the way she looked at everyone, including her, was as if she knew better than them.
If Chief Xie didn’t know better, she would have thought that Shao Xia went behind her back and became the guardian of the Beast Temple or something. Or maybe she was working in the court of the Phoenix’s Queen. That was how the girl acted these days.
It was a good thing that Shao Xia ended the ceremony on her own, or else she would have done it. Even if it meant breaking the legs of that girl. But Ruan Chanchan—
"Daiyu—"
"I know what you are worried about, mother," Xie Daiyu smiled knowingly and patted the back of his mother’s hand. His eyes were sparkling with confidence and happiness now that he had found his destined one. When Shao Xia told him that she didn’t want to imprint on him and wanted another mer, Xia Daiyu felt like the world was coming to an end.
He was humiliated and embarrassed, and at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a bit wronged. He often looked up at the sky and questioned the beast goddess. Why did she do such a thing to him?
Why did she make him fall for Shao Xia when their relationship was destined to end?
Now that he knew the answer, he was much more content and happy. He said in a cheerful voice, "Mother, Ruan Chanchan might be different from others, but you heard Priestess Yuan; she is blessed by the beast goddess, and that was the reason why her soul and body took so long to align themselves. She is smarter than others, and soon she will return to normal. She might even do some great things for our tribe."
Chief Xie wanted to scoff. She didn’t believe that Ruan Chanchan would be able to do anything great for the tribe, but these words were spoken by Priestess Yuan. If she dared to say that Ruan Chanchan was never going to make anything out of herself, that would be equivalent to insulting Priestess Yuan.
Xie Daiyu could see the conclusion forming in the head of his mother and smiled softly. He knew that his mother didn’t like Ruan Chanchan because of her identity as a fool. If he were in her shoes, he too wouldn’t choose a fool for his children. But Xia Daiyu knew that Ruan Chanchan was not a fool.
She was rather smart.
"Fine," Chief Xie sighed. She knew that Xie Daiyu was not going to change his mind, but that still didn’t stop her from glaring at her son. She said to him, "I will not stop you from meeting that fool—I mean Ruan Chanchan. But you cannot tell her that she is your destined one yet."
"Mother—"
"No, this is my condition for agreeing to this uneven match," stated Chief Xie in a stern voice. She looked at her son and said, "I told you that Shao Xia was not worthy of you but you didn’t listen and see what happened later on. If only you had just listened to me once, then the matter would have never escalated to this point."
"However, you didn’t. You kept saying that the woman was nice and kind. Look at the way she had treated you." Chief Xie still felt a bit troubled whenever she thought about how Shao Xia had rejected her son and went to look for that fox mer. Though the mer was prettier than her son, he was not capable of hunting due to his weak fox form. And yet Shao Xia was smitten by him.
Chief Xie accepted it once, but she could and would never accept it again. She stated, "You can stay close to your destined one if you want to, but you cannot mate with her until she has proven herself. The last thing I need is for you to get involved with another beast woman who worked the least and yet lived off the mer.
Though Shao Xia might have changed a bit now, she would never forget that the woman had once lived off her son.
**
"Are you still sleeping?"
Shao Xia’s younger brother walked inside the cave and saw her sister asleep. His expression changed and he looked around the cave with annoyance. Sure enough, he only saw bones and no meat!
Just like always, Shao Xia had eaten all the meat.