Su Qinglan’s face darkened, but the corner of her lips curved up slightly... that kind of smile that made even Hu Yan twitch because he knew someone was about to die socially.
She stepped forward slowly, her expression calm, even pitiful, as if she were the one being wronged here.
"Sister Mei," she began softly, blinking her big, innocent eyes, "you really are so kind. We haven’t even opened our mouths to defend ourselves yet, but you’ve already decided everything for us. How efficient of you~"
The crowd blinked. That sounded polite... but somehow didn’t feel polite at all.
Xu Meiyan stiffened. "I-I’m just..."
"Oh, I know," Su Qinglan interrupted sweetly, placing a hand over her chest dramatically.
"You were only thinking about justice, right? You’re always thinking about justice. Like the time you ’accidentally’ thought that the ground fruits were poisonous and I planned to harm the entire tribe, right?"
A few beastmen expressions turned speechless, trying not to laugh. Xu Meiyan’s face turned red instantly.
Su Qinglan continued, her tone still sugary soft. "But I have to say, Sister Mei, you’re quite amazing. You rushed here before anyone even finished talking, shouted at the tribe leader, and declared my beast husband dangerous... all without knowing a single thing about what happened! Truly... the spirit of bravery!"
She clapped her hands once, pretending to admire her.
Even Xuan Long’s lips twitched.
Xu Meiyan’s smile froze. "Y-you’re twisting my words, Su Qinglan. I was only..."
"Oh, no, no!" Su Qinglan waved her hands quickly, eyes wide like she was shocked at the accusation.
"How could I ever twist your words? You said it loud enough for the whole tribe to hear! Even the birds in the forest probably know by now that Xuan Long is a ’dangerous beastman.’"
Her soft voice mimicked the words "dangerous beastman" with exaggerated air quotes.
Xuan Long’s lips twitched as he fought back the smile forming on his lips.
Su Qinglan tilted her head and sighed pitifully. "But I’m a little confused. If you’re so worried about Sister Bai, why aren’t you consoling her? Or, I don’t know, helping her stand? Oh, wait...maybe shouting dramatically at the tribe leader treats people now? Should I try that next time I get hurt?"
Laughter rippled quietly through the crowd.
Xu Meiyan’s mouth fell open. "I...I just wanted to make sure everyone understands the danger..."
"Ah, danger, yes." Su Qinglan nodded seriously, her tone dripping with pity. "That’s so brave of you, Sister Mei. To stand up to a snake beastman who could swallow you whole! Such courage! Such... lack of self-preservation!"
The beastmen tried not to laugh but failed miserably. Even Bai Lianhua looked up from her tears, confused whether to cry or watch the show.
Xu Meiyan puffed up, face red from embarrassment. "You...you’re mocking me!"
"Mocking you?" Su Qinglan gasped softly, covering her mouth as if horrified. "Oh heavens, no! I’m praising you. You must have misunderstood. Maybe your ears are still ringing from all that righteousness you shouted earlier?"
The crowd broke into muffled chuckles.
Xu Meiyan’s face turned as red as a roasted berry. "Su Qinglan! Don’t twist things! I was only trying to..."
"To what? Steal the spotlight?" Su Qinglan’s tone turned sharper now, though her face remained pitiful.
"Because if that’s what you wanted, congratulations, Sister Mei... the whole tribe is watching you right now. You wanted attention, didn’t you? Well, you got it."
Xu Meiyan’s jaw dropped. Her beast husbands looked away awkwardly. Even her mother’s expression became twisted.
Su Qinglan clasped her hands together and tilted her head innocently. "Oh dear, don’t look so angry. I’m just telling the truth. I mean, if you were really worried about Bai Lianhua, wouldn’t you be holding her hand right now instead of throwing words like daggers at me? Unless..." Her voice lowered with a faint smile. "...you were never really worried about her at all."
Xu Meiyan sputtered, "You...!"
"Enough!" Su Mingxuan’s deep voice suddenly boomed, breaking the tension before Xu Meiyan could explode.
Both females instantly fell silent.
Su Mingxuan’s eyes swept over Xu Meiyan like a storm. "This is not the time for childish fights. We will get to the bottom of this matter first."
Su Qinglan bowed her head slightly, her expression calm again, like a good and obedient daughter. Xu Meiyan clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms.
But when Su Qinglan looked up again, there was a faint glimmer of amusement in her eyes...as if to say, You wanted to play with fire, Sister Mei? Don’t complain now that you got burned.
Su Mingxuan finally turned to look at his daughter. His voice softened, though his eyes were still sharp.
"Qinglan," he said slowly, "tell everyone what you told Father this morning. Where have you been all these days? You suddenly disappeared without a word."
The entire tribe turned their attention to Su Qinglan. Even Xu Meiyan stopped glaring and blinked curiously, wanting to know what Su Qinglan would say.
Su Qinglan let out a soft sigh and lowered her head, her expression calm, but her voice carried a quiet strength.
"I was roaming in the forest with Hu Yan," she began. "...but we didn’t expect to be surrounded by a group of evil ferocious beasts."
Gasps echoed among the crowd.
"They were huge and bloodthirsty," she continued, her tone serious but simple. "They came from nowhere. We fought as much as we could, but there were too many. Hu Yan was badly injured while protecting me."
Hu Yan, standing nearby, gave a small nod with a grim expression. The marks of his wounds, still visible, made the story even more believable.
Su Qinglan continued, her gaze steady. "And just when I thought we could escape, he appeared."
She slowly lifted her hand and pointed straight at Luo Chen.
The crowd followed her gesture, and all eyes fell on the beastman lying on the ground. Luo Chen still didn’t look up.
"He took me far away from the forest," Su Qinglan said, her voice turning colder. "To a faraway cliff near the edge of the mountains. He said... I had ruined his plan, and he was going to kill me."