Ruan Chachan chuckled when she heard the ridiculous rumours that were circulating in the tribe. She knew that the elders were not happy with her.
"Sister, this is not a laughing matter," said Ruan Zeqiu with a frown. "These rumours can ultimately cause us trouble." He thought about how those women eyed him when he was returning home. Some of them were looking at him with pity, while the others were eyeing him with the same covetous gaze as if they believed that with his sister turning out to be a crazy woman, they would be able to get him. As if he depended on his sister and couldn’t survive on his own.
"There is no point in worrying about the trouble that they might bring." turning the rice around, Ruan Chanchan opened the can of beef and added the entire can to the pot and mixed it well. Once she was done, Ruan Chanchan turned and looked at the mer who was still frowning.
Seeing him furrow his brows, Ruan Chanchan reached out and smoothed the frown between his brows. "There is no need to think too much. If they want to call me a witch, then let them. As long as I don’t harm anyone, the elders cannot do anything to me."
Sister, you are way too naive. If you think that the elders will play fair with you, Ruan Zeqiu thought worriedly. He knew all about the cruelty of the elders. The last woman who was chased out of the tribe was also innocent, albeit a bit sharp and witty but innocent. Yet those old fogies didn’t even think twice before chasing her out of the tribe. Maybe I will just start training harder; as long as I train hard enough, I can protect my sister.
Ruan Zeqiu looked at his sister, who was humming while turning the white stuff in the pot and sighed. His sister was way too innocent for this rotten tribe.
Rustle.
Ruan Zeqiu whipped his head around and looked at the entrance of the cave. When he didn’t see anyone, he jumped on his feet and then rushed out of the cave; sniffing around, he found a familiar scent and narrowed his eyes in distaste. Really? Now they started to peek inside his cave as well?
His actions were wild and too chaotic, which made Ruan Chanchan turn around and look at him. "What’s the matter?"
"It’s nothing," replied Ruan Zeqiu; he knew that there was no point in telling Ruan Chanchan anything. Liu had already flown away; even if he chased after that bird, there was no point. That mer might have already reached the caves of one of the elders.
**
"How is it?" Elder Meng rushed forward and asked the mer when he saw the red bird landing inside her cave. She waited for the mer to shift and then hurriedly asked, "What did you see? Did you see anything weird? Was that woman worshipping anyone?"
Liu shook his head like a rattle rat. A beast that shook his head before burying it in the ground.
"I didn’t see anything," Liu answered honestly.
"You didn’t see anything?" Elder Meng was disappointed when she heard that the mer didn’t catch Ruan Chanchan in the act. She thought that by sending this red bird beast mer, she would be able to catch Ruan Chanchan’s tail but turned out that all of her efforts were in vain! Damn it.
Liu thought about it a little and said, "Elder Meng, are you sure that Ruan Chanchan is a witch?"
Elder Meng, who was nibbling on her thumbnail paused and turned to look at the mer. She glared at him and said, "Tell me, what is she if she is not a witch? She can do what even we elders cannot." when the mer looked at her, she immediately corrected herself and stated, "I meant to say that if that woman had been fighting alongside us or had gone to learn the healing arts from the healers at the temple, then I would have accepted her as someone with wise knowledge. But she just turned up one day and said that she knows things better than us. How can such words be trusted?"
Elder Meng didn’t believe that there was anything good about Ruan Chanchan’s awakening. It happened too suddenly. There had to be something suspicious about the entire matter.
When Liu heard Elder Meng’s words, he blinked his eyes and said, "But if she is a witch, then how does she have Holy Flame in her cave?"
"She has WHAT!?" Elder Meng turned to look at the mer and asked instantly. Her eyes widened and for a second she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Holy Flame? Ruan Chanchan had a holy flame? Did she steal it? No, she just came from priestess Yuan’s cave and the holy flame was right there. There was no way even a witch would be able to steal the holy flame in such a short amount of time.
That meant that Ruan Chanchan had gotten her hands on her own holy flame. How...how could it be possible?
"Dark magic... this has to be dark magic." Too stubborn to believe that they might have misunderstood the woman, Elder Meng still stubbornly believed that Ruan Chanchan had created the holy flame by using some trickery.
Liu listened to the raging woman and despite hearing all the warnings and threats, all he could think about was the delicious scent of the food that Ruan Chanchan was cooking. He wondered if Ruan Chanchan was going to throw something out. Maybe he would be able to scavenge something later on.
Liu, however, underestimated the appetite of a growing mer. At that moment, Ruan Zeqiu had eaten not only more than six packs of instant porridge and roasted leg but also several cans of beef and salmon. And yet the mer was still hungry. While being latched onto Ruan Chanchan’s leg, he begged her to make another portion.
"Sister, please!"