Chapter 10: Shocking All Beasts

Miyao felt deeply humiliated and clenched her teeth in hatred, but she did not hate Yeling. She only despised Su Xiyue—so ugly, lazy, greedy, and wicked—how could she possibly be worthy of Yeling? Truly, fate was blind. If not for having a chieftain as her father, she would have long been driven out of the tribe.

No matter what Miyao thought, Su Xiyue was already carrying the animal hide back. Passing through the tribal square, she noticed a crowd of beastmen gathered there—Yeling, Mo Lin, Bai Qi, Qing Zhu, Xuan Ming, and even her brother Su Mu were all present. Of course, there were other beastmen too. The mass of them stretched out like a dark wave, numbering at least a hundred.

Her father, Su Lie, stood at the front, giving instructions to the assembled beastmen. Listening closely, it was clear they were preparing for a hunt and reminding everyone to stay safe. Clearly, they were about to go hunting.

Su Xiyue’s heart stirred as she walked over, still clutching the animal hide. Su Lie spotted her immediately, his brow furrowing deeply, his face stern as he scolded, “What are you doing here? Go back at once!”

This daughter was utterly disappointing—lazy, greedy, unpleasant in temperament, and ridiculously infatuated. On top of that, she was hideously ugly, bringing nothing but shame to him. Su Lie could not understand how, when both he and his mate were good-looking and their son Su Mu was decent-looking, they ended up with such an ugly daughter. Yet he never doubted she was his, for her eyes were exactly like his own. It was precisely because she was his offspring that he was so angry.

Su Xiyue met his disdainful gaze with a moment of speechlessness. How much must he loathe her original self? She curled her lips but paid no heed to his scornful eyes. Calmly, she said, “Father, I want to go hunting with you.”

In the original story, the heroine Chu Youyou was brought back to the wolf tribe by Yeling at this moment, though Chu Youyou had appeared earlier and had been sent far away by herself the previous afternoon. But Su Xiyue never underestimated the heroine’s aura; who knew how she might encounter Yeling and be brought back to the tribe again? She had to keep a close watch.

Besides, she was tired of eating grilled meat and fish every day; her mouth was about to grow numb. She urgently needed to improve her life.

Su Lie thought he had misheard and looked at her in astonishment. “What did you say?”

Su Xiyue repeated firmly, “I said I want to go hunting with you.”

Her words were met with silence, then the square erupted into laughter.

“Hahaha, did you hear that? Su Xiyue actually said she wants to go hunting? That’s hilarious.”

“That lazy, greedy female wants to go hunting? Don’t tell me...” One beastman almost said Su Xiyue was crazy but swallowed the words after glancing at their chieftain. No matter how much the chieftain disliked Su Xiyue, she was still his daughter, and such words would certainly anger him.

“I bet she just wants to get close to a few beastmen, haha...” Others joined in with sarcastic remarks. But with the chieftain present, they didn’t go too far, though their words were still unpleasant.

Even Yeling, Mo Lin, Bai Qi, Qing Zhu, and Xuan Ming frowned at her, their thoughts similar to everyone else’s—they saw her as scheming to get close to them and looked at her with disgust.

Su Xiyue ignored their mockery and hostile gazes, calmly meeting Su Lie’s eyes.

“Father, don’t worry. I won’t be a burden. I’ve awakened a wood-elemental ability and can protect myself.”

With that, she placed the animal hide she was holding on a large stone in the square and stretched out her right hand, channeling her inner energy. Soon, a delicate green vine sprouted from her palm, vivid and alive, surprising all the beastmen present.

In this world, there were supernatural abilities. For example, Yeling’s true form was a silver moon ice wolf, granting him ice control powers. Mo Lin, Bai Qi, Qing Zhu, and Xuan Ming each had their own innate elemental powers.

The tribe’s beastmen could naturally shift freely between their true forms and human shapes. But females could not, nor did they have any innate abilities.

Now, Su Xiyue announced she had awakened such an ability, and the beastmen were stunned. The laughter abruptly ceased. All eyes widened in disbelief as they stared at the tiny green vine in her palm. A female awakening a supernatural ability? It was unheard of, unprecedented.

Su Lie was equally shocked, staring at the vine in her palm for a long moment before recovering. In all his years, he had never seen a female awaken an ability.

Not a single beastman present had witnessed such a thing.

If this had happened before, they would have scoffed and refused to believe it. But now, the undeniable truth was right before their eyes.

Seeing their astonished expressions, Su Xiyue felt a secret thrill but maintained a calm demeanor. She even coaxed the vine to grow longer, curling flexibly around her fingertips.

This shifted their gazes once more—curiosity, intrigue, and even jealousy flickered in their eyes.

Some of the beastmen who had looked at her with disgust now softened their expressions, showing faint surprise. This female truly seemed different.

Su Lie was the first to regain his composure. With a complicated look, he asked in a low voice, “Is this really your awakened ability?”

Su Xiyue nodded. “Yes.”

His expression brightened slightly as he asked, “When did you awaken it?”

“Yesterday.”

She did not hide anything, telling the truth. After all, this ability had come with her from the apocalypse; there was no fear of investigation.

Su Lie gazed at her deeply, lost in thought, then said no more.

Turning to the assembled beastmen, he spoke loudly, “Since Xiyue has awakened her ability and wants to join the hunt, let her come. Take good care of her and don’t let her get hurt.”

Now that his daughter had awakened an ability, he naturally wouldn’t stop her.

A female awakening a supernatural ability was a momentous event for the tribe. Perhaps his daughter could even lead the tribe to a new pinnacle.

Thinking this, Su Lie’s eyes on Su Xiyue softened considerably, even carrying a hint of pride.

Su Xiyue silently wondered if that look of pride was trustworthy.

Sure enough, Su Lie continued, “Since you’ve awakened your ability, the past is forgiven. From now on, behave well and strive to earn everyone’s recognition. Make your father proud, understand?”

Su Xiyue’s mouth twitched sharply. Make him proud? Somehow, she felt this old man wanted to use her to show off.

Though inwardly exasperated, she didn’t expose his true intentions and replied obediently, “I understand, Father.”

No matter his motives, it seemed beneficial to her for now.

Seeing that she could go along, she quickly spread the cleaned animal hide on a nearby large stone to dry. When the stone wasn’t enough, she laid some on the grass.

The beastmen present watched her actions with surprise. The tribe was notorious for lazy females; yet here she was, taking the initiative to clean animal hides. Had she truly changed?