Chapter 10…
Whipping Punishment
At that moment, a series of hurried yet steady footsteps approached, carrying with them a faint fragrance of grass and trees.
A female beastman with a graceful figure and gentle features quickly stepped into the tribe’s square.
It was Bai Yue, who had rushed back.
She had originally been traveling through the Beast World with her beast husbands, helping and rescuing beastmen.
But after receiving an urgent message from the tribe and learning everything that had happened,
she had already anticipated that great chaos would break out within the tribe and immediately hurried back without rest.
Now, as she looked at the devastation covering the ground, with all the beastmen kneeling in silence,
a deep sense of worry filled her heart as she looked toward Qiu Ying, who was being firmly restrained by Mo Lin.
Her gaze quickly swept across the entire scene.
The next second, her eyes locked onto Su Ye, who was being protectively held beside Han Zheng.
Her footsteps abruptly halted, and her face instantly turned as pale as paper.
The exposed skin on Su Ye’s neck, wrists, and once-smooth legs was covered with crisscrossing scars of varying depths.
Some were fresh abrasions, still tinged with a glaring reddish hue.
Others were old scars accumulated over years, uneven, hideous, and layered upon one another.
Every scar felt like a sharp poisonous thorn stabbing fiercely into Bai Yue’s heart.
An overwhelming tide of guilt engulfed her instantly.
Her eyes reddened, and her nose stung with emotion.
She quickly pushed through the crowd and walked straight to Su Ye.
Her voice trembled uncontrollably with sobs, every word soaked in self-blame.
“Su Ye, this is my fault! Ten years ago, I brought you back to the tribe, believing you would live a peaceful life. I never imagined that you would suffer so many grievances and endure so much hardship in this tribe for all these years. I have failed you!”
As her words fell,
Bai Yue ignored the utterly shocked gazes of the surrounding tribesmen.
She deeply bent her waist and performed the tribe’s most solemn apology ceremony before Su Ye.
Her attitude was sincere.
There was not the slightest trace of favoritism or excuse.
She took all responsibility upon herself.
The entire crowd of beastmen was stunned.
They stood frozen in place as though struck by a petrification spell.
Who could have imagined that Bai Yue, a High-Rank Witch Doctor, would publicly apologize to Su Ye?
And with the highest form of apology no less!
That was a High-Rank Witch Doctor!
A gifted existence blessed by the Beast God himself!
Even Ninth-Rank Beastmen treated her with respect!
Before the crowd could recover from their shock,
Bai Yue slowly straightened herself and turned toward the pale-faced Qiu Ying.
Complex emotions filled her eyes as she suppressed the pain in her heart.
Her voice rang out powerfully across the entire tribal square.
“Qiu Ying, as the daughter of the Tribe Chief, not only failed to protect the tribe’s beastmen, but instead abused her status to bully and harm them. Effective immediately, she shall receive the tribe’s severe punishment—Ninety-Nine Whips.”
Ninety-Nine Whips was the cruelest punishment in the entire tribe.
The beast-hide whip used for the punishment was soaked in the marrow essence of ferocious beasts, making it incomparably hard.
Every strike would tear flesh apart.
Even strong adult male beastmen found it difficult to endure.
And the one responsible for carrying out the punishment…
was Bai Yue’s own beast husband.
Normally gentle and rarely angered,
his expression now turned cold and solemn after accepting the order.
There was not the slightest intention of showing favoritism.
He immediately stepped forward, dragged the desperately struggling and pleading Qiu Ying to the punishment pillar, and tightly bound her with beast ropes.
The icy beast-hide whip was raised high.
Then it came crashing down.
A sharp crack echoed through the air.
Qiu Ying’s miserable screams tore through the sky, causing every beastman present to feel their scalps go numb.
One whip after another.
Each strike cut to the bone.
Qiu Ying’s cries gradually weakened.
In the end, only faint groans remained.
When the ninety-nine lashes were finally completed,
her entire body was drenched in blood, barely clinging to life.
Bai Yue’s eyes were filled with heartache as she clenched her fists tightly.
Secretly, she transmitted a portion of her Origin Power to Qiu Ying.
Although her child had committed grave wrongs,
she was still, after all, a mother.
The surrounding beastmen were already terrified out of their wits.
One by one, they shrank their necks and trembled uncontrollably.
Those who had originally come merely to watch the excitement no longer even dared breathe loudly.
Their legs shook nonstop.
No one had expected Bai Yue to be so impartial.
She had shown no mercy even to her own daughter.
She had even ordered her own beast husband to personally carry out the punishment.
The entire tribe had been thoroughly shocked and intimidated.
Naturally, Han Zheng noticed Bai Yue’s secret actions.
A trace of emotion flashed through his eyes, but he chose not to expose it.
Nearby, Qiu Ying’s former beast husbands had already damaged their own cultivation ranks and suffered serious injuries in order to break free from her coercion.
Watching everything unfold before them, they feared they too would be subjected to whipping punishment.
Their faces turned deathly pale.
At that moment,
the male Tribe Chief, Cang Yan, rushed forward anxiously, disregarding everything.
“Yue Yue, she is our only female cub!”
Cang Yan cried out through tears.
Pain and struggle filled Bai Yue’s face.
Yet she showed not the slightest intention of backing down.
Before everyone, she declared:
“Qiu Ying must bear responsibility for her own crimes. And you, as Tribe Chief, failed to notice her actions in time. That is negligence. You knew nothing of her reckless indulgence and wrongdoing. You are fundamentally unfit to bear the responsibility of Tribe Chief!”
Her words struck like thunder.
Cang Yan’s face immediately turned pale.
The beastmen present erupted into discussion and nodded in agreement.
With Cang Yan’s muddle-headed management style,
he truly was no longer suitable to remain Tribe Chief.
Immediately afterward,
Bai Yue announced a shocking decision before the entire tribe.
“In a few days, the tribe will hold a new election for Tribe Chief! Any capable and upright male beastman within the tribe may prepare in advance and participate in the election!”
The announcement instantly threw the tribe into an uproar.
The previously tense atmosphere now carried a sense of eager anticipation.
As a High-Rank Witch Doctor who traveled the Beast World saving lives year after year,
Bai Yue possessed tremendous authority.
High-Rank Witch Doctors were gifts personally bestowed by the Beast God.
No one questioned her decision to replace the Tribe Chief.
Many powerful male beastmen were already eager to try.
Their minds had begun calculating their chances.
Meanwhile, those with ordinary abilities sighed, realizing that the tribe was about to undergo tremendous change.
Bai Yue spoke once more.
“Cang Yan, for negligence in teaching and failure in governance, you are sentenced to forty-five lashes as punishment.”
“As for Qiu Ying’s former beast husbands, your companion contracts have already been dissolved and you have suffered the corresponding backlash. Your previous offenses shall be considered settled.”
“But if such incidents occur again in the future, our tribe will not keep you.”
Then Bai Yue looked toward Su Ye.
“Su Ye… I’m sorry.”
Su Ye stood quietly in place, taking everything in.
She only felt that the knot of resentment that had accumulated in this body’s heart for many years had suddenly vanished.
The original owner’s lingering emotions were completely swept away.
Her entire body felt incomparably light.
Su Ye raised her eyes toward Bai Yue.
Her expression remained calm.
“Bai Yue, I repaid your life-saving grace long ago.”
“The Su Ye you rescued and brought back ten years ago is already dead.”
“As for everything that happened today…”
“Let’s consider it all settled.”
She truly had died.
Bai Yue looked at Su Ye with guilt-filled eyes.
“I am sorry. From now on, no beastman in this tribe will ever bully you again. The new Tribe Chief will also be chosen carefully. Something like this will never happen again.”
“This tribe is not a place where I intend to stay long.”
Su Ye’s gaze was resolute.
What a joke.
Who would care about this tiny, broken tribe?
Word by word, Su Ye declared:
“From now on, your road and mine shall never cross again.”
Bai Yue was filled with guilt.
Knowing she could never make up for everything,
she stopped trying to persuade Su Ye to stay.
Immediately, she activated the Origin Power of a Witch Doctor.
Soft green healing light enveloped Su Ye.
In the blink of an eye,
every scar on her body disappeared completely.
Her skin returned to a flawless, smooth state.
Su Ye looked at the vanished wounds on her body in surprise.
So this was the power of a Witch Doctor?
Such a powerful healing ability.
Meanwhile, Han Zheng gazed at Su Ye in amazement.
With all her scars gone,
although she was still thin,
her delicate face and flawless skin made it impossible to look away.
Seeing Su Ye restored,
Bai Yue finally felt a little better.
She had spent her entire life using Witch Doctor powers to save beastmen.
She never imagined that her own daughter would commit such evil deeds.
The pain in her heart was unbearable.
Su Ye gave a slight nod, accepting the goodwill.
“We’re leaving.”
She turned and took Han Zheng’s hand.
The two walked side by side toward the outside of the tribe.
On the punishment ground,
Qiu Ying lay at death’s door.
Yet a trace of viciousness flashed through her eyes.
Go ahead.
Outside the tribe’s perimeter,
a carefully prepared “surprise” awaited them.
Watching Su Ye’s departing figure,
Bai Yue hurried over to the blood-covered Qiu Ying.
Green healing light instantly wrapped around her.
With reddened eyes, Bai Yue said:
“Quick, Mo Lin. Bring Qiu Ying and Cang Yan back to the cave.”
A gentle breeze carrying the scent of blood swept through the tribe.
Old grudges had come to an end.
But a new crisis…
had already quietly arrived.
