All the beastmen looked toward the one who had spoken, and it was Jiuying.
Everyone knows that this orc is usually quiet and always follows Shen Miao like a shadow. They don't understand why he suddenly spoke up today.
The cat-beastman said unhappily, "Nine Infants, what do you want to say?"
Jiuying smiled and said, enunciating each word clearly, "I want to know how you intend to deal with Shen Miao, and what your basis is?"
"Fifty strokes, that's a rule passed down from our ancestors," the cat-beastman said bluntly.
Jiuying shook her head: "I don't think that's appropriate."
The cat-beastman asked in confusion, "Why is that inappropriate?"
Jiuying said righteously, "Your rule is that anyone who can come out of the formation is considered to have successfully broken through it, but you have not stipulated that other beastmen are not allowed to go in and help."
That's right, Jiuying is exploiting loopholes in the rules.
The other orcs wanted to refute, but to their surprise, they didn't know how to refute it, because what Jiuying said was correct.
The cat-beastman didn't expect Jiuying to say that. After holding back for a long time, he said angrily, "But the rules don't say that we can help each other. You're just deliberately picking a fight."
"I'm not trying to cause trouble, I'm just stating the facts," Jiuying said seriously. "Otherwise, tell me, did any orcs go in to help their companions before, and were they punished?"
The cat-beastman was speechless.
That formation was so dangerous that everyone assumed there was no return; who would dare risk their life for someone else?
Jiuying seized upon this point and deliberately said it that way.
"No, right? Then Shen Miao is innocent. You can't punish her anymore." Jiu Ying smiled.
Qingchen, who had been standing there quietly, also subtly curved the corners of her mouth into a smile.
The cat-beastman glanced at it, snorted heavily, said nothing, and walked away.
Seeing that the cat-beastmen couldn't do anything to Jiuying and the others, everyone naturally wouldn't be so presumptuous as to try and make a fool of themselves. They discussed among themselves and dispersed.
When the cat-beastman returned home, he was so angry that he didn't even want to eat. He locked the door and wouldn't allow his family to disturb him.
He felt that everything he did was for the good of the tribe, but Shen Miao, who was clearly his friend, was holding him back, which made him very upset.
"Knock, knock, knock." A knocking sound came from outside the door.
The cat-beastman said impatiently, "I told you to eat your food and not bother me, don't you understand?"
After a moment of silence outside, a calm voice came through, "It's me."
The cat-beastman fell silent.
"Open the door." Qingchen knocked twice more.
The cat-beastman rolled over, childishly turning his back to the door, completely forgetting that Qingchen outside couldn't see this scene at all.
Seeing that there was still no movement inside, Qingchen said, "If you refuse to open the door, then I will stay here today."
Finally, someone inside couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "You can guard it if you want, but I will absolutely not open the door for you."
There was no further sound outside.
The cat-beastman was very curious. Had Qingchen, that stubborn guy, really gone back like that? This wasn't like him at all.
It felt like a kitten was scratching at his heart, but the cat-beastman couldn't bring himself to go out, so he could only endure it.
Just as the cat-beastman was wondering, the window quietly opened, and Qingchen lightly leaped in. Hearing the sound, the cat-beastman turned around sharply and said angrily, "I didn't let you in."
"I know, that's why I came in myself."
"You!" The cat-beast was so angry he didn't know what to say.
Qingchen, however, seemed not to notice, placing the beast brew he had brought aside and tilting his head towards the cat-beastman: "Want a drink?"
The cat-beastman remained angry and refused to pay any attention.
Qingchen sat down, found two stone bowls, filled them both, and said nostalgically, "It's been a long time since we drank together."
These words stirred the cat-beastman's thoughts.
Back when neither he nor Qingchen were married, they often drank beast-infused wine together.
After Qingchen's accident, because of Shen Miao, the two of them became much more distant. For a period of time, he didn't even dare to go to Qingchen's house, afraid of seeing his former friend lying on his sickbed.
Before he knew it, Qingchen had started thinking too much and began drinking on his own. The cat-beastman walked over irritably, snatched his bowl, and poured the rest of the wine into his own mouth.
"Why did you have to come all the way to my house to drink?" the cat-beast said angrily.
Qingchen pushed his bowl of wine towards him, "Let's chat, it's been a long time since we had a proper conversation."
The beast-brewed wine actually had very little alcohol content. The two of them drank a whole bamboo tube without any problems. They chatted until late at night, and in the end, Qingchen returned home in the dark.
Shen Miao was still awake when she heard the noise outside the courtyard gate. Knowing that Qing Chen had returned, she finally felt at ease and fell asleep.
The next day, Qingchen didn't mention going to see the cat beastman the night before, acting as if nothing had happened. It was Shenmiao who couldn't help but ask him a few questions.
Knowing that the cat-beastman had been very sad last night, Shen Miao remained silent.
To be honest, she didn't quite understand why the cat-beastman acted that way; perhaps it was his love and dedication to the tribe.
Thinking about it this way, Shen Miao felt that it was indeed quite embarrassing for him to go against him in front of so many people.
"I'm going to Brother Cat's house later," Shen Miao said in a low voice.
Qingchen glanced at him in surprise, then curled the corners of her lips into a smile, as if she was pleased that he had made this decision.
Shen Miao carried some things to the cat-beastman's house.
The cat-beastman was sitting in the yard twisting rope. When he saw Shen Miao come in, he acted as if he didn't see her and went back to doing his own thing.
"Brother Cat." Shen Miao walked over and called out, but didn't mind the lack of response. She naturally squatted down, took two blades of grass, and started twisting grass rope as well.
Her relaxed attitude made the cat-beastman uncomfortable, but he kept a cold face and didn't want to talk to Shen Miao.
Shen Miao caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of her eye and secretly smiled. When she looked up, she said in a serious tone, "Brother Cat, I came here today to apologize to you. I should have stopped Jiu Ying yesterday and let him talk like that. I'm sorry."
After listening to her talk for so long without mentioning what he wanted to hear, the cat-beastman couldn't help but ask, "Is this all you're apologizing for? Nothing else?"
"What else?" Shen Miao asked, puzzled.
The cat-beastman angrily said, "You trespassed into the formation and rescued the raven-beastman; this is against the rules!"
Shen Miao sighed, "Brother Cat, although I'm sorry, I don't think I did anything wrong. I'm just glad that I was brave enough to save a life."
The cat-beastman stared at her incredulously.
Shen Miao continued, “The rules were set by our ancestors, that’s true, but we also need to keep up with the times. Our ancestors had the unique characteristics of their era, and so do we. The Raven Beastman fell in love with the Bloodworm Clan female beastman, and he voluntarily left the tribe without harming any of the tribe’s beastmen. Why can’t we grant him his wish instead of clinging to this point?”
"Can……"
“But those are the rules, right? But the rules were set by the orcs.” Shen Miao’s words were firm and resolute.
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