Chapter 383: Whole Council (II)
"That—" Elder Lin opened her mouth confidently but then she realised that she could not say anything. Yes, what did Ruan Chanchan move from the tribe? Thinking about it, she did not take anything!
Seeing this, how could Ruan Chanchan not be smug? She curled her lips and remarked, "So it seems like I did not take anything from the tribe."
"How can that be? You took away the heated beds and gave them to the killer whale tribe." Elder Lin snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Ruan Chanchan with an insatiable greed. She wanted to make Ruan Chanchan cough out the benefits that she had taken from the killer whale tribe.
"And did the heated beds belong to the tribe?" Ruan Chanchan smiled at the woman and questioned without raising her voice. "Those things were mine to begin with, so what if I gave them away? What is wrong with me giving my own things to others? There are so many totem warriors in the tribe who share their hunt with their brothers who have been sent to other tribes. Do they also need to start handing out their hunt to the tribe from now on?"
"How is that the same?"
"How is it different? " Ruan Chanchan shot back. Anyway, she was determined to fight with these old foggies. Just because she was not showing off her temper these past few days, these people thought that she was someone without a temper, did they? They had to be dreaming if they thought that things were going to go according to them.
She sucked in a breath and continued, "Don’t blame me for being too hard on you all but I really want to ask, what did I even do wrong? True, I handed the heated beds to the killer whale tribe but in return I got our tribe an alliance with the second strongest tribe of the continent; as long as they are with us, I don’t think anyone would try to cause trouble for us. Even the Black Snake tribe will think twice before causing trouble for our tribe."
"Or do you think an alliance can be formed on mere words alone? If so, then the next time you all can deal with these matters as you want, and I will never say a word. Anyway, what is the point of handing the heated beds to the tribe? I can never get even the smallest benefit!"
Ruan Chanchan had not forgotten how the elders had taken away the little meat that she had been rewarded with. They wanted to control but she refused to be controlled. Why should she be controlled? She had done nothing wrong. These things were all her ideas and she had the right to dispose of or use them as she liked. She looked at the elders in the eyes and stated coldly, "The killer whale tribe gave me a lot of benefits in exchange for the heated beds. But what about my own tribe? I am dragged and questioned like a criminal, even though I was the victim. I was the one who was pushed off the cliff and never got any compensation in return."
"I have taught the tribe how to dry meat and how to collect different fruits and vegetables as well as mushrooms and herbs. This alone could help in stabilising the tribe but in exchange, what did I receive? Nothing! Am I supposed to work without getting anything? Even the totem warriors who go to hunt receive their share of meat but do I get anything in return? You are asking me to work for free but I am not willing!"
Ruan Chanchan did not want to be used like a tool. So what if she could not hunt? She could benefit the tribe in other ways. However, these elders were bent on pressuring her and she did not like it.
"You—" Elder Lin was furious when she heard Ruan Chanchan’s complaints. "You are a member of this tribe!"
"Then I will move from this tribe! If it means that I have to work hard until I am sucked dry, then I will leave. Don’t think that I don’t have any place to stay. The killer whale tribe is willing to let me follow them, at worst, I will just come and visit Daiyu every once in a while." Ruan Chanchan fired back. She was going to tell these people that she was not as worthless and helpless as they thought; she also had a place to stay, and if they thought that she could be pushed into a corner, then they were wrong.
When the elders heard Ruan Chanchan say that she was going to move, they could not help but panic a little. Their plan was to make this woman submit to them, not move away!
"Ae you threatening us?" Elder Lin was so angry that she was trembling. It was one thing that they were trying to suppress this woman but it was another thing that this woman was trying to push them into submission. Who did she think she was?
Ruan Chanchan shrugged carelessly. "I am not threatening. I am merely stating facts." She stood up from her seat and stated in a firm voice, "I did not get any benefits from the tribe instead I have given more than enough benefits to the entire people of the tribe. No matter how you try to look at it, I have done nothing wrong. So you cannot blame me for anything."
After she finished speaking, without caring about the expressions of the elders, she turned around on her feet and walked away. She was not going to play along with them.
However, as soon as she left, Elder Lin smashed her fist into the boulder, causing a creak to appear in the stone. "She is just like her mother! Lawless and disrespectful. She does not listen to a thing that we tell her and just does her own thing; it is too much!"