Gio sneered before leaving with his group, his chin tilted proudly as if he hadn't just caused a near tragedy. His steps were arrogant, full of mock triumph.
"Where do you think you're going, huh?" Yan suddenly roared, her grief and fear now burning into anger.
Gio froze for a moment, startled by her voice, but quickly masked it with disdain. Before he could respond, Tei and Qiu moved swiftly, stepping in front of him and his lackeys, blocking their way.
"You're not leaving so easily," Qiu said, her eyes sharp as blades.
Kea's face paled slightly, but he clutched Gio's arm as if his arrogance could shield them both. "Don't talk nonsense! How can you blame us? We didn't force him—"
"Yes, you did!" Yan cut her off, her voice trembling with fury. "Pen would never eat something he wasn't sure of. Someone also saw you two force it onto him!"
Murmurs rippled through the crowd, the beasts and females exchanging uneasy looks. Many of them had indeed seen Gio's group urging Pen earlier.
Under the weight of everyone's eyes, Gio's arrogance faltered for the first time, but his pride would not allow him to tolerate this humiliation. "I— I didn't force him. He ate it himself! How is that my fault?"
"Liar!" Yan's eyes brimmed with tears again, but her voice was like a whip.
Bei straightened to his full height. His tall frame loomed like a mountain, with the scars on his arms and chest serving as a testament to battles survived, blood spilled, and monsters slain. His golden eyes swept over the crowd, and the weight of his pheromones, mixed with some killing intent, pressed down on everyone like a storm.
"This ends here," Bei's voice rang out, deep and commanding. "Today, a young sub-beast nearly lost his life. Not because of hunger or monsters but because of arrogance and selfishness."
"We hunt together. We bleed together. We live together. Anyone who forgets that forgets their place in this tribe."
"Our tribe values life above all. To endanger a companion is a crime, Gio." His gaze shifted to Kea. "And those who aid or condone it are equally guilty."
"No!" Kea shrieked, panic replacing his arrogance. "You can't punish us for this—"
"Enough!" Lia's clear voice rang out, cutting clean through Kea's hysterical shouting.
Lia knows his husband, Bei, never speaks without certainty. If he is condemning Gio and Kea now, it is because he has already investigated and judged what really happened. Whatever decision he makes, it will not be a hearsay.
"Thirty strikes." Bei's voice was unshakable and final. It's like a stone landed in a still pond. Murmurs once again rippled through the crowd.
"Harsh… but deserved."
"They nearly killed a child!"
"If not for the Ziqian, Pen would be gone…"
"Serves them right. Always so arrogant, thinking they can do whatever they want."
For a beastman, such a punishment was little more than a reminder of discipline. But for a sub-beast, whose bodies were softer and frailer, it was harsh. Many gasped, some wide-eyed in shock, others whispering nervously.
Gio's face drained of color, and Kea staggered back as though the words themselves had struck him.
The other sub-beasts in their group broke down instantly. Tears streamed down their faces as they fell to their knees, their voices overlapping.
"High Priest, Patriarch, please! We didn't know—"
"It was Gio and Kea! They told us to make Pen eat it because he defends Ziqian!"
"They said nothing would happen, that Pen would be fine if he ate it!"
Their fingers shook as they pointed at Gio and Kea. Panic cracked their unity apart as they started blaming each other.
Gio's eyes widened in fury. "Shut up! All of you—" he barked, but his voice faltered under Bei's cold stare.
Kea, on the other hand, went pale as he tried to open his mouth to defend himself, but no words came out.
Bei's sharp gaze swept across them, then over the crowd. "This judgment is not cruelty. It is mercy." His tone was flat, but the weight behind his words earned fear and respect. "Sub-beasts are rare and must be protected. That is why your lives remain. But your actions endangered one of our own and nearly cost him his life. You will carry this punishment so that you never forget the weight of your choices."
Bei raised his hand, and several strong females stepped forward without hesitation. They seized the sub-beasts by their arms, dragging them to the center of the tribe where everyone could see.
This time, words had spread like wildfire in every corner of the tribe. How Pen nearly lost his life, how Ziqian saved him, how Gio and Kea's reckless actions had almost brought disaster, and how they were now punished at the center of the tribe.
More and more people came to watch the punishment served for the sub-beasts.
"Thirty strikes," Bei repeated, his voice cold and unyielding.
The first female lifted the flat wooden rod used for punishment—it was not meant to cripple, but neither was it merciful.
Pa!
The sound echoed like a whip seizing the surrounding noise. Gio's body jolted, his teeth grinding as he bit back a cry. A red welt immediately rose at the back of his thigh.
The second strike landed. This time, Gio let out a strangled grunt, his pride refusing him the release of a scream. But his knees already trembled.
On the other side, Kea was not as strong. At the very first blow, he wailed, his voice breaking, "I-I didn't mean it! It wasn't my fault!" His cries grew louder with every strike.
Some pitied the punished sub-beasts, their hearts softening at the sight of their tears, but most agreed with Bei's judgment. For them, the punishment was not only because it was necessary. Sub-beasts were rare and treasured, yes, but that did not mean they could harm others with impunity.
The tribe could tolerate the sub-beast's arrogance, even willfulness, but to endanger a fellow tribesman, whether beast, female, or sub-beast, was a line that no one was allowed to cross.
Even the families of those punished could only weep silently, unable to refute the decision. They knew their children had gone too far.
For the first time, the crowd saw that being a sub-beast did not mean one could do as they pleased without consequence. And in that moment, the silent respect for Bei and Lia deepened—they had chosen fairness over favoritism, protecting the tribe's unity above all else.
By the twentieth strike, Gio's lips bled where he bit down to contain his voice. Sweat dripped from his temples, but he refused to fall. Kea, however, was already half-collapsed, his arms barely holding him up, his voice hoarse from screaming.
"Twenty-one!" The female shouted as the rod came down again.
And so it continued.
When the thirtieth strike finally landed, Gio was barely standing, his body swaying, his hair drenched with sweat, and his prideful sneer was long gone, replaced with trembling lips and a face drained of color.
Kea, who had shouted and cried the loudest at first, now lay collapsed on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Around him, the other sub-beasts were also on the dirt, coughing through their tears, their thighs striped with large red marks. The sobs that once carried indignation had turned into pitiful whimpers.
Silence weighed heavily over the tribe. Every beast and female present had their eyes fixed on the punished figures, their expressions a mix of pity and disdain.
Some turned away with furrowed brows, unable to watch, while others looked on coldly, as if silently vowing not to forget the lesson.
Bei raised his hand. The females who carried out the punishment stepped back, leaving the disgraced sub-beasts shivering in the dirt.
The moment Bei's hand fell to his side, signaling the end, the silence finally broke. The family members of the punished sub-beasts rushed forward. They knelt on the ground, hands trembling as they tried to lift their children, wife, or brothers.
Far from the center of the tribe, Ziqian finally allowed himself to relax. His body melted against Xue's broad chest, the exhaustion he had been suppressing crashing down all at once.
Xue, who was always cold and distant in the eyes of others, held him as though he were the most fragile treasure in the world.
"Rest," Xue said, almost coaxing.
Ziqian tilted his head up. His peach-blossom eyes were shimmering while looking at the gorgeous man, and in that moment he realized that this rare tenderness, which was hidden from the world, belonged to him alone.
The steady warmth surrounding him, the faint thrum of a heartbeat beneath his ear, and the quiet security of being held all lulled him into sleep.
Xue pulled his cloth tighter around Ziqian, covering him from any prying eyes as he pressed his lips briefly to the crown of his head. "Sleep, Ziqian," he whispered, his voice low and rough. "I'll protect you."