Chapter 273: Standing Up

Zhi Mei smiled at You Ruo's words with a dismissive chuckle, "If this clan tribe were good enough, I wouldn't be thinking of telling you all these things."

She also wanted to prove to You Ruo and the others that, had the Ju clan not been so detestable, she, as one of them, would never willingly risk betraying them to join Youbuluo.

Zhi Mei truly longs for Youbuluo, where even a female like her can be treated as a normal Beastman; if possible, she wishes she had been born a female of this tribe.

Even if she weren't a snake female, she thinks she would still be grateful.

Miduo, who once solidified her standing before males by bullying other females, felt a flash of pity after hearing Zhi Mei's past and seeing that Zhi Mei, unaware of how desperate she once was, said such words before these unfamiliar Beastmen.

She said, "Since you Beast Slaves are so dissatisfied with those Beastmen who oppress you, why haven't you thought of rebelling against them?"

Rebelling because they can no longer endure the abuse is better than betraying them, right? Then why don't they rebel?

Even those Beast Slaves, after leaving the tribe, become another version of them.

How laughable!

Zhi Mei seemed stunned by Miduo's question, and her complexion turned stark white as she exclaimed, "No! Absolutely not, otherwise... you'd die, you'd die!"

But on what grounds should they die! On what grounds should they die at the hands of their so‑called "masters"?

Zhi Mei's eyes were full of resentment and unwillingness, yet You Ruo and the others read from the trembling female's body a deep fear of the tribe behind her.

Miduo's eyes flashed with surprise; she had only asked her a single question—does she not even dare to speak?

What kind of tribe is the Ju clan, after all?

You Ruo, seeing this, let her gaze at Zhi Mei silently turn cold.

Being so fearful of the Ju clan, so desperate to cling to life, if she ever faces such a dire situation again, could she betray Youbuluo just to survive?

This female still cannot stay in Youbuluo.

Unless…

You Ruo, for reasons unknown, suddenly asked Zhi Mei, "I know you've always wanted to stay in our tribe, but you should also know that no tribe would willingly accept a Beastman who has betrayed his own tribe."

Especially one like you, raised from childhood as a Beast Slave by the tribe; if we were to take you in, who can say whether one day you'd betray us just to stay alive?

After all, you're terrified of the Ju clan's Beastmen, right? If they find you and force you to reveal our tribe's affairs, would you rather sacrifice your own life than betray the tribe?

The question left Zhi Mei stunned for a while, and then she clenched her teeth.

"I won't, because Youbuluo has never treated me as a Beast Slave only useful for exploitation; if such a day ever came, I'd rather die myself than reveal any information about the tribe."

The Snake Beastmen who had previously urged her to speak quickly said coldly, "If you can kill those Ju clan Beastmen for the sake of my Tribe, we will believe that what you say is true."

The Snake Beastmen who had previously urged her to speak quickly said coldly, "If you can kill those Ju clan Beastmen for our tribe, we'll believe that what you say is true."

Zhi Mei's face turned pale, but thinking of everything behind Youbuluo, she suddenly wanted to kneel, "Fine, I beg you for this chance; I will definitely prove it to you, I will prove my determination to stay in Youbuluo."

She ultimately did not kneel, because Beastmen of Youbuluo dislike it; their tribe follows the law of the strong preying on the weak, granting the strong absolute authority over the weak and demanding total obedience, yet this does not mean they enjoy watching the weak grovel for the strong's protection—they even despise such beings,

They believe the weak should recognize their own abilities; being subservient to the strong is merely because they lack strength, thus they must bow.

If the weak later become strong, then one day Beastmen who once were strong and become weak should bow to the newly strong, not kneel.

Seeing her look as if she would die just to stay in Youbuluo, one must admit that Hao from the Silver Eagle Tribe and Miduo were somewhat stirred.

Since when has Youbuluo become so popular with females? Clearly the Silver Eagle Tribe is far better than Youbuluo.

Even their tribe's current living conditions surpass Youbuluo's by more than a fraction of a star.

But those thoughts remained just thoughts for the two, since they aren't interested in a female who originated as a Beast Slave—not out of contempt for her background, but because they've previously seen what captured Beast Slaves are like.

When a Beast Slave endures long enough, they forget they are Beastmen.

To survive, bowing, kneeling and begging for mercy is nothing; they can even kill their own kind, and they are capable of it.

For such Beastmen, no matter how pitiful, the Silver Eagle Tribe shows no mercy.

Otherwise, if the tribe's cubs learn that Beast Slaves exist, what will they imitate later?

As long as a single cub realizes that Beast Slaves exist in the world, among that group of cubs there will always be one who quietly develops the thought of treating others as Beast Slaves.

Miduo, still young, was still puzzled after the conversation why Zhi Mei, a Beast Slave‑born Beastman who simply wants to live in Youbuluo, is being forced by Youbuluo to prove herself.

"Borrowing Master Yun Li's words, the more they kneel, the more they forget they're Beastmen. Having been Beast Slaves for so long, they no longer know how to be Beastmen; even if they later obtain a normal life in the tribe, their innate servility never changes."

And although Youbuluo is tolerant toward incoming females, they probably don't want a Beast Slave to come in and corrupt the tribe's cubs.

The reason they want Zhi Mei to prove herself is simply to have her stand up and prove she's a Beastman; only then can Youbuluo lower its guard, accept her, and let the tribe's males interact with her and form a Mate Bond.

But whether she can truly understand what the male said is probably known only to herself, because a normal Beastman cannot comprehend how another Beastman, after being beaten, scolded and humiliated for several dozen years, could suddenly be unable to stand straight.

On the other side, a female, watching the Beastmen sleeping soundly behind her, suddenly stood up and retrieved a packet of pre‑hidden poison from a corner.

"Jia Sha, what are you trying to do?"

Just as the female was about to pour the poison into the still‑burning campfire, a slender, pale hand reached out, and a male's deliberately lowered voice whispered in her ear, "If you kill them now, you won't have to fear Master Meng discovering anything later."

Here in Youbuluo, over a hundred Beastmen plus more than fifty fear‑beasts have only lost one Blue Rank Beastman and a little over forty other Beastmen.

With such an obvious unequal loss, could Master Meng, a Purple Rank Beast Person known for keen observation, fail to notice any discrepancy?