Free Web NovelChapter 147: Chapter 147: Ian’s Past
Ian immediately pulled Colton to walk faster:
"What’s so interesting about that bunch of idiots who have eyes on their butts, is the tribe lacking beastmen for you to choose from?!"
Colton pouted and said: "But he fits my taste~"
Colton’s final syllable was slightly drawn out, carrying a bit of coquettishness. The squad members all shuddered in unison.
*Damn it, you devil, just speak normally. Someone who freezes others at the slightest provocation like you is truly not suited for acting spoiled!*
Ian bared his teeth, glaring and warning Colton: "I forbid you from kidnapping people. Tell me what you like about him, and when we get back to the tribe, I will immediately find eighteen people exactly like him for you! If you like him because he has a scar on his face, I will carve flowers on their faces for you right away."
Squad members: "..."
*On behalf of those eighteen people, we thank you~ Anyone targeted by you two is truly unfortunate!*
Colton pouted, ultimately not agreeing to Ian’s condition, but at least Colton didn’t demand to kidnap anyone anymore.
Damian stroked the scar on his left eye, his eyelids lowered, not knowing what he was thinking. The mood of the beastmen under his command was somewhat complex as they watched Ian’s group leave. They naturally couldn’t hear Colton and Ian’s conversation, only feeling very unresigned.
*On what basis does the Black Rabbit we loathe now become someone cherished by another tribe? Even the Temple shows appreciation for divergent ones like him.* They knew the Chief wasn’t enthusiastic about Ian either, it was just that when the messenger from the Beast City came to deliver the news, the messenger said that any tribe sending divergent ones to the Beast City for special training would receive two thousand mid-grade magic cores.
Two thousand mid-grade magic cores, that was an amount their tribe might not even accumulate in two or three years. When the Chief heard the news, his heart bled with regret. Now seeing Ian return, why wouldn’t the Chief offer an invitation for Ian to return to the tribe?
Originally, both the Chief and all the clan members in the tribe thought Ian would accept returning to the tribe. After all, if Ian fled the tribe, he would become someone without identification, a wandering beastman shunned by people. Being called back to the tribe, he would surely be incredibly grateful.
It was just unexpected that another tribe had beaten Oakstone to it.
In their hearts, these beastmen all assumed Ian’s group was on their way to the Beast City. The beastman who was just shot by Colton said to Damian:
"Captain, if Ian already belongs to another tribe, then do we need to snatch him back?"
Damian looked at him and said: "On what basis do you think you can snatch people? Did you see their strength? Ian not settling old scores with you was already giving you a way out, don’t be ungrateful!"
Actually, Damian didn’t understand at all. Ian was simply born with a different fur color from other Rabbit clansmen. Ian’s danger-sensing ability didn’t harm the tribe; on the contrary, it helped a lot. Why did the people in the tribe ostracize Ian so much?
Ostracizing wasn’t enough; the beastmen in the tribe, especially this beastman in front of him, always found ways to make things difficult for Ian. If they said Ian was raised by the tribe, it would indeed be a bit awkward to say, because the supplies distributed to Ian were all grouped up and stolen by the beastmen in the tribe.
Stealing supplies wasn’t enough; after stealing, they would beat Ian half to death. The fact that Ian could survive until now was entirely because he went out to find food to fill his stomach himself. Ian belonged to the Rabbit clan and had absolutely no combat power. The number of times he got to eat meat from childhood to adulthood couldn’t even fill the fingers on one hand.
When the initial order from the Temple came down, the Chief straightforwardly broke Ian’s limbs, preparing to burn him alive. Damian didn’t know how Ian managed to escape with broken limbs like that, but Damian clearly knew their tribe had no right to welcome Ian back.
Damian didn’t participate in bullying Ian, but he had never reached out to help even once, so he also didn’t have the right to persuade Ian to return.
"Those bastards! I want to slice their flesh off!"
In the oak forest, Ian finally recounted the entire history of grievances between him and his former tribe. The squad members were all incredibly furious, wanting to charge up and fight those guys to the death. Ian immediately stopped them:
"Alright, I’m fine now anyway. We only have this many people, don’t cause trouble for ourselves and the tribe over momentary anger."
Colton was unresigned and asked: "Are you just going to let them off like that?!"
Ian smiled: "Actually, there are people in the tribe who treated me very well. Otherwise, how could I have survived and grown up to be like this? Furthermore, in that situation with my limbs broken, if someone hadn’t secretly rescued me, how could I have escaped."
Recalling the beastman who always secretly helped him, Ian’s cold eyes softened a bit. Just now, he hadn’t dared to ask Damian about that beastman’s situation, afraid of causing unnecessary trouble for him. Moreover, that beastman’s status in the tribe wasn’t low either, so he probably would be fine.
"Captain, they are breaking camp."
Colton looked in the direction the squad member pointed, saw the Oakstone group breaking camp and leaving, and clicked his tongue in deep regret. Ian immediately became alert: "Colton, drop your idea right now."
Colton rolled his eyes: "I just clicked my tongue, why are you bristling up like that? I am a Sub-Beast with dignity, I won’t just drag any beastman home. A beastman with such poor morals, of course I wouldn’t want him!"
Ian looked at Colton with deep suspicion: "It’s best if you practice what you preach."
Colton gave a cold snort, ignoring Ian. Colton smacked his lips again and said: "The person who helped you before, do you plan to bring him back to Crimson?"
Ian was slightly taken aback and shook his head: "He is the Young Chief of the Oakstone tribe and will become the Chief in the future. He wouldn’t come with us."
Colton raised an eyebrow: "I didn’t expect his status to be so high. His Daddy treated you badly, but he did the exact opposite. Hey, could he have feelings for you? Like the two beastmen, Justin and Scott, in the Chief’s travelogue?"
Ian’s face went blank, then the tips of his ears gradually turned red, and he angrily yelled at Colton: "Don’t spout nonsense, we are incredibly pure!"
Colton clicked his tongue twice with deep implication. This time, Ian was the one who turned his face away, refusing to talk to Colton anymore. The squad members all giggled, but a few people showed slight discomfort:
"Why is it that nowadays, whenever people see two beastmen being close, they laugh like that? Don’t insult their friendship!"
A Sub-Beast pouted, retorting: "If you guys don’t like it, don’t stop others. Everyone has their own preferences. We like seeing two beastmen love each other. If you guys aren’t like that, why take it to heart?"
A beastman unhappily said: "No one forbids you, but there must be limits. Don’t just overthink it when you see two beastmen or two Sub-Beasts being close, and then use such indecent gazes and laughter. Have you thought about how they feel?"
Those being criticized pouted unhappily, feeling that beastman was truly making a mountain out of a molehill.
If Kaelen had been present, he would have given a round of applause to the beastman who just spoke. Indeed, no one forbade people from loving freely, and loving someone of the same gender wasn’t a bad thing either. But the bad part was that some people who liked same-sex love had a somewhat extreme attitude.
If they just secretly supported, shipped, or quietly followed a couple, no one would say anything. But they deliberately performed actions that could be considered perverted, making the close friends sometimes fall into extremely awkward situations, even causing the friendship between the two close friends to shatter.
There was a case where a female fan followed an idol from a boy band. Later, this female fan became the girlfriend of one of the members in that boy band. Unfortunately, her secondary social media account was exposed, and her posts, including age-restricted content, were immediately brought to light.
In these posts, there were all sorts of 21+ short stories, featuring heavy genres of all kinds. Not only did the members of the boy band know, but their families also found out. Ultimately, the boy band disbanded because they didn’t know how to face each other. Just looking at each other, those series of perverted descriptions would pop up in their minds; they couldn’t act normal even if they wanted to.
Or like two male friends who had been friends from childhood to adulthood, getting into the same university, being so close that they stuck together wherever they went. One day, one of them got a girlfriend and considered getting married. A classmate suddenly ran in front of that male friend’s family, hurling insults and severe criticisms.
Not stopping there, the couple’s fans continuously sent threatening and harassing messages to that girlfriend and her family.
This not only ruined the male friend’s marriage prospects but also fractured the more than twenty-year friendship of the two male friends. Their two families completely cut ties with each other from then on.
Therefore, simple adoration was one thing, but a twisted mentality was another.
The peaceful afternoon passed just like that. In the middle of the night, a stealthy silhouette slipped out of the oak forest, tiptoeing and leaping in long strides, disappearing into the darkness.
In the tent, Ian, who was resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. The Black Rabbit’s ears twitched slightly, gritting his teeth in anger.
Colton, I knew you were unreliable!
