Dispute

Although she had also gone to pick papayas today, she had only joined in for fun and hadn't helped much, so she felt a bit guilty receiving this portion of meat.

The beastmen queuing in front of her all received more than four or five catties of meat. Lin Ye thought she didn't want to receive that much; just a small piece would be fine.

Just as she was thinking of asking the gray-eyed beastman to cut a smaller piece for her, she heard him speak.

"Are you the female that Yang brought back?" As he spoke, he sized her up from head to toe. "Tsk tsk, so short and small. His taste is really nothing to write home about."

Hearing this, Lin Ye didn't know what was going on, nor did she know if this beastman was targeting her or Yang. Since she had just arrived, she didn't understand why this beastman wanted to target her and Yang, and she didn't want to cause trouble, so she chose to ignore his words.

She gestured, "Hello, I only need a small piece of meat, about the size of a palm." She just wanted to get her meat and quickly leave this place.

Unexpectedly, the gray-eyed beastman put down the stone knife in his hand, crossed his arms, and looked at Lin Ye, saying, "One look at your small body and I can tell you don't have much strength. Today's fruit was probably brought back by Yang for you. Since you didn't work, on what basis do you claim meat?"

Lin Ye could be sure he was intentionally nitpicking, but what he said was also true—the papayas were indeed brought back by Yang for her. However, she wasn't angry at all. She asked, "The fruit was brought back by Yang for me, and I didn't do any work, so I'm not allowed to receive meat, is that right?"

The gray-eyed beastman nodded and said, "That's right."

"Then shouldn't my portion of meat be given to Yang instead?"

"No!" The gray-eyed beastman immediately objected. "His task today was to hunt. Helping you was his own choice. On what basis should he be given an extra portion of meat?"

"Oh, I see." Lin Ye nodded and said, "So as long as someone receives help, they don't get meat, and those who help others don't get extra meat either, correct?"

The gray-eyed beastman hesitated but still nodded. "Yes."

After the gray-eyed beastman nodded, the female beastman who had spoken to Lin Ye earlier expressed her dissatisfaction.

"He, do you mean I shouldn't receive meat either?"

This female was named Cao, and her mate was also in Yang's hunting squad. After gathering fruit, her mate had also helped her carry it back. Not only Lin Ye and Cao, but there were also three other females whose mates had helped them carry their fruit back.

In the tribe, gathering was usually done by females. When they went gathering, a hunting squad would accompany them for protection. Sometimes, the mate of a female would be in that hunting squad, and she would ask him to help carry the gathered food back. They did this not because the females lacked strength, but simply because they enjoyed the love and protection from their mates.

Because the hunting squads protecting the gathering females rotated, basically every female could enjoy help from her mate. They had been doing this for years, and no beastman had ever objected. Yet suddenly today, He said that receiving help meant not getting food?

They immediately stepped forward and surrounded him, demanding an explanation.

He was stunned for a moment. He had only said Lin Ye couldn't receive meat; what did it have to do with these females?

"You all can receive it, it's just this small female who cannot."

"Why is it that only I cannot receive it?" Lin Ye asked.

Exactly, why? The beastmen standing nearby also wondered about this. The commotion on their side was too loud, attracting Yang's attention.

"What's going on?"

Hearing Yang's voice, the surrounding beastmen parted to make way for him. Lin Ye whispered a few words to him, explaining the issue clearly in just a few sentences.

After listening, Yang looked at He. "Why can't she receive meat?"

He felt quite frustrated. He had only wanted to find a bone to pick, so why did this small female have so much nonsense to say, even attracting a crowd of beastmen to watch? Seeing Yang approach made him even more annoyed. He said impatiently, "Because she is not a member of our tribe, alright!"

Yang furrowed his brows. "He, what do you mean by that?"

Seeing Yang's anger, He provoked him even further.

"She originally isn't a member of our beastman tribe, is she?"

Seeing the two outstanding warriors of the tribe about to clash, the onlookers quickly took a few steps back. Best not to get involved!

"She isn't now, but she will be a member of our tribe very soon!"

"Regardless, she still isn't a member of our tribe right now."

"You..."

Seeing that Yang was truly angry, Lin Ye was afraid he would do something impulsive, so she quickly pulled him back.

"Yang, let it go."

It was a fact that she had asked Yang for help today, and it was also a fact that she wasn't a member of the Miao Tribe. There was nothing more to say about these two points. Yang quickly calmed down as he also thought of this.

He said to He, "Lin Ye's gathering was approved by the clan chief. That means she is qualified to receive food. Your words don't count."

He snorted, "The clan chief is your father. Of course he would favor you."

"What are you all gathering here for?" At this moment, the clan chief's voice came from behind them.