“Among us humans, hypocrisy is a death sentence. If you cannot give me a proper explanation, I will chop off your head myself in the square of this beastman town.”
Under her piercing glare, the old lizard patriarch collapsed completely, his scales flaring slightly in terror.
He crawled on the ground, his voice trembling uncontrollably: “Medicine… yes, there is medicine, but… we… our tribesmen are too many, far too many… it is inevitable that there would be oversights!”
“This is unavoidable! It was an unintentional mistake; you cannot treat me this way!”
“Oversight? Unintentional mistake?”
Cheng Shuili’s voice carried undisguised sarcasm. “I personally oversaw the bear-race distributing the medicine according to the registry, and every beastman who received it was recorded! You tell me this is an oversight? An unintentional mistake?”
She sneered and took a step forward, her shadow engulfing the shivering lizard.
“I see you do not intend to take this opportunity.”
“Since that is the case, Xiong Ji—”
Cheng Shuili drew out the words. Before the sound had even faded, the old lizard patriarch shrieked: “I was only following orders! Really! I did not want to do this either! But a single beastman’s life is worth one million game coins, that is one million game coins!”
One million game coins.
Cheng Shuili suddenly laughed, but the mirth did not reach her eyes; it was cold and bone-chilling.
The guy had confessed, but not entirely. He was struggling in his final moments, stubborn to the end. Cheng Shuili found it tiresome.
“So you want one million game coins? Even if you want it, you have to be alive to spend it. Do you understand?”
She stopped wasting words and gestured to Xiong Ji.
Xiong Ji immediately stepped forward.
“It was the Rat King’s attendant!”
A second before Xiong Ji could act, the lizard shrieked, naming the mastermind behind it all.
The bear-race beastmen present were instantly in an uproar.
But this was naturally within Cheng Shuili’s expectations. She felt satisfied, yet she did not show it on her face; instead, she swept a cold gaze over every surprised bear-race beastman.
The collapsed old lizard was too terrified to recover for a long time.
Cheng Shuili turned directly to Xiong Ji and issued her orders:
“Now, immediately quarantine these few severe cases! Force-feed them the medicine!”
Her gaze swept over the few beastmen who looked resistant, her tone cold and hard: “If they won’t drink it, pour it down their throats!”
“Furthermore, seal off all beastman encampments completely and conduct a thorough check. Do not leave a single place where someone might be hiding. Once you find a beastman who hasn’t taken the medicine, bind the patriarch and bring them to the square! Especially this one!”
Cheng Shuili’s gaze flicked over the old lizard without a shred of pity.
Xiong Ji responded in a deep voice, and with a wave of his hand, bear-race guards immediately stepped forward to carry out the orders.
The news spread like wildfire through the beastman town.
By the time Cheng Shuili finished handling the lizard-race affairs and arrived at the square with Xiong Ji and the guard team, many beastmen from various races had already gathered after hearing the news.
They whispered among themselves, surrounding the area in multiple layers. Their eyes wandered between the bound old lizard in the center and the other minor tribe patriarchs being escorted in by the bear-race guards. The air was filled with unease and suspicion.
“What happened? We only received notice to come to the square, we don’t know anything else.”
“Your patriarch didn’t explain clearly? They said the medicine wasn’t distributed properly.”
“Not distributed properly? Isn’t the medicine distributed by the patriarchs themselves? How can it not be distributed properly? What? Are their own tribesmen’s lives not lives?”
“Isn’t that interesting? I heard this has something to do with the Rat King.”
When those two words came out, the whispering grew even quieter.
“The Rat King? What is going on? Tell me in detail.”
“Didn’t that human make it clear when they arrived? It seems to be some kind of wager with the Rat King…”
“Oh~ I was wondering why that human would be so kind. So that’s how it is. What is the situation now?”
Several beastmen exchanged intelligence with winks and nods, attracting the attention of many others.
The specific situation had been made clear by the bear-race guards when they were making arrests. There are no secrets in this world, and since gossip is in a beastman’s nature, the matter spread quickly.
“The Rat King did this? Is it true?”
Although the voice was suppressed, there were beastmen with pricked-up ears everywhere; naturally, it could not be hidden.
“That old lizard confessed, saying it was the Rat King’s attendant who did it. Everyone knows about this position; if it wasn’t the Rat King’s own order, how could they possibly do such a thing? They say the attendant did it, but in reality, it was the Rat King’s instruction.”
He spoke with such certainty that many beastmen shrank back in fear.
After all, in the eyes of beastmen from all races, the words “Rat King” represented supreme authority.
Even if the Rat King did something sordid, they only dared to exchange knowing glances and winks. If they spoke it aloud and were heard by the Rat King or the little mice, the consequences would be dire.
The one speaking was a fox-race beastman, wearing luxurious clothing, clearly someone of high status in his tribe. He didn’t understand the hidden complications; his eyes were filled with the excitement of having caught a major piece of gossip.
“Everyone, quiet!”
Xiong Ji’s low roar rolled over the square like thunder, instantly suppressing all noisy debate.
The bear-race guards stood sternly around the perimeter, their invisible majesty making the beastmen subconsciously hold their breath.
Cheng Shuili then walked slowly to the center of the square. She did not look at the bound patriarchs, her gaze sweeping over the entire crowd with calm yet heavy weight.
“It seems some words have already spread.”
Her voice was clear, devoid of anger, yet every word struck the hearts of the beastmen present. “That is correct. I do indeed have a deal with the Rat King; I am responsible for resolving the plague, and he pays the price. This is fair.”
She shifted her tone, her voice suddenly turning cold: “But this does not mean that anyone can use your tribesmen’s lives as bargaining chips in this deal! Nor does it mean that your patriarchs’ stupidity and the dark intentions of certain superiors can override the most basic rule of all: survival!”
Her gaze fell upon the bound patriarchs, as if she were looking at a pile of useless trash.
“These few, following the hints of the Rat King’s attendant, intentionally withheld the medicine, leaving their own people to struggle in pain and insect-infestation, all to show their pathetic loyalty to the Rat King. I want to ask everyone present—”
Cheng Shuili’s voice rose sharply, carrying a power that pierced through hearts: “Since when did your lives become tools for others to prove their loyalty?!”
The square was dead silent.
Many beastmen lowered their heads, clenching their claws.
The looks that were originally just for watching a spectacle gradually became tinged with anger and lingering fear.
That’s right, what if it had been them who were abandoned today?
“I will state this clearly today,” she said, surveying the crowd, every word resounding. “The Rat King has handed the right of treatment to me, so here, until this plague is completely eradicated, my words are the law!”
“Whoever dares to be hypocritical, withholding medicine and hiding people—no matter if they are a patriarch or some Rat King’s attendant—their fate will be the same as theirs!”
She raised her hand, pointing to the bound patriarchs.
“Xiong Ji!”
“Present!”
“Give these patriarchs who treat their tribesmen’s lives like grass thirty lashes in public! Let this be a warning! After the punishment, escort them to the front of the Rat King’s palace, and let him see for himself what the loyalty of his subordinates looks like!”
“Yes!”
Xiong Ji did not hesitate and personally took up the whip.
The heavy whip fell through the air, and the dull thuds of it striking flesh, along with the patriarchs’ wails, spread clearly throughout the square.
Every lash seemed to strike at the lingering luck and fear in the hearts of some beastmen.
Cheng Shuili stood there, watching with an expressionless face.
She intended to use the skin and flesh of these few idiots to firmly establish her own rules, and also to use the Rat King’s own hands to shatter his underhanded schemes.
Xiong Ji’s force was perfectly measured; as a former bear-race patriarch, he had naturally carried out many such punishments.
The whip carried a clever force; every strike whistled through the air, and it was excruciatingly painful when it landed on their backs!
At the first lash, the old lizard patriarch seemed to have his very bones pulled out, screaming as he tried to collapse to the ground, but because the ropes binding him prevented him from moving, he could only writhe in an attempt to escape the agony.
When the second lash fell, he seemed to finally recognize reality. With a ferocious expression, he looked at Cheng Shuili and roared: “I am the Rat King’s man! You… how dare you—”
Before the old lizard patriarch could finish his roar, Xiong Ji flicked his wrist, and the third lash, carrying a sharp whistling wind, struck precisely across his mouth. Skin split instantly, and blood mixed with broken teeth sprayed out, driving all subsequent threats and clamor back down, leaving only painful whimpers.
Cheng Shuili did not even let her gaze flicker; she merely said coldly: “Continue.”
The whipping continued in the silent square, with only the whistling of the whip and the irrepressible groans of the punished.
“Lord Rat King is here!”
This shout was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring up ripples across the silent square.
The crowd of beastmen stirred, instinctively parting to create a path.
They saw the Rat King walking slowly, surrounded by his attendants.
Cheng Shuili did not stand up; she even crossed her legs.
She knew she was on the Rat King’s turf, and she knew all the rules of the safe zone.
That was why she did not utter insults toward this King who was a gentleman on the surface but a villain in the shadows.
The Rat King ignored Cheng Shuili entirely. His gaze swept over the countless beastmen, and at a glance, he saw the few patriarchs in the center of the square, whipped until they were bloody and mangled. His expression instantly darkened.
“What is the meaning of this?” The Rat King tapped his staff on the floor, asking as if he truly knew nothing: “Xiong Ji, if I remember correctly, I only gave you temporary management rights. Punishing other patriarchs? You should not have this authority, should you?”
Xiong Ji glanced at him.
The hierarchy in the beastman world was strict. Ordinarily, Xiong Ji should have stopped immediately, feeling fear, or even trembling as he apologized to the Rat King.
But the King’s orders were clearly above all else.
Without hesitation, Xiong Ji raised his hand again and, right in front of the Rat King, administered another lash to the old lizard!
The Rat King’s face turned livid, his eyes practically spitting fire.
Xiong Ji’s unhesitating lash was like a fierce slap to his face in front of everyone!
“Xiong Ji! You are insolent!” the Rat King roared, slamming his staff heavily on the ground.
Cheng Shuili was mindful of the limits; after all, this was someone else’s territory, and she couldn’t be too reckless, right?
She called out to Xiong Ji at the appropriate time: “You may stop now.”
Xiong Ji immediately put the whip away and stood behind Cheng Shuili with a stern face.
The Rat King finally had to look at Cheng Shuili.
As their gazes met, Cheng Shuili stood up slowly.
She met the Rat King’s murderous gaze, but a look of perfectly timed confusion appeared on her face: “Lord Rat King, what kind of anger is this? Xiong Ji was merely executing my orders, and my authority was granted by you personally. Isn’t all of this to resolve the plague as quickly as possible?”
She paused intentionally, her gaze sweeping over the groaning patriarchs on the ground, and her tone turned helpless: “I just did not expect that the greatest obstacle during the treatment would come from within.”
“Lord Rat King, there are those who are hypocritical. These fellows withheld life-saving medicine from the critically ill tribesmen, letting them wait for death. Such behavior is not only sabotaging the treatment, but also challenging the rules you set and damaging your prestige. If I do not punish them strictly, how can I convince the masses? And how can I ensure the plague is completely eradicated?”
What the truth of the matter was, all the beastmen present knew in their hearts.
But Cheng Shuili’s veiled criticism was impeccable. In front of everyone, the Rat King really had no choice but to go along with it, even though doing so would alienate the hearts of these patriarchs.
But compared to the loyalty of these small tribes, the Rat King naturally valued his own face more.
However, being choked so uncomfortably in public was a first for him in many years.
The Rat King could not swallow this, yet he had to take the step Cheng Shuili offered. He twitched his lips and finally squeezed out a sound from between his teeth:
“To think there was… such a thing!”
“These idiots, daring to be so hypocritical, disregarding the lives of their tribesmen—they truly… deserve their punishment!”
His words were tantamount to endorsing Cheng Shuili’s handling of the matter, and they completely cut off the last hope of those few patriarchs.
They collapsed on the ground, not daring to say anything in front of the Rat King, their eyes filled with nothing but despair.
The Rat King turned to Cheng Shuili, barely maintaining a surface-level calm: “You handled it correctly. Since I have entrusted the treatment matters entirely to you, I naturally trust that you can clear away all obstacles. Only…”
He shifted his tone, attempting to regain some ground, “If such things happen in the future, I hope you can inform me in advance, so as to avoid unnecessary… misunderstandings.”
He spoke the last two words very slowly, his tone filled with threats.
Cheng Shuili sneered inwardly, but on the surface, she was entirely compliant, even revealing a brilliant smile.
Since the Rat King had come, she certainly couldn’t let him leave so easily.
Wasn’t this Hongmen Feast she had set up today meant to solve the trouble of the Rat King making things difficult behind her back?
If there was one thing most worthy of trust, it was the system’s contract.
“Lord Rat King is truly thoughtful. However, since you are here, and the beastmen of all tribes are also here, today can be considered an auspicious day.” Cheng Shuili said with a smile: “Since no one wants this situation to happen again, why don’t we sign a trade contract together under everyone’s witness?”
The Rat King looked at the brilliant, somewhat blinding smile on Cheng Shuili’s face, and alarm bells rang in his heart.
He naturally understood why Cheng Shuili wanted to sign a contract, but he understood even better that resolving the plague was the heartfelt desire of all the races.
Under the gaze of all, he could not refuse at all.
Rate on N.U.
