Chapter 193: The Shaman
It was not long till the rogues, still bound in chains but less restrained, began to sniff around the open space before them. Hye Yang shifted backwards in fright, like she was horrified of being touched by them or even coming close to them.
Her act may fool everyone but it was not fooling Mira, Mira knew very well how this was going to play out. There was no more excuses she could say nor lies she could tell. It was over for Hye Yang once and for all.
One of the beast rogues, the one with the biggest body and muscles sniffed his nose on the ground and his ears immediately stiffened. His nose followed a trail that led directly to Hye Yang. "It is her!!" The rogue yelled. "The person right there was the one who paid me to remove the seeds from the strange looking ground!" He yelled.
The other rogues still sniffed around before following the exact trail. "The owner of this scent paid me to attack the man who would meet her in the darkness. All I did was do what I was paid for!" One yelled aloud. It did not take long other two to meet up with the two rogues who confessed and they clashed with each other while chasing the scent.
While their eyes were bound and they could not see, their noses was very much intact. "That is the scent of the woman who paid me! She was a fox! I remember how she looks clearly. Unbind my eyes and I will point her out to you!" The third beast man yelled. They sounded desperate to say the truth so they could run away from here.
By now, gasps erupted amongst the beast people. Hye Yang stared at the rogues in terror and screamed. "Get away from me, I do not know you!! You all could have been bribed for all I know! Go away from me, I am terrified by rogues!!" She blabbed. Hye Yang clutched her fingers tightly to her body and kept on scurrying backwards on the ground the closer they advanced closer to her. "Save me, somebody, I do not know what they are doing!" She begged.
On a typical day, the beast people would have rushed to Hye Yang’s aid but today, not a single soul lifted a finger to advance towards her and help her. They all stared at her and what unfolded before them. They let the accusations sink into their heads and began to believe.
Hye Yang stared at the silent reaction to her pleading and at the people who murmured among themselves. She knew no one was buying her act.
"I recognise that woman’s voice! It HAS to be that fox!" The last beast rogue stated. He fell flat on the ground and began to rub his body against the ground. "Please, mighty ruler, spare me! All I wanted to do was feed and nothing else! I meant no harm!!" The rogue begged.
Ming Tao let his gaze fall on the rogues before him then at the woman who he once trusted with his life till she tried to drown her own sister and a lion cub in the river. He felt no pity, since that day till now, Hye Yang had not changed one bit and she had even become worse. Ming Tao knew Alpha Wolf Wei Jie was watching, he needed the wolf to see with his own eyes how deceitful Hye Yang truly was and that was why he was letting the reveal happen little by little so not just him but everyone in the crowd would see through her lies.
Once these many beast people witnessed this, there would be no going back. The beast sisters and brothers and cousins from other tribes would spread the word and Hye Yang would be remembered for the evil that she truly is.
Hopefully, it would change the narrative about his wife, Mira Yang from being the demon of the forest.
"Are you still not willing to confess, Hye Yang?" Ming Tao asked in a low tone.
Hye Yang shot her head up to face him, still shivering in terror. She knew there was no way out but she would not be the one to say these things with her own mouth. As long as she did not accept the claim by herself, it would simply be speculation, at least that was what she taught.
Hye Yang crawled on the ground Ming Tao’s feet and circled her arms around us legs. She placed her head on his feet and began to cry. "Please, my Lord, I have lived with you nearly all my life. I have always been there for you. Please look onto me with an eye of justice and do not let this well crafted lie be blamed on me.
Your subject is innocent!" Tears poured out Hye Yang’s eyes so much that it wet the ground Ming Tao stepped on. Ming Tao raised his hand to his face and massaged his temples. Her pleas and cries had gotten old but he was letting himself stay relaxed. This was only the beginning of what he had in stall for her.
Ming Tao shifted his leg back but Hye Yang curled further onto him, followed his movement and did not let him go, still pleading for mercy.
"Even when the facts all point to her, she still chooses to lie." Swept through the crowd into Hye Yang’s ears.
"Isn’t she the loved second eldest child of the fox hobbit? I thought she was the good one." Came another voice.
"It would be better to say the truth now and receive a lesser sentence than to lie to the very end. So shameful."
"This woman lived with my family, how could she be this cruel? I do not want to believe it. For all we know, the demon of the forest could bace planned this against her!" Arose another voice.
"Yes! There is no way that sweet fox would do such a thing. It must be the demon, her hateful sister!"
"But would rogues lie knowing their lives meant close to nothing? How far could that demon actually go?"
"Those tears seem real to me. We need answers." Whispered through the air constantly. A smile crept onto Hye Yang’s lips at the divided chatter. Some of these people spoke in her favour and some spoke against her. Her crocodile tears were working! These people were being deceived!
"My lord! Please have mercy on meee!" Hye Yang wailed even louder. The divided voices clashing in the air gave her the confidence she needed to push this act further. As long as beast people from other tribes did not stand against her, she had a chance to get out of this mess.
"Bind the rogues back to a spot." Ming Tao said to his warriors. The cheetah warriors bowed their heads down before carrying out his command. The rogues struggled when being handled and constantly pleading for mercy while admitting that Hye Yang was the beast woman who bribed them.
"Why would I lie when my life is on the line? I already have everything taken away from me, I just want to live!!" One of the rogues kept on shouting. This made Ming Tao sneer. The noise from them and Hye Yang was getting on his nerves.
"Bind their mouths too by a cloth." He said to his cheetah warriors. Two of the warriors scurried away to look for sack cloth while the others held them in place. Ming Tao waited for his other warriors to return and when they did, the rogues were bound by their mouths. Now all that was heard vividly were Hye Yang’s wailing.
"Shut up or your tongue will be cut off." Ming Tao ordered.
It did not take a second more to keep Hye Yang from speaking. She closed her mouth shut but she did not let Ming Tao go.
"Bring in our esteemed guests. If she would not say the truth, then the truth will be forced out of her." Ming Tao announced. The cheetah warriors who went to fetch sack cloth to bind the mouths of the rogues got on one knee and bowed. Now they stood up and picked up a wood carved flute that was tied to their waist, right on the belts of their fur pants and held it to their mouths. They blew in sync, a strange melody that everyone understood to be a signal.
The drumming resumed and people began to look around for what else was coming, rather, who else. Hye Yang raised her head up from Ming Tao’s feet and snuck a gaze around. All her eyes met were the legs and lower body of the beast people and when she looked further up, she saw a lot of naked bottoms hidden underneath fur skins.
Hye Yang’s face creased and she immediately raised her body up to gaze around. The air surrounding them felt thickened and a strange aura roamed in their midst.
Hye Yang felt her body hair stand as the realisation hit her. A shaman. They had brought in a shaman and a powerful one too.