Chapter 534: Evil Woman
“Hey, have you heard?”
A rabbit-man wearing simple leather armor whispered to his companion:
“In the Southern Jungle, a huge gap suddenly appeared in that dense thicket. According to Old Baku who went to see it, the opening is big enough to fit one, no, two carriages through!”
“Really?”
The drinking rabbit-man expressed doubt at his companion’s words, frowning as he quietly asked:
“That thicket is famously covered in thorns, tough and flexible. Even the entire ‘Farming Team’ probably couldn’t open a gap there. Must be Old Baku talking nonsense again.”
After speaking, this seemingly alcohol-loving rabbit-man took another large gulp of ale.
However, the rabbit-man hunter sitting across from him wasn’t pleased. Those who spread rumors can’t stand others calling their information false. Though his companion tactfully suggested it was “Old Baku” talking nonsense, this statement also denied the rabbit-man hunter’s judgment.
Thus, in his urgency, the rabbit-man hunter raised his voice considerably as he heatedly defended:
“How could it be nonsense? Old Baku might spout drunken nonsense, but this matter was witnessed by the entire Hunting Team. They couldn’t all be lying, could they?”
Then, perhaps to attract attention or simply to share his speculation, the rabbit-man hunter adopted a mysterious expression and cautiously said:
“Hey, do you think this might be another disaster brought by that ‘Evil Girl’? That little beast has caused so many ‘calamities’ – this recent occurrence might very well be an omen.”
When mentioning “Evil Girl,” the rabbit-man hunter’s tone suddenly became very assertive. His words implied he believed this to be fact, particularly when emphasizing the term “disaster” with extra weight.
This time, the rabbit-man hunter’s words didn’t go unnoticed as before. When he loudly mentioned “disaster” and “Evil Girl,” almost the entire tavern of rabbit-men simultaneously fell silent. Everyone’s eyes instantly focused on this rabbit-man hunter.
After a brief moment of silence, an explosion of hushed whispers erupted:
“This must be another disaster brought by ‘Evil Girl’! I’ve always said the whole tribe won’t know peace as long as she’s around!”
“Heavens, even those resilient thickets have been torn open! This is our ancestors warning us! If we let that little monster continue living, the entire tribe will face catastrophe!”
“She can’t be allowed to live any longer! I’m going to petition the Elder Council to execute her! My child is only two years old – what if disaster strikes her?”
“Count me in! Last year’s berry crop failure was her doing! I just scolded her a few times, and she cursed our family’s cattle to death!”For a moment, everyone in the tavern was cursing this “Evil Girl” who sounded quite young. To the ignorant rabbitmen, it seemed all misfortunes in life stemmed from the “Evil Girl’s” curses, and every coincidence was the “Ancestors’” divine intervention!
“The cow had a difficult birth? It couldn’t possibly be because I cheaped out and fed it coarse wheat bran—it must be the ‘Evil Girl’s’ curse at work!”
“The crops failed? It definitely wasn’t because I was too lazy to weed, causing the wheat sprouts to wither—it must be the ‘Evil Girl’ cursing my fields!”
“Tripped while walking? I certainly wasn’t fantasizing about the beautiful widow next door while walking—this is the Evil Girl scheming against me!”
In short, in the rabbitmen’s eyes, this so-called “Evil Girl” was the root of all evil, the source of the world’s misfortunes, and… an existence that must be eradicated. Even though she had never violated any village taboos, her very existence was wrong.
Such gossip always spreads like wildfire. When all rabbitmen were discussing this so-called “Evil Girl,” she seemed to truly become a heinous criminal, a bloodthirsty terrorist. Even with just a slightly rational thought, one could understand that the “calamities” they spoke of were mostly consequences of their own actions. But… who could expect a group of illiterate rabbitmen still in a primitive tribal era to master such an advanced skill as “thinking”?
Finally, when the discussion reached its peak, a drunken, obese rabbitman stood up. It seemed he wanted to show off in front of the crowd, so this Fat Rabbitman loudly announced:
“I’ve got good news for you all about dealing with that Evil Girl… hehe, there’s hope! I’ll be honest—my nephew is the scribe of the Elder Council. He told me they’ve already made plans. At tomorrow’s ‘Harvest’ festival, that ‘Evil Girl’ will be offered as a ‘Living Dead Offering’ to our great Ancestors. Once the Ancestors are pleased, all our troubles will surely be resolved!”
The Fat Rabbitman proudly shared this news, and the “audience’s” reaction didn’t disappoint him. After another brief moment of silence, all the rabbitmen in the tavern cheered together:
“Haha, excellent! This is the wisest decision the Elder Council has ever made!”
“Finally, this year’s crops will be secure, and my donkey’s illness should be cured too!”
“I knew it—that little monster would meet her end sooner or later. Even if no one punished her, the Ancestors would unleash their wrath. Now the Ancestors have finally shown their power!”
Instantly, the previously anxious tavern regained its harmonious atmosphere. An outsider might have thought they were genuinely celebrating some great success. The Fat Rabbitman who had delivered the news squinted happily under everyone’s attention.
Amid the tavern’s cheerful atmosphere, only one table wasn’t drinking heartily or cheering—that was the seat of the Female Knight Audreylinda.
In fact, ever since hearing these “rabbitmen” discussing the “Evil Girl,” Audreylinda had been intently listening to their every word. The more she heard, the more something felt wrong to the Female Knight.The so-called “monster” described by these rabbit-folk was far from the heinous creature they claimed. Stripping away the clearly baseless vilification, the “Evil Girl” they spoke of was merely a child who stood out a bit. The reason she became the “Evil Girl” in everyone’s mouths was simply because these rabbit-folk wanted a weak target to satisfy their twisted desire to bully others. The so-called disasters—like a cow’s difficult birth or a poor berry harvest—were nothing but excuses for their cowardice to shift blame… How could such things be related to a bullied little girl?
Without a shred of doubt, Audreylinda, who had been listening in the corner for quite some time, immediately arrived at a precise definition for this so-called “Evil Girl”—she was nothing more than a “punching bag” for all the bullied, life-weary rabbit-folk to vent their frustrations and shift blame onto. Or, to put it more accurately, she was just a pitiful, helpless little rabbit, utterly and completely “innocent”!
(End of Chapter)