Xayah's Anger

Xayah was a Vastaya, one who had left her tribe because she hated how its members lived in harmony with humans, only to find herself unable to locate her tribe ever again.

Here was what had happened. Xayah had originally been quite happy with her tribe's home, but one day a group of people arrived. They cleared the wilderness, cut down trees, and settled there.

That wasn't a problem in itself. Everyone was just trying to survive, and having more people around could even make things safer.

But these humans wanted to live comfortably, free from interference by wild magic, so they used a massive stone to bind the magic.

And that caused problems for Xayah's tribe.

At first, food just became harder to find. Then her people began to feel weak. In the end, not a single child was born for a whole year, and the power of magic was fading from their bodies.

Their feathers, once dazzling with every color of the rainbow and shimmering with starlight and splendor, grew dull. Some were left with only one or two colors.

They had once been able to fly with just one wing, but now they couldn't fly at all. They could only walk on the ground.

But who had ever seen a bird that walked on the ground?

So Xayah had proposed attacking the human village and reclaiming their right to use magic freely. But the elders refused. Instead, they led the tribe away.

Xayah was unhappy with this, but there was nothing she could do. She could only watch her people leave. After their attempts to dissuade her failed, they used magic to make sure she couldn't find where the tribe had gone.

Xayah knew exactly why they had done it: they were afraid of retaliation.

There were more humans than Vastaya. Humans were weak, but some of them were powerful, and they had strange abilities and tools.

For the humans, wiping out a single Vastaya tribe would be a piece of cake. But Xayah didn't see it that way. If they could just destroy the stone that bound the magic, wild magic itself could become their weapon, driving away the humans who kept squeezing them out of their homes!

And in an environment overflowing with magic, the Vastaya would grow stronger, too!

Take her, for example! In a place rich in magic, her feathers would be endless, sharper, and more powerful.

So, despite never having gone to school, she genuinely believed that if the Vastaya united and freed the magic, they could easily defeat the humans.

But the other Vastaya didn't think so. Many young Vastaya supported her, but for now, the elders still ran the world. She was practically an exile from her tribe, so she had little influence.

"I really don't know what those people are thinking."

She sighed, feeling the abundant magical energy in the air, and thought helplessly.

She had just been turned away by another tribe. They said they had no intention of fighting the humans, since they had always lived in harmony.

But Xayah could easily see the signs of magic fading from them. The beavers who had once been able to bite through trees were now struggling to even chew sugarcane. This was what happened when Vastaya moved away from magic, yet they still stubbornly refused to see it. It really made Xayah angry.

But there was nothing she could do, was there?

She came to a clear little stream and crouched down. The magic here was abundant, so the fruit and other food tasted delicious.

The fruit was incredibly sweet, the flowers beautiful and fragrant, and even the spring water tasted sweet, brimming with vitality.

Xayah crouched beside the stream and began to drink. A deep sense of ease welled up inside her, making her feel wonderfully comfortable.

"Fresh spring water infused with magic really is the best..."

She lifted her head, praising the water, but promptly spat it out.

Because...

"Ah, that feels great..."

Li Ke was standing by the river, relieving himself.

Shen had just finished filling his water container, and his expression was hard to describe. Li Ke had waited until he was done before relieving himself, but Shen still didn't know what to say about it.

Calling Li Ke a pervert wouldn't exactly be fair, since it was just a river, after all...

"You're going to get divine retribution for this."

Shen calmly stated his opinion and turned around to leave without hesitation.

But the instant the words left his mouth, the branch above Li Ke suddenly snapped and came crashing down on him.

Li Ke scrambled to dodge, barely avoiding being hit by the branch.

"See? Divine retribution."

Shen gave a cold laugh. He had clearly seen a Vastaya shoot a feather and snap the branch above Li Ke.

He had no intention of stopping it. After all, what Li Ke had done was...

Just asking for it.

"Ah! How was I supposed to know someone was there? Besides, she's upstream!"

Li Ke hurriedly dodged, but the incoming feather still sliced his face. The feather was far too sharp.

"That's what you get for provoking divine retribution!"

Shen spoke with righteous conviction, feeling that Li Ke deserved a good beating.

But Li Ke was just as baffled.

He had checked before relieving himself. There was no one downstream! Who knew why an ADC had suddenly spawned in?

And Xayah was upstream!

She wouldn't have drunk anything nasty. She'd just been grossed out, that was all.

But it was too late to explain now.

"I'm going to kill you!!"

Xayah charged over in a fury. She had finally found a water source she liked, only for Li Ke to ruin it! How was she supposed to come here for water again?

Humans and Vastaya really couldn't live together peacefully!

Clinging to that conviction, Xayah plucked several of her feathers without hesitation and shot them at Li Ke.

"Wait! At least let me put my pants on! And you didn't even drink any of it, did you?! You're upstream!"

Li Ke hurriedly dodged, but his half-pulled-up pants made it incredibly hard to move. He hadn't brought a weapon either. He'd figured he was only going to fetch water, and Shen was with him. What did he have to worry about?

If he'd known this would happen, he wouldn't have done that!

But who could have known he'd run into her here?!

And he'd changed his route so much already! How had Xayah still managed to run into him?!

Did he really have some kind of knack for attracting trouble?!

"Enough talk! Die!"

Xayah didn't care what he said. She fired off one feather after another, each one aimed straight at a vital spot.

Since Xayah had no real killing intent, Shen just watched from the side, laughing. But Li Ke could barely step aside with his pants in the way, so when faced with the incoming feathers, he made a difficult decision.

He spun around quickly, presenting the part of him with the most padding to block them and keep them away from his vitals. Then he dove and grabbed Irelia's ancestral sword.

The pain in his butt told Li Ke what had happened: he'd become a great rooster. But Xayah still wouldn't let up, firing a whole flurry of feathers at him.

This time, Li Ke finally had a chance to fight back.

Flames appeared out of nowhere, and the feathers that had been about to pin Li Ke to the ground turned to ash in midair.

Taking advantage of the moment, Li Ke plucked out the feathers, pulled up his pants, and glared at Xayah through clenched teeth.

"Looks like we'll have to fight before we can make introductions!"