N-A-A Chapter 325: Xixi, Have You Ever Blamed Him?
Chapter 325: Xixi, Have You Ever Blamed Him?
"I don’t know what the Regeneration Flower is for, but the Clan Leader of the Black Panther Tribe demanded I bring it back. Otherwise, our caravan will die at her hands."
Huang Ying walked up to the black bear male. "The Clan Leader of the Black Panther Tribe sent you?"
"Yes. I have Crystal Stones. I can use them to trade with you."
Huang Ying gave him a cold look, then suddenly let out a laugh. "Alright, I accept. Take out the Crystal Stones."
Seeing that she agreed, the black bear male happily rummaged around for his Crystal Stones. But just as he pulled them out, a sharp pain shot through his neck.
His eyes widened in shock. He stared at Huang Ying in disbelief before, a moment later, falling stiffly to the ground.
Huang Ying retracted her hand and, with a look of disgust, wiped her blood-stained feathers on the black bear male’s body.
Fenglin looked at the black bear male on the ground and frowned. "Mistress, what is your plan?"
Huang Ying narrowed her eyes. "She wants the Regeneration Flower, doesn’t she? I’ll deliver it to her myself."
"System, give me the powder to hide my aura and change my appearance."
The System’s slightly impatient voice sounded out. "What are you planning to do now?"
"Completing the mission, of course."
"It’s been so long, and you haven’t accomplished a single thing. All you do is ask me for this and that. Giving you these things consumes my energy."
"Alright, alright, I’m working on a solution. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to push the plot forward quickly this time, no matter what."
"If you fail again this time, I’m sending you back."
"I know."
After getting the powder from the System, a look of grim determination appeared in Huang Ying’s eyes.
"Qiao Xixi, I refuse to believe you can escape this time!"
Huang Ying looked at Fenglin. "Let’s go. To the Black Panther Tribe."
Fenglin was a little worried. "Mistress, Qiao Xixi’s beast husbands are all very powerful. If it’s just the two of us, I’m afraid it will be dangerous."
Huang Ying sneered. "Who said it would only be us?"
"Are you going to contact the people from Tiger Beast City, Mistress?"
"Those idiots from Tiger Beast City have lost to Qiao Xixi time and time again. If I contact them, they’ll just use it as an opportunity to negotiate terms with me. And if my father and the others find out, they’ll just nag me again. Don’t worry. I can handle this without them. Let’s go."
...
After the incident with the Blue Fruit Powder, a subtle change occurred within the Black Panther Tribe.
Beastmen who hadn’t been fully convinced by Qiao Xixi before now couldn’t help but show looks of admiration when they saw her, and they all willingly abided by the tribe’s rules.
Even the beastmen who had returned from Tiger Beast City looked at Qiao Xixi differently, and they secretly rejoiced that returning to the Black Panther Tribe had been the right choice.
It wasn’t just the females who had drunk from the water source tainted with the Blue Fruit Powder; the tribe’s cubs and males had drunk it as well.
Although the booklet didn’t explicitly state the effects of Blue Fruit Powder on males and cubs, Qiao Xixi had still taken out a large amount of Spiritual Spring water from her space early in the morning. She had Feiyan and the others pour it into new stone vats, which could, to some extent, repair the damage to their bodies.
"An’an’s beast pet died?"
When Qiao Xixi returned to the stone house, she saw the little tiger cub clutching a Long-eared Rabbit Beast, crying her eyes out with a tear-streaked face.
"AWOO WOO WOO..."
The heartbroken little tiger cub twisted her small body and threw herself into Qiao Xixi’s arms, large teardrops falling one after another.
Jin Ling came into the house and his heart ached at the sight. He picked up the Long-eared Rabbit Beast and examined it. There were no obvious external injuries, so it likely wasn’t killed by another beast. It seemed more like it had died of old age.
"An’an, don’t cry. How about Father goes and catches a few new Long-eared Rabbit Beasts for you today?"
The little tiger cub revealed her tear-stained face from within Qiao Xixi’s embrace. "Meow... go, go Fa... Fath... An... go."
As she spoke, she reached her hands out to Jin Ling.
Jin Ling took her into his arms and carefully wiped the tears from her cheeks. "An’an wants to go with Father?"
"Mhmm~!" The little tiger cub nodded, sniffling.
Jin Ling’s brow furrowed. How could he possibly bear to take such a small cub hunting in the woods?
But the little tiger cub kept pestering Jin Ling, insisting she had to go with him no matter what.
"This little rascal is very stubborn. If you don’t grant her wish today, she’ll keep bothering you nonstop."
Qiao Xixi knew her cub’s temperament through and through. The little tiger cub was spirited and headstrong; though she was small, she had a mind of her own.
Faced with his teary-eyed cub staring at him, how could Jin Ling not give in?
"Then I’ll just go to the nearby woods. It shouldn’t be a big problem."
"Okay."
Qiao Xixi pinched the cub’s tender little cheek. "There, your father is taking you now. Happy?"
The little tiger cub understood, and a grin split her face, revealing a row of tiny baby teeth. You couldn’t imagine how happy her smile was.
As Jin Ling walked out of the stone house carrying the little tiger cub, he happened to run into Mo Yan, who had just returned from training.
The moment Mo Yan saw the little tiger cub, his expression immediately softened.
"Uncle Jin Ling, An’an, Clan Leader."
"Gaga~" The little tiger cub was also happy to see Mo Yan.
Mo Yan glanced at Jin Ling, too shy to reach for the little tiger cub, since Uncle Jin Ling hadn’t offered to let him hold her.
"Uncle Jin Ling, are you all going out?"
Qiao Xixi said, "An’an’s beast pet died, and she’s been fussing about it. Your Uncle Jin Ling was thinking of taking her to catch some new ones."
Mo Yan frowned worriedly. "Can I go, Clan Leader? I want to go with Uncle Jin Ling and An’an."
"Alright, but you need to be careful too. There are wild beasts in the woods."
Mo Yan nodded and said with a smile, "I’ll be careful."
Jin Ling glanced at the sky and said to Mo Yan, "If you’re coming, then keep up."
"Okay."
"If you ask me, An’an gets her temper from you. She has to do whatever she sets her mind to, or else she’ll throw a fit."
Qiao Yi came up the stairs, his eyes full of gentle affection as he watched Jin Ling and the others leave.
Qiao Xixi looked at Qiao Yi. He was still bundled up tightly in animal hides, to the point that even his exposed eyes were only faintly visible.
Qiao Xixi had never asked him why he dressed that way, and Qiao Yi had never brought it up.
Hearing him bring up her childhood today, she couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Langqi, when did you meet my father?"
"I met him... many years ago."
"Langqi, can you tell me about my father’s past?"
In Qiao Xixi’s memory, she knew very little about Qiao Yi’s past. She only knew that her father was very powerful and could always easily fight off any beastmen who came looking for trouble.
But her father never talked about his past experiences.
"What do you want to hear? I don’t actually know that much myself."
"When you met my father, Langqi, was he already a Wandering Beast?"
Qiao Yi’s eyes flickered, and his voice grew a little heavy.
"Yes. He was always a Wandering Beast. He had a bloodline in his veins that was despised by those self-righteous beastmen. Xixi, have you ever blamed him? Blamed him for giving you the bloodline of a Wandering Beast, causing you to suffer so much?"