Chapter 145: Spirit Tongue
Black energy radiated from Sangqi, almost completely enveloping him. He trembled from head to toe. Before Qiao Xixi’s shocked eyes, he slowly stood up from the bed.
But with his beast bones broken, his body looked misshapen even as he stood.
Qiao Qiao was startled by Sangqi’s appearance.
"You shouldn’t force yourself to stand up like that! It will only make your injuries harder to heal."
Hearing Qiao Qiao’s voice, Sangqi stiffly turned his head to look at her. His pitch-black pupils were filled with rage. With a sudden movement, he lunged at Qiao Qiao.
"Don’t!"
Qiao Xixi snapped out of it and quickly caught the mid-air Sangqi in her arms.
"GROWL~"
A hoarse growl rumbled in Sangqi’s throat, but he ceased his attack upon sensing Qiao Xixi’s presence.
He shot Qiao Qiao a warning glare, his small paws clinging tightly to Qiao Xixi, as if to keep her from getting any closer to Qiao Qiao.
Qiao Xixi could clearly sense his hostility toward Qiao Qiao. Worried he might accidentally hurt her, she had no choice but to ask Qiao Qiao to leave first.
With Qiao Qiao’s departure, Sangqi’s body relaxed slightly, and the black energy around him faded considerably. Still, he clutched Qiao Xixi tightly, showing no sign of letting go.
"They’re your little brothers and sisters. They just don’t know you very well yet. Once you’re all better, you can play together. Don’t be scared; they mean you no harm."
Qiao Xixi continued to stroke him gently until the black energy around him vanished completely.
But the instant the black energy vanished, Sangqi went completely limp in Qiao Xixi’s arms, his hind legs, which he had been forcing himself to stand on, giving way.
"WHIMPER~"
Sangqi whimpered in pain.
Her heart ached. ’He forced himself to stand. His broken beast bones must have been damaged even further.’
She could only take some water from the Spiritual Spring out of her storage space to give him. But with his tongue severed, even drinking was a struggle for Sangqi.
Qiao Xixi could only cup the water in her hand and feed it to him bit by bit from the corner of his mouth.
"Mo... ther... mine!"
Sangqi’s paws clutched Qiao Xixi tightly, afraid she would disappear again.
"Yes, Mother is right here with you. If you’re tired, go ahead and sleep. We’ll eat when you wake up."
Breathing in Qiao Xixi’s scent, he finally closed his eyes, reassured.
After confirming he was asleep, Qiao Xixi carefully placed him on the bed and called Qiao Qiao back up.
"Mother?"
"Qiaoqiao, can you take another look at Sangqi? I’m worried his condition has gotten worse."
"No problem, Mother. I’ll take another look."
Qiao Qiao leaned close to Sangqi. Her small hand swept gently over his body, finally pausing over the spot where his beast bones were broken.
This time, as Qiao Qiao’s hand neared the beast bones, a stream of black energy suddenly shot out from Sangqi’s body, attempting to attack the faint blue halo radiating from her.
Qiao Qiao’s eyes widened in surprise. As she felt the force intensify, she quickly withdrew her power.
"What’s wrong?"
"Mother, his body is so strange. It’s like there’s a power hidden inside. I noticed it before; my power can’t penetrate past a certain point, as if it’s being blocked by something. What’s going on?"
Qiao Qiao was baffled. She had never encountered anything like this.
Qiao Xixi gazed at the sleeping Sangqi. ’I need to find out what he’s been through,’ she thought.
"Qiaoqiao, the beast bones are hard to treat, but what about his tongue? Can Sangqi’s tongue be healed?"
Qiao Qiao shook her head regretfully. "I can’t do it right now, Mother. Half of his tongue is gone. My power isn’t strong enough to make it grow back."
Qiao Xixi couldn’t help but summon her system helper. "Sprite, take a look. Can Sangqi’s injuries be healed?"
"Host, the black panther cub’s tongue is severed. Qiaoqiao’s power isn’t enough to restore it completely. However, the shop has a ’Spiritual Tongue’ available. You can purchase it, suture it onto the cub’s tongue, and then have Qiaoqiao use her power to heal the graft. While it won’t be his original tongue, it will be perfectly functional for everyday use."
Hearing this, Qiao Xixi quickly opened the system’s shop. She scrolled to the medical supplies category and, sure enough, found the Spiritual Tongue. It was an item shaped just like a tongue. There were also items like claws and tails.
points. The price wasn’t too steep.
"I want to buy the Spiritual Tongue."
"You got it. Purchasing for the Host now."
"DING DONG."
"Purchase of Spiritual Tongue successful. 100 points deducted. Host has 200 points remaining."
"Since Sangqi’s beast bones are broken, can I buy replacement beast bones from the shop?"
"Host, beast bones are a beastman’s life-bone. They cannot be replaced."
Qiao Xixi was a little disappointed. After receiving the Spiritual Tongue, she took a suture needle and fish line from her storage space, along with the dried Black Umbrella.
"Mother, what are you going to do?"
"Qiaoqiao, do you remember when we reattached that white cat cub’s limb back in the Black Stone Tribe?"
Qiao Qiao nodded.
"Now, I want to do the same for Sangqi’s tongue. I’ll need you to help me in a minute, okay?"
"Okay, Mother."
After Qiao Xixi ground up the Black Umbrella, she mixed it with water from the Spiritual Spring, preparing to feed it to Sangqi.
"Sangqi, Mother is going to give you some medicine now. Be a good boy and swallow it for me, alright?"
Even in his sleep, Sangqi reacted immediately upon hearing Qiao Xixi’s voice.
Qiao Xixi used a spoon to feed him the Black Umbrella mixture bit by bit, only stopping when Sangqi’s body went completely limp on the bed.
Once she was sure Sangqi was completely unconscious, Qiao Xixi took the Spiritual Tongue. She had Qiaoqiao help her hold Sangqi’s mouth open so she could suture the new tongue in place.
After the suturing was done, it was Qiao Qiao’s turn.
This time, Qiao Qiao’s power flowed smoothly. When she removed her hands and took a look, Sangqi’s tongue looked completely real.
"Wow, Mother, you’re amazing."
Qiao Xixi pinched her little cheek. "No, our Qiaoqiao is the amazing one."
"Xixi, it’s time to eat," Feiyan’s voice called from the courtyard.
Qiao Xixi covered Sangqi with the blanket and led Qiao Qiao downstairs to the living room.
Jin Ling walked in carrying dishes of food.
"Feiyan mentioned something’s not right with Sangqi?"
Qiao Xixi nodded. "He has some kind of black energy around him that blocks Qiao Qiao from using her power. I have no idea what it is."
"It’s a Dark Spirit Stone." Sunxiao had returned.
"A Dark Spirit Stone?"
Sunxiao affirmed. "A Dark Spirit Stone works just like the Original Stone Curse. Its purpose is to suppress a beastman’s beast soul."
Qiao Xixi was shocked. "Isn’t Sangqi just an ordinary black panther cub?"
Her understanding was that Sunxiao and the others were cursed because they were Heaven-Swallowing Pythons of immense power. So why was Sangqi cursed?
Sunxiao shook his head. "He’s no different from any other beastman. However, to have an Awakened Beast Soul at such a young age means his innate talent far surpasses that of an ordinary beastman."
But as for why someone would harm him so grievously, that remained a mystery.
Feiyan brought in the bowls and chopsticks.
"Sunxiao, what did you find out while you were out?"