Chapter 146: Why Is the Useless Beast Here Again?
Sunxiao gave him a cool glance, his voice indifferent. "The Divine Leopard Tribe is currently gathering their warriors to head to the Hopeless Abyss."
Jin Ling sat down next to Qiao Xixi and placed a piece of meat on her plate.
"What are they going to the Hopeless Abyss for?"
"Supposedly, demonic beasts from the Hopeless Abyss injured the tribe’s patrol a few days ago. They’re going to capture them."
Jin Ling looked at Sunxiao. "What are your plans?"
"I plan to follow them and scout out the situation in the Hopeless Abyss."
Qiao Xixi frowned. "If you go alone, won’t it be too dangerous?"
Sunxiao looked at Qiao Xixi. "The Divine Leopard Tribe is sending only males with 5-star beast souls this time. I’ll be safe with them."
Qiao Xixi had wanted to suggest gathering more information first, but this was a rare opportunity to go straight into the Hopeless Abyss and investigate. It would be a real shame to miss it.
"I’ll go with you," Jin Ling said suddenly.
Sunxiao glanced at him. "No need."
But Jin Ling insisted, "Even though we’ll have the beastmen from the Divine Leopard Tribe, we’re still outsiders. If we run into real danger, they won’t care if we live or die. The situation in the Hopeless Abyss is unknown. It’s too risky for you to go alone."
Qiao Xixi nodded in agreement. "Right. With two of you, you can watch each other’s backs."
"I’ll go with Sunxiao," Feiyan offered. "Jin Ling can stay in the tribe and protect Xixi and the cubs."
Although Feiyan was competitive and reluctant to give up the chance to stay with Qiao Xixi, he also knew that Jin Ling was more meticulous. It was more appropriate for him to be the one to stay behind.
In the end, it was decided that Sunxiao and Feiyan would go.
「That night」
After giving the cubs a bath, Qiao Xixi carried them all to their beds.
The stone house had one particularly large room, which Qiao Xixi planned to use as the cubs’ bedroom. She had even asked Jin Ling to buy three small beds from Bai Que and put them in the room.
"Mother, aren’t you sleeping with us tonight?"
Qiao Qiao clutched Qiao Xixi’s hand, unwilling to let go.
Qiao Xixi smiled. "Of course I will. There are four of you cubs, so how about I sleep with one of you each night, and we take turns?"
"No!"
The corner of Qiao Xixi’s eye twitched. She turned to see the three large males standing outside the door, each one looking at her as if he could eat her alive.
Feiyan’s gaze was especially mournful. ’Hmph, Xixi agreed to be my mate so long ago, but I still haven’t even been able to kiss her or hold her! It’s so unfair!’
Qiao Xixi shot him a playful glare. "Aren’t you leaving for the Hopeless Abyss tomorrow? Hurry up and go to sleep. I’m putting the cubs to bed."
Qiao Ang jumped off the bed and pattered over to shut the door.
"Shame on you, Father! You’re so big and you still need Mother to sleep with you! Pfft!"
Feiyan: ...
’Is this kid really mine?’
「The next morning」
When Qiao Xixi woke up, Sunxiao and Feiyan had already left the tribe.
Except for Sangqi, who was still fast asleep, the other three cubs had all run into the courtyard to play with Jin Ling.
"Father Jin Ling, can you take us to play in the tribe, please?"
"I want to go too! I want to go too!"
Qiao Ang and Qiao Qiao clung to Jin Ling’s legs, one in front and one behind, their big eyes filled with longing for the strange new world outside.
Qiao Lie wasn’t as enthusiastic, but his cool, clear eyes were also tinged with anticipation.
Jin Ling gently patted their heads. "Alright. Once your mother wakes up, we’ll go out and have a look."
"Sure, you can go out with Father Jin Ling in a little while."
Qiao Xixi had woken up just in time to hear the cubs talking to Jin Ling.
"Mother, aren’t you coming with us?"
"Sangqi isn’t awake yet. I’m worried he’ll be scared if he wakes up and doesn’t see me, so I’ll just stay home with him."
The three cubs were a little disappointed, but they couldn’t contain their curiosity about the outside world.
Jin Ling was uneasy about leaving Qiao Xixi at home alone. "How about we wait for Feiyan and the others to come back before we take the cubs out?"
"It’s fine. Go ahead and take them for a walk. I promise I absolutely won’t wander off."
Qiao Xixi didn’t want them to be stuck at home because of her or Sangqi. Besides, she had some ability to protect herself now, which was enough within the tribe.
"Then we’ll just walk around nearby. We’ll be back soon."
"Okay."
Learning they could go out, the cubs cheered with delight. After seeing them off, Qiao Xixi closed the courtyard gate. She went upstairs first to make sure Sangqi was still asleep, then went to the backyard to eat breakfast.
Once she was full, she took out some necessary items from her storage space and arranged them. They had just arrived yesterday, and there were still things that needed to be done.
Just as Qiao Xixi was busy, the system issued a mission.
DING-DONG.
"System Mission Issued: The host must get cub Sangqi to get along with his younger siblings and address them as ’younger brother’ and ’younger sister.’ Mission Difficulty: 3 stars."
"This mission seems simple..."
But before she could finish her thought, she remembered the mission to get Qiao Lie and the others to call her "Mother." It had seemed simple too, but it had taken quite some effort. Otherwise, the difficulty wouldn’t have been rated 3 stars.
After placing the beast hides on a rack to dry, Qiao Xixi turned to go upstairs. ’I didn’t even give Sangqi that much Black Umbrella yesterday. Why has the little cub been asleep for so long without waking up?’
She passed through the living room and was about to go upstairs when she caught a glimpse of the courtyard gate, which she had closed, standing ajar. Her heart skipped a beat; she clearly remembered locking the gate just a moment ago.
Qiao Xixi hurried upstairs. Staring at Sangqi’s empty bed, her mind went blank.
Sangqi was gone!
Qiao Xixi quickly searched the room but didn’t smell any unusual scents. It was very likely that Sangqi had left on his own.
Qiao Xixi thought of the way Sangqi had looked for her when he woke up yesterday. ’Could he have gone to find me?’
She didn’t dare to delay and rushed downstairs. Sangqi had probably thought she had gone out, so he ran out of the house by himself.
Qiao Xixi’s guess was correct. When Sangqi woke up and didn’t see Qiao Xixi right away, the little cub was completely stunned. He was terrified. For every moment he couldn’t see Qiao Xixi, he felt as if he had been abandoned.
Sangqi lay prone on the road, struggling. As beastmen passed by one by one, he would laboriously lift his head to sniff their scents. But it wasn’t her. None of them were her!
’Mother, where in the world is my mother!’
"Huh? Isn’t that Sangqi, that useless beast?"
On the other side of the street, a black panther cub dressed in snow-white beast hides noticed Sangqi from afar.
"How did this useless beast get into the tribe again? Well, good. I was feeling bored today anyway. Let’s go have some fun with him. Come on."
The black panther cub led a few leopard cubs toward Sangqi.
Sangqi was straining to drag himself forward when suddenly, his paw was stepped on.
Sangqi let out a muffled grunt of pain and looked up at Sangli.
Sangli sneered, increasing the pressure on his foot and grinding it down hard.
Sangqi trembled all over from the pain but didn’t even make a sound. He just stared at Sangli with an increasingly fierce gaze.
Sangli let out a loud laugh.
"What a useless beast. You can’t even cry out anymore. Oh, right, I almost forgot—your tongue was torn to shreds by a Mutant Beast long ago, hahaha! Looks like this head is the only part left to play with. So today, let’s see just how we have to kick to smash this useless beast’s head in, hehehe."
Sangqi’s body tensed. He forced himself upright, but just as he managed to stand, a foot kicked hard toward his head.