Chapter 147: Don’t Bully My Brother
A newly-made deerskin boot ground heavily into Sangqi’s face.
"Useless trash. You should be just like your criminal father—nothing but a toy for us to play with. HAHAHA! But I’m bored of you now. So, you can die."
Sangli slowly raised his leg. He already possessed a 2-star beast soul, which was extremely rare for his age. If this kick landed, Sangqi would surely die.
A vicious and cruel expression that didn’t belong on someone so young twisted Sangli’s face. "Die!"
"Stop! Get away from Sangqi!"
Just as Sangli’s foot was about to come down on Sangqi’s face, a snow-white figure and a crimson one rushed over.
Sangli was sent flying before he could even get a clear look at them!
In the next instant, a small, warm hand took hold of Sangqi.
"Don’t be scared, Sangqi. I’ll heal you right now."
Sangqi stared at Qiao Qiao in astonishment. He knew who she was—one of his mother’s other cubs. The two small figures standing protectively in front of him were her cubs too.
’Why? Why would they save me? Wouldn’t they want me to die so there’d be one less cub competing for Mother’s affection?’
As he puzzled over this, Sangqi felt a warm energy envelop him. An instant later, the wound that had been throbbing painfully was completely healed.
Meanwhile, Sangli scrambled to his feet and glared furiously at Qiao Lie and Qiao Ang.
"You outsider Wandering Beast cubs dare to hurt me? I’ll bite you to death!"
With a furious roar, Sangli transformed into an agile Hua Bao and pounced on Qiao Ang and Qiao Lie.
Qiao Ang and Qiao Lie fought in perfect coordination. With their 3-star beast souls overpowering his 2-star one, Sangli was no match for them. Qiao Ang quickly pinned him to the ground.
"I won’t let you bully my brother! You tried to stomp on his head, so I’m going to stomp on yours!"
Qiao Ang raised a paw and brought it down hard on Sangli’s head.
Sangli shrieked in terror. Seeing this, the other Hua Bao cubs who had come with him immediately rushed forward and rescued him from under Qiao Lie’s paw.
"Sangli is the son of the tribe’s young clan leader! If you hurt him, the beastmen of our tribe will never forgive you! Get them!"
Those Hua Bao cubs swarmed Qiao Lie and Qiao Ang.
Qiao Lie and Qiao Ang weren’t the least bit afraid, and a chaotic cub brawl erupted.
The commotion attracted the attention of the city’s patrol, who quickly arrived on the scene. When they saw Qiao Lie and Qiao Ang fighting Sangli’s group, they moved to intervene and help.
But before they could take a step, Jin Ling blocked their path.
"This is a conflict between cubs. Let them resolve it themselves. If you want a fight, your opponent is me."
One of the patrol beastmen stared coldly at Jin Ling. "You’re the newcomers, the outsiders."
"We are."
"Just arrived. No wonder. The Divine Leopard Tribe is not a place where you can run wild. Make them stop immediately, or don’t blame us for getting rough."
Jin Ling didn’t move. "Your cubs started this. If anyone is stopping, it should be them."
"AAAH!"
Several Hua Bao cubs were thrown to the ground by Qiao Ang and Qiao Lie, crying out in pain.
Seeing that Sangli’s group was losing, the patrol team wasted no more words on Jin Ling. They transformed into their beast forms and attacked.
Jin Ling didn’t hesitate either, and the two sides clashed in a fierce battle.
Qiao Xixi had followed their scents, and saw the chaotic battle from a distance.
"Qiaoqiao, Sangqi!"
Qiao Xixi ran forward and scooped up Sangqi and Qiao Qiao.
"Qiaoqiao, what happened?"
Qiao Qiao opened her little mouth and quickly chattered out the whole story to Qiao Xixi.
Qiao Xixi’s expression darkened as she listened, and she glared coldly at Sangli and his cronies.
’Bullying an innocent cub... This is absolutely intolerable.’
"Qiao Lie, Qiao Ang, Jin Ling, fall back! Now!"
Hearing Qiao Xixi’s voice, Jin Ling, Qiao Lie, and Qiao Ang retreated to her side without a moment’s hesitation.
As the beastmen tried to give chase, Qiao Xixi immediately threw the Bubble Fruits in her hand.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The explosions roared to life. The beastmen at the front had no time to dodge and were sent flying by the blast.
By the time the thick smoke cleared, Qiao Xixi and her group were long gone.
The sound of the explosions terrified Sangli. His body went rigid, and he fell over, stiff as a board.
"Sangli! Someone get Sangli back home, quickly!"
Amid the chaos, Qiao Xixi and the others had already made it back to their house.
She carried Sangqi back to their room and checked him over. After confirming he had no new injuries, she pulled Qiao Lie and Qiao Ang over to check them one by one.
After checking the little ones, she then checked the big one.
Once she was sure none of them were seriously hurt, she turned her attention back to Sangqi.
"Sangqi, I told you I would never abandon you. So even if you wake up and I’m not here, you don’t need to be afraid. It just means I had something else to do. I’ll always come back to you when I’m finished."
Sangqi stared at her with his dark, black eyes. ’Is Mother angry with me?’
’Did I do something wrong?’
"Mother, don’t... don’t be angry..." Sangqi opened his mouth, but halfway through the words, his eyes widened in shock.
’I can speak normally?’
"I... I can... speak?"
He stuck out his tongue in astonishment, even poking at it with a claw for a long moment as if in disbelief.
’My tongue... My tongue grew back?’
"Woah! Sangqi’s tongue grew back! That’s amazing!"
"Mhm, I used a Spirit Tongue to replace it for him," Qiao Xixi explained. "But the real credit goes to Qiaoqiao. Sangqi, it was Qiaoqiao who helped heal your tongue."
Sangqi looked at Qiao Qiao in surprise, then turned to Qiao Ang and Qiao Lie.
’Just now, they had all helped him. It was astonishing. Never, ever before had any beastman taken his side. They always said he was the cub of a criminal and deserved any harsh treatment he got.’
Tears suddenly welled up in Sangqi’s eyes.
"Sangqi, I don’t think you’re a little dummy anymore," Qiao Ang said. "I was just talking trash before, so don’t be mad. I think you’re really brave."
Qiao Ang scratched his head. When he thought about how Sangqi hadn’t even trembled with fear while being bullied by so many other cubs, he realized how tough he was.
Sangqi looked at Qiao Ang, then suddenly lowered his head.
Qiao Xixi gently comforted him. "Don’t you worry. I will find a way to heal you completely. You’ll grow up big and healthy, just like your brother and sister."
Sangqi tilted his head and buried it in Qiao Xixi’s arms.
"Mhm."
After soothing Sangqi to sleep, Qiao Xixi took her three cubs to get cleaned up. Once they were washed, she sent them back to their room to rest.
Seeing Qiao Xixi standing there silently, Jin Ling gently took the bone knife from her hands. "Xixi, don’t worry. Even if the sky falls, you’ll still have us."
Qiao Xixi leaned against Jin Ling’s chest.
"I’m not actually scared," she said. "Their cubs were the ones who bullied Sangqi first, and it’s not like we absolutely have to stay here. I’m just wondering how Sunxiao and the others are doing... What is the Hopeless Abyss really like?"