Chapter 174: The Cubs’ Sky Is Falling
"Mama, I missed you so much."
Qiao Xixi took him from Jin Ling’s arms and kissed his little head. "Mama missed you all, too."
"Ever since you left, Sangqi has been waiting by the door. He insisted on waiting for you to come back. I was worried he might run off, so I waited with him in the courtyard."
The color drained from Qiao Xixi’s face when she heard this. "Jin Ling, are you telling me that Feiyan made dinner tonight?!"
Feiyan, who was just bringing out a dish, was not happy to hear that.
"What’s wrong with my cooking? Look around the whole tribe, you won’t find many handsome males who can cook better than me. Xixi, your good fortune has only just begun."
Qiao Xixi resignedly carried Sangqi over to a chair and sat down. Qiao Ang and the others obediently washed their hands and came to sit beside her.
Qiao Qiao’s little face wrinkled in disgust as she stared at the burnt-black pancakes on the plate.
When Feiyan brought out the last dish of stir-fried meat, he noticed no one had started eating yet.
"No need to wait for me! It’s just one meal, it was no trouble at all."
Qiao Xixi was speechless.
Feiyan placed the largest pancake in Qiao Xixi’s bowl. "Here, Xixi, try it. It might not look very appetizing, but I guarantee you, the taste is perfectly fine."
Qiao Xixi really didn’t want to subject her stomach to this, but looking into those expectant foxy eyes, she relented. ’Oh, what the heck. He’s my husband, so I might as well spoil him. A bite or two won’t kill me!’
With the resolve of a martyr, Qiao Xixi picked up the pancake and took a bite. And wouldn’t you know it, it was just like eating a piece of freshly burnt charcoal.
"So? Is it good?"
Qiao Xixi gave a very forced nod.
Qiao Qiao’s little face scrunched up even more. ’Just keep spoiling him, Mama. You’re going to turn Father into a complete idiot at this rate.’
Sure enough, the silly fox grinned from ear to ear.
Later that night, the children secretly surrounded Jin Ling, tugging at his hide clothes with frustrated looks on their little faces.
Jin Ling found this amusing and crouched down to look at them.
"What’s wrong?"
Qiao Qiao tugged on Jin Ling’s finger and spoke in a sweet, pleading voice, "Father Jin Ling, can you please teach Father how to cook? If you really can’t, then just teach me. I never want to eat his cooking again."
Coming home after a long, tiring day only to eat such awful food... It felt like their whole world was collapsing.
Jin Ling was just as exasperated by Feiyan’s cooking skills.
"Alright. Father Jin Ling will teach him properly, and I’ll make sure he learns to cook the most delicious food for you all, okay?"
"Father Jin Ling, you’re the best! Qiaoqiao likes you the most!"
Amused, Jin Ling coaxed the children back to their room. When he stood up, he saw Feiyan sulking in a dark corner, looking like a twisted shadow.
His light-brown, foxy eyes glinted coldly in the darkness. When he stepped out of the shadows, he looked like he was on the verge of tears.
"Jin Ling, the kids can’t stand my cooking. Is it... is it really that bad?"
Jin Ling was speechless.
"If I said it was delicious, would you even believe me?"
Feiyan was speechless.
For the next few days, Qiao Xixi continued to bring Qiao Qiao and Sunxiao with her to treat Lingmiao.
"Qiao Xixi, is today’s medicine different from yesterday’s?"
Qiao Xixi nodded. "Yes. The medicine for the past few days has been different each time. I’m adjusting it based on the patient’s condition."
Hua Qing said no more. "Then I’ll go with you to the inner city to get more medicine in a bit."
"Okay."
As Qiao Xixi left with Hua Qing, she glanced at Sunxiao, who gave her a subtle nod.
Once they were a good distance away, Sunxiao looked over at Qiao Qiao.
Qiao Qiao caught his eye and gave him an "OK" sign—a gesture her mother had taught her.
Having exchanged a knowing glance, Qiao Qiao turned and threw herself into Lingmiao’s arms. Lingmiao was already fond of Qiao Qiao, so her attention was completely captured by the girl’s affectionate display.
When Qiao Qiao looked back toward the courtyard, Sunxiao was already gone.
After leaving the courtyard, Sunxiao had donned the Invisibility Cloak Qiao Xixi gave him. He moved with incredible speed, quickly crossing the inner city and arriving before a heavy stone gate.
When the Invisibility Cloak’s time limit ran out, he dodged the patrolling beastmen and made his way toward the back mountains, finally stopping at a place enclosed by a high wall.
Sunxiao waited for the cloak’s cooldown to finish. Once it was ready, he put it on again, scaled the high wall, and jumped inside.
Behind the high wall were only a few scattered stone houses. It didn’t look like a prison at all, but Sunxiao could smell the overwhelming stench of blood in the air.
He followed the stench of blood to one of the stone houses. The door suddenly opened, and several guards emerged, carrying out the corpses of criminal beastmen.
Sunxiao slipped through the open door. Inside, aside from various torture instruments, there was only a single stone staircase leading down. That was where the criminal beastmen had been brought from.
Sunxiao quickly descended the stone staircase.
Meanwhile, Qiao Xixi and Hua Qing arrived at the apothecary to retrieve the medicine. To buy more time for Sunxiao, she deliberately slowed her pace, pretending she couldn’t find one of the required herbs.
As Sangkun was passing the apothecary, he saw Qiao Xixi and Hua Qing searching for something. His amber eyes narrowed as he watched Qiao Xixi’s back.
Qiao Xixi felt a cold, sinister gaze on her. She instinctively turned and met Sangkun’s scrutinizing eyes.
Qiao Xixi’s heart leaped into her throat. ’This must be what it feels like to be stared down by a demon,’ she thought.
"Who is she?"
Hua Qing noticed Sangkun as well. Hearing the question, he answered truthfully, "I found her to treat the Matriarch."
Sangkun acted as if he’d heard some kind of ridiculous joke. "Hua Qing, you’ve really gone mad for Lingmiao’s sake."
Hua Qing frowned. He knew Sangkun didn’t believe it but couldn’t be bothered to explain.
"It does you no harm for the Matriarch to live."
Sangkun sneered. He never bothered to hide his true colors in front of Hua Qing. "Soon, whether she lives or dies won’t matter to me at all."
"What do you mean by that?"
Sangkun didn’t explain, only saying coldly, "Starting tomorrow, if you dare bring another outsider into the inner city, I’ll kill you."
"You—!"
With that, Sangkun shot Qiao Xixi one last cold glare before turning and leaving.
Qiao Xixi frowned, gathered the rest of the herbs, and packed them away.
"I’ve found the herb," she said. "Let’s get out of here."
Hua Qing clenched his fists and nodded.
The two of them didn’t speak again until they had left the inner city and were almost back at the stone house. Then, Hua Qing suddenly stopped and turned to Qiao Xixi.
Qiao Xixi met his gaze, her expression unreadable. "What is it?"
Hua Qing’s voice was low. "I know you and your companions have a motive for approaching us."
Qiao Xixi’s pupils constricted for a moment, but her expression quickly returned to normal.
Hua Qing was no fool. That much was clear from his long-standing friction with Sangkun. If he were an idiot, he likely would have died at Sangkun’s hands long ago.
Hua Qing continued, "I only have one question for you."