Chapter 175: You Think I Don’t Dare?
"What?"
"Can you really restore her body to normal?"
Qiao Xixi smiled. "That... depends on you."
Hua Qing was confused. "On me?"
"That’s right. It depends on how far you’re willing to go for her. If you’re willing to risk everything for her, then I can tell you, yes, I can cure her."
Hua Qing looked at Qiao Xixi with a complicated expression, and Qiao Xixi said no more.
She had made herself clear. The choice was his.
"You’re being so frank with me. Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell the Young Clan Leader?"
The curve of Qiao Xixi’s lips widened, making her look like a simple, weak female, but there was no trace of a smile in her eyes.
"Since I dared to come, I’m confident I can leave."
"I need to think."
Hua Qing didn’t ask what Qiao Xixi and her companions were planning. He didn’t care. The only thing he cared about in this world was Lingmiao.
"Time is limited. Give me your answer as soon as possible."
Hua Qing pressed his lips together and said nothing, turning to push open the stone house’s door.
When Qiao Xixi followed him inside, she saw Sunxiao standing in the courtyard. He stood tall and elegant, yet exuded a cold, unapproachable aura, as if he had never left.
Without being asked, Hua Qing took the medicine to the backyard to brew it.
Qiao Xixi walked to Sunxiao’s side. "Did it go well?"
Sunxiao slowly shook his head.
"You didn’t find him?"
Sunxiao’s cold, stern brows furrowed. "No."
He had searched the entire dungeon but hadn’t seen Sangze, nor had he even caught his scent.
’System, didn’t you say Sangze was locked up in the dungeon?’
’Yes, Host. My positioning shows that’s his location.’
’Then why couldn’t Sunxiao find him?’
’Um, well, maybe he missed some spots?’
Qiao Xixi felt this was highly likely. Given Sangkun’s cautious nature, he wouldn’t imprison Sangze somewhere he could be easily found.
After finishing Lingmiao’s treatment for the day, Hua Qing escorted Qiao Xixi and Sunxiao out of the inner city.
"I’ll come find you once I’ve thought it through. Thank you for the medicine you left for Lingmiao."
Qiao Xixi nodded and left with Sunxiao.
As soon as they left, Hua Qing glanced toward the corner of the city wall. The two male beast-kin standing there met his gaze without flinching.
They were the ones Sangkun had sent to watch them. Hua Qing frowned and turned to leave.
Sunxiao’s snake-like eyes swept over the beast-kin following them, but the two of them walked on without a change in expression, as if they hadn’t noticed a thing.
DING! ’System quest: Host, please rescue Sangqi the cub’s father with him, and reunite father and son. Mission difficulty: 5 stars.’
Qiao Xixi paused at the door. ’I have to take Sangqi with me?’
’Host, you can’t find Sangze right now, but Sangqi can! Their bodies are special. They are extremely sensitive to each other’s scent and can find the other’s exact location even from a great distance.’
’Why didn’t you say so earlier?’
During dinner that evening, Qiao Xixi was somewhat distracted.
Jin Ling ladled a bowl of soup for her. "What are you thinking about, Xixi?"
Qiao Xixi came back to her senses and drank the soup he held for her. "I was thinking about whether we can rescue Sangze while we retrieve the beast bones."
As soon as she said this, everyone looked up at her.
"Xixi, do you already have a plan?"
Qiao Xixi looked at them and nodded slowly. "I do have one, but it’s not a fully formed idea."
Qiao Xixi beckoned to them with her finger, and several large and small heads huddled together.
After she finished explaining, Feiyan frowned. "Xixi, you’re going to take Sangqi to find that black panther male?"
Qiao Xixi nodded. "Mhm, it’s a quest from the system. I have to complete it."
Feiyan was very unhappy. "What kind of bullshit system is this? It’s trying to screw you over! Who knows where that black panther male is? How can it let you go take such a risk?"
"Sunxiao will go with me. We’ll be fine."
Feiyan was still upset and grumbled for a while. It took Qiao Xixi some coaxing before she could placate him.
For the next few days, Qiao Xixi didn’t go out, staying at home instead.
The beast-kin secretly watching them reported the situation to Sangkun every day.
After the messenger beast-kin had left, an elderly antelope male spoke up. "Young Clan Leader, why waste your energy on these outsiders?"
Sangkun’s expression was dark and unreadable. The feeling he’d had in the stone house that day still lingered. He had suspected someone had entered his stone house, which was why he sent people to watch Qiao Xixi and her group.
But from the looks of it now, they really were just ordinary outsiders.
"You’re right. Tell them to stop."
"Yes."
「The sun sank below the horizon.」
Sangkun’s figure appeared in a hidden corner of the inner city. He pushed open the door in front of him and went inside.
The stone house had only simple furnishings. He walked to a wardrobe, opened its door, and triggered a mechanism inside.
A moment later, a secret door appeared in the wardrobe. Sangkun walked through it.
Sangkun took out a pearl to light his way. Its soft, white glow illuminated a corner of the darkness.
After walking for some time, he arrived at an underground river. Two thick stone chains hung over the river, and suspended from them, with his head bowed, was Sangze.
"Sangze."
Hearing the call, Sangze slowly opened his eyes and looked up. By the light, he could see Sangkun’s face clearly.
"Big Brother..."
Sangkun frowned, his eyes filled with heartache. "Sangze, why would our father do this to you? I never thought he would send people to break your beast bones."
Seeing Sangkun’s eyes redden, Sangze grew anxious. "Big Brother, don’t be upset. This isn’t Father’s fault. It’s mine. I couldn’t control the evil beast within me, letting it harm the beast-kin of the tribe again and again. I... I deserve this..."
"Sangze, you really don’t blame our father?"
Sangze shook his head frantically. "I don’t. I only blame myself."
"If you don’t blame him, then why are you holding on to the scepter and refusing to return it to our father?"
Sangze froze, his clear, heterochromatic eyes filled with utter disbelief.
"What scepter? Big Brother, I don’t have a scepter. Father never gave me any scepter."
The amber-colored eyes darkened. He slowly walked into the water, a strange, sinister light glinting in their depths.
"Sangze, you know that our father no longer has the heart to manage the tribe. But the tribe cannot be without a Clan Leader for a single day. And I... if I want to become the Clan Leader, I must obtain the scepter that symbolizes the position. And that scepter... Father gave it to you many years ago!"
Sangze shook his head helplessly. "I really don’t know, Big Brother."
Losing his patience, Sangkun seized him by the neck. "Sangze, don’t test my patience. Your cub is still in my hands. If you don’t want him to suffer the same fate as you, then hand over the scepter right now."
At the thought of Sangqi, Sangze’s eyes gradually turned crimson. "If you really want to know, Big Brother, why don’t you come over tonight... and ask him!"
Sangkun suddenly flew into a rage and punched him across the face.
Blood trickled down from the corner of Sangze’s mouth.
"You think I don’t dare?"