Chapter 490: I’ll Go In First
Inside the inner city of the tribe.
After finishing her meal, Qiao Xixi decided to go take a look around the tribe.
Upon hearing this, Feiyan stood up. "Xixi, I’ll go with you."
Sunxiao and Qiao Lie also came down from upstairs.
"I’ll guard the inner city."
Qiao Xixi nodded. Holding the little tiger cub, she stood up, only to see Qiao Qiao turn around, go upstairs, and come back down with a small bundle on her back.
"Qiaoqiao, do you want to come with Mother?"
Qiao Qiao tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Mother, I have plans with Yuyu today. I want to go see his friends again."
Qiao Xixi thought she was just going to play with her friends, so she didn’t ask any more questions. "Does Mother need to go with you?"
"No, Xiya is coming with me."
Xiya nodded. "Mother, we won’t wander off."
Qiao Xixi felt that with more people in the tribe now, it wasn’t safe for them to go alone, so she had Feiyan arrange for two adult males from the patrol team to follow them.
Qiao Lie and Sunxiao stayed behind in the inner city, while Qiao Xixi carried the little tiger cub and went with Feiyan to the main tribe area.
As they reached the gate of the inner city, Qiao Xixi saw Yuyu waiting outside.
Yuyu was very surprised to see Qiao Xixi and quickly came forward to bow.
"Clan Leader, you’re back."
Qiao Xixi looked at Yuyu and almost didn’t recognize him. She remembered when she first met him, he was so thin and small, his little face gaunt. In such a short time, he looked so much more full of life.
"I am, Yuyu. You’ve grown taller again. You’re a whole head taller than Qiaoqiao and the others now."
Yuyu scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "Clan Leader, I... I’ll work hard to grow up and become strong."
"Alright, alright. Qiaoqiao and the others are here. You can go now."
Before leaving, Qiao Qiao couldn’t help but tug on Qiao Xixi’s hand and mumble, "Tonight, Qiaoqiao wants to eat lots of meat too, so I can be as tall as Yuyu."
Qiao Xixi thought about it. ’A pretty, delicate little girl like Qiao Qiao growing up to be as tall and imposing as an adult male?’
’Probably not a good idea.’
She shook her head inwardly but still pinched the little girl’s cheek. "Okay, you definitely can. Go on, and come back early."
"Okaaaay~~"
Watching them walk away, Qiao Xixi and the others headed in the other direction. She was actually quite concerned about her vegetable fields and the penned beasts. After all, no matter where they were, food was the most important thing.
After being held by Qiao Xixi for a short while, the little tiger cub couldn’t stay still and began squirming, wanting to get down.
Qiao Xixi had no choice but to put her on the ground. The little one changed into her beast form and had a great time running and jumping all over the place.
"An’an, we’re going that way."
The little tiger cub was happily pouncing on butterflies. Just as Qiao Xixi walked over to pick her up, the little one let out a tiny roar and dashed ahead.
"An’an, don’t run off!"
Feiyan moved ahead. Just as he was about to pick the little one up, a figure emerged from behind a stone wall and scooped her up first.
"An’an, what are you doing running around out here?"
Mo Yan looked up, surprised to see Qiao Xixi and Feiyan approaching.
"Clan Leader, you’re back." His voice was filled with a joy he couldn’t suppress.
Just last night when she returned, Qiao Xixi had asked Qiao Ang about Mo Yan’s situation. She hadn’t expected to run into him today.
"Yes, we are. What are you up to?"
"It’s my turn on patrol today. I’m on duty now, and after my shift, I have training this afternoon."
Currently, orphans like Mo Yan and Yuyu, who had no parents to look after them, all lived in the same area under the tribe’s unified care. The older children were already being assigned tasks.
But the children were all very happy. For them, having enough food to eat every day and someone to teach them how to become stronger was already much better than their past lives.
The little tiger cub still adored Mo Yan. As for the dragon horn he had shed before, someone had drilled a hole in it, and he wore it on his wrist, strung on a leather strip.
The little one pulled out the small wooden carving Jin Ling had given her and shoved it in Mo Yan’s face as if to show it off.
"Alright, An’an, you’re going to hurt Brother Mo Yan."
Feiyan reached out to take the little tiger cub, but she dodged his hands.
Mo Yan gently pushed the wooden carving away from his face and chuckled good-naturedly. "An’an is just playing with me. It doesn’t hurt."
Feiyan: ...
’His face is about to be scraped raw, and he says it doesn’t hurt.’
Mo Yan might have said it didn’t hurt, but the red marks on his face told a different story. Qiao Xixi couldn’t let her cub bully someone like that, so she forcibly took the little one from Mo Yan’s arms.
"You little rascal, apologize to Brother Mo Yan."
The little one tilted her head to look at Mo Yan’s face. After poking his cheek with her chubby little hand, she suddenly puckered her lips and blew on his face with a PUFF PUFF sound, unintentionally spraying him with saliva.
"GAGA."
Looking both helpless and doting, Mo Yan wiped the saliva from his face, then wiped the drool from the corner of the little tiger cub’s mouth as well.
With a look of resignation, Qiao Xixi took out a dragon-shaped wooden carving and handed it to him.
"This is a gift for you from Uncle Jin Ling."
Mo Yan froze, his eyes widening in disbelief. "For me? From... from Uncle Jin Ling?"
Seeing his astonished expression, Qiao Xixi smiled and nodded. "Yes. He said he made it especially for you. Do you like it?"
For the first time, Qiao Xixi saw a goofy grin on Mo Yan’s face.
"I love it! Thank you, Uncle Jin Ling. Did... did he not come back?"
"No, he has things to take care of. He might be back in a while."
Mo Yan carefully put the wooden carving away. It was clear he truly treasured it.
"I... I have to get back to my patrol. An’an, I’ll come find you to play tonight."
The little tiger cub looked curiously at Mo Yan’s chest, wanting to reach out and grab the wooden carving he had put away.
Qiao Xixi quickly stopped her. "Alright, An’an, Brother Mo Yan has to go do his own thing. We have to go too."
Before leaving, Qiao Xixi told Mo Yan to be careful, then carried the reluctant little tiger cub and headed for the vegetable garden.
"Jin Ling and the others should have entered Tiger Beast City by now." Qiao Xixi gently patted the little tiger cub’s back. The little one had run around so energetically that she was now starting to doze off in Qiao Xixi’s arms.
Qiao Xixi was right. By this time, Jin Ling and his group had already followed Xiong Tian into Tiger Beast City.
Including the few males from the Phoenix Wing Clan, they had all used a special powder to mask their original scents and had not attracted the attention of any beast soldiers upon entering the city.
Xiong Tian led them back to his home and took out a bone tablet about the size of an eyeball.
"Here, take this."
"Thank you very much."
"I should be the one thanking you. My home is right here. If you need anything in the future, you can come find me. I’ll help in any way I can."
Jin Ling put away the bone tablet and nodded. "We’ll head back to the royal palace to report first."
"Alright."
"Are we going straight to the royal palace today?"
Jin Ling frowned. "No. I’ll go in first to check things out. The rest of you wait for me in the city."
Hearing this, Xijing frowned in disapproval.