Chapter 447: He Beat Me to It Again
Qiao Xixi’s gaze swept over the luminous pearls one by one, and she noticed they weren’t all quite the same.
"The colors of these pearls are a bit different."
The Beast King heard this and replied nonchalantly, "Those are just sea pearls for illumination. Even if their external colors differ, their function is the same."
Qiao Xixi frowned slightly, her gaze still fixed on the pearls. She saw things differently from the Beast King.
She wasn’t talking about the surface luster of the sea pearls at all, but the color at their core.
Xijing had given her plenty of sea pearls, so she knew that while normal ones had a pearlescent glow, they were actually transparent through and through.
But the centers of these sea pearls on the stone wall each contained a cluster of color, like red, blue, or green.
What was also strange was that the different colored pearls were distributed in a distinct pattern, almost like a connect-the-dots puzzle. However, she couldn’t make out what kind of image it was supposed to form.
"Why do you keep staring at those sea pearls?"
Seeing Qiao Xixi still staring at the sea pearls, the Beast King grew a little annoyed. She had brought her here to find clues, not to stand around daydreaming.
Qiao Xixi straightened up. "Is there nowhere else but here?"
The Beast King shook her head. "No, this is it."
If that was the case, then Qiao Xixi was even more certain of her guess.
She reached out and touched the sea pearls on the stone wall, haphazardly tracing a pattern over them. The moment she pulled her hand away, a pearl with a blue core suddenly flashed with a powerful arc of electricity, zapping her hand.
"Ah!"
Caught off guard, the pain was so intense Qiao Xixi’s entire palm went numb.
"What’s wrong?"
The Beast King started. Seeing Qiao Xixi’s face contort in pain, she didn’t rush forward. Instead, she retreated several steps, ready to abandon Qiao Xixi and flee at a moment’s notice.
Qiao Xixi took several deep breaths. After a long moment, the pain in her hand finally began to subside. Looking down, she saw the back of her hand was red from the shock.
But she wasn’t angry. The sea pearl’s reaction confirmed her suspicion. She’d been shocked because she hadn’t drawn the correct pattern. It was a punishment.
"Qiao Xixi, I asked you what’s wrong. Are you mute?"
The Beast King’s panicked and impatient voice called out. Qiao Xixi composed herself, and when she looked up, her face was a mask of pain.
"I don’t know what happened. My hand just got zapped. It hurts so much, Beast King. Please take me out of here first."
Seeing that her hand was red and that she wasn’t faking, the Beast King frowned in displeasure. "You can’t even do one thing right. A waste of my energy."
"If I found the answer you couldn’t find for so many years the moment I arrived, wouldn’t that make you seem rather useless, Beast King?"
"You!"
’Just as annoying as Qiao Yi!’
Qiao Xixi pouted. ’Xiao Yao, quickly help me memorize the color distribution of the sea pearls in this cave. I’ll need it later.’
’You got it, Host.’
"Are you coming or not!"
Only after Xiao Yao finished gathering the pattern did Qiao Xixi follow the Beast King.
After they left the secret passage, the Beast King closed the wardrobe and looked sternly at Qiao Xixi. "You are forbidden from telling anyone about today."
Qiao Xixi pursed her lips. "Okay." ’Yeah, right.’
Even though Qiao Xixi agreed, the Beast King was still uneasy, so she decided to have Qiao Xixi stay in her palace for the time being.
Qiao Xixi didn’t refuse. After all, living here would make it easier for her to get into the secret passage.
"Beast King, can I go back there again? Today was a bit rushed, so I didn’t figure it out. Maybe next time I’ll be able to see something."
The Beast King didn’t think Qiao Xixi was capable of it. "We’ll talk after you’ve actually thought of something."
Although the Beast King let Qiao Xixi stay in her palace, she didn’t want her too close. She had a beast soldier arrange for a relatively distant stone house for her at the back of the palace grounds.
Qiao Xixi didn’t mind. After the beast soldier led her to the stone house, she gave him a grateful smile.
She was already beautiful, and that smile was enough to leave the beast soldier completely stunned.
Qiao Xixi took the opportunity to press a small packet of jerky into his hand. "Could you please tell my father that I’ll be staying in the Beast King’s palace for a while, so they don’t need to worry?"
Simply relaying a message wasn’t a difficult task for the beast soldier.
"Of course. I’ll tell him for you."
"Thank you."
Qiao Xixi pushed open the door and went inside. Although the stone house was some distance from the Beast King, it was still within the palace grounds, so it was fully equipped with all the necessities.
She sat down on a stool, and before long, a beast soldier brought her some roasted meat and fruit.
The sight of the roasted meat was so unappetizing that Qiao Xixi lost all her desire to eat it. She picked up a piece of fruit instead.
’Xiao Yao, did you replicate the pattern for me?’
’It’s been replicated one-to-one. The host can view it on a blank page in the Shop.’
’Good.’
Qiao Xixi opened her dimensional Shop. Sure enough, on a blank page, an image of the cave from before appeared. It even had a zoom function.
Qiao Xixi studied it intently, tracing patterns on the image with her fingertip.
’What kind of pattern could possibly unlock this secret?’
「Night fell.」
Qiao Xixi pulled her focus from the dimensional space, stood up, and stretched lazily.
She went to the door and asked a beast soldier to bring her some hot water. After a quick wash, she lay down on the bed.
Qiao Xixi hugged the fur blanket, and just as she was about to close her eyes, she sensed a shadow flicker beneath the door. She was instantly alert, listening motionlessly for any sound from outside.
Soon, a faint noise came from the door.
"Xixi."
Startled, Qiao Xixi threw off the blanket, jumped down, and quickly opened the door. Sunxiao’s figure flashed inside, and he shut the door behind him.
"Sunxiao, what are you doing here?"
Sunxiao scooped her up in his long arms, carried her to the bed, and laid her down before pressing his body over hers.
"You said... tonight."
Qiao Xixi wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "Yes, I said... Mmph..."
A dominant kiss, carrying the chill of the night air, quickly overwhelmed her.
Meanwhile, outside the Beast King’s palace, Sangze stared grimly at the towering courtyard wall.
"That damned snake! He beat me to it again!"
Feiyan stood behind him, looking even more morose. He had an injury at the top of his thigh that had nearly cost him his ability to give Xixi pleasure, so his recovery was a bit slower than the others.
And that tiny delay had already forced him to listen to the very sounds that set his body aflame on several occasions.
"I told you to go step on his tail, but you insisted on aiming for his weak spot. Serves you right for being slower."
Sangze scoffed, giving Feiyan a sarcastic sidelong glance. "You’re so fast, so how come you aren’t the one in Xixi’s bed?"
Standing in the shadows, Jin Ling shot a cool glance at the two who were about to come to blows. He turned and walked over to Qiao Yi. "Sunxiao is already inside. You don’t need to worry, Father."
Qiao Yi harrumphed. "None of them know how to behave."
"Father, someone’s coming," Xijing’s voice sounded from behind them.