Chapter 502: Qiao Xixi, Die
Shuangrong was dead!
Qiao Xixi’s brow twisted into a knot.
"Can you find out how she died?"
"I’m sorry, Host. That’s a bit difficult for me. But I can tell you that by the time you discovered she was missing, I had already lost track of her."
In other words, something had already happened to Shuangrong by then.
Qiao Xixi frowned. "Feiyan, when you were searching last night, did you pick up the scent of any beasts? Could she have been taken by one?"
"No, we didn’t detect the scent of any beast at all."
"What about a flying beast?"
At her words, Feiyan sat up straight. "A flying beast... that’s definitely possible. If a flying beast really did grab her, that would be very difficult to handle."
They were Land Beasts, after all. They didn’t know much about the lairs of beasts that lived in the sky.
"I’ll go talk to the Wing Clan in the tribe later and have them send more people to help search the surrounding airspace."
Qiao Xixi nodded. Even though she knew Shuangrong was gone, they should at least find the culprit and give her family some closure.
After breakfast, Feiyan didn’t rest and left the inner city directly.
As for Qiao Xixi, she had other things to do today.
"Sunxiao, I want to go check on the vegetable garden in a bit. If you all aren’t going hunting today, you should take the cubs to the training grounds for some practice."
Sunxiao’s serpentine pupils darkened slightly. He didn’t agree immediately. "You’re going to the vegetable garden alone?"
Qiao Xixi nodded. "No, aren’t there beastman guards outside? I’ll just have them go with me."
"Mother, if Father Sunxiao doesn’t go with you, he won’t be at ease," Qiao Qiao said, voicing Sunxiao’s thoughts.
Of course Qiao Xixi knew that, but this was something she wanted to handle herself. With Sunxiao around, she might not be able to get it done.
Qiao Xixi took Sunxiao’s hand and shook it gently. "Don’t worry, nothing will happen to me inside the tribe. Once I’ve checked the vegetable garden and see that everything’s fine, I’ll come find you at the training grounds."
Sunxiao gave Qiao Xixi a deep look. Qiao Xixi blinked, forcing herself to remain calm. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Sunxiao had seen right through her intentions.
Just when she thought Sunxiao would refuse, he nodded. "Alright. We’ll wait for you at the training grounds."
Seeing him agree, Qiao Xixi smiled. "Okay, I’ll head over then."
"Alright."
Qiao Xixi handed the tiger cub, who was clinging to her and wanted to tag along, to Sunxiao. Then she hurried out of the inner city, afraid Sunxiao would call her back.
Once outside the inner city, she did indeed head toward the vegetable garden. She had just arrived when someone called out to her.
"Clan Leader."
Qiao Xixi turned around. Yuyu and Mo Yan were walking quickly toward her.
"Yuyu, Mo Yan, what are you two doing here?"
Mo Yan said, "We just happened to be patrolling this area."
Yuyu glanced around and, after making sure no one was there, came closer to Qiao Xixi and whispered, "Clan Leader, what on earth is Yuanyuan trying to do?"
Yesterday, Qiao Xixi had told the two of them to lie in ambush near where Qiao Qiao and Xiya were picking fruit. She had instructed them that if any beastman appeared, no matter who it was, they were to raise their bows and aim.
If that person showed the slightest intention of harming Qiao Qiao or Xiya, they were to shoot their arrows.
Later, they saw Yuanyuan appear.
Yuyu knew Yuanyuan, so he was astonished when she showed up. He found it completely unbelievable.
But he believed Qiao Xixi’s words without a doubt, so he still drew his bow fully and aimed it at Yuanyuan.
Yuyu and the others didn’t understand why they had to be wary of Yuanyuan. After all, none of them had seen the scene where Yuanyuan decisively pushed her down the earthen slope.
"Her? She wants me dead."
As soon as she said this, both of them were stunned. It wasn’t their fault; after all, who could possibly imagine that a cub not yet two years old would want to kill an adult female?
"Don’t be too shocked. You’ll soon find out whether or not what I’m saying is true."
Qiao Xixi crouched down and had them lean in close. "In a moment, I need you two to do your Clan Leader a favor..."
The two listened intently to Qiao Xixi’s words, nodding when she was finished.
"Don’t worry, Clan Leader. We’ll get it done."
Qiao Xixi stood up and patted them on the head. "Go on."
The two grunted in acknowledgment and left the vegetable garden.
Just as they left, Sprite’s voice sounded in her mind.
"Host, are you sure this plan is safe?"
"We’ll have to try. As long as she isn’t dealt with, I won’t be able to rest easy."
"True."
Qiao Xixi turned and entered the vegetable garden. During her absence, Feili had ordered people to clear even more wasteland. He had been very clever, transplanting some of the edible plants from the mountain forests, and a good number of them survived.
Among them was a type of white fruit. Its texture was much like a radish, and it had a high yield. Today, she planned to harvest the ripe white fruits and plant other vegetables suitable for this season.
When Qiao Xixi entered the vegetable garden, quite a few beastmen were already busy at work.
After greeting the beastman in charge of the garden, she also pitched in to help.
"Clan Leader, we’ve pretty much finished digging up the white fruits in this section. What should we do with this plot of land?"
Hearing this, Qiao Xixi stood up and took out the seeds she was carrying.
"Plant these."
The beastman took the seeds and nodded. Qiao Xixi had already told them how to plant them, so after receiving the seeds, some beastmen got busy.
Qiao Xixi loaded all the harvested white fruits into a bamboo basket. When it was nearly full, she said, "I’m going to take these white fruits to the river to wash them. Later, you should all go to the storehouse and take some back to try."
The vegetables grown in the tribe’s garden were managed by the tribe, and the beastmen in charge of this area would distribute the food to each household.
A male from the Tiger Clan walked over and reached for the bamboo basket in Qiao Xixi’s hands. "Clan Leader, let me do that. These white fruits are too heavy."
Qiao Xixi refused, "No need. There are still a lot of white fruits over there that haven’t been dug up yet. You can go help over there."
The Tiger Clan male withdrew his hand, a little disappointed. It was true that he wanted to help, but he wanted an opportunity to interact with Qiao Xixi even more.
’Who wouldn’t be charmed by a Clan Leader who was beautiful, gentle, and intelligent?’
Qiao Xixi didn’t notice the change in the Tiger Clan male’s mood. Hoisting the bamboo basket onto her back, she headed for the river.
The section of the river she went to was relatively upstream, a place where few beastmen usually went.
Reaching the riverbank, Qiao Xixi slowly walked out to a large rock in the water. She poured the white fruits from the bamboo basket onto the rock and began to wash them.
When Huang Ying, rushing and stumbling, finally reached the riverbank, she saw Qiao Xixi standing unguarded in the river, washing the white fruits.
The venomous hatred in her eyes was completely unconcealed.
"Qiao Xixi, you’re the one who served yourself up to me on a silver platter."
Huang Ying crept up silently behind Qiao Xixi. She glanced around nervously, and after confirming that no one was there, she slowly drew a bone knife and lunged toward Qiao Xixi.
’Qiao Xixi, go to hell!’