Chapter 497: It’s Not That Easy to Beat Me
For the next few days, the tribe remained peaceful.
Qiao Xixi took advantage of the peace and quiet to plant some suitable seeds in her vegetable garden.
Qiao Xixi was up early one morning. The moment she stirred, the cubs opened their eyes. But since she didn’t move, they all stayed in bed, lazing about with her.
Looking at all those pairs of big, bright eyes, Qiao Xixi’s heart melted. The tender morning moment was shattered when the tiger cub crawled up and plopped down right on her face.
After getting up and eating breakfast, Xiya and the others dutifully helped clear the table.
"Mother, are we going to the forest to pick fruit today?"
"Mhm, there’s a patch of woods on the back mountain with plenty of fruit. We’ll go pick some today."
"Yay! I want to go with Mother," Qiao Qiao cheered.
A flicker of disappointment appeared in Qiao Ang’s and Qiao Lie’s eyes. They had to go hunting in the forest with Sunxiao today, so they couldn’t go with Qiao Xixi.
After Sunxiao left with Qiao Lie and Qiao Ang, Feiyan came over, carrying several bamboo baskets.
Qiao Xixi had taught them how to make these bamboo baskets. Now, many beastmen in the tribe used them, as they were especially convenient for gathering.
"Everything’s ready. We can head out."
Qiao Xixi held the tiger cub, with Xiya and Qiao Qiao walking on either side of her.
Just as they reached the outskirts of the inner city, they found many of the female tribe members already waiting.
"Clan Leader."
Everyone bowed respectfully when they saw Qiao Xixi emerge.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting. Let’s set out while it’s still early."
"Alright."
Qiao Xixi and her group led the large party of females, preparing to leave the tribe.
While passing by the tribe’s stone houses, Huang Ying heard the commotion from inside her room. She quickly jumped out of bed and rushed to the door to investigate.
In a single glance, she saw a radiant Qiao Xixi leading a large group of females down the path ahead.
Huang Ying frowned and was about to step outside when she collided with Yuanling, who was just arriving.
"Ah!"
Huang Ying staggered, nearly falling to the ground, but fortunately, Yuanling reacted quickly and steadied her.
"Yuanyuan, you’re awake. Why didn’t you call for me? Are you hungry? I’ll go get you something to eat."
Huang Ying grabbed Yuanling, who was about to leave, and pointed in the direction the group had gone. "Mother, what are they going to do?"
Yuanling picked her up. "They’re going with the Clan Leader into the forest to pick fruit. Does Yuanyuan want to go?"
Huang Ying nodded at once. ’The forest... the wilderness... a perfect opportunity to strike.’
’The gap in our status is too wide. I never get a chance to get close to her. Now that I finally have one, I can’t let it go.’
"Yes! Take me with you."
"Alright, I’ll go get our things and take you with us."
Before long, Yuanling had caught up to the back of the line just as Qiao Xixi’s group was leaving the tribe.
Qiao Xixi and Feiyan walked at the very front. The patch of woods she’d mentioned wasn’t far from the tribe, only requiring a walk of ten minutes or so.
It had to be said, the climate around the tribe was wonderful. Although it was still the cold season, the forests were lush and green—a stark contrast to the vast, snow-covered ice plains they had been on before.
"Don’t wander too far, everyone. Be careful."
The moment Qiao Xixi finished speaking, the women dispersed with their friends in groups of two and three.
Qiao Xixi put the tiger cub in one of the bamboo baskets for Feiyan to carry on his back.
"Feiyan, go check the surrounding area for the scent of any dangerous beasts. I’ll stay in this vicinity with Qiaoqiao and the others. Come find us in a little while."
Feiyan was uneasy. "I’d rather stay with you."
Qiao Xixi gave him a gentle push. "It’s fine, we won’t wander far. Besides, I can protect myself. Go on, quick."
With Qiao Xixi’s repeated insistence, Feiyan had no choice but to leave with the tiger cub on his back.
Qiao Qiao glanced at Feiyan’s retreating figure and shook her head.
Xiya looked on, confused. "Qiaoqiao, why are you shaking your head?"
Qiao Qiao sighed. "My father beast is just silly."
Xiya’s eyes widened in surprise. Although Father Feiyan really didn’t seem all that bright, he didn’t seem to have done anything wrong just now.
Qiao Qiao glanced at Qiao Xixi walking up ahead and whispered, "Big Sis Xiya, Mother was totally sending Father away on purpose."
Xiya hadn’t noticed at all. ’Qiaoqiao is so smart!’
"But why?"
Qiao Qiao shook her head. "I don’t know."
"Qiaoqiao, Xiya, what are you two talking about?"
Qiao Xixi looked back and beckoned to them.
Qiao Qiao quickly grabbed Xiya’s hand and followed with a grin.
"Mother, Big Sis Xiya and I were just talking about where the most fruit is."
Qiao Xixi looked up and saw a tree full of orange-colored fruit.
She pointed overhead. "See? Right up there. We’ll pick from this one."
As she spoke, Qiao Xixi caught a glimpse of a figure approaching out of the corner of her eye.
Her expression unchanging, she had Qiao Qiao climb to a spot with thicker branches to do the picking, while Xiya waited below to collect the fruit.
"You two start picking here. I’m going to go check over there."
"Okay."
As Qiao Xixi walked on, she noticed the figure following her.
She deliberately walked over to a rather steep slope.
"Oh, there’s a fruit tree over here."
Qiao Xixi put on a look of pleasant surprise as she gazed at the fruit tree growing on the earthen slope. She leaned forward, stretching out her hand to pick the fruit.
But her arm wasn’t quite long enough. After several failed attempts to reach, she had to inch her body forward bit by bit, until she was practically hanging suspended between the slope and the tree.
Any further, and she would likely tumble down the slope.
Qiao Xixi carefully extended her hand. Just as she was about to reach the fruit, a figure suddenly darted out and violently crashed into her precarious body.
"AH!"
Qiao Xixi cried out as she lost her balance and plummeted downward.
Staggering up from the ground, Huang Ying stared venomously in the direction Qiao Xixi had fallen, a cruel, satisfied sneer on her face.
She walked to the edge of the slope and peered down. It was too overgrown with weeds for her to see anything, but she was certain of one thing: even if a fall from that height didn’t kill Qiao Xixi, it would be enough to make her suffer dearly!
Huang Ying was utterly thrilled. "Qiao Xixi, you want to win against me? It’s not that easy!"
Huang Ying didn’t linger. She quickly turned and headed back.
However, she didn’t return to Yuanling’s side. Instead, she went back to where Xiya and Qiao Qiao were.
Qiao Qiao was enthusiastically picking fruit when she turned around and saw the scrawny figure of Huang Ying approaching.
Because of what had happened a few days prior, Qiao Qiao didn’t have a good impression of her. She always felt there was something odd about this cub.
With that thought, Qiao Qiao jumped down from the tree and joined Xiya in gathering the fallen fruit into the bamboo baskets.
Huang Ying was annoyed that Qiao Qiao was ignoring her, but she didn’t let it show. Instead, she slowly approached the two from behind.