Qiao Qiao snapped back to her senses and quickly retreated, dodging the sharp claw.
Qiao Xixi placed Sangqi on the grass and went to pick up Qiao Qiao.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Qiao Qiao shook her head. After a whole winter of training, her reaction speed was far beyond what it used to be. The little leopard couldn’t hurt her.
She wiggled out of Qiao Xixi’s arms, walked over to Sangqi, and planted her little hands on her hips. Pointing at him, she said, "You dummy! I just saved you, and the first thing you do is swipe at ? You don’t know how to repay a kindness! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have saved you! Hmph!"
After killing the Mutated Gray Wolf Beast, Qiao Ang and Qiao Lie also gathered around, deeply displeased that Sangqi had attacked Qiao Qiao.
Jin Ling stood behind Qiao Xixi. When he caught Sangqi’s scent, his pupils quaked.
Feiyan and Sunxiao quickly closed in as well, surrounding the scrawny Sangqi.
The three adult males were all high-level beastn, and even without deliberately releasing the energy of their beast souls, their presence was enough to make a cub’s blood run cold.
But even in his fear, Sangqi forced himself up on his forelegs and raised his head. The stubborn look in his eyes was sowhat reminiscent of Qiao Lie back in the day.
"ROAR!"
He let out a hoarse, low growl, as if preparing to fight to the death.
Qiao Xixi’s heart clenched inexplicably as she was suddenly reminded of the pitiful whimpering from her dream.
Sangqi suddenly started to move. He struggled to drag himself forward with his forelegs, trying to get closer to Qiao Xixi.
Seeing him approach Qiao Xixi, Qiao Lie thought he was about to attack her. His serpentine body slithered forward and coiled around the cub, pinning him down.
Sangqi’s body gave way and he fell to the ground, but his pitch-black eyes remained fixed in Qiao Xixi’s direction.
’He didn’t know why he was doing this, but he instinctively wanted to get closer to her.’
"Qiao Lie, let him go."
Qiao Xixi reached out to gently soothe Qiao Lie. "I already held him earlier. He wasn’t trying to hurt ."
Only after Qiao Xixi’s reassurance did Qiao Lie release Sangqi.
Qiao Xixi noticed that Sangqi had only managed to prop himself up with his forelegs; his hind legs hadn’t moved at all. This ti, she didn’t rush to pick him up. Instead, she said softly, "Don’t be afraid, little one. We won’t hurt you. Qiaoqiao was just using her special ability to heal your wounds. You wouldn’t have woken up otherwise."
Sangqi gazed at Qiao Xixi and once again stubbornly began to inch his way toward her.
Qiao Xixi had no choice but to carefully pick him up.
Back in Qiao Xixi’s arms, Sangqi’s frantic agitation finally subsided.
Qiao Ang’s little nose twitched. He stared at Sangqi in surprise. "That’s strange. Why does this black leopard cub have Mother’s scent on him?"
Qiao Qiao, curious, also twitched her nose and moved closer to sniff Sangqi.
"It’s true! Mother, did you sll it?"
Qiao Xixi was startled; she hadn’t noticed before. She sniffed Sangqi’s little head and found that, sure enough, her scent was there. It was... the scent of her bloodline!
Qiao Xixi was dumbfounded. She looked up in bewildernt, only to et the dark, brooding eyes of Jin Ling, Sunxiao, and Feiyan.
Sunxiao’s lips curled into a sneer, his serpentine eyes ice-cold. "Xixi, when did you give birth to a black leopard cub, hm?"
Feiyan’s face contorted with jealousy. "When did you run off to the Divine Leopard Tribe to have a cub?!"
Jin Ling’s expression remained gentle, but the smile on his lips was a bit stiff. "Xixi, could you tell us what’s going on?"
In truth, they had all slled Qiao Xixi’s bloodline on Sangqi earlier. They had been too shocked to confirm it, but a bloodline scent doesn’t lie. They couldn’t deny it even if they wanted to.
A spring breeze swept by, lifting Qiao Xixi’s silver hair and revealing a hidden lock of black hair at the nape of her neck. It was so well-concealed that usually even Qiao Xixi herself didn’t notice it.
Qiao Xixi was stunned. She wracked her brain, but she couldn’t rember ever giving birth to a black leopard cub.
"This... I don’t know either..."
She suddenly rembered the bizarre mission Sprite had given her.
’Sprite, you get out here right now and explain what’s going on!’
’Er... Host, I’m just an ordinary, unremarkable system. I have indeed detected that this black leopard cub was born from you. Perhaps you’ve forgotten.’
’So he really is my cub...’
’Host, one more isn’t a big deal. Just raise him well.’
’Qiao Xixi wanted to cry but had no tears. She was here to find the Saint Crystal! Now, not only was there no sign of the Saint Crystal, she had gained another cub instead!’
"Well... since he’s my cub, I guess we’ll just take him with us."
Jin Ling was the first to return to his usual gentle deanor. "Let’s get going. We shouldn’t wait until dark again. It’s not safe out here."
Sunxiao’s cold, serpentine eyes swept over Sangqi, then he said to Qiao Xixi, "There might be deep water ahead. Ride on my back."
"Alright."
Feiyan grumbled, "Why him again? You’ve only ridden on my back three tis this entire trip..."
The three cubs were all curious about Sangqi, and they crowded onto Sunxiao’s back to get a better look at him.
Sangqi didn’t like being stared at like this, and he grew agitated.
Qiao Xixi soothingly patted his little head. "It’s alright, these are your... uh..." She pried open Sangqi’s mouth to look at his teeth. Judging by their developnt, he had to be older than Qiao Qiao and the others.
’He was born before Qiao Qiao and the others!’
"Whimper, whimper..." Sangqi weakly nuzzled his small head against Qiao Xixi’s hand.
"Mother, why isn’t he talking?" Qiao Qiao asked, looking at Sangqi curiously. "Can’t you talk?"
Her words seed to touch a sore spot for Sangqi, who suddenly hissed at Qiao Qiao.
But he had barely hissed before Qiao Ang smacked him on the head with a small paw. "That’s rude! If you’re an to my sister again, I’ll hit you."
Qiao Xixi felt a bit helpless. This was her first ti eting Sangqi, and she didn’t know his temperant, but she could tell he was a very sensitive and highly vigilant cub.
"Can you speak?"
Sangqi looked at Qiao Xixi, his expression turning pitiful again. He opened his mouth and let out an "Ah."
Qiao Xixi took the opportunity to look inside and saw that only half of his tongue remained. Judging from the wound, it looked like it had been violently torn out.
A pang of pain shot through Qiao Xixi’s heart. ’How could this have happened?’
"Sang... qi~!"
Sangqi struggled to open his mouth again, forcing out a hoarse sound with all his might.
"What?"
"Sang... qi!"
Qiao Xixi understood. "Are you trying to tell your na?"
Sangqi nodded.
"Sangqi?"
A flicker of light appeared in Sangqi’s dim, black eyes.
"That’s a lovely na. Did your father give it to you?"
At the ntion of his father, the light in Sangqi’s eyes dimd once more.
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