Free Web NovelChapter 343: Chapter 343: Tonight, a Disturbance
Qiao Xixi closed her eyes and spread her arms.
A faint blue thread quickly spread from her heart, suffusing her entire body.
"Water."
Below her, in the kitchen, the water in the stone vat slowly rose, condensing into droplets that hung suspended in mid-air.
Flapping his wings, Kunlin spotted Qiao Xixi and Jin Ling standing on the rooftop from a distance.
The Golden Tiger Beast was large and formidable, radiating a powerful aura.
The female standing beside him was no less imposing. In the night wind, her iridescent silver hair flew about wildly, making Kunlin stare, stunned for a moment.
In the instant Kunlin was dazed, countless water droplets flew toward him.
The droplets were like arrows, giving him almost no time to dodge.
Kunlin beat his massive wings, batting the raindrops away.
But the droplets continued to shoot toward him in an endless stream.
"Ugh!"
Kunlin grunted as a droplet hit his shoulder, throwing him off balance and sending him plummeting downward.
Seeing this, Jin Ling quickly leaped from the roof and charged in Kunlin’s direction.
"ROAR!"
The tiger’s roar shook the heavens.
Hearing the commotion, Feiyan and the others quickly rushed toward the sound of the roar.
After landing and steadying himself, Kunlin saw the Golden Tiger Beast charging at him.
His pupils contracted. He quickly reverted to his beast form and began to fight him.
Yaya, who had been walking all the way back but had gotten tired and fallen asleep in a small patch of woods, was startled awake by the sounds of fighting.
She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and stood on a tree branch, spotting Kunlin fighting with Jin Ling in the distance.
Yaya’s eyes widened in surprise. ’Why is my father fighting with little sister An’an’s father?’
’Could it be... they’re fighting over who gets to sleep with Mother?’
Yaya had seen Feiyan and Xijing fight when they wanted to go into Qiao Xixi’s room. In her extremely simple and naive understanding, this was the most complex reason she could possibly imagine.
’When fathers fight, you can’t get close.’
That’s what big sister Qiao Qiao had told her.
’I should go find Mother instead.’
Yaya wasn’t familiar with the tribe, so she could only search using her memory and the scents of Qiao Xixi and the others.
That’s why, while searching, she had accidentally taken a long detour, gotten tired, and fallen asleep in the woods.
"ROAR!"
The heaven-shaking roar of a tiger sounded again as the electric current from Jin Ling’s claws struck Kunlin’s wing fiercely.
Kunlin dodged quickly, but Jin Ling still managed to rip out a clawful of his feathers.
’This Golden Tiger Beast’s strength is not to be underestimated,’ Kunlin thought.
"I am Kunlin of Feathered Beast City. I came to the tribe late tonight to find my cub, Yaya."
Jin Ling didn’t stop moving. "I don’t care what your purpose is, there’s no reason to trespass in our tribe."
Kunlin flapped his wings and flew into the air just as Feiyan arrived with the patrol team.
’It’s the Black Phoenix.’
"I have no intention of continuing this fight. I’m here to find Yaya."
Qiao Xixi heard Kunlin’s words just as she ran out.
"You’re Yaya’s father?"
Kunlin looked at Qiao Xixi and dived down again, shifting into his human form as he landed on the ground.
"Yes, I am Yaya’s father, Kunlin."
Jin Ling and Feiyan silently surrounded Kunlin, ready to attack at any moment.
Qiao Xixi’s gaze fell upon Kunlin, studying his appearance carefully.
At first glance, Qiao Xixi found the male’s temperament to be truly icy. If Sunxiao’s coldness carried the dark oppression of a snake beast, then the male before her was as frigid as an iceberg.
He had a high brow ridge and deep-set eyes. His slender, willow-leaf eyes were also sizing her up as they looked at her.
’On closer inspection,’ Qiao Xixi thought, ’it seems that other than her black fur that shimmers with rainbow colors in the light, Yaya doesn’t resemble this father of hers in any other way.’
While Qiao Xixi was observing Kunlin, he was also looking at her.
’This female is just as beautiful and gentle as Yaya described,’ Kunlin thought. ’Just standing there quietly in the darkness, she’s like a beacon in the dead of night, drawing people in.’ freeωebnovēl.c૦m
’Even the sound of her voice is soft enough to make one’s attitude soften. No wonder Yaya likes a female like her.’
"Who told you that Yaya had been to the Black Panther Tribe?"
"Yaya did. But she suddenly disappeared again today. After I found her, she kept talking about you, which is why I came visiting late at night. I wanted to ask if Yaya had returned to the Black Panther Tribe."
Qiao Xixi hadn’t expected Yaya to have disappeared again.
’But that little cub has a mind of her own,’ she mused. ’It’s not impossible that she’d run off by herself.’
"We haven’t seen Yaya today, and we don’t know where she went. You should look for her elsewhere."
Kunlin’s brows furrowed.
Jin Ling silently moved to stand in front of Qiao Xixi. He really didn’t like the way Kunlin was looking at her.
Just as Feiyan and the others thought Kunlin would continue to pester them, Kunlin spoke. "If Yaya comes back looking for you, please hang a red strip of beast hide on your rooftop. I will come find her. Once I do, I will express my gratitude to the Black Panther Tribe. My apologies for the disturbance tonight."
With that, he leaped into the air, shifted into his beast form, and shot toward the sky.
Only after confirming that Kunlin had left did Jin Ling change back to his human form.
Qiao Xixi took his hand and asked with concern, "Are you hurt?"
She had seen Jin Ling and Kunlin fighting when she arrived. Judging by the way Kunlin moved and countered, his beast soul star-rank must be high as well.
Jin Ling squeezed her hand and shook his head. "I’m fine, just a scratch. The cubs are still in the inner city. Let’s go back first."
Qiao Xixi looked at Feiyan. "Feiyan, are you coming back?"
Feiyan thought for a moment and shook his head. "You go back with Jin Ling first. I’ll be back later."
After what had just happened, he was still worried Kunlin might come back.
"Okay, be careful then. I saved you some food."
Feiyan couldn’t help but sidle up to Qiao Xixi. "You saved it especially for me?"
"Yes, especially!" Qiao Xixi heavily emphasized the word.
The silly fox grinned and glanced smugly at the patrol members behind him. "You all haven’t eaten either, right? Did the female master of your house save food *especially* for you?"
The patrol members: ...
Qiao Xixi: ...
Qiao Xixi couldn’t resist pinching his waist. "Go on, go on."
As Feiyan was leaving, he pulled her into his arms, blocked everyone’s view, and stole a kiss on her cheek. "Wait for me. I’ll have Jin Ling stand guard tonight."
Jin Ling: ...
When Qiao Xixi and Jin Ling returned to the inner city, the cubs were all sitting obediently at the dinner table. Qiao Yi was watching over them from the side. Even the little tiger cub was sitting quietly, staring eagerly at the food on the table without touching it.
Of course, she was being forced not to move; Mo Yan was holding her hand and coaxing her.
Seeing Qiao Xixi and the others return, the cubs all happily rushed forward, chattering away. Qiao Xixi soothed them one by one.
That night, after coaxing all the cubs to sleep, Qiao Xixi went outside. Qiao Yi and Jin Ling were standing under the eaves of the porch, talking about something.
Seeing Qiao Xixi appear, Qiao Yi stopped and looked at her.
"Xixi, is Yaya really Kunlin’s cub?"
