Free Web NovelChapter 372: Chapter 372: Qiao Yi, I’ve Finally Found You
Huang Yue entered the tribe alone, while Kunlin and the others all stayed outside. So, no one from Wing Beast City knew what he actually said in there.
Seeing that Huang Yue had no intention of moving against the Black Panther Tribe, Kunlin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
They chose a relatively secluded spot in the mountains to land.
Huang Yue landed on a large tree and shifted back into his human form. Kunlin landed beside him.
"City Lord, why are we stopping?"
Huang Yue subconsciously patted himself down. Finding no fruit, he frowned in irritation. "I’m in a bad mood. I want some peace and quiet."
Kunlin: ...
Huang Yue remained quietly on that large tree for two days.
Even the incredibly patient Kunlin began to wonder if something was wrong with the City Lord’s mind.
Night fell once more. Huang Yue was still standing motionless on a tree branch. Just as the accompanying Wing Clan beast guards thought tonight would be another quiet and boring one, Huang Yue’s eyes suddenly snapped open.
Kunlin’s eyes opened instantly. He focused, sensing for any changes in the surrounding aura. Strangely, he felt there should be an unusual presence nearby, yet he couldn’t detect anything at all.
"City Lord..."
"Shh. Don’t make a sound. They’re here."
The beast guards glanced around in confusion. The Wing Clan’s vision was excellent, even at night, but when they scanned the area, they saw nothing.
However, they could sense an abnormal flow in the surrounding aura.
In the inner city, as Qiao Xixi came out of the bathing room, she saw Qiao Yi carry the tiger cub into her room. Not long after, he came out and went into each of the other cubs’ rooms before leaving them as well.
As Qiao Yi came out of Qiao Lie’s room, he immediately spotted Qiao Xixi standing at the end of the hallway.
"I taught them a deadly new move today, but the kids are a bit slow on the uptake. I told them not to come back until they’ve mastered it."
Qiao Yi took the initiative to explain why Jin Ling and the others weren’t back yet.
Qiao Xixi nodded, her heart filled with a persistent unease. Nothing about tonight seemed different from usual, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling.
Qiao Yi walked up to Qiao Xixi, slowly raised his hand, and stroked the top of her soft hair. The kind, gentle light gleaming in his eyes sent a jolt through Qiao Xixi’s heart.
"Xixi, you are truly a child your father would be proud of. If he saw you now, he would be very pleased."
Qiao Xixi quickly grabbed Qiao Yi’s hand, but no words would come out.
Qiao Yi gently pulled his hand away and took a palm-sized wood carving from his robes. "I once heard your father say that you loved his wood carvings the most. This is for you. See if I’ve done a better job."
Qiao Xixi lowered her gaze to the wood carving in her hand, and her eyes immediately reddened.
The carving wasn’t of her current appearance, but of her as a cub in her beast form—a beautiful little Silver Frost White Wolf.
"You’ve had so many cubs, yet not a single one is a Silver Frost White Wolf. The bloodlines of those males you chose are certainly dominant."
"If you had a little female Silver Frost White Wolf cub, she’d surely be just like you. Still, it’s better not to have any more. Giving birth is always dangerous for a female, and An’an and the others are already wonderful."
"Oh, and you need to be firmer with those mates of yours. Don’t spoil them all the time, or you’ll make every last one of them wild and crazy."
"Right, I couldn’t sleep the other night, so I made a few large nets and set them in the stream. If you and the cubs want to eat fish beasts later, you can go there to catch them. There are plenty."
Qiao Yi was especially talkative tonight, as if he needed to give her clear instructions on every last detail.
The more she listened, the more panicked Qiao Xixi became. She grabbed his hand again. "Langqi, you promised me you wouldn’t leave before Jin Ling and the others completed their training! They still aren’t good enough, right?"
"Yes, that’s right."
Seeing him agree, the panic in Qiao Xixi’s heart subsided slightly. Still, she stubbornly insisted on watching him walk back to his room and close the door before she finally let out a breath.
Qiao Xixi gently caressed the wood carving in her hand, then carefully put it away in her storage space.
"Mama, Mama~"
The tiger cub’s startled cry came from inside the room. Snapping back to her senses, Qiao Xixi turned and went inside.
The tiger cub was sitting on the floor, rubbing her eyes with her little hands and looking utterly wronged.
When she was half-asleep, she liked to snuggle into Qiao Xixi’s arms. But tonight, Qiao Xixi wasn’t sleeping beside her, so one snuggle sent her tumbling right off the bed, waking her up with a shock.
Upon seeing Qiao Xixi, the little one’s lip began to tremble as if she was about to cry.
"An’an, how did you fall off the bed? Did you get hurt? Let Mama see."
The cub’s pitiful expression made Qiao Xixi’s heart ache. She rushed forward, scooped up the little tiger, and began to comfort her softly.
Qiao Yi stood by the window, listening to the sounds from upstairs with a soft sigh. But soon, he detected an unusual presence.
He silently opened his door and stepped out.
Qiao Xixi placed the sleeping tiger cub back on the bed. Perhaps her nerves were particularly on edge tonight, but she heard the extremely faint sound of a door closing.
Without a second thought, she opened her door and went out.
She ran to the ground floor and saw that Qiao Yi’s door was open. The room was empty.
"Langqi? Langqi!"
Qiao Xixi followed the lingering scent of his aura and chased him out of the inner city.
The patrolling beastmen quickly spotted Qiao Xixi.
"Clan Leader, what are you doing out so late?"
Qiao Xixi looked frantic. "Have you seen Langqi?"
The beastmen shook their heads. "We’ve been patrolling this area the whole time. We haven’t seen anyone come out."
"Get people to search for him. Find Langqi."
"Yes, we’ll get more people right away."
Once outside the inner city, Qiao Yi’s aura grew much fainter, and an indescribable panic seized Qiao Xixi’s heart.
In the mountain forest outside the tribe, a foraging Long-eared Rabbit Beast was about to hop away, but in the instant it leaped, it was trampled into a pulp.
A shimmering light flowed through the darkness. At first glance, no figures could be seen moving in the forest. But as specks of this light appeared in the moonlight, five silhouettes suddenly materialized.
The leading shadow looked up at a flowing blue halo in the air.
’He’s trying to run.’
"Spread out and intercept him."
Three of the other shadows quickly dispersed, reappearing in different corners outside the tribe.
Meanwhile, Qiao Yi stood at the tribe’s rear gate. Watching the beastmen patrolling in the dark, he leaped nimbly onto the surrounding wall, his figure quickly vanishing into the night.
Standing in the mountain forest, Qiao Yi glanced back at the tribe, now shrouded in the night’s darkness.
’Xixi, don’t blame your father for deceiving you.’
Qiao Yi clenched his fists. The moment he turned, he heard a faint noise from the darkness. His gaze hardened.
A cold wind stirred, carrying a thick wave of killing intent.
"Qiao Yi. We’ve finally found you."
