Chapter 549: Don’t Go Silently

After Jin Ling left for the inner city, Qiao Xixi and Xijing had lunch.

After eating her fill, Qiao Xixi didn’t rest. She decided to take advantage of the early hour and head to the market to see if she could trade for the herbs she needed.

It was probably the afternoon by then, as the number of beastmen in the market had dwindled.

The remaining beastmen were mostly trying to trade for things that weren’t of much practical use.

After looking around for a while, Qiao Xixi finally spotted a male Deer Beast in an inconspicuous corner with a wide array of herbs displayed at his stall.

“Xijing, let’s go take a look over there.”

“Alright.”

The male Deer Beast was just about to pack up his stall and head home when he suddenly saw Qiao Xixi and her companion approaching. His face lit up with pleasant surprise as he called out to them.

“What can I help you with?”

“I’d like to take a look first.”

“Of course.”

Qiao Xixi crouched down and began to rummage through the herbs, which were laid out on a beast hide.

She picked out the ones she recognized and set them aside, consulting the little sprite about any she wasn’t sure of.

To her surprise, she managed to find most of the herbs she was looking for at this small stall.

“I’ll take these. What would you like in exchange for them?”

The male Deer Beast scratched his head shyly. It seemed to be his first time running a stall, and he was a little unsure of himself.

“My mate said to ask for Crystal Stones if you have them. If not, a large piece of beast hide will also work.”

Qiao Xixi asked out of curiosity, “Did your mate gather all these herbs?”

The male Deer Beast nodded. “Yes. My mate used to be a healer, so she recognizes a lot of herbs.”

While Qiao Xixi was talking, Xijing had already taken out a beast hide to wrap up the herbs she had chosen.

Hearing the male Deer Beast’s words, Xijing took out ten colorless Crystal Stones and handed them over. “Here, is this enough?”

The male Deer Beast hadn’t expected them to be so generous. He accepted the stones gratefully.

Qiao Xixi took the opportunity to ask, “I was wondering, do you have any Cloud Mist Fruit?”

The male Deer Beast shook his head. “Cloud Mist Fruit doesn’t grow here in Tiger Beast City. If you want some, you’ll probably have to head toward the Elephant Beast City region. We actually migrated from there, and I haven’t seen any since we left Elephant Beast City’s territory.”

Qiao Xixi and Xijing thanked him and left with the herbs.

“Besides the Cloud Mist Fruit, we’re still missing three herbs. Xijing, why don’t we go ask in the inner city?”

“Alright.”

The two of them turned around and headed back to the inner city.

The beastman guards recognized them and led them inside. Unexpectedly, they ran into Lan Yue halfway there.

“Xixi.”

A joyful smile spread across Lan Yue’s face the moment she saw Qiao Xixi.

“Mother.”

Qiao Xixi smiled and walked over, letting Lan Yue take her hand.

“I just heard from Jin Yao that you had already left the inner city. I was just about to have him send a message for you.”

“Yes, we left this morning. But we suddenly needed a few herbs that we couldn’t find in town, so we thought we’d come here and ask.”

“What herbs do you need? Just tell me, and I’ll have someone find them for you immediately.”

Qiao Xixi listed the missing herbs for Lan Yue, who had a beastman soldier write them down before immediately sending him to the medical storeroom to search.

“Xixi, I’ve thought carefully about what you said this morning. You know the situation in the inner city still isn’t stable. And that boy, Jin Yao, hasn’t been here the whole time. I’m worried he might not handle certain matters properly, so for now, I won’t be going with you.”

Qiao Xixi wasn’t surprised by this answer.

“I’ll come and find you once things have settled down here.”

Qiao Xixi smiled and nodded. “Alright, we’ll be waiting for you at the tribe, Mother.”

Lan Yue held onto Qiao Xixi’s hand and continued to chat for a while.

Just as they were enjoying their conversation, the beastman soldier returned carrying a beast hide bag.

“Please see if these are the herbs you needed.”

Xijing took the pouch and opened it for Qiao Xixi to inspect.

After looking them over, Qiao Xixi nodded. “Yes, these are it.”

The soldier added, “There was no Cloud Mist Fruit in the medical storeroom.”

Qiao Xixi nodded in understanding.

“That’s alright. I’ll figure something out.”

Upon hearing this, Lan Yue said, “Cloud Mist Fruit can only be found near Elephant Beast City, but that region is very dangerous. If you really want it, I’ll have Jin Yao send a team to get it for you. You absolutely must not go there yourself.”

Qiao Xixi was surprised that even Lan Yue knew how dangerous Elephant Beast City was.

Seeming to notice the surprise on her face, Lan Yue explained, “My father was once one of the strongest warriors in Tiger Beast City. He traveled extensively in his youth, and he told me that Elephant Beast City is nothing like Tiger Beast City or Wing Beast City.”

“I understand, Mother. I won’t be reckless.”

Lan Yue was only slightly reassured by her words.

“Xixi, what are you doing here?”

Qiao Xixi turned to see Jin Ling walking toward them.

Qiao Xixi said, “I came to ask Mother for some herbs. I was just about to send someone to find you, and here you are.”

Jin Ling glanced at the beast hide pouch in Xijing’s hands but didn’t ask what the herbs were for.

“Are you leaving the inner city?”

Qiao Xixi nodded. A trace of reluctance appeared in her eyes as she looked at Lan Yue. “Mother, we’re going to head back now.”

Lan Yue squeezed her hand, equally reluctant to see her go. “When you leave for good, don’t just disappear. You have to send someone to tell me, alright?”

“I will.”

After bidding Lan Yue farewell, Qiao Xixi and the others left the inner city.

Once they were outside the inner city, Qiao Xixi took the initiative to tell Jin Ling what the herbs were for.

“We’re still missing the Cloud Mist Fruit.”

Jin Ling thought for a moment. “I’ll have Jin Yao dispatch a squad of Wing Clan soldiers to go with me to Elephant Beast City to find it. You should head back to the tribe first.”

Qiao Xixi didn’t agree right away. ‘Zhenzhen is still missing. I can’t rest easy until she’s found.’

Seeing her silence, Jin Ling’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Back at their courtyard, Xijing carried Qiao Xixi inside and set her down to rest.

He wrung out a clean, damp cloth and gently wiped her face. “Lie down for a bit. I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”

Qiao Xixi wasn’t actually sleepy, but she was exhausted from being on her feet all day.

“Okay.”

Xijing kissed her on the forehead, then turned and went to the kitchen.

Jin Ling deftly tossed the chopped beast meat into the pot.

Xijing walked over to the stove as if it were the most natural thing in the world, picked up some firewood, and tossed it into the firebox.

“Is Elephant Beast City really that dangerous?”

After spending so much time together, Xijing understood Jin Ling’s temperament. He had noticed earlier that Jin Ling’s expression soured whenever Elephant Beast City was mentioned.

Jin Ling’s hands didn’t stop moving, but his face darkened.

“A long time ago, I overheard Jin Wei let it slip that the Forbidden Techniques all came from Elephant Beast City.”

Xijing paused. “If I recall correctly, the City Lord of Elephant Beast City didn’t show up for the last sacrificial ceremony in Beast King City, did he?”

Jin Ling nodded. “Normally, when Beast King City holds its sacrificial ceremony, all the major Beast City Lords are required to attend. At the very least, their city’s high priest must be present.”

“But that time, Elephant Beast City only sent one of the City Lord’s children as a representative.”

It was a clear sign of disrespect toward the Beast King.