Chapter 558: What Power

“It’s Qingluan!”

The Wing Clan beast soldiers who had followed quickly stepped forward and pulled Qingluan, half-buried in the snow, out of the drift.

Yun Ji gathered a surge of power in his palm and gently infused it into Qingluan’s body. A moment later, the snow beads frozen on Qingluan’s face quickly melted, and color gradually returned to his pale cheeks. Qingluan’s eyelashes fluttered before he slowly opened his eyes. As his gaze landed on Yun Ji and the others, he looked utterly bewildered.

“Am I hallucinating again? How could I be seeing the Holy Priest here…”

Just as Qingluan muttered and was about to close his eyes again, Yun Ji’s cold, clear voice rang in his ears. “It’s me.”

Qingluan’s eyes snapped open. He stared at Yun Ji in astonishment, then looked at the beast soldiers supporting him. “Holy Priest, it really is you!”

Yun Ji gave a slight nod. “What happened to you? How did you end up falling onto the snow mountain?”

Qingluan possessed a six-star beast soul. Logically speaking, he shouldn’t have had any trouble flying over Fire Feather Mountain.

Qingluan’s expression turned grim. “We were tracking the beastmen who abducted the females. When we got here, we found that as soon as they reached Fire Feather Mountain, some Winged Clan members came to receive them. We immediately chased after them.”

At the time, he had already spotted the abducted Zhenzhen, so he immediately led his beast soldiers to fly over Fire Feather Mountain.

“But as soon as we flew over the snow mountain, a dense white fog rolled in,” Qingluan continued. “We instantly lost our bearings and ended up flying in circles around the mountain. I don’t know how long passed before we fell onto the mountain from sheer exhaustion.”

If Yun Ji hadn’t arrived in time, he would have frozen to death.

“Search the surrounding area for any signs of the other beast soldiers. Once you find them, take them directly down the mountain.”

“Yes, sir.”

Yun Ji looked at Qingluan. “Can you still fly?”

Qingluan nodded. “I’ve recovered.”

“Let’s go.”

Yun Ji transformed into his beast form and soared straight into the sky, with Qingluan following closely behind.

Meanwhile, at the foot of the snow mountain, a white fog was also unknowingly beginning to rise. Qiao Xixi noticed the change in the light outside. She stood up from beside the campfire and walked to the entrance of the cave, only to find that the white fog was slowly creeping toward them. As the fog rolled in, visibility dropped drastically. She could barely make out Xijing, who was standing not far away.

“Xijing.”

Hearing her voice, Xijing walked over. “Xixi, why did you come out? Hurry back inside. It’s gotten much colder out here since the fog arrived.”

“The climate here is really strange. It was just clear and sunny a moment ago, and now there’s all this white fog. Can the Wing Clan members in the sky even see clearly anymore?”

Xijing nodded. “Yeah. I’ve had them group up to avoid any unexpected accidents.”

Qiao Xixi nodded. Just as she was about to head back into the cave, she heard what sounded like the wails of a Wing Clan male coming from a short distance away. Both of their expressions sharpened.

“Xixi, go inside first. Don’t wander off.”

Inside the cave, Jin Ling also heard the commotion. He quickly ran out and grabbed Qiao Xixi’s hand. Qiao Xixi watched Xijing disappear rapidly into the white fog, her brows knitting together. She could only hope that nothing bad would happen.

“Xixi, let’s go inside first,” Jin Ling said.

“Okay.”

Qiao Xixi returned to the campfire and sat down. Earlier, she had been able to hear the WHOOSH WHOOSH of the wind from inside the cave, but now, the only sound left in her ears was the crackling of the burning firewood.

Suddenly, the sounds of a struggle echoed from outside. Qiao Xixi instantly stood up from the animal skin cushion. “It sounds like a fight broke out outside.”

By now, the white fog had fully enveloped their area. Jin Ling stood at the cave entrance, but all he could see was an impenetrable sheet of pure white. He stared sharply in the direction of the commotion, on high alert against anyone suddenly appearing.

The sounds of fighting grew increasingly intense. Qiao Xixi heard a furious roar, and her heart skipped a beat.

“That’s the cubs’ fathers’ voices!”

Jin Ling heard it too. Qiao Xixi immediately opened her tracking map and discovered that the cubs’ locations were almost entirely overlapping with their own.

“Jin Ling, it’s very likely that the other fathers have arrived. Go take a look quickly,” she urged, worried that the beast soldiers wouldn’t be able to see clearly and might accidentally injure them in the confusion.

Jin Ling thought for a moment before nodding. “I’ll be right back. Make absolutely sure you don’t wander off.”

“I know. I’ll wait right here for you all!”

With that, Jin Ling’s figure instantly vanished into the white fog.

Qiao Xixi strained her ears to listen to the commotion, but it soon quieted down. Just as she was feeling confused, she suddenly saw a figure lunging toward her. She instinctively tried to step back, but when she clearly saw the figure’s appearance, her calm eyes instantly burst with a radiant light.

“Qiao Ang!”

Qiao Xixi opened her arms and caught Qiao Ang as he lunged into her embrace. His snow-white body almost blended completely into the white fog. Just a second ago, he had been in attack mode, but upon hearing her voice, he froze. His large eyes went perfectly round as he stared at her in shock.

“Mother!”

He quickly retracted his sharp claws and fangs and threw himself into Qiao Xixi’s arms. Qiao Xixi hugged him tightly in return, kissing him fiercely on the forehead several times.

Breathing in Qiao Xixi’s scent, Qiao Ang’s voice choked with sobs. “Mother, it really is you. SOB SOB… It’s really Mother!”

Feeling his little body heaving with sobs, Qiao Xixi’s heart ached terribly. “I’m sorry. Mother frightened you all earlier.”

Qiao Ang sniffled and looked at her with red eyes, cupping her face as he asked, “Are you hurt, Mother?”

Qiao Xixi’s heart melted completely as she looked at him. She had apparently scared the simple-minded and straightforward Qiao Ang so much that even he knew how to express concern for others now.

“Mother is fine. I’ve already taken care of the bad guys.”

Just as Qiao Xixi finished speaking, she heard babbling sounds. Looking up, she saw Jin Ling walking over, holding the tiger cub and leading Qiao Qiao by the hand, with Sangqi and the others following closely behind. Qiao Xixi’s face lit up with joy, and she hurried over to meet them while carrying Qiao Ang.

At first, the tiger cub had been happily giggling and playing with her father’s hair. But the moment she spotted Qiao Xixi, her big eyes widened in surprise before her little mouth puckered, and she burst into tears with a loud WAAAH.

It would have been fine if she hadn’t cried, but the moment she did, all the other cubs—who had previously managed to hold back their emotions—started bawling with loud WAAAHs along with her.

Qiao Xixi pressed her lips tightly together, no longer able to hold back her own tears. She hugged the cubs and wept softly along with them.

Watching Qiao Xixi and the cubs crying together in a huddle, Jin Ling felt his own eyes growing hot. But he didn’t interrupt them. Both Xixi and the cubs needed to vent the pent-up emotions they had been suppressing all this time. It was better to just let it all out.

Sunxiao and the others reached the cave entrance. Hearing the sounds of crying inside, they didn’t rush in; instead, they stayed outside to assess the situation with Xijing.

“Are you saying that Xixi never left Tiger Beast City alone from the very beginning?”

Xijing gave a firm nod. “Yes. Xixi said the tracking signals were affected by some sort of power, as if someone was intentionally misleading you.”

Sunxiao’s crimson snake eyes were filled with a chilling coldness.

Sangze curled his lips into a smirk, leaning casually against the stone wall. Deep within his heterochromatic eyes lay a bloodthirsty, icy glint.

“I’d like to see exactly what kind of power dares to play games with us.”