Chapter 561: Looks Very Delicious

“A bit further past that side is a small tribe. Logically speaking, a normal tribe won’t attack easily unless they feel threatened.”

Qiao Xixi felt slightly relieved hearing that it was just a tribe. Under normal circumstances, the beastmen in a tribe indeed wouldn’t hurt people at random. What she didn’t know, however, was that the tribes in this area were anything but normal. The location shown on the tracker was only a small hill away from their resting spot; they just needed to cross over it. To speed things up, Sunxiao and Sangze both shifted into their beast forms and advanced rapidly.

The forest in this area wasn’t dense; it even looked somewhat sparse. By the time they crossed the hill, the sun was gradually setting in the west. Sunxiao checked the tracker. The Cloud Mist Fruits were right around here.

“Let’s split up and search,” he said.

Sangze nodded, turning around and heading in another direction.

As soon as the two separated, a black Vulture Beast circling in the sky slowly landed on a tree. Its sinister eyes stared coldly in the direction Sangze had left.

“A snake beastman and a black panther beastman. They look delicious.”

The Vulture Beast flapped its wings and flew back into the sky.

Sunxiao hadn’t gone far before he saw a few solitary small trees ahead. He considered them small trees because they weren’t even as tall as his beast form. He slithered over. Getting closer, he could see the trees bearing Cloud Mist Fruits. The fruits hung on the bare branches, without a single leaf in sight.

Sunxiao shifted back into his human form, plucked a fruit, and took a bite. The flesh was very juicy, but it had absolutely no taste; the juice was just like clear water. He reached out and picked all the fruits off the trees. Just as he was about to head back, a few black figures suddenly swooped down from the sky at a rapid pace.

Sunxiao quickly packed the fruits into an animal skin bag and tied it to his body. When those dark figures rushed right in front of him, he dodged swiftly, avoiding their attacks. Because their movements were too fast, several Vulture Beasts couldn’t stop in time and crashed into each other in twos and threes.

“Idiots, why did you charge so fast?”

“Who knew that snake beast could dodge so quickly?”

The Vulture Beasts had gloomy, cold expressions, their glares fixed on Sunxiao gleaming with a determined light.

“I love eating snake beasts the most. Kill him!”

Crimson snake pupils darkened. When the Vulture Beasts flew over again, Sunxiao didn’t dodge. Instead, he directly shifted into his beast form.

The Vulture Beasts were startled, clearly not expecting Sunxiao’s beast form to be this massive. By the time they thought of fleeing, it was already too late. Sunxiao opened his gaping, bloodthirsty maw and swallowed them all, one by one. His scarlet forked tongue flicked out sinisterly as a few black feathers fluttered down to the ground.

His snake eyes darted around vigilantly. Only after confirming there was no one else around did he shift back into his human form, pick up the bag from the ground, and head back.

Sunxiao returned to the place where he had separated from Sangze to wait. According to the tracker, Sangze wasn’t far from here, but he showed no intention of heading back yet. Sunxiao didn’t go looking for him. Instead, he wandered around the area to see if there was any prey he could catch.

Although they had brought food with them, there were many adult males on this trip, requiring a massive amount of food. Naturally, the more food they had, the better. However, this area looked truly desolate. After walking a full circle, he found no traces of any prey whatsoever.

Sunxiao could only return to his original spot. When he opened the tracker again, he found that Sangze was already very far away from his previous location.

Sunxiao’s indifferent brows furrowed. “That stupid panther better not be having an episode again.”

Thinking of this, Sunxiao stopped waiting and went straight in the direction Sangze was located to find him.

While Sunxiao and the others went to find Cloud Mist Fruits, Qiao Xixi helped build the shelter.

The trees in this area were relatively sparse, but there were many plants resembling banana trees. Their leaves could be used to make shelters. Xijing came over carrying a pile of broad leaves. Seeing Qiao Xixi struggling to build the shelter, he stepped forward and held her hand.

“Xixi, it’s getting dark. You and the cubs just sit by the fire. Leave the rest to us.”

Qiao Xixi turned to look at the cubs, who were completely drenched in sweat from working, and her heart ached a little for them. “Alright. Did you find a water source?”

Xijing nodded. “Father found a stream ahead just now. Right now, they’re in the stream seeing if they can catch any fish beasts.”

Qiao Xixi felt tempted. She was also covered in sweat and really wanted to wash up. But in this unknown place, she was worried about running into danger.

“Do you want to go wash up?” Xijing asked softly, seemingly seeing through her thoughts.

Qiao Xixi nodded honestly.

“I’ll go call Feiyan and Jin Ling. The three of us will take you guys there together.” Xijing didn’t dare take any risks here either. Having more people around would put his mind at ease.

“Okay.”

Hearing that Qiao Xixi wanted to go to the stream, Jin Ling and Feiyan put down their work and walked over.

“Let’s go, while it’s still not too late,” they said.

Qiao Xixi nodded. Taking Xiya’s hand, she stroked it and found her skin a bit dry.

“Xiya, are you feeling uncomfortable?”

Xiya quickly shook her head. “Mother, I’m not uncomfortable.”

Seeing her sensible demeanor only made Qiao Xixi’s heart ache more. “Your hands are all dry, yet you’re still lying to Mother saying you’re not uncomfortable.”

Xiya pursed her lips and said softly, “It’s just a little dry, that’s all. It’s fine.”

But Qiao Xixi replied, “We don’t even know how many days we’ll be here. It’s hot and dry, so you and your father must be uncomfortable. Mother brought a lot of Salt Crystals. Later, I’ll find a place for you to take a soak.”

Xiya didn’t want to cause trouble for Qiao Xixi, but her body did indeed feel tightly drawn and dry. She was also worried that if this continued, her skin would crack and bleed, so she didn’t refuse again.

When they reached the stream, Qiao Yi was catching fish with several beastmen soldiers. Hearing the commotion, Qiao Yi turned his head to look.

“Xixi, why did you guys come over?”

“I felt a bit uncomfortable, so I wanted to come wash up.”

Qiao Yi nodded. “The water upstream is cleaner. Walk further up. Once Father catches some fish beasts, I’ll go find you.”

“Alright.”

After the sun had completely set, the perceived temperature dropped a bit compared to the daytime, which made it much more comfortable for them. Feiyan walked at the very front and chose a relatively flat spot. “Right here is good. The water doesn’t look deep either.”

Qiao Xixi hummed in agreement. Seeing no one else around, she quickly brought out a large wooden tub from her space.

“Xijing, fill the tub with water. I’ll put the Salt Crystals in, and you and Xiya can have a nice soak.”

Xijing nodded. He had also noticed Xiya’s discomfort, so he didn’t decline. After he and Jin Ling filled the tub with water, Qiao Xixi dropped the Salt Crystals in. Xijing then picked up Xiya and placed her inside.

“Once you’re done soaking, Father will come get you out,” Xijing said.

Xiya nodded obediently. She leaned against the edge of the tub, watching her younger siblings who had gone into the water with Qiao Xixi.

Jin Ling stood guard on the shore, while Xijing and Feiyan protected Qiao Xixi and the cubs as they entered the water.

Qiao Xixi took out an animal skin cloth. Holding the cubs, she scrubbed them clean one by one. After washing them, she immersed her own body into the water.

Jin Ling held onto the tiger cub, who was splashing around in the water. He had to keep a close eye on this little one; now that it was dark, she could completely disappear in the blink of an eye if he wasn’t watching.

But the tiger cub was extremely displeased about having her freedom restricted by her father. Just as she was struggling to dive headfirst into the water, Jin Ling’s expression changed slightly, and he forcefully scooped her out with his large hand.