Chapter – 41
A Heart Made of Stone
Ling Mo rarely saw her this muddle‑headed and couldn’t help letting out a soft laugh. “Probably.”
Not long after the sun set, Li Qingqing finally made it back to her cave. Another hectic day was over.
She subconsciously thought she was still lying on the ultra‑soft Simmons mattress from her previous life. Without thinking, she flopped down hard—
then immediately screamed in pain.
“Ah!”
This instantly drew complaints from the neighboring beastmen.
“Why are you screaming in the middle of the night?”
“Who’s yelling? I can’t even mate properly now. I finally fell asleep and got woken up.”
“Enough already! Look around—who’s screaming tonight? You’re the only one!”
Li Qingqing rubbed her back, not daring to speak loudly again. She muttered under her breath,
“Is everyone so irritable just because they haven’t mated? Hormonal imbalance much…”
“Check favorability and prestige.”
【Ling Mo Favorability: 50
Feng Hao Favorability: 55
Xiao Ziye Favorability: 50
Chi Lin Favorability: 75
Bai Yuan Favorability: 65】
【Prestige: 35】
Listening to the numbers, Li Qingqing fell into deep thought.
Xiao Ziye’s favorability went up and down like a yo‑yo.
Bai Yuan’s favorability hadn’t dropped in a long time, yet today it actually decreased.
He didn’t seem to be in a good mood today either. Heaven above—why did Qiao Shuangji offend him, and why did she have to lose favorability because of it?
Chi Lin’s favorability was relatively stable and steadily rising.
As for the other two—no movement at all. Truly hearts made of stone.
Three more busy days passed like this.
Most of the beastmen in the tribe gradually recovered, but some of the elderly, weak, and sick still died in the epidemic.
For years, there had been no conflicts between tribes, and hardly any beastmen had died. For many, this loss was unbearable.
Gradually, rumors began to spread.
“This plague came from Chi Chenyan.”
“Exactly. That Yanzhisha used to deliver food to Chi Chenyan all the time. Poor thing—caught up in this mess and died just like that…”
An elderly beastman who had barely survived the epidemic joined the discussion, slamming her cane heavily against the ground.
“I watched the chief grow up. Back then, the old chief opposed her marrying a Red Fox. Look at this now—something’s gone wrong. Those not of our kind will never truly share our hearts.”
When Li Qingqing passed by the river, she overheard this conversation and immediately sensed trouble.
Sure enough, the next moment they continued.
“Do Yanzhisha’s beast husbands know about this? Her death was too unjust!”
“How could they not know? Didn’t you hear Su Qianyi say it last time? That plague was deliberately brought over by the Red Fox tribe’s leader.”
Li Qingqing’s heart tightened.
How did Su Qianyi know this?
Suddenly, she remembered the day Chi Lin noticed someone eavesdropping.
This Su Qianyi really wouldn’t stop until she ruined her completely.
“Yanzhisha’s beast husbands are definitely going to make a scene. Who wouldn’t grieve for their wife? Being labeled as ‘wife‑killing’ these days would drown them alive!”
Hearing this, Li Qingqing immediately changed direction and headed toward Li Yue’s tree hollow.
By sheer coincidence, she ran into Chi Chenyan on the way.
After recovering from the epidemic, his body had grown much stronger and no longer looked as frail as before.
He was walking ahead, seemingly headed somewhere.
Li Qingqing quickly called out, “Father, where are you going?”
Chi Chenyan froze slightly when he heard her voice. Turning around, he looked startled for a moment, then forced himself to calm down.
“Qingqing.”
Seeing how unnatural his expression was—and noticing that he was clearly heading toward the tribe’s exit—she instantly understood.
“You’re going to see Chi Xiaoxi, aren’t you?”
She guessed right. Chi Chenyan froze completely.
“Q‑Qingqing, listen to me…”
Li Qingqing couldn’t understand him at all. Chi Xiaoxi had nearly killed him, yet he was still acting like this.
“You almost walked through the gates of death and still haven’t learned your lesson?”
Her tone was earnest and heavy—less like a daughter, more like a mother.
Since she had already seen through him, Chi Chenyan stopped hiding it.
“Sigh… she didn’t do it on purpose. She just asked me to go out to see if I’ve recovered.”
Li Qingqing genuinely didn’t know how he could say something like that. Left with no choice, she brought up Li Yue.
“Go back right now. If you go see her today, I’ll immediately tell my mother.”
“Qingqing, I—”
She cut him off.
“Haven’t you heard the rumors in the tribe? You think if you’re driven out of the Silver Tiger Tribe, the Red Fox Tribe will accept you? When have they ever truly valued you?”
Chi Chenyan recalled how distant he had been from his sister in childhood, and how Chi Xiaoxi had only ever shown him superficial respect.
If he were truly expelled, whether the Red Fox Tribe would take him in was very uncertain.
“…Alright. I’ll go back.”
He turned and walked in the opposite direction.
Li Qingqing sighed. Her father really was the type who’d help count the money after being sold.
When she reached Li Yue’s tree hollow, loud arguing was already coming from inside.
“So he killed my wife and doesn’t have to pay with his life?!”
“Who told you Chi Chenyan killed her?”
“If it wasn’t him, then it was Chi Lin! Both are from the Red Fox Tribe! Everyone in the tribe knows now—the plague came from the Red Fox Tribe!”
Others immediately echoed the accusation.
“Exactly. It’s those two.”
Li Yue didn’t know how to handle this situation. She had no idea how the news leaked.
A‑Qi, who had leaked secrets before, had long since been sent away. She never kept disloyal beastmen around.
Li Qingqing straightened her back and walked in.
After the epidemic, everyone’s view of her had changed.
Seeing her now, they no longer looked at her with disdain and even made way for her.
“Where did you hear all this from?” Li Yue asked, her voice carrying a trace of authority unlike her usual self.
Everyone froze, looking at one another, unable to answer.
Li Yue looked at Li Qingqing with a hint of approval.
Even without an answer, Li Qingqing already knew the truth.
“This was done by the Red Fox Tribe. But if you want to point fingers, point them at the Red Fox Tribe. My father and Chi Lin married into the Silver Tiger Tribe—they are members of the Silver Tiger Clan. What kind of skill is it to attack your own people?”
The crowd instantly split into two factions.
One side agreed with her. Inter‑tribal marriages were common, and besides Chi Lin, there were males from other tribes in the Silver Tiger Tribe as well. If everyone from another tribe were condemned, who would still be willing to marry Silver Tiger females?
The other side was led by Yanzhisha’s beast husbands. They had lost loved ones in the epidemic—no one could remain calm.
“If there weren’t Red Fox traitors inside the tribe, how could the plague have gotten in? Even if they didn’t know, they were used like idiots. They still deserve to die!”
Left with no choice, Li Qingqing made a solemn promise.
“I swear—I will make the real culprit give everyone an explanation and make the Red Fox Tribe pay the price.”
The crowd erupted into hushed discussion.
“Does that mean another war…?”
“Who wants to keep fighting like this?”
“You people only dare bully your own. When it’s time to fight outsiders, you don’t want to. No wonder the Red Fox Tribe is so weak yet still dares to step on our heads.”
“Then fight! If we can’t even defeat the Red Fox Tribe, how will the Silver Tigers stand firm on this beast continent?”
