Chapter – 54
Can You Stop Treating Me Like a Kid?
Li Qingqing was still sitting on the ground, completely confused about what was going on.
Chi Xiaoxi had already run over to her, her face full of gossip as she said, “That Pan Da probably sneaked into the Xuanming Forest last night, right? Wanted to hunt in secret, but didn’t expect he wouldn’t come back.”
Li Qingqing recalled how Pan Da had bullied Xiao Ziye before and snorted. “Serves him right.”
Chi Xiaoxi leaned closer and suddenly seemed to smell something extraordinary. She exclaimed in surprise, “Why do you have my brother’s scent on you? You two…”
Chi Lin and Li Qingqing had been married for two or three years already, and she knew they hadn’t mated—because Chi Lin was unwilling.
Before, Li Qingqing hadn’t liked Chi Lin much either.
She never expected that the two of them had actually mated now.
Chi Lin glanced at Bai Yuan’s expression nearby.
Clearly, Bai Yuan didn’t look good.
He quickly pulled Chi Xiaoxi back and told her to stop talking. “You’re talking too much today.”
Chi Xiaoxi pursed her lips and shot a glance at Bai Yuan.
This little brat wasn’t even half as good as her brother at seducing people, yet he was so fond of getting jealous.
She tiptoed and whispered into Li Qingqing’s ear, “Cousin, you really eat well. When you have time, let’s exchange notes…”
Li Qingqing hurriedly pushed her away, her look clearly saying: You’re into this? I’m not!
Chi Xiaoxi immediately realized she had misunderstood and rolled her eyes. “Who meant it that way!”
Bai Yuan’s face had completely darkened.
By now, Ling Mo also understood what was going on and quickly said, “I’ll take Qingqing back first.”
As he spoke, he reached out to pull her away.
Bai Yuan blocked him. “I’ll go.”
“Bai Yuan, they still need you here,” Li Qingqing persuaded him.
Bai Yuan’s eyes were already misted over, his voice choking. “Why is it that everyone else can, but I can’t?”
He looked like a wronged little puppy, and Li Qingqing’s heart ached when she saw him.
She immediately reached up and gently rubbed his head. “Alright, alright, don’t cry. You’ll take me back—just you!”
Xiao Ziye had already woken up by now. Seeing the usually fierce Bai Yuan looking like this, he deliberately mocked him to win Li Qingqing’s sympathy. “You’re still crying? Aren’t you ashamed?”
Bai Yuan got angry the moment he saw Xiao Ziye. “What did you say? Say it again!”
Xiao Ziye was just about to oblige when Li Qingqing cut in, “Alright, that’s enough!”
She took Bai Yuan’s hand proactively. “Let’s go.”
Bai Yuan wore the smug look of a victor and shot Xiao Ziye a provocative glance.
Just then, people from the White Snake Tribe came rushing over.
The leader went straight up to Xiao Ziye. “Was it you who went after Pan Da?”
Xiao Ziye frowned. “What does that have to do with me?” He had just woken up and didn’t even know Pan Da was missing.
“It must be you holding a grudge because Pan Da scolded you yesterday, so you killed him!”
“It’s you.”
“Yes, it’s definitely you!”
The White Snake Tribe members chimed in one after another.
Since Li Qingqing was the leader of the Silver Tiger Tribe for this hunt, she stepped in front of Xiao Ziye and said to the White Snake Tribe, “Everyone should speak based on evidence. Don’t accuse someone for no reason.”
“What evidence do we need? Everyone saw it yesterday—Pan Da had a dispute with Xiao Ziye. If it wasn’t him, who else could it be?”
“That’s right, we all saw it.”
“It must be Xiao Ziye.”
People from other tribes who loved watching drama also started echoing them.
Chi Xiaoxi couldn’t stand it anymore. Others might not know, but she did—the White Snake Tribe loved sneaking into the Xuanming Forest at night to hunt.
That way, there was no competition from other tribes, and the gains were greater.
“You snuck into the Xuanming Forest in the middle of the night yourselves. If someone went missing, who are you blaming?”
As soon as they heard Chi Xiaoxi’s words, the White Snake Tribe members got upset. “What do you mean by that?”
Someone even let something slip.
“But Pan Da went every time before and nothing ever happened!”
Chi Xiaoxi smiled smugly. “Everyone hear that? They’ve admitted it themselves—they go into the Xuanming Forest at night!
Entering the Xuanming Forest alone is forbidden by an agreement unanimously reached by all the tribal leaders, precisely to prevent unfair resource distribution.
The Xuanming Forest belongs to everyone. If one tribe takes all the resources, what are the others supposed to use?”
As soon as she said that, those who had supported the White Snake Tribe instantly changed their tune.
“Damn, you’re breaking the rules by going into the Xuanming Forest at night!”
“You must be desperate for spirit stones.”
“Serves him right to go missing—he probably died in there!”
Faced with everyone’s condemnation, the White Snake Tribe showed no shame and still tried to pin the blame on Xiao Ziye.
“We don’t care. This was done by Xiao Ziye. If this isn’t resolved, just you wait, Silver Tiger Tribe!”
Li Qingqing actually laughed when she heard that. The White Snake Tribe couldn’t compare to the Silver Tiger Tribe in combat power, nor to the Red Fox Tribe in abilities.
She had no idea where their arrogance came from.
“Ling Mo, Bai Yuan—let the White Snake Tribe see just when the White Snake ever beat the Silver Tiger.”
At her words, Ling Mo and Bai Yuan transformed into their beast forms.
With a single tiger’s roar from each of them, they blew the White Snake Tribe members flat onto the ground.
In a corner, Xiao Ya was chewing on a foxtail grass, looking disdainful. “What idiots.”
Li Qingqing happened to hear that. Vines spread from her palm and instantly yanked Xiao Ya over.
He was slammed hard onto the ground.
Completely unable to fight back.
“Take a look,” she said coolly. “This is how the Silver Tiger Tribe treats beastmen with no sense of honor—let alone foreign provocateurs.”
Her move of killing a chicken to warn the monkeys made everyone else hold their breath.
Someone in the crowd murmured, “No wonder she’s Li Yue’s daughter. She really has her mother’s bearing.”
The White Snake Tribe left in embarrassment.
Pan Da had been their main hunting force. With him missing, their hunting prospects were naturally bleak.
When everyone entered the Xuanming Forest, they only dared to wander around the outer edges.
Hoping to stumble upon spirit stones or decent prey.
Aside from their weak strength, they were also afraid of the “reason” behind Pan Da’s disappearance.
Seeing that the trouble was resolved, Bai Yuan picked Li Qingqing up in his mouth and tossed her onto his back, preparing to leave.
“Wait, Bai Yuan. I’m feeling better now—put me down,” Li Qingqing said.
Hearing this, Bai Yuan felt hurt. “Do you just not want to stay with me?”
Li Qingqing stroked the fur on his back gently and said softly, “No. I’m just afraid something else might happen.”
In truth, she felt that Pan Da’s disappearance was far from simple.
Bai Yuan acted as if he hadn’t heard her. “You always treat me like a child. Can you stop treating me like a child?”
Li Qingqing froze.
If she didn’t know Bai Yuan’s age, she really wouldn’t treat him like a kid.
But knowing how young he was, she couldn’t help but see him as a younger brother.
She was just about to say that she wouldn’t treat him like a child anymore—
When Xiao Ziye beat her to it. “Little brat, you sure have a lot of issues. Who’s supposed to cater to your emotions every day?”
As he spoke, he reached out and pulled Li Qingqing down from Bai Yuan.
Bai Yuan glanced at the two of them, then, like he was throwing a tantrum, turned his head and ran straight into the Xuanming Forest.
“Bai Yuan!” Li Qingqing called out after his retreating figure.
