"I’m curious. Don’t all merfolk live in the sea? Why are you and Xiya living in a cave?"

From the look of him, Xijing didn’t seem like he could be away from the sea for long.

Xijing was silent for a moment before speaking. "Something happened that forced us to leave."

Qiao Xixi thought for a moment. "Does this have to do with your injury?"

Xijing hadn’t expected Qiao Xixi to be so sharp. "Yes."

"Then was your injury related to the Land Beasts?"

"Yes."

’No wonder Xiya hates Land Beasts so much.’

Qiao Xixi got up and walked over to Xijing. The closer she got, the more she realized how incredibly beautiful he was. If that stinking fox Feiyan’s beauty was dazzling, then Xijing’s was a shattered, fragile kind of beauty that made one hesitant to touch him.

Xijing was a little surprised to feel Qiao Xixi approach.

"Do you know about the salt fields in the Earth Sea Area that were seized by Tiger Beast City?"

The moment Qiao Xixi finished speaking, she clearly felt Xijing’s body stiffen for an instant.

"Are you... a beastman from Tiger Beast City?"

"No, I’m their enemy. I heard that Tiger Beast City used dishonorable means to acquire those salt fields, so I wanted to ask around. Do you know what happened?"

A long silence followed. Qiao Xixi waited. She was only probing, really, because the father and daughter were too strange. Since Xiya was her cub, there were some things she had to figure out.

Xijing didn’t trust her right now, and she wasn’t in a hurry for him to tell the truth. ’One step at a time.’

"Don’t go near that part of the sea. It’s very dangerous."

The moment Qiao Xixi heard that, she knew he definitely knew something.

"Why? Is the sea dangerous, or are the beastmen from Tiger Beast City dangerous?"

Xijing pressed his lips together, seemingly holding something back with great effort. "Both are dangerous. Don’t go near there on your own. Tiger Beast City is hard to deal with."

Of course Qiao Xixi knew Tiger Beast City wasn’t easy to deal with. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be thinking of using those salt fields against them.

"Alright, I won’t be reckless."

With that, Qiao Xixi got up and returned to her seat on the animal hide.

Xijing had already turned his back to her, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

But one thing was certain: the conscious Xijing did not recognize her.

’How strange.’

"Little Demon, are you sure Xiya is my cub?"

"Host, I am absolutely, one hundred percent certain that Xiya is your cub."

"Then why does it seem like Xijing can’t smell my scent at all?"

"I don’t know about that, Host! Why don’t you ask him yourself?"

Beastmen had very keen senses of smell. Besides, from the way Xijing acted earlier, he seemed to still long for Xiya’s mother, looking all mournful and abandoned.

’But isn’t *she* Xiya’s mother? Isn’t she the object of his mourning?’

While she was lost in thought, the tiger cub woke up hungry. Qiao Xixi came back to her senses and lay down to feed the cub.

’Xijing can’t see anyway, so it’s not like it’s embarrassing.’

"You little fatty, you sure can eat." Every time she finished feeding the cub, she felt a sense of emptiness, as if she’d been drained dry. ’Are all cubs such big eaters?’

"If your father knew you were such a little glutton, he would definitely laugh at you."

The little tiger cub couldn’t understand what her mother was saying at all; she just drank her milk with all her might.

...

「Inside the Divine Leopard Tribe’s territory.」 Jin Wei’s expression was grim to the extreme.

They had been searching for two days along the direction the Earth Escape Beast had disappeared, but there was still no trace of Jin Ling and the others.

What he didn’t know was that, to hide their tracks, after the Earth Escape Beast had delivered Jin Ling and his group to the Hopeless Abyss, several other Earth Escape Beasts had burrowed randomly through the ground they had left behind, all to confuse Jin Wei’s pursuit.

"Keep searching! Even if you have to turn the entire Divine Leopard Tribe upside down, find them!"

Just as the beastman was about to withdraw, a snow-white figure appeared in the forest.

When Jin Wei saw the figure walk out, his pupils trembled slightly.

"It’s a Holy Guard from the Holy Temple."

Jin Wei stood up and approached the Holy Guard. "What brings a Holy Guard here?"

"I have come on the orders of the Holy Priest. The Holy Priest has decreed that no Beast City may harm a tribe without cause. City Lord Jin, you have broken the rules. The Holy Priest demands that you immediately take your men and return to Tiger Beast City."

Jin Wei’s tiger-like eyes turned grim. "A beastman harmed the tribe’s Clan Leader. I am here to rescue him."

The Holy Guard was clearly not so easily fooled. "City Lord Jin knows full well what he is here for. I have delivered my message. If City Lord Jin insists on defying the Holy Priest, then he will have to bear the consequences himself."

With that said, the Holy Guard leaped into the air, transformed into his beast form, and soared into the sky with a flap of his wings.

The moment he left, Jin Wei’s expression became unbelievably ugly.

"Damn it! Who let Beast King City know about this?"

Yun Qi frowned. "City Lord, the Holy Priest is omniscient. We should leave for now."

The Holy Priest was an existence that ranked even higher than the Lord of Beast King City. They could not afford to offend him.

Jin Wei understood this as well. At least for now, he could not offend the Holy Priest.

"Leave one team behind to continue the search. The rest of you, return to the city with me."

"Yes, sir."

...

「Back in the reef cave.」 Qiao Xixi was braiding Xiya’s hair while checking the location of Jin Ling and his group.

For the past two days, their location had been moving in her direction, which meant they were already on their way to meet up with her.

This lifted Qiao Xixi’s spirits considerably.

She tucked a small flower into Xiya’s hair and nodded with satisfaction. "Our Xiya is so pretty."

Xiya looked at her shyly and smiled, then tapped Qiao Xixi twice with her little fists. "Oh, stop it, you’re talking nonsense~"

Qiao Xixi grunted. ’Good heavens, this little merman cub is strong!’

"Come on, let’s go find some food by the sea."

Qiao Xixi put the cub on her back, picked up a bamboo basket, and led Xiya out of the cave.

Hearing them leave, Xijing turned and frowned slightly in their direction.

’The scent on this female is so strange,’ he thought. ’It’s as if I’ve smelled it somewhere before, but I just can’t remember where.’

’She said she wants to know about the salt fields seized by Tiger Beast City... Just who is she?’

Over the past two days, he had heard how Qiao Xixi interacted with Xiya and helped them. He didn’t know if he could trust her, so he decided to observe her a little longer.

Qiao Xixi had just walked onto the beach holding Xiya’s hand when she saw the seal cub she had fought with the other day.

This time, the seal cub had several companions, so it wasn’t as scared of Xiya.

"Hey, look! Stupid Xiya is out scrounging for food for her useless father again! Let’s hurry up and catch all the fish-beasts over there so she can’t have any."

"You’re horrible! I’m gonna beat you flat!"

Xiya clenched her little fists and was about to charge in for a fight.

Qiao Xixi quickly pulled her back. "Don’t be hasty. I have a way to deal with them, a way that will make sure they never dare to run their mouths again."

Xiya’s big eyes were full of curiosity. She really couldn’t imagine any method that was faster than just starting a fight.