Qiao Xixi looked back in astonishment, her eyes landing on the Golden Eagle Beast floundering in the water. ’What just happened? How did it fall in?’

She gently patted the tiger cub and whispered, "Sweetie, don’t make a sound for a little while, okay? Mama’s about to pull off something big."

It was unclear if the tiger cub understood Qiao Xixi, but it nuzzled its little head against her palm before closing its eyes and falling back into a deep sleep.

The moment Qiao Xixi leaped from the reef, she donned the Invisibility Cloak and raced across the salt flats. With time being limited, she didn’t dare get distracted by her surroundings, focusing solely on following the tracker toward her target.

The salt flats were immense. To pick up speed, she transformed into her beast form. She finally managed to scramble up a large tree to hide just as the cloak’s duration was about to expire, waiting for its cooldown to end.

While she waited, two male Gray Wolf Beastmen walked over and sat down beneath her tree.

"The City Lord sent the Golden Eagle Beast with a message. We have three days to prepare the requested Salt Crystals and deliver them to Beast City."

"The quantity the City Lord wants this time is much larger than usual. Could there be other buyers now?"

"I don’t know. Just tell those weak beasts to hurry up. If the shipment isn’t ready and the City Lord gets angry, we’re all dead."

"Got it. They said a new batch of weak beasts is being sent over tomorrow. With more hands, we should be able to speed things up."

"Mm."

Once they had rested and left, Xixi climbed down from the tree. Donning the cloak again now that its cooldown had finished, she ran deeper into the forest.

Compared to the area near the salt flats, there were far fewer beastmen guarding the forest. Before long, she spotted a wooden cabin. According to her tracker, the Jue Pearl was inside.

Xixi picked up a rock and hurled it at the cabin door.

After a loud THUD, she leaped up into a tree to observe the situation.

But a long time passed with no reaction from the cabin. It seemed there were no guards inside.

Still, just in case, Xixi remained in the tree until her cloak’s cooldown period was over. Only when the time was up did she jump down, approach the cabin, and push open the door.

The cabin looked ancient. Inside, there was nothing but a few wooden shelves.

Xixi opened a wooden box on the end of a shelf and immediately saw a crystal-clear sphere inside. It looked like a pearl, but its luster was more translucent, more radiant.

She couldn’t resist reaching out to touch it. The surface was silky smooth, and she found herself stroking it for a few moments longer.

What Xixi didn’t know was that the instant she touched the pearl, back in the reef cave, Xijing was overcome with a full-body tremor. A low, muffled groan escaped his throat, sounding of both pain and restraint.

In moments, his pearly white skin turned crimson, and a layer of mist filmed over his pale blue irises. He collapsed onto the reef, clenching his fists. "Mistress..."

After stroking it for a moment, Xixi confirmed the pearl matched Xiya’s description and stored the Jue Pearl in her dimensional space.

But just as she turned to leave, the cabin beneath her feet began to move.

Xixi gasped. She tried to open the door and run, but in the blink of an eye, the cabin transformed into a cage, trapping her inside. The entire structure was yanked up by a powerful force, left dangling in mid-air.

"Got ’em."

She heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Peeking through the gaps in the wall, Xixi could see several male beastmen running toward her.

’No wonder the Jue Pearl was left so carelessly,’ she thought. ’They’d set a trap all along!’

"Hmph, we finally caught you, you damn merman. Lower the vines."

Xixi felt the cabin descending as the beastmen’s silhouettes drew closer.

But when they pulled aside the vine door and opened the wooden cage, they found it completely empty.

"That’s strange. How is it empty?"

The other beastmen didn’t believe it, crowding forward to see for themselves.

"How is that possible? The trap is triggered the moment someone takes the Jue Pearl. How can no one be here? You lot, check if the Jue Pearl is still there."

Several male beastmen scrambled to search, only to find the box that had held the Jue Pearl was now empty. The faces of the beastmen fell.

"It’s gone! It must have been stolen!"

"But we were watching the whole time! We didn’t see a single beastman."

The lead Gray Wolf Beast’s expression was grim. The Jue Pearl was useless to them, so they had always left it here as bait to lure runaway mermen. They had caught thieves this way before, but this time, they hadn’t found a single trace of any beastman.

"Follow the scent! We have to get that Jue Pearl back!"

"Yes, sir."

Meanwhile, Xixi was already sprinting toward the coast with the Jue Pearl. The instant the beastmen opened the cage, she had activated her cloak. Thanks to her small frame, she had slipped right past their feet completely unnoticed.

Xixi managed to jump back into the sea just before her invisibility wore off.

Xiya, who had been waiting in the sea, saw Xixi return, and her large, listless eyes lit up. She immediately used her Water Control to part the sea around Xixi.

"Auntie, you’re back."

"Mhm, I found your father’s Jue Pearl. Let’s head back now."

Xiya’s eyes widened in shock. "That’s wonderful!"

As they submerged into the sea, they found the seal pups who had gone off to play were there too.

"When did you guys get here?"

"We’ve been here for a little while. We were all waiting for you."

"Alright, let’s head back."

By the time they reached their home waters, the sky had already grown dark.

Xixi took out some candy for the seal pups.

"Here, this is for you. Go on, have some."

The seal pups cheered happily and scampered off home.

With a piece of candy in her mouth, Xiya held Xixi’s hand, feeling a sweetness in her heart that surpassed the treat on her tongue.

’I love my life now so much,’ she thought. ’I hope Auntie Xixi can stay with me forever.’

Bathed in moonlight, they returned to the reef cave.

The cave wasn’t dark at night, something Xixi had only realized later. The reef cave was dotted with many illuminating pearls. Xiya had explained that these pearls were unique to the seabed and were what they used for light.

"Xiya?"

Xiya happily ran up to Xijing.

"Father, Auntie Xixi has some wonderful news for you!"

Xiya believed that since Xixi had found the Jue Pearl, she should be the one to tell Xijing personally.

Hearing this, Xijing turned his face toward Xixi.

Maybe it was the light, but Xixi thought Xijing’s face had a faint, alluring pinkish hue.

She walked over and said, "I was at the salt flats. I found your Jue Pearl and brought it back."

Hearing this, Xijing was too stunned to speak.

"Father, are you too happy to speak? Auntie Xixi is just so, so amazing! She went all by herself and brought the Jue Pearl back."

Xijing’s long fingers slowly curled into a fist. If Xixi could have seen his eyes, she would not have missed the utter astonishment in them.

"So... the one who touched the Jue Pearl... was you?"

Xixi was confused. "Yes, it was me. Why?"

Xiya noticed something was wrong with her father. "Father, what’s the matter?"

Xijing forced himself to remain calm, but his mind was in turmoil. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

’The Jue Pearl is our life-force pearl,’ he thought, ’the key to conceiving my offspring. Only... only when my fated Mistress touches it... will I be stirred like this...’