NovelKBC Chapter 307: Daddy, Daddy, There’s a Bad Guy
Chapter 307: Daddy, Daddy, There’s a Bad Guy
In the inner city of the Black Panther Tribe.
Qiao Qiao was trying to lull the little tiger cub to sleep.
Ever since Qiao Xixi had left, the little tiger cub had been very fussy. She would throw a tantrum and cry for her mother, especially at bedtime, and no one could soothe her.
The little tiger cub lay on the bed with her limbs sprawled out, her large, gilded-gold eyes staring pitifully at Qiao Qiao as a low whimper escaped her throat.
Qiao Qiao took one look at her and knew. ’She’s about to start fussing again.’
"Be good, An’an. Mother will be back soon."
The little tiger cub whimpered and crawled into her older sister’s arms, nuzzling her tiny nose against Qiao Qiao’s hand.
Seeing her like this, Qiao Qiao’s own lips trembled and her eyes reddened.
’I miss Mother too, WAAAH! When is Mother coming back?’
When Jin Ling came into the room after settling the other cubs down, he saw the two sisters clinging to each other, their eyes brimming with tears.
Jin Ling sighed helplessly. When it came to missing Xixi, his longing was no less than the cubs’.
He took an animal-hide handkerchief over and wiped the tears from the two little ones’ faces.
"Qiaoqiao, An’an, it’s very late. Time for sleep."
The little tiger cub lifted her head from Qiao Qiao’s embrace and looked at Jin Ling, her expression utterly wronged.
Jin Ling had no choice but to pick up the two little ones and carry them out to the corridor, trying to think of a way to distract them.
"Qiaoqiao, why don’t you go back to sleep first, okay?"
Qiao Qiao sniffled, her eyes red from crying. "Father Jin Ling, isn’t my father back yet?"
"Mm, he’ll be back after he finishes his patrol of the inner city. You go to sleep first."
"Okay."
Jin Ling carried her to another stone house. The cubs were growing up, and Qiao Qiao no longer shared a room with Qiao Ang and the others.
"Your sister’s gone to sleep. Shouldn’t An’an go to sleep too?"
The little tiger cub rested her head on her father’s shoulder, but her eyes were wide open, showing no sign of sleepiness at all.
With no other option, Jin Ling could only carry the cub back into the stone house.
Just as the little tiger cub lay down on the bed, a small opening at the bottom of the wooden door was pushed open by a furry paw, and a Long-eared Rabbit Beast hopped in.
"Tuji, tuji~~"
Seeing that she really had no intention of sleeping, Jin Ling picked up the Long-eared Rabbit Beast and brought it to her. "Alright then, let’s play with the little bunny for a bit before we sleep."
With the Long-eared Rabbit Beast for company, the little tiger cub temporarily forgot her longing for her mother. She tugged on the Long-eared Rabbit Beast’s ears, her little mouth babbling away about who knows what.
The Long-eared Rabbit Beast was covered in fluffy pink fur and looked incredibly soft and cute. It stood up on its hind legs, its mouth opening and closing as if it were either eating something or talking to the little tiger cub.
"Hmm?"
The little tiger cub tilted her head, looking at it in confusion.
The Long-eared Rabbit Beast, unsure if the cub had understood, chattered on for a while longer.
The little tiger cub nodded thoughtfully. The cub understood!
The little tiger cub let go of the Long-eared Rabbit Beast’s ears and crawled onto Jin Ling’s lap.
Jin Ling was checking the map for Qiao Xixi’s location when the cub climbed onto him.
"Is An’an ready for sleep now?"
The little cub’s chubby paws grabbed Jin Ling’s finger. "Dada, Dada, Tuji, bad, bad, eat!"
Lately, Jin Ling had been personally taking care of all the cub’s needs, but there was one thing that left him helpless: he couldn’t understand baby talk.
"What is it, An’an? Do you want to sleep with your pet beast tonight?"
"Bad, bad, eats!"
"Is An’an hungry?"
"#%*¥@!"
’The little bunny said a bad guy went to its home and ate its friends!’
’Stupid father!’
Jin Ling couldn’t understand what the cub was saying, but he could sense her emotions. The little one was upset. With no other choice, he picked her up to go find Mo Yan.
Right now, Mo Yan was the only one in the household who could understand the cub’s baby talk.
Mo Yan woke up the moment Jin Ling knocked on his door with the tiger cub in his arms. Having slept in the wild for all these years, he had developed an extremely high level of alertness.
"Uncle Jin Ling, why did you bring An’an over?"
After spending this time together, Jin Ling’s wariness toward Mo Yan had faded, and his attitude had softened.
"Sorry to disturb your rest. It’s An’an. She seems to be trying to say something. Could you listen for me?"
The moment he heard it was about the little tiger cub, Mo Yan immediately became alert. He looked at her seriously and listened as she babbled a stream of words, speaking so quickly that she sprayed saliva all over his face.
Mo Yan didn’t mind. After wiping his face, he looked at Jin Ling and said, "An’an says the Long-eared Rabbit Beast told her there’s a bad guy in the enclosure where we keep the beasts, and it ate the Long-eared Rabbit Beast’s companions."
Jin Ling hadn’t expected such an answer, but he didn’t express any doubt about Mo Yan’s words.
The Black Panther Tribe had taken in many Wandering Beasts and outsiders, so it was inevitable that some beastmen might have ulterior motives. It was right to be vigilant.
"Alright, I understand."
Jin Ling was about to carry the little tiger cub away, but after seeing Mo Yan, she refused to leave, clinging to his hand and unwilling to go.
"Uncle Jin Ling, how about I play with An’an for a while? I can call you after she falls asleep, is that okay?"
Jin Ling couldn’t bear to force the cub. He was afraid that if she got upset now, she would start crying for her mother again, which would be even more trouble. So, he let her have her way for the time being.
"Okay. I’ll have to trouble you, then."
With that said, Jin Ling turned and left the stone house.
He had just reached the corridor when he saw Feiyan returning under the moonlight.
Feiyan wasn’t surprised to see him still awake.
"An’an was acting up again?"
Jin Ling nodded and relayed what Mo Yan had just told him to Feiyan.
Feiyan frowned. "Don’t tell me some ferocious beast managed to sneak in."
"Let’s get a few males to stand guard. We’ll have them do a headcount first thing in the morning to see if any are missing."
"Fine, I’ll go. I can’t sleep at night anyway." ’With Xixi gone, my heart feels like it’s being scratched by a cat at night. No matter how I lie down, I can’t get comfortable.’
"I wonder how Xixi and the others are doing, and when they’ll be back."
"I saw them heading toward the salt flats. It should be soon."
"Let’s hope so."
Meanwhile, at the salt flats, Qiao Xixi was holding a sleeping Xiya, also thinking of her little tiger cub, Feiyan, and the others, and pondering when she should leave.
Right now, Xijing was handling the affairs of the Shark Beast Clan, and it probably wouldn’t take him long to finish.
But that was secondary. Most importantly, this time she wanted to bring back more of the Seven-color Salt Crystals and other materials needed to create Awakened Beast Soul Crystal Stones.
After this battle, Tiger Beast City would likely be even more infuriated, and there was no telling what kind of drastic measures they might take in response. It would be safer for the tribe to have more males with Awakened Beast Souls.
Qiao Xixi’s mind raced with these thoughts, and she didn’t drift off until just before dawn.
In the deep sea, Ximing approached Xijing from behind.
"Brother, we have completely driven out the remaining members of the Shark Beast Clan. Uncle Blue Whale Beast has also returned to guard the outskirts of the deep sea. There are no longer any threatening outside clans in our territory."
Xijing turned around. "After the great battle, you’ve been the one handling all the clan’s affairs. Ximing, you’ve matured a lot. Your big brother can finally rest easy."
Ximing’s expression changed slightly. "Brother, what do you mean by that?"