Chapter 259: Chapter 259: What’s the Use of a Feather?

"Where’s your father and the others?"

"AWOO-BLBLBL~~"

The cub had no idea what Qiao Xixi was saying. She just grabbed a handful of her mother’s hair and shoved it into her mouth.

Qiao Xixi quickly stopped her. Wondering if the cub was hungry, she decided to nurse her. But just as she lay down, a faint, illusory figure appeared before her eyes.

Startled, Qiao Xixi hastily covered herself and picked up the cub.

Yun Ji was also taken aback for a moment, but he quickly composed himself.

"Xixi."

Qiao Xixi was a little annoyed. "You have a habit of just appearing out of thin air."

A faint smile touched Yun Ji’s lips. "I’m inside your dream."

’A dream?’ Qiao Xixi was taken aback. ’Am I dreaming right now?’

"You can’t just barge into a person’s dream, you know. Do you need something?"

Yun Ji extended his hand toward her, a multi-colored feather resting in his palm. "I left in a hurry last time and forgot to give you something."

"A feather? What’s it good for?"

Yun Ji: ...

"Yes. When it matters most, it can lend you some strength."

Qiao Xixi took the feather. The moment her fingertip made contact, her pupils widened slightly. A surging power flowed from the feather, through her finger, and into her very veins. She looked up in astonishment.

"Just who are you?"

Yun Ji merely smiled faintly. "You’ll find out eventually. Remember, do your best to strengthen the Black Panther Tribe."

"AWOO, Ma... Mama~"

Qiao Xixi’s eyes flew open to find the cub’s chubby little face pressed against hers, covering it in drool.

Qiao Xixi picked her up and sat up. She looked around and saw Jin Ling sitting not far away, roasting meat. Sunxiao and Feiyan were dressing their kill, while Sangqi was leading the other children to gather firewood.

She rubbed her temples. ’Was that really just a dream?’ Just as she was about to stand up with the cub in her arms, she felt something in her hand. Spreading her palm open, she saw a multi-colored feather.

"It wasn’t a dream..."

"Sprite, who on earth was that male?"

"Host, I can’t find anything on him either. But the feather he gave you seems to contain powerful energy. You should hold onto it for now; it might come in handy later."

Qiao Xixi thought so too. Taking a moment while she put the feather away, she entered her personal space and went to check on the Spiritual Spring.

After getting that seed from Yun Ji, she had discussed it with her Sprite and placed it in the Spiritual Spring to nurture. But even after all this time, the seed showed no signs of change.

"Do you think... I might’ve killed it by soaking it for too long?"

The Sprite’s ethereal form drifted over to Qiao Xixi’s side and peered into the Spiritual Spring. "I doubt it. It doesn’t look like anything’s wrong with it. Let’s just wait a little longer."

Qiao Xixi hummed in agreement, then suddenly gasped. She was instantly pulled back to reality—her chubby cub was trying to climb onto her head.

"An’an, get down from there! You can’t climb on your mother’s head."

Hearing the commotion, Jin Ling came over and picked up the little meatball, finally freeing Qiao Xixi.

Qiao Xixi got up and pinched her chubby little foot. "You little rascal. If you’re naughty again, Mommy’s going to bite you."

"AWOO~~!"

The little tiger cub seemed to understand. Opening her mouth with a tiny "awoo," she tried to pounce on Qiao Xixi.

Thankfully, Jin Ling stopped her.

"Be good, now. Stop making trouble, or Daddy will have to give you a spanking."

"AWOO~!"

Since she couldn’t bite her mother, the cub turned her little head and planted a slobbery mouthful right on Jin Ling’s face.

Normally, a cub’s bite wouldn’t be strong enough to hurt a thick-skinned male. But after a few chomps from the little tiger cub, Jin Ling’s face was already red. The doting father, who loved his daughter more than life itself, couldn’t bring himself to scold her. Instead, he just gave her a piece of jerky to play with. The mischievous little one finally settled down.

The jerky was tough and hard from being air-dried. Yet, when the little tiger cub grabbed the long strip with her pale, chubby hands and gave it a gentle tug, the fibrous jerky instantly snapped in two.

Qiao Lie, who was returning with an armful of firewood, saw this, and his eyes widened in astonishment.

Qiao Ang noticed Qiao Lie’s expression and followed his gaze to their little sister, who was eating jerky. He gulped. "Qiao Lie, are you hungry? You want some jerky? I have some right here, take a piece."

Without waiting for a reply, Qiao Ang dumped the firewood he was carrying into Qiao Lie’s arms. He then fumbled for a small beast-hide pouch, pulled out two pieces of jerky, and examined them. With a pained look, he finally stuffed the larger piece into Qiao Lie’s mouth.

"Mmph, this jer...ky," he mumbled. "Hss~ It’s all gone. I need to get more from Mother."

Qiao Xixi knew Qiao Ang was always hungry, so she had made a small beast-hide pouch for each of the children. She would fill them with dried fruit and jerky for them to snack on. Qiao Ang’s pouch, she always made sure to stuff a little bit fuller.

Qiao Lie glanced at Qiao Ang. "I still have some. You can have it, big brother."

Qiao Ang’s light brown eyes lit up. His hand shot to Qiao Lie’s waist and snatched the small pouch. "Qiao Lie, how do you still have so much? Don’t you like it?"

"Mm."

"Hehe."

Qiao Lie carried the firewood over to Jin Ling and set it down. After wiping his hands clean, he walked over to the little tiger cub to play with her.

"AWOO~~"

The little tiger cub adored her older brothers and sisters—every single one of them. The moment she saw Qiao Lie approach, she stopped chewing her jerky and immediately started scrambling up his body, using both her hands and feet.

Qiao Lie quickly reached out to pick her up.

"What does An’an want to play with her big brother?"

"SPUTTER SPUTTER~~"

"You want to play tag? Okay, big brother will take you over there to play."

After they finished their chores, the children all washed their hands and went to play with the little tiger cub. She was obsessed with playing tag these days, and she’d be happy for ages every time she managed to catch someone.

"Come get your big sister, An’an! I’m over here!"

"AROO-ROO-ROO-WOO!"

Seeing the children playing so happily, Qiao Xixi didn’t disturb them. Instead, she walked over to Jin Ling’s side to help him with the roasting.

"I’ll get some more fruit out to make jam."

The jam she had stored in her space was almost gone, so if they wanted more, she’d have to make a new batch.

"Xixi, just get the fruit out and I’ll make it," Sangze said, walking over to help. "Jin Ling already told me how to make jam last time."

"Sure. I’ll set up a shelter then."

Qiao Xixi found a relatively flat, open area and buried the Long-tongued Vine. Soon, the vine grew into a frame, just like one for a tent.

Seeing Qiao Xixi at work, Feiyan dropped the firewood he was carrying and eagerly trotted over to help.

With the adults busy with their own tasks, no one was paying much attention to the playing children.

The little tiger cub had taken a long nap and was bursting with energy, crawling after her brothers and sisters with surprising speed.

Qiao Lie was hiding behind a medium-sized tree when the little tiger cub spotted him. She crawled over quickly, raising a hand to grab at him.

But she was still just a baby, and her aim wasn’t very good. She swung with all her might, but instead of hitting her brother, her paw struck the tree trunk.

With a tremendous CRACK, Qiao Lie froze, completely stunned.