Chapter 263: Chapter 263: Keep Up on Your Own

The black dragon cub’s approach made Jin Ling instinctively wary, his tiger-like eyes landing heavily on him.

The black dragon cub seemed to sense this, stopping several paces away.

Seeing the black dragon cub, the little tiger cub happily squirmed in Jin Ling’s arms like a little pretzel, wanting to be let down.

But with just a slight tightening of his grip, Jin Ling kept the cub from breaking free.

"AWOO! AWOO!"

The little tiger cub wrinkled her nose, trying to look fierce but only managing to look adorable.

The poor father was heartbroken. His precious cub was actually throwing a tantrum at him over a cub she had just met.

"Does... does she want to play with me?"

"No."

It was the first time Jin Ling had ever resisted a cub’s approach so strongly.

"AWOO!"

Unable to break free, the little tiger cub reached out to the black dragon cub, her eyes pleading.

As he watched the little tiger cub gazing at him, the black dragon cub nervously clutched his dirty beast-hide clothes.

"Do... do you want me to hold you? But I’m really dirty, so I can’t. I can give you this, though."

The black dragon cub took out a palm-sized dragon horn and offered it to her.

"This is my dragon horn. It was broken off when I first learned to transform. You can have it to play with."

Before Jin Ling could get a clear look, the little tiger cub had already snatched the palm-sized dragon horn, clutching it in her soft little hands and giggling with delight.

Seeing the little tiger cub laugh so happily, the corners of the black dragon cub’s mouth lifted into a smile as well.

’This little cub is so pretty. Her smile is adorable. Most importantly, she’s the first cub who’s ever wanted to be my friend.’

Jin Ling sighed helplessly. What could he do, when his own cub was so taken with the boy?

"There’s water over there. Go wash up."

The black dragon cub, also feeling quite grimy, sheepishly went over to the water bucket to wash.

With the dragon horn in hand, the little tiger cub finally settled down, and Jin Ling carried her back to the shelter.

The moment she sat down, Qiao Xixi tapped her on the forehead.

It hurt, and the little tiger cub looked up at her accusingly.

"An’an, who taught you to throw tantrums and break things, hmm? If you do it again, Mommy will have to punish you."

The little tiger cub scooted over to Qiao Lie, intending to use her big brother as a shield.

Sure enough, a moment later, the stoic but soft-hearted Qiao Lie scooped her into his arms.

"I’ll make a new bowl for my sister later."

Qiao Ang leaned in curiously, eyeing the dragon horn in the cub’s hand. "What’s that, little sis? Can your big bro have a look?"

The little tiger cub understood and hid the horn behind her back in refusal.

Qiao Ang was heartbroken. This was his little sister who always loved pestering him, and now she’d been completely won over by some mysterious black dragon cub.

After they had eaten their fill, they began to prepare for departure.

Jin Ling glanced at the black dragon cub standing outside the shelter, watching them with longing eyes. "Xixi," he asked, "are you planning on letting him follow us the whole time?"

Qiao Xixi nodded. "Let him follow for now."

’But she didn’t want to show the young male protagonist too much kindness right from the start. She needed him to understand his predicament so that he would be truly grateful for the safety and stability he would find later.’

Understanding Qiao Xixi’s intent, Jin Ling and the others paid the black dragon cub no extra mind. After packing their things, they prepared to set out.

Seeing Qiao Xixi and the others about to leave, the black dragon cub felt an indescribable sense of loss. ’I want to go with them so badly, but... they don’t like me. If I follow them, they’ll just drive me away, won’t they?’

Jin Ling shifted into his beast form and let Qiao Xixi climb on his back, holding the little tiger cub.

The little tiger cub clutched the dragon horn. Her eyes fell upon the pitiful-looking black dragon cub standing under a tree, who was reaching out to her. She then turned her head back to Qiao Xixi and started babbling.

Only then did Qiao Xixi turn her gaze to the black dragon cub.

"If you want to follow us, then keep up on your own."

The black dragon cub’s eyes widened in shock. "I... I can?"

Qiao Xixi had already looked away. "As long as you can keep up." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"I’ll definitely keep up."

By the time he finished speaking, Jin Ling and the others had already turned and headed into the woods.

The black dragon cub’s beast form was still too small, so he had to follow in his human form. But there was no way his two short legs could outrun Jin Ling’s four.

Even so, he ran with all his might, terrified of being left behind.

Qiao Xixi frowned as she watched him fall and scramble back up time and time again.

It was now noon, when the sun was at its strongest. Qiao Xixi spoke up. "It’s too hot. Let’s find a place to rest and have a bite to eat. The cubs have been running for a long time, too."

Qiao Lie and the others had been running alongside them the whole way. Though they hadn’t said a word, Qiao Xixi knew they must be exhausted from the sound of their increasingly heavy panting.

Sunxiao found a wide, open clearing and had everyone stop to rest.

Feiyan distributed the Spiritual Spring water from the waterskins among the cubs.

Qiao Xixi looked over at the black dragon cub, who was sitting under a tree not far away, too exhausted to move. Just as she was about to go to him, Jin Ling stepped in her way.

"I’ll go."

Qiao Xixi nodded.

Jin Ling walked over to the black dragon cub and set down some food and water.

This time, before Jin Ling could turn to leave, the black dragon cub spoke. "Thank you."

Jin Ling walked away without looking back.

The black dragon cub picked up the waterskin, opened it, and took a drink. The cool Spiritual Spring water instantly soothed his parched lips, washing away all his exhaustion.

His eyes widened in surprise, and he stared at the waterskin in disbelief. ’This is the best water I’ve ever had in my life.’

After a long morning of travel, the little tiger cub was tired too. She was now leaning against her father, eating the pieces of meat he fed to her.

She fell asleep before she could even finish the meat.

Qiao Xixi glanced at the dragon horn in her daughter’s hand and reached out to take it. But as soon as her hand got close, the cub woke up and glared at her warily, letting out a string of "awoos" that didn’t sound very polite.

But after just two little howls, the little one was fast asleep again.

Qiao Xixi huffed. "It’s just a dragon horn. What’s so great about it?"

"Qiaoqiao," Qiao Xixi said, "in a little while, you all should ride on your fathers. You’ve been running all morning and must be exhausted. Let them carry you this afternoon."

"We don’t need to, Mother," Qiaoqiao replied. "We won’t be tired after we rest."

"I’m a warrior with a Three-Star Beast Soul! I don’t need my father to carry me," Qiao Ang also refused.

Qiao Lie and Sangqi simply transformed into their beast forms, silently agreeing with Qiao Ang.

Qiao Xixi’s heart went out to the children, but she wouldn’t stop them if they wanted to challenge themselves.

"All right. But you have to speak up if it gets to be too much."

"We know!"

During the break, Qiao Xixi opened her map interface to check it. At their current pace, they should be able to make it back to the Black Panther Tribe within seven days.

"Xiao Yao, what do you think is going on in the Black Panther Tribe right now?"

"Host, I have already checked. The Black Panther Tribe has not suffered any natural disasters, epidemics, large-scale battles, or massacres."

Qiao Xixi frowned. ’If none of those extreme scenarios have happened, then what could the trouble possibly be?’