Chapter 260: Chapter 260: Secretly Hiding a Little Black Snake

Qiao Lie watched as the crack in the tree trunk grew larger. Right before it toppled, he quickly scooped up the little tiger cub and jumped out of the way.

"Ah!"

Hearing the commotion, Qiao Xixi and the others all came running.

"What happened?"

Seeing everyone run over, the little tiger cub thought she’d done something wrong. She clung to her brother, burying her face in his chest and not daring to look up.

Qiao Lie thought his little sister was scared, so he tried to comfort her just like Qiao Xixi would.

"Don’t be scared. I’m here."

Qiao Lie looked at Qiao Xixi. "My sister came to tag me just now and accidentally snapped the tree trunk."

Qiao Xixi: ????

Feiyan eagerly went to inspect the broken tree. "This was a perfectly healthy tree. Judging from the break, it really does look like it was snapped by a single blow. And there’s An’an’s handprint on it."

As her father, Jin Ling was speechless. He crouched down for a closer look and, sure enough, there was a tiny half-palm print on the fractured section of the trunk.

"An’an really did break it!"

Hearing her father call her name, the cub quickly peeked up at everyone. When she saw them all staring at her in shock, she buried her head in her brother’s shoulder again.

’It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me! I didn’t do anything!’

Qiao Xixi worriedly took the little tiger cub’s hand to check it, but besides being a little red, her soft palm was perfectly fine.

"An’an is truly gifted!"

Hm?

The little tiger cub lifted her head curiously. ’Mommy doesn’t seem angry?’

"Mommyyy~" The cub tentatively reached for her mother.

Qiao Xixi pulled her into an embrace. The little one’s face was flushed from running around so much, her big, innocent eyes blinking, completely unaware of what she had done to astonish everyone.

"No wonder it hurt so much when she hit me."

"Our little sister is going to be so strong when she grows up."

Once they confirmed the cubs were unharmed, the adults relaxed.

The little tiger cub hadn’t had her fill of fun yet and squirmed in Qiao Xixi’s arms, wanting to be let down.

"Mrowr!"

The little tiger cub crawled up to Qiao Lie, grabbed his leather tunic, and suddenly burst into laughter.

The adults were confused, but Qiao Lie understood what his sister meant.

"Okay, you tagged me. Now it’s my turn to be it."

Jin Ling returned to Qiao Xixi’s side and said gently, "The cubs are fine. Don’t worry."

Qiao Xixi nodded, still trying to process the fact that her cub possessed such incredible, innate strength.

Seeing the cubs playing happily, everyone else returned to their own tasks.

The little tiger cub heard her brother shout that he was starting, and she was about to hide. But as she crawled along, she noticed something black lying quietly among the debris of the fallen tree.

The little tiger cub crawled over curiously, and her little hand snatched up a small black snake.

The little snake’s head drooped, and it lay motionless, as if dead.

The little tiger cub thought it was a fun toy and gave it a few shakes.

"Awoo, awoo~ Awoo~"

’I’ve got a new toy!’

"Ready or not, here I come!"

Her brother’s voice rang out from behind her, and the little tiger cub remembered she had to hide. She quickly stuffed the small black snake into her clothes and scrambled behind a tree.

’Brother will never find me!’

Qiao Xixi was tidying up the shelter, glancing over at the cubs from time to time. Seeing that she was still uneasy, Feiyan went over to keep an eye on them.

"Jin Ling, do you remember what happened on the day An’an was born?"

Jin Ling would never forget it. "Yes, I remember."

Qiao Xixi frowned. She hadn’t forgotten Mr. Bai and his group trying to snatch An’an. ’Perhaps they knew even back then that An’an was different.’

She suddenly recalled what that Wing Clan male had told her: *You won’t be able to protect her.*

She hadn’t understood him at the time, but now it seemed that An’an’s special nature would bring her unforeseen dangers.

"We can’t let anyone else know about this."

Jin Ling agreed wholeheartedly. Having grown up in Tiger Beast City, he knew better than anyone what An’an would face if she fell into their hands. He would never, ever allow that to happen!

Once dinner was ready, Feiyan brought the cubs back.

The exhausted cubs ate with a hearty appetite.

With more mouths to feed, half the game Sunxiao had caught was devoured in a single meal.

Jin Ling explained that they had emerged from the sea at dawn. This land was connected to the Black Panther Tribe’s territory. The merfolk had left as soon as they had brought them ashore.

They were fairly familiar with the area, as they had stopped here while searching for Qiao Xixi. After everyone had eaten their fill, Sunxiao and Feiyan took Qiao Lie and the others to a stream in the forest to wash up.

By now, it was dark. Worried it wasn’t safe for Qiao Xixi and the girls to go into the forest, Jin Ling fetched buckets of stream water for them to use.

Sangze gathered some large leaves and fashioned a simple shower stall for them.

The little tiger cub, who had finished her bath first, was carried into the shelter.

"An’an, you be a good girl and wait here for your sister and Mommy. Daddy will be right outside watching over you."

The little tiger cub obediently looked at her father, then plopped her little body down on the pillow.

Seeing how obedient the cub was, Jin Ling relaxed and went back outside to stand guard. His field of vision was better out there, allowing him to spot any danger more quickly.

As soon as her father left, the little tiger cub sat up, fumbled under the pillow with her little hand, and pulled out the small black snake.

The little black snake’s head was still drooping, its eyes shut tight. The little tiger cub reached out a tiny hand and poked it on the head.

"Awoo~~ Awoo!"

The little black snake remained motionless. Deciding it was no fun, the cub casually stuffed it back under the pillow.

A short while later, Qiao Xixi came in with Xiya and Qiao Qiao.

The exhausted cub was already fast asleep on the animal-hide blanket, her limbs sprawled out in every direction.

Qiao Xixi stepped forward and pulled a small blanket over her.

Before they could lie down, Qiao Lie and the others returned as well.

The shelter was large enough to accommodate all of them.

Sunxiao watched as the children entered the shelter, then stopped outside.

"I’ll take the first watch tonight. You all get some sleep."

Hearing this, Sangze leaned against a tree with his arms crossed. "Now that I’m finally awake, I’m not about to waste it sleeping. I’ll go hunt later tonight."

Feiyan ducked into the shelter. "All right. You two keep watch. Jin Ling and I will get some rest."

"Yeah."

Qiao Xixi and the children slept on one side, while Jin Ling and the other men slept on the opposite side.

After lying down, Qiao Xixi pulled the little tiger cub closer into her embrace to keep her from fidgeting and kicking Qiao Qiao beside her.

The night grew quiet. The sound of even breathing filled the shelter as Qiao Xixi closed her eyes. Just as she was about to drift off, she suddenly felt something slither across her hand.

Her heart leaped in alarm. She shot upright, violently flinging the thing off her hand.

"What was that?!"

"Xixi, what’s wrong?"