Chapter 35

But Mu Qing still gently wiped away her tears, then handed her over to Leng Xiu and the others.

"A Li, even if not for the Tribe, for your sake I must make this trip."

If it is truly as A Li said, the earthquake will trigger a beast tide; then they absolutely cannot just sit and wait for death as they do now—only by obtaining advance information about the beast tide can they possibly survive this consecutive pair of natural disasters.

"Take good care of A Li."

Having said that, he left without looking back.

Yun Li, in Leng Xiu's arms, watched Mu Qing's retreating back; for some reason, she always had a premonition that once he left, they would hardly ever meet again.

Thinking of that, her nose soured; the tears she had just stopped felt like falling again.

Leng Xiao saw she was about to cry again, his heart aching terribly, "Go on, coax A Li."

If you won't coax her, he could just hand A Li to him—he could do the coaxing himself.

Leng Xiu gave his younger brother a glance, then bent over and lifted Yun Li into his arms.

"Home."

Yun Li hurriedly clung to Leng Xiu's neck, because the earthquake had shattered the stone house they used to live in, so their current resting place is in a concealed clearing.

This spot used to be where Leng Xiu and Leng Xiao, when bored, would gather people for meals and chat; now the Tribe is in turmoil, and hardly any beastfolk come here, so it has become Yun Li and company's temporary lodging.

Although Leng Xiu is not as skilled at sweet talk as Leng Xiao, he also has his own way of comforting.

"What are you doing?"

After Leng Xiu laid her on a mat of dry grass, he took off his own fur garment, and she instantly bristled.

Who would have thought Leng Xiu merely placed her hand on his chest, "Aren't you sad? Here, touch me."

Yun Li's face flushed instantly—what on earth is this?

She had only touched his chest a few extra times when they were together, and now he's doing what?

Leng Xiao watched this scene, snorted coldly, "Who hasn't?"

Saying that, he also stripped off his fur garment, placed Yun Li's other hand on his chest, "You don't like touching chests? I have one too—feel as much as you want."

Yun Li:!!! When did I ever say I liked that!!

Well, the feel of it is not bad.

Leng Xiu has bronze-toned skin; his chest muscles aren't bulging like Leng Xiao's, but they are more solid.

As she kept touching, she couldn't help becoming addicted; seeing this, Leng Xiao couldn't just stand by—he hugged Yun Li from the side, lowered his head to suckle her female earlobe, then trailed downward.

Yun Li quickly lost most of her attention to his movements, her breathing growing a bit rapid.

But before she could recover and push Leng Xiao away to make him stop, Leng Xiu suddenly seized her hand and lightly bit her finger.

"What are you doing?"

She felt a bit stimulated by Leng Xiu's actions, especially seeing his focused gaze on her finger, his tongue tip coordinating with his teeth, as if sucking or nibbling.

Yun Li inexplicably felt an adrenaline-like surge; when she tried to pull her hand back, Leng Xiu really bit down—not painful, but like an electric shock, a tingling current running to her spine, making her involuntarily draw a sharp breath.

Meanwhile, out of her sight, Leng Xiao suddenly lifted his head to look at Leng Xiu, throwing him a blatantly provocative glance.

Having received the provocation, Leng Xiu narrowed his eyes; the previously light, slow nibble grew stronger, and what made Yun Li's heart race even more was that Leng Xiu also leaned closer toward her.

Her hand was placed by the male on the other's neck, and a warm kiss landed on her face the next second.

At that moment, Yun Li felt her brain suddenly short-circuit.

Otherwise, just moments ago she had been in the grief of parting—how could the scene have switched like this?

After leaving the Tribe, Mu Qing indeed found the situation outside somewhat bad, but not as terrible as they said—claiming one couldn't go far at all.

After all, those beasts might or might not have sensed the earthquake; one or two were fleeing, but they hadn't formed a large scale, so with some caution, passage was still possible.

But now is not the time to quibble; he identified the direction and swiftly headed for Heifeng Ya.

However, after running for two days, Heifeng Ya still hadn't appeared, and the beasts fleeing from that direction were growing ever more numerous, causing Mu Qing's heart to sink.

He thought, A Li was right—even the beastfolk couldn't help panicking at the earthquake, so how could mindless beasts possibly not flee?

Although the current situation hasn't yet reached the level of a beast tide, it is enough to put the Tribe on alert.

Thinking of Yun Li's instructions, Mu Qing originally should have left upon seeing this, but before departing he saw something unknown, his expression drastically changed, and despite Yun Li's warnings, he pressed forward against the direction the beasts were coming from.

Today is the seventh day since Mu Qing left the Tribe.

On the fourth and fifth days, Yun Li could still console herself, thinking Mu Qing might have run into trouble on the road or been swept elsewhere by a beast herd, which delayed his return.

But today is the seventh day, and Yun Li can no longer be sure Mu Qing will make it back.

Now the Tribe's beastfolk already believe the earthquake won't recur; the chieftain has moved most of them into the caves they only inhabit during the cold season, and the Witch Doctor regards this with tacit approval.

Thus, aside from Yun Li's family still staying in their temporary lodging, the only ones left outside are the Patrol Team beastfolk who stay out all day to guard against beasts invading the Tribe.

"Leng Xiu, I have something to say to you."

Meng, as one of the Tribe's Patrol Team captains, suddenly came over at noon; he called Leng Xiu to the side, his face somewhat worried, and said, "A Li still won't move up the mountain? As a female, why do you keep living down here with you lot? She's no help, and keeps having you look after her......"

"Uncle Meng, are you done?"

Leng Xiu's tone held a hint of impatience; ever since beasts had accidentally breached the Tribe's defenses a few times, several Patrol Team captains had come to him, urging them to send Yun Li up the mountain.

Only Meng, perhaps relying on his slight blood relation to Yun Li, despite knowing Leng Xiu and the others don't want Yun Li leaving their sight, still comes back repeatedly to persuade the two brothers to send her up.

"A Li doesn't want to go up; Uncle Meng, are you unable to understand what we're saying?"

Meng, whose words were cut off, looked a bit unpleasant, but thinking that Yun Li staying here was a drag, he suppressed his discomfort and earnestly advised:

"But her being here easily holds you back. Now the outside situation is getting worse, and the chieftain also hopes you can send Yun Li......"