Chapter 539: A Little Problem with the Body

Chapter 539: Chapter 539: A Little Problem with the Body

"Jin Yao told the people of Beast City that Jin Wei had used a Forbidden Technique to murder the city’s beastmen. The clan elders have all arrived, and they should be selecting a new City Lord soon."

"Mhm."

"And Xixi? Is she awake?"

"Not yet. Yun Ji said she overexerted herself that day and needs to rest and recover properly."

"That’s good. I’m going to handle those matters. You take good care of Xixi."

Qiao Xixi groggily listened to the voices outside her door, keeping her eyes squeezed shut for another moment before finally opening them.

She glanced around, her eyes still a bit unfocused as she stared at the golden light filtering through a crack in the window.

While she was still in a daze, Xijing pushed the door open and came inside. When he saw that Qiao Xixi was awake, his expression softened, and a smile touched his azure eyes.

"When did you wake up?"

Qiao Xixi didn’t move, only shifting her gaze to him. "Just now. I think I heard you talking to Jin Ling."

Xijing walked to the edge of the bed and gazed down at her. "Yeah. He came back for a little while but had to go out again. Are you ready to get up?"

Qiao Xixi murmured in agreement.

Xijing picked up a clean set of beast-hide clothes from nearby and gently lifted her out from under the covers.

Qiao Xixi didn’t resist. She had just woken up and felt too lazy to even lift a finger.

Xijing smoothed back the hair that had become tousled in her sleep, his expression as gentle as water.

"Jin Ling told me earlier that the beastmen of Tiger Beast City have learned of Jin Wei’s atrocities. But Jin Wei was the City Lord, after all. An incident like this leaves a lot to sort out. He, Yun Ji, and the other senior beastmen have gone to handle the aftermath. Don’t you worry. Everything will be taken care of soon."

Xijing wasn’t being explicit, but Qiao Xixi understood immediately.

’Jin Wei was dead. How could his surviving offspring, indoctrinated for years by his twisted ideology, not have ambitions for the City Lord’s throne?’

’But she, Jin Ling, and Yun Ji would never allow another threat to take that seat.’

’That was why, before they left Tiger Beast City, they had to eliminate any lingering threats, be they people or problems, to prevent another disaster from taking root.’

Once she was dressed, Xijing led Qiao Xixi out of the stone house.

"Where are we staying?"

Xijing replied, "This is a vacant stone house in the city, very close to the main street. If you get bored, I can show you around later."

After just surviving a major battle, her tense nerves had finally relaxed, but Qiao Xixi had little interest in going out.

"I’d rather not. Let’s just wait for them here."

"Alright."

Xijing went to the rear cookhouse and returned with a large pot of meat stew.

As soon as Qiao Xixi smelled the aroma of the meat, her stomach growled.

"Just smelling that made me hungry."

Xijing served her a large bowl. "Don’t stuff yourself. You haven’t eaten in two days, after all."

Qiao Xixi was surprised. ’I really slept that long? No wonder I feel so weak. Using that heavenly thunder must have really drained me.’

After polishing off several bowls of meat, Qiao Xixi finally felt her strength returning.

Just as she set down her bowl, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Xijing stood up and walked out. "Who is it?"

"Excuse me, is this where the female, Qiao Xixi, is staying?"

The courtyard wasn’t large, and with a beastman’s keen hearing, Qiao Xixi recognized Zhenzhen’s voice the moment she spoke.

"Xijing, you can open the gate."

Xijing had recognized the voice too. He opened the gate and immediately saw Zhenzhen standing outside, clutching a snow-white beast pelt. Behind her were two adult males, who appeared to be her family.

Even though he knew who they were, Xijing remained cautious and didn’t immediately let them inside.

"Can I help you?"

Zhenzhen stared at Xijing, momentarily stunned. ’Qiao Xixi’s mate is so handsome,’ she thought with a silent sigh.

She quickly snapped out of it, however, and said with utmost sincerity, "We’ve come to thank the female, Qiao Xixi, for saving my life."

Qiao Xixi walked out from the stone house. "You’re too kind. Please, come in and sit down."

Only after hearing Qiao Xixi say this did Xijing step aside to let them in.

Once inside, they placed their gifts on the table.

The older of the two males addressed Qiao Xixi gratefully. "Ever since Zhenzhen came home, all she’s talked about is you, Qiao Xixi. She said that if it weren’t for you, she never would have made it back. These are gifts to show our gratitude. Please, accept them."

Qiao Xixi glanced at the items on the table: some cuts of meat, fruit, beast pelts, and a few small trinkets made from some unknown material.

None of these things were particularly rare to Qiao Xixi, but she knew that for an ordinary beastman family, these were all incredibly precious goods.

So Qiao Xixi didn’t refuse. "You’re all far too kind."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Qiao Xixi, the two males tactfully took their leave.

Xijing took the gifts they had brought into the adjacent room.

Soon, only Qiao Xixi and Zhenzhen were left in the room.

It was hard to tell if Zhenzhen was naturally slender or just underfed, but she looked incredibly thin and frail. There wasn’t an ounce of spare flesh on her small face, which gave her a pitiable, almost heart-wrenching appearance.

Qiao Xixi placed a piece of fruit in her hand and said earnestly, "Zhenzhen, you should eat more. You’d look even prettier with a little more weight on you."

Qiao Xixi’s words were meant to be gentle, but Zhenzhen was a sensitive girl and understood the implication at once.

She gave Qiao Xixi a somewhat sorrowful look and reached up to touch her own gaunt cheek.

"Qiao Xixi, do you also think I’m too thin?"

In the world of beastmen, from cub to adult, being too thin was a sign of weakness. And weakness meant you could be culled from the world at any moment.

’She just went through a life-or-death ordeal, so she must be feeling fragile,’ Qiao Xixi thought, not wanting to upset her further. "You’ll be fine if you just eat a bit more," she said reassuringly. "Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal."

But to her surprise, this only made Zhenzhen more upset.

"It’s no use. My father and the others already give me the best cuts of meat, but I’ve been like this for years. Everyone says... that because I’m so frail, I’ll never be able to bear strong cubs."

For most beastmen, only those with power earned the right to have children. To ensure the birth of their own cubs, males would do everything to pamper their female mates.

However, if a female was deemed incapable of fulfilling her role in procreation, she would be ostracized. In the worst-case scenario, she’d be sent to the Females’ Cave.

’This unwritten rule is so fucked up,’ Qiao Xixi thought. ’I need to have a serious talk with Yun Ji about this.’

"Xiao Yao," she asked internally, "can you check and see if there’s something wrong with Zhenzhen’s body?"

"Host, there is indeed a small problem with her body, but it’s nothing major."

"What do you mean?"

"She just has parasites in her stomach. Once she’s treated for them, she should recover just fine. If you wish to help her, Host, you can purchase an antiparasitic from the System Store. It isn’t expensive."

Qiao Xixi opened the System Store. A single antiparasitic pill cost 10 points. With her current balance, that wasn’t expensive at all.

Just as Qiao Xixi was about to do a good deed and purchase the medicine, Zhenzhen suddenly shot to her feet and ran out of the room.