Chapter 35: Unusually Fierce

Mu Qing, however, gently wiped the tears from her face before finally handing her over to Leng Xiu and the others.

"A-Li, even if not for the tribe, I must make this journey for your sake."

If it were true, as A-Li suggested, that the earthquake would trigger a beast stampede, they could not simply sit and wait for their doom. Only by obtaining information about the stampede in advance would they have a chance to survive this series of natural disasters.

"Take good care of A-Li."

With those words, he turned and walked away without looking back.

In Leng Xiu’s arms, Yun Li watched Mu Qing’s retreating figure. For some reason, she had a premonition that once he left, it would be difficult for them to meet again. At this thought, her nose stung, and the tears she had already suppressed threatened to fall once more.

Seeing that she was about to cry again, Leng Xiao felt his heart ache uncontrollably. "Go on, comfort A-Li." If he wasn't going to do it, he should just hand her over; he would be happy to comfort her himself.

Leng Xiu shot his younger brother a sidelong glance, then leaned down and scooped Yun Li into his arms.

"Let’s go home."

Yun Li quickly wrapped her arms around Leng Xiu’s neck. Because the earthquake had destroyed the stone house they previously lived in, they were now resting in a secluded, inconspicuous open space. This area had originally been a spot where Leng Xiu, Leng Xiao, and others gathered to chat during their leisure time. Now that the tribe was in chaos, few beastmen wandered this way, making it an ideal temporary shelter for them.

Although Leng Xiu was not as adept at sweet talk as Leng Xiao, he had his own way of offering comfort.

"What are you doing?"

After being placed on a mat made of dried grass, Yun Li saw him begin to remove his fur garment and immediately bristled.

To her surprise, Leng Xiu simply took her hand and placed it against his chest. "Aren't you sad? Here, you can touch this."

Yun Li’s face turned bright red instantly. What was this? She had only touched his chest a few times when they were together; what was he doing now?

Leng Xiao watched the scene and gave a cold laugh. "As if I don't have one, too."

He then removed his own fur garment and placed Yun Li's other hand against his chest. "If you like touching chests so much, I have one too. You can touch it to your heart's content."

Yun Li: !!! When did she ever say she liked it?!!

Well, the texture was actually quite nice. Leng Xiu had bronze-colored skin; his chest muscles were not as bulky as Leng Xiao's, but they were firmer. As she touched him, she couldn't help but become addicted. Seeing this, Leng Xiao refused to be outdone; he embraced Yun Li from the side, leaned down to nip at her earlobe, and then began to trail kisses downwards.

Yun Li’s attention was quickly diverted by his actions, and her breathing grew shallow. Before she could regain her senses to push Leng Xiao away and tell him to stop, Leng Xiu suddenly took her hand and gently nibbled on her fingers.

"What are you doing?"

She was startled by his actions, especially seeing his intense focus on her fingers, his tongue and teeth working in tandem, like a suckling motion, yet also like a gentle gnaw.

A surge of adrenaline inexplicably washed over Yun Li. Just as she tried to pull her hand away, Leng Xiu gave it a playful bite. It wasn't painful, but it felt as if she had been shocked; a tingling sensation raced up her spine, causing her to involuntarily catch her breath.

Hidden from her view, Leng Xiao suddenly looked up at Leng Xiu, throwing him a blatant, provocative glare.

Receiving the challenge, Leng Xiu narrowed his eyes. The light, slow nibbling suddenly became heavier. Furthermore, what made Yun Li’s heart race even faster was that Leng Xiu had leaned in even closer. As her hand rested against his neck, warm kisses began to fall upon her face.

For a moment, Yun Li felt her mind go completely blank. She wondered how, just a moment ago, she had been drowning in the sorrow of parting, only for the scene to shift so drastically.

...

After leaving the tribe, Mu Qing discovered that the situation outside was indeed grim, though not quite as dire as Gong and the others had claimed—it wasn't as if one couldn't travel at all. It seemed the wild beasts had sensed the earthquake and were fleeing, but they had not yet formed a massive, organized horde. By being cautious, one could still move through the area.

This was no time for hesitation. He identified his direction and dashed rapidly toward Black Wind Cliff.

However, after running for two days, he still had not reached the cliff, but the number of beasts fleeing from that direction had increased significantly. Mu Qing’s heart sank.

He thought to himself that A-Li was right. If even the beastmen were panicked by the earthquake, how could the mindless beasts not flee in terror? While the current situation did not yet qualify as a full-scale stampede, it was more than enough to put the tribe on high alert.

Remembering Yun Li’s instructions, Mu Qing should have turned back upon seeing this, but before he could leave, he saw something that caused his expression to change drastically. Disregarding Yun Li’s warnings, he plunged deeper into the wilderness, moving directly against the tide of fleeing beasts.

...

Today marked the seventh day since Mu Qing left the tribe.

On the fourth and fifth days, Yun Li had been able to convince herself that Mu Qing might have encountered trouble on the road or had been diverted by herds of beasts, thus delaying his return. But now, on the seventh day, she could no longer be certain that he would make it back.

The beastmen of the tribe now believed that the earthquakes would not recur. The tribal chief had ordered most to move into the caves usually reserved for the Cold Season, a decision the shaman tacitly approved of. Because of this, besides Yun Li’s family, who remained in their temporary shelter, only the patrol guards—who stayed out all day to watch for wild beasts—remained outside.

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

Meng, one of the leaders of the patrol team, walked over at noon and pulled Leng Xiu aside. His face was filled with worry. "Is A-Li still refusing to move up to the mountain? She’s a female; why does she keep living down here with you two? She can’t help with anything, and she’s always making you look after her..."

"Uncle Meng, are you finished?"

Leng Xiu’s tone carried a hint of impatience. Ever since wild beasts had accidentally broken through the tribe’s perimeter a few times, several patrol leaders had come to find them, urging them to send Yun Li up the mountain. Only Meng, perhaps emboldened by his distant blood relation to Yun Li, kept coming back repeatedly to persuade the brothers, even though he knew they refused to let her out of their sight.

"A-Li doesn’t want to go up. Is that so hard for you to understand, Uncle Meng?"

Interrupted, Meng’s expression darkened. But thinking of how Yun Li was nothing but a burden here, he suppressed his irritation and continued to plead earnestly:

"But if she stays here, she’ll easily become a liability for you. The situation outside is getting worse, and the chief also hopes that you can move Yun Li..."