Qiao Xixi quickly put down the animal skin bag she was carrying.
She backed up, got a running start, and leaped back onto the block of ice.
"Qiao Lie, quick, get on Mother's back! Mother will carry you across."
The three cubs were stunned when they saw Qiao Xixi jump back.
Qiao Lie thought he must have misheard. This stupid female who hated them actually wasn't abandoning them.
"Hurry!" The gap was getting wider, and she wasn't sure she could make the jump!
Qiao Lie didn't have time to think. He immediately coiled himself around Qiao Xixi.
Qiao Xixi repeated the process, carrying him as she leaped to the other side.
"You wait here for Mother. Mother is going to get Qiao Qiao and the others."
Qiao Lie pressed his lips together and nodded.
Qiao Xixi leaped back again and brought Qiao Ang across.
One more to go.
As Qiao Xixi jumped back one last time, her claws suddenly slipped, and she almost fell into the water.
But her tail dipped into the water, and the cold made her shiver uncontrollably.
The three cubs stared, their eyes wide with shock.
They hated Qiao Xixi, but they didn't want to see her die.
"Stupid... stupid female..."
Seeing Qiao Xixi struggling to cling to the ice block, Qiao Qiao cried as she went over and bit her claw, trying to pull her up.
Qiao Xixi gritted her teeth, used the leverage, and finally managed to climb back up.
"Don't cry, Mother is fine. Quick, get on Mother's back."
Qiao Qiao climbed onto Qiao Xixi's back.
Qiao Xixi's face grew serious as she looked at the ever-widening gap. After backing up a good distance, she got a running start and leaped.
Qiao Qiao was so scared she squeezed her eyes shut.
It wasn't until they landed safely that Qiao Xixi collapsed onto the snow, her body going limp.
"Stupid female..."
Qiao Qiao looked at the fallen Qiao Xixi, shifted back into her human form, and wanted to approach but hesitated, staying where she was.
'She didn't know why Qiao Xixi hadn't abandoned them. She found it very strange, but... she was also a little happy.'
Qiao Xixi caught her breath and also shifted back to her human form. She was still more used to being human.
After putting on her animal hide clothes, she looked at the three cubs and said, "I'm fine."
After she said that, a heavy silence fell.
Because their home was gone.
Qiao Qiao fidgeted with her little hands, her young face full of distress.
"Where... where are we going to go?"
Qiao Xixi furrowed her brow.
They were Wandering Beasts, scorned by the tribes and the beastmen of Beast City. They could only roam the wilds, which was why she had been staying on the harsh ice plains in the first place.
But the ice plains had become too difficult to survive on. She had to take the cubs and leave.
"We'll head south. If we run into a tribe, we'll find a way to get them to give us a place to stay. Let's just focus on surviving this cold season first."
The cubs looked at each other, surprised that Qiao Xixi was actually willing to take them with her.
"Stupid female, you're taking us with you?" Qiao Ang couldn't help but ask.
The moment he finished asking, Qiao Xixi flicked him on the forehead.
"What 'stupid female'? I'm your Mother, of course I'm taking you with me."
DING.
"System Quest: Host must get the three cubs to call you Mother. Completing the quest will grant a system reward. Quest difficulty: three stars."
Qiao Xixi hummed. 'This quest doesn't seem that hard for me.'
Seeing that the three cubs remained silent, she deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Come on, call me Mother."
Qiao Qiao froze for a moment. Her rosy little mouth opened and closed, and finally, she forced a smile and spoke in a clear, crisp voice.
"Mother."
Qiao Xixi smiled and stroked Qiao Qiao's soft little ears.
"Good girl, Qiaoqiao."
Qiao Qiao's little face flushed red from the touch, and her large, azure eyes seemed to shine even brighter.
She blinked her big eyes at Qiao Xixi. 'This stupid female is acting so strange today.'
'But I think I kind of like her like this.'
Qiao Ang snorted. 'Qiao Qiao is such a little traitor, always pretending. There's no way I'm calling this stupid female Mother!'
Qiao Lie also remained silent, but his gaze on Qiao Xixi darkened.
Qiao Xixi pouted. 'Suddenly, I see why this quest has a three-star difficulty rating!'
She didn't try to force them right away, simply saying, "The mountain collapsed. It's still not safe here. Let's leave this area first."
Qiao Xixi rummaged through the original owner's shallow memories, finding that her mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of food or the powerful males in the tribe. She knew nothing about anything else.
Only one vague memory mentioned a mountain forest, which should be in the direction behind this iceberg.
The iceberg was huge. They walked until dawn and still hadn't managed to get around it.
Qiao Xixi took out the last of the fish-beast and divided it into four portions.
This was the only food they had left. After this meal, they didn't know where the next one would come from.
But if they didn't eat, the cubs' little faces were already pale. If they didn't get some energy soon, she was worried they wouldn't make it.
"You all wait here for Mother. I'm going to see if there's any prey around."
With that, Qiao Xixi got up and left.
As soon as she was gone, the cubs stared at the fish-beast meat in their hands without moving.
Qiao Qiao spoke with a sob in her voice, her large, watery azure eyes growing dim.
"I knew it. She's abandoned us."
Qiao Ang clenched his small fists.
"And she lied, saying she wouldn't leave us behind!"
Qiao Lie pressed his lips together, his red snake-like pupils revealing a suppressed sorrow that was quickly replaced by indifference.
Qiao Xixi had no idea that just by going to find food, she would be misunderstood by the cubs.
She walked across the snow. As far as the eye could see, there was only a vast expanse of white. Besides her own, there were no tracks of any other living creature.
'Where was she supposed to find food?'
Just as she was about to lose hope, a huge commotion suddenly erupted behind her.
Qiao Xixi hid behind the iceberg and watched the scene unfolding not far away, the hair on her arms standing on end!
On the snow ahead, a tall, shimmering Golden Tiger Beast was biting the neck of a Deer Beast.
Fresh blood dripped from the Deer Beast's neck onto the snow, staining it a vivid red.
Qiao Xixi subconsciously touched her own neck and swallowed hard.
In that moment, she came to a clear understanding of just how brutal and terrifying the beast world was.
The Deer Beast in the Golden Tiger Beast's jaws soon stopped breathing.
The Golden Tiger Beast didn't immediately drag the Deer Beast away. Instead, it suddenly turned and left.
Qiao Xixi stared at the nearby Deer Beast, her brow furrowed in conflict.
'Food was right there. Should she take it or not?'
'If she didn't, she and the cubs would have nothing to eat. If she did, what if the Golden Tiger Beast came back?'
In the end, Qiao Xixi's desire for food won out over her reason.
She shot forward to the Deer Beast's side, took out an ice blade, and cut off one of its legs.
She quickly buried the severed deer leg in the snow to let it freeze. That way, it wouldn't drip blood everywhere when she ran.
Then, she took a piece of snow-white animal hide from her pack and placed it next to the Deer Beast, as if it were payment for the leg.
Once the deer leg was frozen, Qiao Xixi didn't hesitate for a second. She hoisted it onto her shoulder and ran back, not forgetting to cover her tracks along the way.
Not long after she left, the Golden Tiger Beast returned. As it neared the Deer Beast, the pressure in the air around it dropped.
His pair of golden eyes stared grimly at the Deer Beast, which was now missing a leg.
His prey had been stolen!