I Transmigrated as a Villainess to Raise Babies, and My Beast Husbands Are Fighting Madly Over Me!

Chapter 288: Caravan

"Imp, do you know something?"

There was no response from her mind.

Qiao Xixi gritted her teeth. "Don’t you play dead on me. I know you’re eavesdropping. Tell me, everything was fine before, so why has this problem started happening recently?"

"Er... well, is it possible that, uh, you, the host, are absorbing the energy released by your partners? Of course, you don’t have to worry! They’re all very powerful. You definitely can’t drain them dry, and it won’t affect their bodies in any way. Just like now, after one night, they can just replenish their energy the next day and be perfectly fine."

"Is this to activate my body’s source energy again?"

"You got it."

Once she confirmed it had no effect on them aside from their pride, she didn’t press the issue.

When Feiyan finished speaking and didn’t get an immediate response from Qiao Xixi, he realized he’d said the wrong thing.

He hastily tried to backtrack. "No, Xixi, I don’t know about the others, but I’m definitely fine. I was only pretending to be asleep earlier because I was afraid of tiring you out."

Qiao Xixi snapped out of her thoughts. Listening to his feeble defense, she gave him a teasing look.

"Mhm, I believe you. I’m hungry. Let’s eat."

Even Feiyan, as dense as he could be, could tell that Qiao Xixi was making fun of him.

"Xixi, let me explain..."

For the next several days, Qiao Xixi patrolled the tribe to check on the progress of the reconstruction.

One morning, carrying the tiger cub and with Xiya in tow, she followed Jin Ling outside the tribe to inspect their defensive preparations.

When they arrived, Feiyan was already there with Qiao Ang and the others, setting up traps.

"Feiyan."

Hearing Qiao Xixi’s voice, Feiyan stopped what he was doing. Qiao Qiao and Qiao Ang finished up by burying the last of the dirt.

DING-DONG.

"Congratulations to the host for completing the ’Rebuild the Tribe’ mission with the cubs. Reward: 1500 points. Points have been distributed."

’I have points again!’

"Is everything done?"

"Yes. Starting today, we’ll have beastmen patrolling the perimeter."

"Good."

Having finished their work, Qiao Qiao and the others walked over.

Qiao Qiao went to Xiya’s side. "Xiya? Xiya?"

Xiya snapped out of a daze, looking at Qiao Qiao sheepishly.

"I’m sorry, Qiaoqiao. I didn’t hear what you just said."

Qiao Qiao looked at Xiya with curiosity. "Xiya, what’s wrong? Are you sad?"

The two were as close as sisters, so Xiya didn’t want to hide her feelings. She nodded gently.

"My mother said a few days ago that it’s almost time for my father and the others to deliver the Crystal Stones to the tribe. But my father still hasn’t shown up, and I’m very worried."

Qiao Qiao could relate all too well to worrying about one’s father; after all, hers was completely unreliable.

"Don’t worry, Xiya. How about I wait here with you for your father?"

Xiya pressed her lips together and nodded.

Qiao Xixi was busy getting an update on the tribe and didn’t notice the two girls’ conversation.

After she was done, Qiao Xixi planned to check on the fields. By her calculations, the seeds should have sprouted by now.

"Mother, can I stay here and play with Xiya?"

Qiao Xixi was a little worried, but Feiyan said he still had some work to wrap up and would watch the cubs. So, Qiao Xixi just told them not to wander off before heading to the fields with Jin Ling.

A few days later, early in the morning, Qiao Qiao was once again accompanying Xiya outside the tribe’s main gate.

Ma Qing was on guard duty at the main gate that day. When he saw Qiao Qiao and Xiya arrive, he brought out two wooden stools for the little ones to sit on.

"Xiya, Qiaoqiao, are you out here waiting again today?"

Qiao Qiao nodded. "Yeah, Uncle Ma Qing. Xiya is really sad that she’s been waiting for her father and he hasn’t come."

"Alright, you two can sit here and wait, but make sure you don’t run off on your own, okay?"

Qiao Qiao nodded. "I know!"

Qiao Qiao pulled Xiya over to the small wooden stools. After they sat down, she took out the meat jerky Qiao Xixi had packed for them and started to eat.

For young cubs, the long wait was incredibly boring.

After smacking her lips and finishing the small piece of jerky, Qiao Qiao then ate the fruit Ma Qing had given them.

"Oof."

"What’s wrong, Qiaoqiao?" Xiya asked with concern, noticing she looked a bit unwell.

"Xiya, I think I ate a little too much... I have to go potty. Wait here for me, okay? I’ll be right back."

"Okay, but don’t wander off."

"Mhm, I promise!"

Ma Qing saw Qiao Qiao heading toward the stone houses and didn’t follow her. The tribe was quite safe these days.

Not long after Qiao Qiao left, a group of figures on horseback appeared outside the tribe, heading their way.

Ma Qing and the other guards immediately grew vigilant.

As the party drew closer, Ma Qing got a clear look at them.

The leader was a male Deer Beast. He wore a light brown, ankle-length robe made of animal hide and a pair of shoes crafted from some unknown fur. His attire was clearly different from theirs.

He was also adorned with various ornaments, giving him a very lavish appearance.

The beastmen behind him were leading Horse Beasts, all of which were laden with cargo.

Ma Qing frowned. Their style of dress looked somewhat familiar.

Soon, the party arrived at the tribe’s gate. The lead Deer Beast dismounted and approached Ma Qing.

"Brave warrior, we are a trading caravan passing through the area. We were wondering if your tribe has any need for goods? We can stay for two days."

From his tone, Ma Qing was now completely certain. ’They really are a trading caravan.’

In the Beast World, while large tribes had their own markets, many small and medium-sized ones did not. This gave rise to trading caravans—groups that traveled between tribes to allow beastmen to trade for goods they needed. These caravans would appear at irregular intervals.

However, a caravan needed the Clan Leader’s permission to enter a tribe.

"Please wait a moment. We need to inform our Clan Leader."

This was standard procedure, so the caravan leader didn’t mind.

"Of course."

Ma Qing glanced at the beastman behind him, signaling for him to go inform Qiao Xixi.

Even after the beastman left, Ma Qing did not lower his guard.

The male Deer Beast, however, seemed perfectly relaxed. His brown eyes scanned the surroundings before finally landing on Xiya.

’A merfolk cub?’

Bulin was surprised. He hadn’t expected to find a merfolk cub in the Black Panther Tribe, so far from the sea.

It was Xiya’s first time seeing a trading caravan. Like any curious cub, she couldn’t help but stare, her wide eyes looking the beastmen up and down.

The beastmen in the caravan all looked like Land Beasts, but strangely, she could smell the scent of sea beasts on them.

Puzzled, Xiya stood up. Suddenly, she spotted a Coral Beast horn among the cargo on one of the Horse Beasts.

"It’s a Coral Beast horn."

Xiya excitedly ran over, wanting to grab it, but the caravan’s beastmen reacted quickly, warily moving to block her.

Seeing this, Ma Qing moved even faster, swooping in to pick Xiya up.

"Xiya, get back here!"

Seeing this, Bulin’s eyes narrowed slightly.