nagpurpolice Chapter 337: She Drank It All
Chapter 337: She Drank It All
The witch doctor’s eyes lit up when he saw the bag of dried herbs and flowers.
"Clan Leader, these are all medicinal herbs! This here is the fruit of the Itching Grass. If you give it to An’an directly, her rash will go away."
The witch doctor grabbed a handful of tiny, dried purple fruits and handed them to Qiao Xixi.
Qiao Xixi took them and sniffed them. "Are you sure these herbs are all safe?"
Hearing her question, the witch doctor began to inspect them meticulously. He tasted a tiny bit of each one and waited for a while before nodding.
"They’re fine. All of them are good."
Just as Qiao Xixi was about to try one, Jin Ling took them from her. He placed one in his mouth and chewed it carefully. Only after confirming it was safe did he take a few to feed to the little tiger cub.
"Be a good girl, An’an. Eat this, and you won’t be itchy anymore."
The little tiger cub understood and gobbled the medicine down in one bite.
The effect was almost immediate. Not long after she ate the medicine, the rash on her body began to visibly fade.
Qiao Xixi picked out all the Regeneration Flowers and left the rest for the witch doctor to use for treating the beastmen of the tribe.
After bidding the witch doctor farewell, they returned to the inner city.
"Jin Ling, the beastmen we sent to Wing Beast City to pick Regeneration Flowers still haven’t returned. Do you think something might have happened to them?"
"Mm, it’s possible."
After all, there was a considerable distance between the Black Panther Tribe and Wing Beast City. It was hard to say what they might have encountered on the road.
Qiao Xixi frowned, looking at the Regeneration Flowers in her hand.
"Are you still suspicious? About those dried herbs."
Even without seeing Qiao Xixi’s expression, Jin Ling could guess what was on her mind.
"I can’t quite put my finger on it." ’It just feels a little too coincidental.’
’Maybe I’m overthinking things.’
"I’ll prepare it for Xijing to try when we get back."
’We’ve never had any conflict with that tribe. It’s impossible for them to know that the Regeneration Flower can cure Xijing’s eyes, so there would be no reason for them to tamper with the flowers specifically.’
Back in the inner city, the cubs hadn’t returned yet.
Jin Ling set her down and went to prepare a meal, while Qiao Xixi carried the little tiger cub upstairs.
The medicine had likely taken effect, as the little one had fallen asleep on the way back.
Qiao Xixi carefully placed her on the bed and tucked her in.
Following the recipe in the Collection Book, she took the Regeneration Flowers to the kitchen.
As she brewed the concoction, a sweet, floral fragrance constantly wafted from the flowers.
’This flower smells so fragrant when it’s boiled. I couldn’t smell anything when it was dry.’
Jin Ling had never seen this flower before either and just assumed this was its natural scent.
Once it was ready, Qiao Xixi poured the liquid into a medium-sized bowl and brought it back to her room, planning to give it to Xijing to drink when he returned.
After setting down the concoction, Qiao Xixi heard the cubs’ voices downstairs.
Feili had returned with a trail of cubs.
"Mother, we’re back!"
"You’re back! Go get washed up. Once you’re clean, come upstairs, and Mother will get you some clean clothes."
"Okay~~"
The cubs chattered excitedly as they ran to the washroom, and soon they all came scurrying back upstairs.
Qiao Xixi had already laid out clean clothes for them.
"Mother, I heard from Father Jin Ling that An’an had a rash this morning. Is she better now?"
"She’s all better now. She was very tired, so she’s still sleeping. You all get changed first, and then we’ll all go down to eat in a bit."
"Okay~~"
"Mother, what’s this? Yaya doesn’t want to wear this."
Yaya picked up the underwear Qiao Xixi had prepared for her, looking at it with disdain.
"Yaya wants to wear a pwetty little skirwt."
"Yaya, even if you wear a pretty little skirt, you still have to wear your undies underneath. Otherwise, bugs might bite your little bottom."
Yaya thought about it for a moment and put on the underwear.
Seeing they were all dressed, Qiao Xixi got up and headed downstairs first.
"Huh? What’s this? It smells so good."
Yaya’s little nose twitched. She walked over to the table, immediately drawn in by the fragrance of the concoction on it.
"It looks so yummy! Yaya wants to drink it."
Yaya reached out her little hands, picked up the bowl, and began drinking it in big gulps.
The concoction had a sweet taste, and in the blink of an eye, she had drunk the entire bowl down to the last drop.
"Yaya, hurry down for dinner!"
Yaya quickly put the bowl down and ran out. "Coming!"
Today was Xijing’s turn to patrol the tribe with the patrol team, so it was already late when he returned.
After dinner, Qiao Xixi pulled him into her room.
"Xixi, what is it?"
Qiao Xixi smiled. "I have something for you."
Xijing froze for a moment. "Are you giving me a gift?"
"Mhm, you could call it that."
Xijing’s steps became lighter.
After entering the room, he closed the door behind him.
Qiao Xixi had just walked to the table when she turned around and saw his shirt was already open.
Qiao Xixi: ...
"Xixi..."
Feeling his breath grow closer, Qiao Xixi helplessly pushed him away a little.
"I really do have something for you. Just wait."
She went to get the concoction, but only an empty bowl was left on the table.
She stared at the empty bowl, thunderstruck.
When Qiao Xixi didn’t move for a long time, Xijing asked in confusion, "Xixi, what’s wrong?"
Qiao Xixi frowned and began to search the room, but the concoction was a liquid; there was no way it could be hidden somewhere else.
’How strange. How could it have disappeared?’
"What disappeared?"
Panicked, Qiao Xixi ran to the bedside. The little tiger cub was still sleeping soundly, completely unaware as her mother pried open her mouth and sniffed it repeatedly.
’There’s no smell. That means the little tiger cub didn’t drink it.’
’Qiao Qiao and the others would never touch anything in my room without my permission. So where could the concoction have gone?’
"Xixi?"
"Xijing, the tribe I took in today gave me some dried flowers, and among them were Regeneration Flowers. I brewed them into a liquid when I got back, planning to give it to you. I put the concoction on the table after it was ready, but now the bowl is empty."
As Qiao Xixi spoke, she headed for the door. "I’ll go ask around first."
She was very worried. If someone had drunk it by mistake, she had no idea if it would have any adverse effects.
"Cubs, come over here. Mother has something to ask you."
Seeing Qiao Xixi’s serious expression, Qiao Ang and the others stopped their playing and ran to her.
"What’s wrong, Mother?"
Qiao Xixi said, "Did any of you see the bowl of concoction that Mother left on the table in the room?"
The cubs looked at each other, then all shook their heads, indicating they hadn’t noticed.
Qiao Xixi’s frown deepened.
Jin Ling came out of the kitchen. "What’s wrong? Is the concoction missing?"
Qiao Xixi nodded. "Yes. I just found the bowl empty. I’m worried one of the cubs might have drunk it by mistake."
Yaya stood beside Xiya, looking at the dark expression on Qiao Xixi’s face. She clutched her animal-skin clothes tightly, wanting to speak up several times but feeling too scared.
’Oh no. Was the concoction Mother was talking about that yummy Shuishui?’
’Is Mother angry?’