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

Chapter 417: Chapter 417: You Coax Him

"Xixi! Xixi!"

Yun Ji flew above the river’s surface. The water was so clear he could see straight to the bottom, but there was no sign of Qiao Xixi.

An indescribable panic rose in Yun Ji’s heart. He sensed the surrounding auras, wondering if he had been careless and allowed Yun Ming to slip in and take Qiao Xixi away.

But no, there were no unusual auras in the vicinity at all.

Yun Ji quickly folded his wings. Just as he was about to dive into the water to find her, he suddenly heard a splash behind him.

He whipped around to see Qiao Xixi breaking through the surface. Her long, soaking wet hair clung smoothly to her delicate face. Seeing him look over, Qiao Xixi flashed him a bright smile.

"I’m over here, Yun Ji! You didn’t think a monster got me, did you? I was just messing with you."

Yun Ji’s light-colored pupils stared straight into her eyes. His tightly clenched fists trembled slightly, and his folded wings spread open once more, holding him suspended above the river.

"You were hiding on purpose just now."

Qiao Xixi looked at him. Even though his expression hadn’t changed, she could still feel that he was angry.

"I just thought training was getting too tiring, so I wanted to spice things up a bit..."

Yun Ji’s breath hitched. He flapped his wings, sending a huge spray of water splashing onto her face.

"Hey...!"

Qiao Xixi was splashed so hard she couldn’t open her eyes. By the time she wiped the water away, Yun Ji was nowhere to be seen on the river.

She wiped her face. "Does he have to be so serious? There’s definitely a generation gap."

"Host, you should be more considerate. An old man like him can’t handle being scared like that."

"Hmm? I guess you have a point."

"Hehe, the elderly can’t take being upset. You should go coax him a little, Host. After all, he’s taught you so much."

Qiao Xixi reflected on her actions, realizing she had probably given Yun Ji a genuine scare.

Spotting a fish beast swimming by, Qiao Xixi dove back into the water.

By the time she returned to the wooden cabin, the sun had already set.

The cabin was silent inside and out. If she couldn’t still feel Yun Ji’s aura, she would have thought he had already left.

She brought the prepared fish beast over to the fire pit and was surprised to find that Yun Ji had already started a fire. All it needed was a little stoking and some more firewood to grow bigger.

’Goes to show how thoughtful old folks are,’ she mused. ’Even when they’re mad, they still get things done.’

After setting the fish beast on a rack to roast over the fire, Qiao Xixi walked to the cabin door. Just as her hand was about to touch it, she suddenly hesitated.

’I should go in and apologize. It’s not that hard,’ she thought. ’But for some reason, I just feel a little embarrassed at the thought.’

Yun Ji sat cross-legged on the wooden bed. Though his eyes were closed, he was paying close attention to the movements outside the door.

He listened to her pacing back and forth outside, losing count of how many times she’d passed. She just couldn’t bring herself to push open the door.

’What is it with this door? Is it made of stone? Why is it so hard to push open?!’

CREAK.

The door opened. Yun Ji concealed his aura and slowly opened his eyes.

Their eyes met.

Qiao Xixi felt the urge to flee again, but under the pressure of Yun Ji’s gaze, she chickened out a little.

"I caught some Beibei Beasts in the river. Want some?"

The corner of Yun Ji’s eye twitched.

Seeing he didn’t respond, Qiao Xixi lifted her chin. "Fine, more for me." With that, she turned and scurried away without a second glance.

Yun Ji was speechless.

Qiao Xixi wasn’t lying. She had actually found and brought back some freshwater clams. The edible part was small, but she had cleaned them all thoroughly before bringing them back.

’Birds are supposed to eat this stuff, right?’ she wondered.

She appeared to be staring at the Beibei Beasts bubbling and steaming over the fire, but in her peripheral vision, she was keeping an eye on the cabin door. Seeing it was still closed, she sighed.

’Isn’t he much harder to placate than Jin Ling and the others?’

’And I can’t use the same tricks on him that I use on Jin Ling’s group. There’s a difference in our status, after all.’

Just as Qiao Xixi was getting a headache over it, the cabin door opened.

Qiao Xixi shot to her feet. Without a second thought, she went up, pulled on his feathered robe, and guided him to sit by the fire. "Look, your timing is perfect. I made these for you. Quick, try some."

Yun Ji didn’t resist and let her guide him down. Looking at the fragrant Beibei Beasts, he asked, "You caught these... specifically?"

Qiao Xixi nodded. "That’s right. I caught them specifically for you."

The tight line of Yun Ji’s lips relaxed slightly. He picked up a Beibei Beast and began to eat.

Seeing that he was back to normal, Qiao Xixi also sat down and started eating.

"Actually, I was just trying to play a joke today..."

Yun Ji’s cool voice cut her off. "Any joke that involves your life is not a fun one."

"I know."

After a full day of training, Qiao Xixi was tired. Once she was full, she stood up.

"I’m going to the river to wash up. I’ll be right back."

Yun Ji gave a slight nod. As Qiao Xixi’s figure was about to disappear into the darkness, he stood up and followed her.

Even though Qiao Xixi had said she would be fine, how could he feel at ease letting her go to the river alone?

Qiao Xixi knew Yun Ji was worried and would follow her, but she didn’t say anything. It’s not like he would peep on her, anyway.

Once she was in the river, Qiao Xixi took off her beast-hide clothes, washed them, and stored them in her space. She could just grab a fresh set when she got out.

Qiao Xixi scrubbed herself clean, humming a little tune. Just as she finished and was about to head to shore, something underwater suddenly wrapped around her foot.

Judging by the feel of it, it seemed to be seaweed.

She submerged herself, took out a Sea Pearl for light, and used her Water Avoidance ability. A look confirmed that it was indeed a stalk of seaweed wrapped around her foot.

Qiao Xixi took a bone knife from her space and tried to cut the seaweed, but it was incredibly tough. No matter how she hacked at it, it wouldn’t even fray.

Qiao Xixi frowned, sensing that something was wrong.

But she didn’t panic. She wanted to see what this thing was up to.

Soon, the seaweed exerted its strength, pulling her rapidly down into the depths.

Ever since she formed a contract with Xijing, being in the water was no different for Qiao Xixi than being on solid ground. She just calmly watched the thing put on its show.

It seemed surprised that Qiao Xixi wasn’t resisting at all, and grew bolder, starting to grow up her thigh.

"Disgusting thing! I give you an inch and you take a mile!"

Qiao Xixi grabbed the seaweed and gave it a hard tug. Her response seemed to excite it, and it began to grow over her body even more frantically.

Qiao Xixi sneered and silently recited an incantation. Suddenly, the water around the seaweed rapidly parted, exposing a large clump of it before her eyes.

Deprived of water, the seaweed writhed anxiously, trying to get back into the water. But no matter how it thrashed, it couldn’t touch the water that was right in front of it.

Watching it squirm, Qiao Xixi took some animal fat from her space, drizzled it over the creature, and lit it with a fire starter.

The monster struggled in terror, its seaweed-like tendrils twisting frantically like the wild hair of a dancing specter.

The moment it revealed an opening, Qiao Xixi thrust out her bone knife and stabbed its body.

Qiao Xixi was thoroughly disgusted as she dug a beast crystal out from a puddle of slick, green goo.

The monster went silent the instant it lost its beast crystal.

Qiao Xixi put the beast crystal away. Just as she was about to leave, she sensed an unusual disturbance behind her.