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

Chapter 318: Problem with the Water Source

"Xixi, don’t touch it. There’s something wrong with this water."

Qiao Xixi snatched her hand back in surprise, staring at him, stunned.

"How could you tell?"

"The smell. Even though we mermen are of the Sea Clan, we’re highly sensitive to all water. We can tell if there’s a problem with it just from its aura, and we can also identify its source."

With a flick of his fingertips, Xijing caused the water in the stone basin to rise and levitate above his palm.

"Xixi, look."

Qiao Xixi frowned as she looked at the glob of water.

Then, Xijing turned over his other hand, and another glob of water condensed above his palm. This time, however, a faint blue light flashed across its surface.

After the blue glow faded, two globs of water hovered before Qiao Xixi.

"Try it. Can you feel the difference?"

Qiao Xixi slowly extended a hand and closed her eyes. Invisible vines grew from her palm, encircling the water.

As the vines made contact with one of the globs, they were gradually tainted a dark, blackish color.

Qiao Xixi’s brow furrowed, and her eyes snapped open.

"This water really is tainted."

Xijing turned his palms over, and the water fell back into the stone basin.

"But why was the other one okay?"

"Because I purified it. When a merman’s beast soul reaches a certain star-rank, we gain the ability to purify water sources. It just consumes some energy."

Qiao Xixi looked at the bamboo pipe the water was flowing from. "Let’s check if the problem is with the water in the basin, or if it’s already bad when it flows down."

"Okay."

Xijing went to the bamboo pipe to inspect it and finally determined that the water was already contaminated before it flowed down.

Qiao Xixi immediately blew the bamboo whistle hanging around her neck, summoning the beastmen from the patrol team.

"Watch this water source. From now on, don’t let any beastman drink from here."

"Clan Leader, is there something wrong with the water?"

"Yes. It’s poisoned."

The beastmen’s faces paled.

Qiao Xixi decided to follow the water back to its source with Xijing to see where the problem originated.

"Clan Leader, let us go with you. It might be dangerous outside the tribe."

Qiao Xixi didn’t refuse. If something happened, at least someone could go back and report it.

Xijing took Qiao Xixi’s hand, and they followed the watercourse up the mountain.

The water was being piped down from a mountain spring. Every so often, Xijing would stop and check it, and each section of the watercourse was fine, until they reached the source.

"Clan Leader, the source of the water is just ahead."

Xijing walked up quickly. After he checked it, his lips tightened into a thin line.

"The problem starts right at the source."

He crouched down, seeming to search for something.

Qiao Xixi walked over and noticed some strange powder on a rock beside the water source.

Qiao Xixi rubbed the powder between her fingertips. It had a very sour, astringent smell.

"Xijing, smell this. What is it?" she asked, holding her fingers up to his nose.

Xijing identified it with a single sniff. "This is the poison from the water."

As he spoke, he quickly grabbed Qiao Xixi’s hand and wiped it clean.

Hearing this, the beastmen who had come along were furious. "Someone poisoned our water source! How despicable!"

"This is a running water source. If the culprit wants to keep it poisoned long-term, they’d have to come back regularly, if not daily, to add more poison."

Xijing nodded. "Right. Xixi, I’ll stay here and keep watch. You all go back first."

Xijing had a high-rank beast soul and could hide his aura. Unless the culprit’s beast soul star-rank was higher than his, it would be very difficult for them to detect him once he was concealed.

"But your eyes... will you be able to get around in the woods?"

When it came to important matters, Xijing didn’t want Qiao Xixi to think he was incapable. "It’s no problem, Xixi. Trust me."

Qiao Xixi thought for a moment, then agreed.

"Then you be careful."

"I will. You should hurry back. It’ll be dark soon."

Qiao Xixi trusted in Xijing’s abilities, but she was still a little worried as she left.

It was almost dark by the time she returned to the inner city.

From a distance, she saw Jin Ling waiting for her outside the inner city gate.

Before Qiao Xixi could even walk over, Jin Ling strode up to her.

"Why are you alone? Where’s Xijing?"

Qiao Xixi took his arm as they started walking toward the inner city. "Let’s talk as we walk."

But Jin Ling let go of her arm, then with a slight exertion of strength, he lifted her up and set her on his shoulders.

Although Qiao Xixi hadn’t said anything, he could already see the fatigue in her expression.

Qiao Xixi didn’t refuse. Jin Ling could always immediately sense any change in her, whether emotional or physical.

"There’s a problem in the tribe..."

Jin Ling listened quietly. When he learned the water source had been compromised, his expression darkened, and the golden lines at the corners of his eyes glinted with a faint, cold light in the growing darkness.

"Xijing is keeping watch now. I’d like to see for myself just who is behind this scheme!"

Back in the inner city, the first thing Jin Ling and Qiao Xixi did was check if their own drinking water had any issues.

Fortunately, their water was clean.

The inner city was some distance from where the tribe’s beastmen lived, and it would be very inconvenient if they also had to fetch their daily water from that stone basin.

Because of this, Jin Ling and the others had figured out a way to find another water source and channel it toward the inner city.

"So our water is fine. The culprit hasn’t targeted us here yet."

Jin Ling put the lid back on the water tank. "It could also be that the person responsible doesn’t know the tribe well and has no idea where the inner city’s water comes from."

"Mm."

"Jin Ling, do you know of any toxins that can harm a female’s body and her unborn child?"

Jin Ling frowned, pondering for a moment before answering, "Bluefruit."

"Bluefruit?"

"Yes. Back in Beast City, I heard a shaman say that some females in the city gave birth to monsters after accidentally eating Bluefruit. But I’ve never seen one myself."

"Then I’ll go look through the Collection Book and see if there’s any record of it."

"Okay."

While Jin Ling was cooking, Qiao Xixi went back to her room and started flipping through the Collection Book.

"Found it!"

"Bluefruit. Flesh is transparent, smell is sour and astringent. Poisonous. Consumption will cause fetal mutation and premature death."

"It really is Bluefruit!"

Qiao Xixi kept flipping through the pages, looking for an antidote.

But she searched through the entire book and found no record of any antidote.

Qiao Xixi’s expression grew grim. ’Is there... no antidote for this poison?’

’Then what about the females who have already been harmed?’

Qiao Xixi didn’t notice that as she was lost in thought, the water in the Spiritual Spring was churning rapidly, giving rise to countless watery vines that spread throughout her body.

A familiar voice suddenly emerged in Qiao Xixi’s mind.

"You can do it."

Qiao Xixi was startled, thinking she had misheard.

"It’s you. You can save them."

Qiao Xixi frowned. She was certain there was no one else in the room, and she definitely hadn’t spoken out loud. It was as if the voice had sprung from within her own body.

But what shocked her most of all was, why did this voice sound exactly like her own?!