Beauty and the Beasts

Bai Qingqing was full after only eating one-third of the rice. She kept the rest wrapped in a reed leaf and planned to save it for dinner.

“Are we leaving now?” Bai Qingqing asked without raising her head as she crouched down by the river and used the aquatic plants to clean her teeth.

“Let’s go.” Cortis swam to the shore and carried their belongings on his back. “Let’s not go back to the waterfall. Otherwise, you’ll get wet.”

Bai Qingqing rinsed her mouth in silence. Although she was still cold, she felt a lot better after eating and drinking her fill. The moment she stood up and looked at Cortis, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Pft!”

There were various bottles, cans, and bags in various sizes hung all over his body. He just looked like a peddler who wandered the streets.

She didn’t notice how funny Cortis looked earlier as she felt weak.

“What are you laughing about?” Cortis tilted his head and looked at Bai Qingqing in confusion. The bamboo poles on his body collided with each other as he moved.

“Pfft!” Bai Qingqing had an even greater urge to laugh, but she pursed her lips and contained her laughter with all her might as she didn’t want to smile at him. Her shoulders shook and her fair face flushed a pale red, causing her to look much better.

Although Cortis was confused, seeing Bai Qingqing happy made him happy as well. “I’m carrying a lot of things, so you might feel uncomfortable if I carry you. Sit on my tail.”

“I’m okay with anything.” Bai Qingqing stood over Cortis’ tail while holding her unfinished rice and a pole of water.

Cortis’ tail gently curled up so that Bai Qingqing could sit down and even lean back against it. He kept his tail curled as he started walking, and that didn’t affect his movements at all.

Bai Qingqing placed both her legs on the snake’s body. Her legs would rock as his tail swayed from side to side. She felt like she was sitting on a swing, and it was pretty comfortable.

Cortis didn’t walk towards the waterfall. To get to his nest at the waterfall, he’d have to pass through a water curtain, which would cause Bai Qingqing to become wet. Hence, he went to one of his temporary nests instead.

It was also by a lake. The lake water surrounded the mountains like greenery. The nest was located in a natural grotto in one of the rocky mountains.

The air in the natural grotto was refreshing. It wasn’t wet and muddy like the lake, and it wasn’t humid and stuffy like the cave at the waterfall. This was the most comfortable nest out of all of Cortis’ nests that Bai Qingqing had seen.

However, she was immediately on the alert. Without another word, she walked to the innermost part of the nest, far away from Cortis.

She hadn’t forgotten the reason why a homeless beast would catch her. It was most dangerous once she arrived at the place he lived in.

Cortis unloaded their belongings one by one and beckoned to Bai Qingqing. “Come here.”

“What for?” Bai Qingqing stared at Cortis nervously.

Cortis frowned. Why did Xiao Bai suddenly keep her guard up against him again? The legacy was right. The heart of a female was like a needle in a haystack.

Cortis was silent as he was a man of action. Seeing that Bai Qingqing didn’t move, he swung his tail and pulled her over to his side.

Frightened, Bai Qingqing pushed her hands against Cortis’ icy-cold chest. “What are you doing?”

Cortis replied, “I’m making you new clothes.”

“New clothes?” Relief washed over Bai Qingqing. “But you don’t have animal skin.”

The moment the words left her mouth, she realized something—didn’t Cortis have a perfectly intact snakeskin? Snake beastmen gave those to their mates.

Bai Qingqing quickly shook her head. “I don’t want it! I’ll just wear this.”

If Bai Qingqing was honest, she was extremely tempted when she first saw the snakeskin. Even modern people would find it attractive. However, that temptation completely disappeared once she found out that it was the skin of a snake beastman.

Just touching it frightened her, let alone wearing it.