Beauty and the Beasts

“That’s the only thing we can do for now.” Bai Qingqing sat down next to Curtis. Leaning against him, she said, “If the village isn’t too bad, let’s settle down there.”

Curtis neither agreed nor disagreed. He held up her arm and saw that scabs had formed on the four bloody wounds and had turned into a blackish-red color.

“It’s not completely healed.” A hint of frustration was heard in Curtis’s voice as he flicked out his tongue to graze the bloody scabs.

“My injury is quite minor.” Bai Qingqing then looked at Parker’s waist, only to see that the scabs had fallen off, leaving only a pink scar.

“Bluepool, how are you feeling?” Bai Qingqing turned her gaze towards Bluepool in the water.

With his upper body sprawled face-down on the shore, Bluepool slapped his tail in the water, forming large patches of ripples. “I’ll be fine so long as there’s water.”

Bai Qingqing smiled and said wistfully, “I’m afraid this won’t do. We’d better hurry up and find a village. We can’t very well keep walking along the river.”

Bluepool’s countenance instantly changed. He gazed at the ground and felt like he should just drown in this small lake.

“Since there’s water on the ground, once you dry up, just roll around in the mud.”

Bai Qingqing said jokingly. She didn’t expect Bluepool to ponder over her words for a moment, then nod his head in agreement. “I’ll give it a try later.”

She was rendered speechless.

Bai Qingqing quickly finished up the rest of her meal, and, after filling up her tummy and that of her little cubs, she walked into the stone cave to call the female.

“Come out, we’ll send you somewhere safe.”

The female’s curled up body slightly quivered. After a while, she raised her head and gazed at Bai Qingqing, the glow of hope sparkling in her tiny eyes.

“What’s your name? What tribe do you belong to?” Bai Qingqing asked.

The female didn’t answer her for a good while.

As Curtis—standing at the entrance—had already gotten impatient, Bai Qingqing called Parker over to carry her.

The female shrieked and put up a violent resistance for a good while before she slowly quieted down.

They left the river and walked in a random direction. Bluepool had transformed into a human and put on his animal skin skirt with an annoyed expression as he trailed along.

Bai Qingqing sat on Curtis’s arm. Seeing that Bluepool was about to die, she looked up at the skies and asked, “Where’s Alva?”

Curtis gazed coldly at her, and Bai Qingqing instantly corrected herself. “I meant that peacock beastman.”

“Coo coo—”

The cooing of a peacock sounded from not far behind. Bai Qingqing turned her head but didn’t see it. Only after a while did she spot a green bird’s head behind a large tree trunk.

“Alva, if you’re not leaving, come over and give Bluepool a hand!”

Bluepool immediately spoke up, “I don’t need his help.”

Alva also shrunk behind the tree firmly and refused to come out.

Bai Qingqing glanced at Bluepool and said, “You’re too slow. If you disagree, you can stay here by yourself. We’ll leave first.”

Bluepool instantly shouted, “You want to abandon me? Don’t even think about it.”

With that, he walked towards Alva.

Bai Qingqing’s heart was put to ease. She guessed that Alva didn’t dare to reveal his full form because he had lost too many feathers, so she deliberately chose not to look behind.

Only after they walked far away did Alva fly down the tree, carried the merman on his back, and followed them at a distance.

They continued the journey this way for another three days before Parker finally sniffed the scent of a village—a tiger village.

As they didn’t make deliberate attempts to cover their tracks, they were discovered the instant they entered the village.

“Roar!”

Tiger roars reverberated throughout the forest. Shortly after, more than ten tigers appeared in front of them.

Bai Qingqing realized that the female whom Parker was carrying showed a slight reaction, so she hurriedly reassured her. “Don’t be scared. We’re here, no beastman will dare to harm you.”

The instant they stopped, Bluepool caught up to them from behind.