Beauty and the Beasts

The weather in the light rainy season was fickle. It was bright and sunny just a moment ago, and in the blink of an eye, black clouds had gathered overhead.

Winston, who just buried the sealed salt bucket under his home, looked up and saw that the weather had changed. He strode towards Bai Qingqing.

“I’ll bring you back to the tree hole.”

Wind messed up Bai Qingqing’s long hair, causing it to fly about. She nodded and said to Molly, “You should hurry back too. Be careful not to be blown away by the wind.”

She wasn’t jesting—even the ordinary winds in this world were extremely strong, certainly sufficient to blow away a female.

“Mm,” Molly responded. Holding the crop of her short hair, she ran against the fierce wind.

Winston carried Bai Qingqing on his back and climbed up to the second story of their tree hole. They had just entered when the rain started pouring down following the rumble of thunder that resonated across the entire forest.

Winston set Bai Qingqing down and was about to go down once more when Bai Qingqing said to him, “Eh, where are you going? It’s raining so heavily out there.”

“I want to see which plots of land can houses be built upon. The residential area of the tiger tribe is too small. After our population increases, there might not be enough space for everyone to live in,” replied Winston.

Gazing out the tree hole, amidst the heavy downpour visibility was poor, and one couldn’t see beyond less than tens of meters. All that could be seen was a blur.

Through the foggy vision, one large and three small yellow figures could be seen speedily running towards their tree.

Parker had returned from teaching his sons how to hunt. The father-and-son quartet was completely drenched from the rain.

“Look, it’s only been a short while, and they’re soaked to the skin. Wait till the skies clear up before going out,” urged Bai Qingqing.

Infatuated with this feeling of being cared for, Winston—who never used to fear the winds and rain—became weak for some reason. He heeded Bai Qingqing’s advice and stayed at home.

An inconcealable stench emanated throughout the moist air, causing Parker to roar loudly. “Who allowed you to come in with us? Scram to the top story!”

Howl!

The leopard cubs shook off the water from their bodies, and a conspicuous stench instantly wafted through the air again. Parker truly hated his acute sense of smell at this moment. In a matter of seconds, his three cubs were tossed out of the tree hole.

Even the thunderous rain didn’t manage to mask the loud thuds that sounded as the cubs fell onto the ground.

“Parker!” The anxious Bai Qingqing shoved him aside and strode to the entrance to look downwards.

Thankfully, the cubs didn’t suffer a great fall. With a quick roll, they got back up in no time. However, the color of mud was now plastered all over their bodies.

They gazed at their mommy and sobbed twice, before hugging the tree and charging upwards. They stopped for a second on the second story of the tree hole, but at the sight of their daddy’s stern face, they hurriedly continued scurrying upwards.

The relieved Bai Qingqing picked up a dry animal skin as she turned around. She covered Parker’s head with it and started scrubbing vigorously. “You gave me such a scare.”

“You think too weakly of us males.” Parker defended himself innocently. Not just towards the cubs, but towards them as well. Just now when he was under the tree, he had heard Qingqing forbidding Winston from going out in the rain.

The jealous Parker haphazardly rubbed his hair with the animal skin on his head.

“Alright…” Feeling a little cold, Bai Qingqing covered herself with a piece of animal skin.

Swoosh sounds rang from the top of the tree hole, and shortly after, a gigantic snake head stuck down from above.

“Are you going out as well?” asked Bai Qingqing.

Curtis transformed into a human and replied, “It’s easier for me to move about on a rainy day. This rain should last for at least two days. I’ll go and find you a prickly fruit tree.”

“Prickly fruit? Aren’t there plenty in the village?” Was Curtis planning to plant a tree right outside their home?

Curtis said, “The one for cleaning teeth.”

Only then did Bai Qingqing realize she had mixed up the prickly fruit and thorny fruit, for both had pricks.

Having gotten used to cleaning her teeth with weeds, she almost forgot about the prickly fruits. Yet, Curtis still remembered.

“Then, don’t be gone for too long. Just forget it if you can’t find it. I’ll just stick to cleaning my teeth with the weeds found next to the waterhole,” said Bai Qingqing.