Beauty and the Beasts

The next day, Bai Qingqing was woken up by the significant tremors in the ground. When she opened her eyes, she saw Cortis leaning against the gap between the boulders in his half-animal form, absorbed in looking at something.

“What happened? Is there an earthquake?”

Bai Qingqing’s eyes widened the moment she stepped out.

Oh my god! What did I just see? Was… that a dinosaur?

There was a group of dinosaur-like creatures she would only see in movies running down the mountain. They were each the size of an African elephant, and their well-developed hind legs, short and small forelimbs, and sharp teeth suggested that they were carnivorous beasts.

Bai Qingqing felt her knees go weak. She held onto Cortis and stuttered, “A-are those the giant beasts you talked about?”

“Yes,” Cortis replied in a deep voice.

Parker agilely climbed to the top of the boulders and said to Bai Qingqing from above, “Don’t worry, Qingqing. I’ll protect you.”

“Hiss~” Cortis hissed threateningly. The leopard had invaded his territory.

Bai Qingqing secretly tugged at Cortis’s hand. Not daring to act too friendly towards Parker, she gave the leopard a small smile.

The gap that Cortis chose was indeed a good place to take refuge in. It was spacious inside the gap, and the entrance was only a meter wide, making it impossible for giant beasts to enter. Not only that, but the rocks here were also unusually solid. It would be hard for the giant beasts to smash their way through even if they tried.

Bai Qingqing was slightly relieved.

When the giant beasts had run far away, Cortis said to Bai Qingqing, “You must be hungry. Let’s go cook some rice.”

Bai Qingqing hesitated for a moment, then replied sheepishly and out of hunger, “Okay.”

Cortis slithered out of the cave while carrying her. Parker immediately climbed down the mountain and followed behind them at a distance that was neither too far nor too close.

As Bai Qingqing washed the rice, she asked worriedly, “Now that those giant beasts are gone, they won’t come back, right?”

“That’s what usually happens.” Cortis skilfully wrapped his snake tail around the withered branches of a dwarf tree, his expression still grim. “But this time, it was very strange. I don’t know if anything will happen next.”

“Oh,” Bai Qingqing replied as she casually looked towards the reflection in the water. Then, something seemed to fall from the sky. Just as she was about to look up at it, a forceful blow was delivered to her head. “Ah!”

The sound of an egg cracking could be heard, then Bai Qingqing’s face was covered in sticky egg liquid.

“What was that? That was such a huge egg…” Bai Qingqing wiped her face in bewilderment. The eggshell in her hands was the size of a basketball. It was hard, and it was pretty painful when it hit her head.

She looked up towards the sky, thinking that the egg had fallen from the tree. However, she was surprised to see a black eagle hovering in the sky.

Moore? Is this guy trying to kill me with the egg?

“Xiao Bai!” Cortis immediately threw the branches aside and rushed to Bai Qingqing’s side. He flicked his tongue, and his expression suddenly changed. He then immediately rinsed her head in the water, his actions unusually frantic and rough.

Caught by surprise, Bai Qingqing choked on the water and struggled painfully.

Parker was also collecting firewood. When he saw that Cortis was about to drown Bai Qingqing, he transformed into a leopard and sprinted towards them. “Howl!”

Cortis turned back and glared fiercely at the leopard, warning him. “Stay out of this if you don’t want her to die!”

Bai Qingqing finally had a chance to breathe. She coughed and gasped.

The moment Cortis turned back, Parker immediately came to a stop. He scratched at the soil as he stepped backward, maintaining an offensive stance.

Then, with his keen sense of smell, he noticed the unusually strong smell of eggs.

It was coming from Bai Qingqing!

Parker then noticed the giant eggshell beside Bai Qingqing. His golden eyes shrunk.

“That’s a giant beast egg!” Cortis’s bright red eyebrows furrowed together so tightly that they could kill a mosquito. He glanced at the dumbfounded female and continued, “And it probably belongs to the king of the giant beasts.”

“Howl!” Where did the egg come from?

Parker looked up and saw Moore flying in the sky. He immediately understood what had happened and wildly roared at the sky.

Cortis continued to wash Bai Qingqing’s head. Now that he had calmed down slightly, his actions were gentler.

Bai Qingqing was terrified by what Cortis said and naturally cooperated with him. However, no matter how much he washed her head, he couldn’t get rid of the odor. Even a human like her, whose sense of smell wasn’t as good, could easily smell it.

Cortis’s snake tail was firmly pressed to the ground. All of a sudden, he said, “They’re coming.”

Bai Qingqing’s body trembled as she pleadingly grabbed Cortis’s hand and frantically begged him. “Can we go back to the gap?”

“No.” Cortis carried her and quickly slithered away from the oncoming beast tide. He explained, “There are too many giant beasts. The rocks won’t be enough to stop them. The only thing we can do is run.”

Bai Qingqing nodded in understanding, then quietly remained in Cortis’s arms so as not to cause any problems for him.

Cortis slithered through the jungle as fast as he could.

He usually tried to slow down as he knew that Bai Qingqing’s body wasn’t in good condition. Otherwise, even if Parker knew the route, he would never be able to catch up to them.

Parker stretched out his legs and chased after them with all his might. Despite him running as quickly as he could, the distance between them gradually widened as he wasn’t as fast as Cortis.

Leopard beastmen didn’t have the stamina to sprint for extended periods of time, and moving at high speeds would cause them to overheat and die. Previously, Parker nearly lost his life from chasing after them after losing an excessive amount of blood.

After chasing after them for more than ten minutes, Parker forced himself to slow down so as to not put his life in danger.

The tremors grew stronger. The giant beasts had indeed returned.

Parker climbed up a tree with all his might before the beasts caught up to him. He was so exhausted that he lay motionless on a branch like a dead leopard whose neck had been bitten off.

After Cortis slithered for about two hours, he finally breathed a small sigh of relief when he felt the vibrations in the ground gradually become weaker.

He had fully transformed into a beast so that he could slither faster. After his upper body transformed back into human form, he reassured Bai Qingqing, saying, “Don’t worry. I won’t let you die.”

Bai Qingqing nodded. She then worriedly looked at the pink scars on Cortis’s chest and asked, “Are you okay? Do you want to rest for a bit? Your wounds haven’t fully healed yet.”

“It’s okay,” Cortis replied as he panted. He continued to sway his snake tail and slither forward. “The giant beasts have excellent stamina. They’ll catch up to us the moment I stop.”

Bai Qingqing could only keep quiet.

“Screech—”

An eagle’s screech could be clearly heard from the sky, and an eagle’s shadow quickly flashed across the ground.

Moore had been following them this whole time.

Cortis hugged Bai Qingqing tightly, then brought his cold lips to her cheek and said resolutely, “I won’t let you go!”

The eagle beastman’s objective was clear. He was forcing him to hand over Xiao Bai.

Cortis had a determined look on his face. He would protect his mate until his very last breath.

Bai Qingqing wasn’t a fool. She immediately understood the eagle beastman’s intentions and had mixed emotions.

She felt Cortis losing his grip on her. The giant beasts were not that much slower than Cortis and had excellent stamina. It was only a matter of time before Cortis collapsed.

She wanted to leave Cortis, but she didn’t want him to suffer either. She couldn’t help but attempt to persuade him, saying, “Cortis, why don’t…”

Bai Qingqing looked up at Cortis’s handsome face. When her eyes landed on his resolute expression, she quickly swallowed back her words.

“What?” Glancing distractedly at her, Cortis’s heart ached upon seeing that all the color had drained from her face. He said, “Just hang on for a while more. I’ll try to steady my movements.”

Bai Qingqing apologetically lowered her head. “Okay.”