Beauty and the Beasts

But thankfully, the beast tide didn’t block Cortis’s path to the beach. Once they reached the beach, he could take the female to hide in the sea, or they could simply settle down on an island in the seas.

He only had to persist for a few more days and this would be over.

The sun rose up to the skies, then gradually slanted west.

Cortis was still moving ahead at a steady speed, whilst Bai Qingqing was slumped on his shoulder, asleep.

“Xiao Bai, are you hungry?” Cortis shook her.

Bai Qingqing licked her dry lips. She hadn’t had a single drop of water since last night, so she was displaying mild dehydration symptoms now. “Yes. I also wish to drink water.”

Illness came as fast as a wall falling down. The torment Bai Qingqing had put her body through during this period exploded all at once. Right now, she was so feeble that she couldn’t even raise her head.

Cortis smoothed Bai Qingqing’s messy curly hair and said gently, “I’ll go find a water source.”

Snake beastmen could detect with their snake’s tongue in which direction was the air moister. Finding a water source was effortless to Cortis. He lowered his head and saw that Bai Qingqing had closed her eyes again.

“Wake up.” Cortis gently patted Bai Qingqing’s face.

With much effort, Bai Qingqing opened her weak eyelids. Her breathing was very heavy, and she was exhaling a lot more than she was inhaling. The lack of oxygen made her feel terrible. “I have no strength.”

Cortis set Bai Qingqing down under the willow tree by the river and used his hands to cup water and bring it to her lips. Bai Qingqing opened her mouth and Cortis slanted his hands to make it easier for her to drink from them.

Most of the water glided down Bai Qingqing’s chin and made her body wet.

“You should eat.” Looking at her frailness, Cortis wished he could slice off his meat and feed her with it, to transfer his strength to her.

He pressed his tail tightly against the ground, sensing the tremors. After pausing for such a long time, the beast tide had gotten nearer. There was no time to roast meat.

“Get up.” Cortis circled his arm around Bai Qingqing’s waist and lifted her up.

Bai Qingqing’s arms hung lifelessly before Cortis’s chest as she rested her chin on his shoulder to rest.

Keeping a lookout for prey as he swam, Cortis captured a rabbit on the way.

He carried Bai Qingqing before himself and, holding the rabbit with one hand, bit its carotid artery before bringing the rabbit to Bai Qingqing’s mouth.

“Drink something.”

Upon hearing Cortis’s words, Bai Qingqing drowsily opened her mouth.

As the warm blood flowed into her mouth, Bai Qingqing frowned, instantly awoken by the bloody taste in her mouth.

“Cough, cough… what did you give me?” Bai Qingqing started coughing violently and spat out the liquid in her mouth. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hands, she found her hands full of blood.

Bai Qingqing was suddenly jolted awake from the scare. She spat her saliva on the ground and yelled irritably, “Why are you feeding me with raw blood? It’s so unhygienic!”

Seeing Bai Qingqing more energetic now, Cortis heaved a sigh of relief. He said firmly, “Don’t be picky about food.”

Picky about food… Brother Snake, raw blood isn’t included in humans’ recipes, alright?

“I’d rather die than drink this.” Raising her chin, Bai Qingqing declared resolutely.

Cortis cast a helpless glance at her, then sucked all the blood out of the rabbit in one shot.

Bai Qingqing could roughly guess what Cortis was planning to do. She squirmed uneasily and asked, “What are you doing? I want to come down! I’m not drinking blood!”

Holding the blood in his mouth, Cortis tossed the dead rabbit away. He then fixed both his hands on Bai Qingqing’s body and blocked her mouth with his, transferring the blood from his mouth to hers bit by bit.

The horrified Bai Qingqing widened her eyes and quickly clenched her teeth together. But still, plenty of blood entered her mouth. Her protests were mixed with the gurgling of liquid, making muffled sounds.