Beauty and the Beasts

“Did you manage to find it?” Bai Qingqing asked with anticipation, her gaze roaming between the two leopards.

Parker and Harvey were both in their leopard forms, and there was an animal bag tied to their waists. One of them was visibly more muscular and stronger, so it was easy for Bai Qingqing to tell which one was Parker.

Parker straightened his upper body and transformed into a human, then removed the bag from his waist and exclaimed excitedly, “We found it!”

He then opened the animal skin bag. Bai Qingqing stuck out her head and, upon seeing what it was, twitched her lips.

It was a bag of green beans!

Alright, green beans indeed could relieve heatiness and neutralize poison.

In any case, it wouldn’t do one’s health any harm to eat it, so Bai Qingqing asked, “Do we just cook and eat it?”

Winston handed Harvey an animal skin skirt, only then the latter transformed into a human and replied, “Mm, you need to drink it while it’s hot. When it’s just cooked it’s green in color, but after it cools down, it will turn black.”

That was oxidization, wasn’t it? Green beans only turned black when they came into contact with air; with the pot lid over it, they wouldn’t.

Bai Qingqing saw fatigue on Harvey’s face, but Parker, who went out with him, looked normal. She suddenly recalled that Harvey had just arrived in their village after a long journey and hadn’t had the chance to rest until now.

Feeling both grateful and guilty, like a good Chinese who extended good hospitality to their guests, Bai Qingqing blurted out naturally, “I’m sure it’s been a long time since you rested. Hurry up and come into our tree hole to have a good sleep.”

Immediately after those words came out of her mouth, Bai Qingqing could sense something not quite right with the atmosphere.

The countenances of Curtis, Winston, and Parker changed unanimously. They were now staring at Harvey with blatantly dangerous looks.

As for Harvey, he first burst out in euphoria, before his face turned pale having sensed their intimidation.

Bai Qingqing: Oops! Seems like I said something wrong.

This wasn’t the modern age, where one could invite a guest to sleep for the night without it meaning anything special. The moment he moved in, he would be considered family!

Oh dear, how was she going to clean up this mess?

For the sake of preserving his life, Harvey could only painfully reject Bai Qingqing’s “show of affection.”

“I can just sleep anywhere,” Harvey said.

He was merely a lowly beastman who didn’t even have a single animal stripe. He wasn’t good enough for Bai Qingqing, much less to survive in such a powerful family.

Can just sleep anywhere… Bai Qingqing couldn’t help letting her imagination run wild. She recalled something she saw on an animal documentary, the image of a leopard sprawling asleep on a tree branch popping into her mind.

With the same old solemn expression on his face, but slightly relaxed upon hearing his response, Winston walked to Harvey’s side and patted him on the shoulder. “You’re a doctor, the village won’t treat you shabbily. We’ve long prepared accommodation for you.”

His tone was filled with respect toward Harvey. All of a sudden, with the weight of Winston’s hand upon his shoulders, he felt immensely stressed.

“Okay, many thanks.” Harvey braced himself.

Bai Qingqing also heaved a sigh of relief and thanked Winston silently in her heart.

Winston retracted his hand. “Please come with me.”

Harvey didn’t dare to speak incessantly, so he immediately left with Winston.

Parker had long started a fire by the side and was cooking the green beans with the ratio of water specified by Harvey.

The water had just boiled, and already, he anxiously lifted the pot lid to check. With the raw smell of green bean skin entering her senses, Bai Qingqing turned her head around and shouted, “Don’t lift the pot lid!”

“Mm?”

“Just cover it.” Bai Qingqing pressed upon Parker’s hand and closed the lid.

If they were cooking ordinary green bean soup, it would be no problem to lift the pot lid, for it didn’t have much effect on the taste. But since it was to neutralize poison, they had to make sure to keep the original color and luster of the green bean soup as much as possible.

Parker then recalled that Harvey indeed instructed him not to cook with the pot lid off, so he didn’t dare to lift the pot lid randomly anymore.

Bai Qingqing also stood guard beside the fire. Gradually, the aroma of green beans permeated through the sides of the pot together with the hot air. Just the smell alone and one could tell it tasted pretty good.