Beauty and the Beasts

It would be great if they could master the technique of harvesting salt. It would be much easier for the beastmen in this village. They could even exchange salt with the other tribes and prosper from the trade.

Bluepool, who was proud of this, said with a smile, “This is an ability possessed only by us merfolk. I can remove the oxygen from the seawater and let the females live in the sea, and I can also separate salt from the seawater. It doesn’t matter even if I tell you guys, for you won’t be able to do it.”

Bai Qingqing was shocked. “So that’s how you harvest salt.”

“But salt crystals would form by themselves in the cracks of some reefs. Just like the one Curtis brought back,” Bluepool said after a glance at the salt in Bai Qingqing’s bowl. “One look and I can tell this salt is not harvested by us. The color is mixed, and there are impurities inside.”

“Brilliant.” Bai Qingqing expressed her admiration. “Then, how much salt can you harvest in a day?”

Only upon hearing this question did Bluepool sense a plot brewing. He stared at Bai Qingqing and asked, “Why are you asking?”

“Can you help them harvest salt? They’ll give you the compensation you deserve,” said Bai Qingqing.

“That’s impossible!” Bluepool refused immediately, sounding quite agitated.

“Why?”

Bluepool bit a chunk of the meat and said, “Harvesting salt is a painful and slow process that consumes a lot of energy. Each merman only has to turn in one fistful of crystallized salt every year, and that’s it.”

“Forget it, then.” Bai Qingqing hurriedly shook her head.

The tribal head, who had his ears pricked up as he listened in on their conversation, felt his hopes dashed at this revelation.

Curtis suddenly looked up at the tribal head and asked, “Which merfolk tribe are you going to exchange salt with?”

The three-striped tribal head felt a chill run down his spine for some reason under the stare of the snake. That fear that arose in his heart baffled him.

“The merfolk tribe over at the Sea Cliff is the closest to us. Their terms are also fairer. Hence, we usually go there.”

“Exchange with a different group,” said Curtis calmly.

The displeased tribal head was about to say something when Winston suddenly said, “Listen to him.”

“Your Majesty?” The tribal head was perplexed. After the tiger king swept his gaze over him, he immediately swallowed his words and said respectfully, “Yes, we will go to another group of merfolk.”

Bluepool, who was in the midst of eating, froze. He could vaguely sense that all was lost for the tribe he used to belong to.

Bluepool’s favorite water wheel was still spinning noisily, forming ripples on the water continuously, drenching the air above in the color of blood that persisted.

Everyone dispersed after eating their fill. After Bai Qingqing left, Bluepool—who found the water too filthy—transformed into a human and went to look for a clean water source.

When he returned to the tree hole, Curtis refused to move to another story after eating his meal, simply spreading out his body on the floor to digest his food.

With the leopard cubs grown-up, once Curtis laid down, the tree hole became incredibly cramped. The cubs were huddled on the bed as they licked their toes leisurely.

Bai Qingqing gazed at their faces, and after confirmation over a long while, finally asked Parker, “Do you find their mouths flat?”

“No,” Parker replied without even looking. He asked in confusion, “What makes you say so?”

“Roar?”

The three leopard cubs raised their heads and gazed at their mommy with a hurt expression, then gazed at each other’s mouths.

Are our mouths flat? Is Mommy disdaining us for being ugly?

Relieved, Bai Qingqing said curiously, “I remember their mouths being very flat when they were just born. Their mouths were very flat even when they didn’t have much fur. I wondered, once their fur grows out, wouldn’t their mouths become even flatter? That’s why I’m concerned.”

If it wasn’t for the fact that her cubs looked normal now, Bai Qingqing wouldn’t have dared to bring it up. She was really very worried that her kids were affected by her human genes, and that Parker would blame her for it.