Beauty and the Beasts

“Wah!” Bai Qingqing let out a gasp. “So this is what Beggar’s Chicken looks like.”

 Parker wrinkled his nose, twisting his head in the direction of the smell. He asked, astonished, “Why is it clean now? Oh, right. What’s Beggar’s Chicken?”

 “Cough. Let’s just call it Mud Bird.” Bai Qingqing stuck out her tongue. “I don’t know either. I just experimented and it seems like quite a success.”

 “Your tribe is brilliant.” Parker couldn’t help praising.

 Bai Qingqing felt highly accomplished. She went into the bedroom with the ball of mud to show Curtis, before coming out to start eating.

 The rice was in the bird’s stomach for an entire afternoon, so the fragrance of the meat had already seeped into every grain. Every mouthful was filled with the juice of the meat. It was soft, springy, and extremely tasty.

 It was so delicious that Bai Qingqing felt that Curtis and Parker simply had to try this.

 The rain persisted for several days, and lobsters were always crawling about outside. What Bai Qingqing perceived as a delicacy was regarded as pests by the beastmen in the village, for it wasn’t uncommon for young ones to be pinched by those lobsters. It could be said every beastman living in the City of Beastmen had been pinched by a lobster.

 Now that Bai Qingqing frequently picked up lobsters outside, it also coincidentally reduced the threat of nature towards the young ones.

 Time passed in such a laidback manner for the next twenty-plus days. One morning, Bai Qingqing had just awoken, when she sensed that her period had visited her again.

 This wasn’t a big deal. But the terrible thing was that she had run out of cotton. Damn.

 Bai Qingqing crawled out from within Curtis’s tail, afraid the blood would drip on his body.

 “Ssss—” The sleeping snake suddenly flicked out his tongue and lifted the transparent veil on his eyes, making his blurry red eyes instantly become clear.

 Bai Qingqing immediately knelt on Curtis’s tail.

 “Hur hur, good morning.” Bai Qingqing greeted him with dry laughter.

 As Bai Qingqing got up, the intense smell of blood drifted throughout the house.

 “Roar—” Parker closed his eyes and sniffed vigorously. He suddenly flipped around and got up, turning his leopard head towards Bai Qingqing. “Roar?”

 Bai Qingqing looked towards Parker with a stiff smile. “Morning.”

 Oh my god. Why do they always have to see me at my most awkward moment? How embarrassing.

 Parker came over on his four limbs, transforming into a human on the way. Still, his four limbs remained on the ground, a look of anticipation on his face. “Qingqing?”

 Bai Qingqing was about to answer him when she suddenly felt something icy-cold touch her legs. She immediately reached out to stop that thing. It turned out to be Curtis’s tail.

 Curtis also quickly transformed into half-beast form and shifted his gigantic tail away. The dry grass below was stained with a blood imprint the size of a palm.

 “Is this your normal amount?” Curtis was clearly surprised. His heart ached for her instantly. Using his tail, he curled Bai Qingqing into his arms. “You bleed so much. No wonder you’re so much fairer than the other females.”

 Parker pondered Curtis’s words for a moment and felt that it made sense. His ecstatic feelings were now mixed with heartache for her. “Qingqing, what do you want to eat? I’ll cook for you right away. It’s better to nourish your body and make up for the blood that you have lost.”

 Seeing that the two males’ focus was different from hers, Bai Qingqing’s awkwardness faded away. She gazed at Parker, then at Curtis, with her large and slightly downturned eyes. “There’s no more cotton flowers in the house. What do I do?”