Beauty and the Beasts

Vincent looked at the firewood in the house, then at the ashes on the ground. This house was filled with the warmth of a family. The coldness in his eyes was gradually replaced with envy.

 “The wolf tribe is extremely loyal to the ape king. They’re like his right-hand men.” Vincent reached out to stroke the dry firewood and slowly continued, “Between the other two tribes—the leopard and tiger tribes—the tiger tribe is the stronger one, so he wants to deal with us first. And I’m their first target.”

 Parker’s expression darkened. His mind a mess, he said impatiently, “These are just conjectures of yours. You’re overreacting.”

 Vincent replied, “This is a beastman’s instinct. You’ll feel that sense of hostility when you become his target.”

Bai Qingqing had only lived in the City of Beastmen for a few days so far and naturally didn’t trust the ape king. After listening to what Vincent said, she began to side with him.

 “I think Vincent makes a lot of sense,” Bai Qingqing said.

 Humans would do anything to gain power. The apes were most closely related to humans, and they were smart. It was normal to Bai Qingqing that they were ambitious as well.

 “What do you plan to do next, Vincent?” Bai Qingqing asked.

 Vincent retracted his hand. He then looked at Bai Qingqing, who hadn’t been fully blocked by Parker, and said, “I’ll return to the tiger tribe first.”

 Bai Qingqing immediately asked, “Will it be dangerous? You still have poison in your body.”

 The corner of Vincent’s mouth curved up into a grin, but he had a murderous look on his face. “The effect of the scorpion poison’s wearing off, and I’m not drinking anymore of the ape king’s medicine. It won’t be so easy to get rid of me.”

 “That’s good.” Bai Qingqing was slightly relieved. She gently poked Parker’s abdomen with her elbow and asked, “Can you send Vincent there? He’s still very weak.”

 Before Parker could respond, Vincent interjected, saying, “There’s no need for that.”

 Vincent then transformed into a tiger, before opening the door with his head and rushing out of the house. He ran two steps, then stopped and looked back at the stone house with its door closed tightly.

 Although the rain caused the white fur to stick to his body, he still looked strong and powerful. He simply observed the house quietly, as if he wanted to remember this moment forever and carve it into his heart.

 He then resolutely turned to look in front once more, leaving behind a grey silhouette in the rain.

 Bai Qingqing spaced out as she looked at the door, still having Vincent on her mind.

 Feeling jealous, Parker grabbed Bai Qingqing’s arm and turned her so that she was looking at him. He then wrapped an arm around her slender waist and held the back of her head with his other hand. “Can you stop being so nice to other males? They’ll get the wrong idea,” he said fiercely.

 Bai Qingqing rolled her eyes. She tried to break free from Parker’s grasp, but she naturally wasn’t able to move an inch. She said angrily, “All you care about is love and relationships. Would you spare a thought for your tribe? I think you should inform the people at home about this so that they’ll be prepared. What if the ape king decides to change his target?”

 1The possibility of this happening was very small. If the ape king wiped out the leopard tribe first, the tiger tribe would definitely be wary. There were two beastmen with four animal stripes in the tiger tribe, and there were two more in the wolf and ape tribes. It was unclear which side would emerge victorious then.

 In any case, if she was the ape king, she definitely wouldn’t do that.

 “Okay, I’ll inform Mom later when the rain clears up.” Parker reached out his hand. He looked at his long and sharp nails, then carefully wiped Bai Qingqing’s face.

 “The black spots have all faded. Thank goodness Vincent didn’t notice,” Parker said worriedly.

 Bai Qingqing raised a hand to touch her face. As expected, she managed to wipe off a few black spots. “Maybe the air’s too humid.”

 “It’s going to continue raining for the next three months. You can’t leave the house anyway, so you don’t have to redraw the spots,” Parker said as he wiped off the black spots one by one.

 “Mm.” Bai Qingqing nodded.