Beauty and the Beasts

The only difference was that there were several black dots on these tiny worms, and as they ate their way from one end of the basin to the other, their bodies turned one round fatter. In another few hours’ time, they would turn into armored grasshoppers that could fly and join the insect tide army.

“The cubs and pups have lost too much blood, so they ought to eat something to replenish their energy. I brought some cooked food over. You guys can hand it out to the little beastmen.” Bai Qingqing, who couldn’t bear to watch them anymore, turned her head and glanced at Parker.

Parker was carrying a large bucket of piping hot food. The meat fragrance wafting from it invigorated the senses of the little beastmen moaning in pain as they laid on the ground, making them look over with teary eyes.

Parker set the food on the ground, then ran out and carried over a pile of bowls. After he filled up each bowl of meat, Bai Qingqing brought them over to the little beastmen.

All of a sudden, one could hear the wolfing down of food, as well as puffing and blowing sounds in the room, dispelling much of the solemn atmosphere.

After she finished distributing the meat, Bai Qingqing didn’t leave and instead stayed to take care of the little beastmen. Having male cubs of her own, seeing these little lives enduring such great agony, she felt the same pain in her heart.

The little beastmen basically were afflicted in nests. Some beastman daddies had to take care of five to six beastmen all by themselves, so they had some trouble coping. Naturally, they were more than happy if someone offered to help take care of them.

Little beastmen had a natural fondness of females, especially since Bai Qingqing emanated a sweet and fragrant milky scent, the scent of a mother, making them even more entranced. They all turned their little heads and gazed in her direction.

Bai Qingqing said with a smile, “Why are all of you looking at me? Alright, since you all aren’t sleeping, I’ll tell you a story.”

Howwl—

The little beastmen in the room responded rather enthusiastically.

“The title of this story is ‘The Little Mermaid’. Do you want to hear it?” Bai Qingqing asked gently. As she waited for their response, she rapidly adapted Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” to a beastman version in her mind.

Roar~ Every single one of the little beastmen stared at her with large watery eyes filled with curiosity. It was an incredibly adorable sight to behold, nearly melting Bai Qingqing’s heart.

“Once upon a time, there lived a handsome and strong young male. He had just come of age and wished to head to the boundless ocean in search of adventure. He wanted to find out how big the ocean was.”

Seeing several little beastmen looking dispirited and half-dozing off, yet reluctant to close their eyes as they stared at her. Afraid that they wouldn’t be able to comprehend what she was saying, Bai Qingqing told the story very slowly, yet, at the same time, made it lively with vivid descriptions.

The little beastmen’s craving for knowledge was stirred up instantly, and even the sleepy ones no longer felt sleepy. They stared at Bai Qingqing without even blinking.

Parker’s three young cubs sniffed the fragrance of food and boldly ran out of the bedroom, finding their way here by following the smell. They, too, were attracted by the story their mother was telling.

“The young male carried an enormous piece of wood and drifted very very far away, so far away that he could no longer see the forests. On all four sides, all he could see was boundless water. He wasn’t afraid at all. When he got hungry, he ate fish, and when he got thirsty, he drank the rainwater. He lived carefreely. Suddenly, the sea surface was swept by fierce winds…”

As she was talking, Bai Qingqing felt a weight on her back. She turned her head around and saw that it was her leopard cubs. She gave them a slight glare: What to do if they were bitten?

The leopard cubs shook their tails merrily to show their unscathed bodies.

Bai Qingqing didn’t scold them and merely patted their heads for them to sit properly.

The little beastmen were completely engrossed in the marvelous story. At their age, they were most interested in such fascinating adventure tales, even more so than the fondness little kids in modern ages had towards fairytales. Each of them urged Bai Qingqing to quickly continue with the story with their anxious gazes.