Beauty and the Beasts

Unsuccessful at catching a fish, Parker sneezed sadly before climbing ashore and hunting for prey.

1

When Bluepool fearfully swam back to the river, the leopard was long gone. Bluepool couldn’t use his scent to find him as merfolk had a poor sense of smell. He could only linger around in the area and wait for a chance to strike.

The next day, after eating breakfast, Bai Qingqing wrapped the children in an animal skin belt.

“Parker, let’s go out and look again.”

Parker took the children and said, “Get on.”

Bai Qingqing quickly climbed onto his back and closed her eyes. After orientating herself, she subconsciously pointed in a certain direction.

“This way.”

Parker was stunned. It was the river.

He quietly walked along the river but didn’t stop this time. “Keep your eyes closed and point me in a direction so we can randomly try.”

“Okay.” Bai Qingqing felt very lost; like she was trapped in a cloud of fog. She felt like she could sense snake figures everywhere as she thought of Curtis.

She could hear the young leopards’ soft meows from around Parker’s waist and the sound of flowing water beside her. The sounds from the river allowed her to come up with a rough map in her mind. If they walked along the river, they would reach the sea.

This greatly disrupted Bai Qingqing’s senses.

Parker didn’t rush her either and walked unhurriedly.

“This way.” Bai Qingqing pointed diagonally after hesitating for a long time.

Parker’s expression became serious as he ran in that direction on his long legs.

A smudge of bright blue appeared in the rapid and murky river. Before long, a head popped out of the water.

An excited smile played on Bluepool’s pale pink lips as he watched them leave.

The female! He had finally seen her again.

Ignoring the dangers on land, Bluepool climbed ashore and determinedly transformed his fishtail into human legs before chasing after them.

Although the direction Bai Qingqing pointed in wasn’t straight ahead of the river, after crossing through mountains, they eventually saw the vast ocean.

Parker pursed his lips and said, “See for yourself.”

Bai Qingqing had a bad feeling upon hearing Parker’s tone. As she opened her eyes, her heart stopped.

Was Curtis really in the ocean? He couldn’t be. He had to be by her side. He couldn’t have gone far.

Bai Qingqing swallowed her anxiety and determinedly said, “Let’s go to another place. I want to try again.”

Parker left while carrying her on his back without another word, and she closed her eyes again.

Bluepool frantically chased after them, not expecting them to turn around, and nearly bumped into them. He quickly hid in the grass, his bright blue coloring inconspicuous amongst the green leaves.

Parker didn’t go back the way he came and, instead, ran down a random mountain path that he could walk on, completely disorientating Bai Qingqing.

Bai Qingqing tried her best to focus on her weak, barely-there sense and pointed with uncertainty in a direction.

They arrived at the beach again.

Despite trying another four or five times, they were constantly led back to the ocean.

As she listened to the sound of the waves once more, Bai Qingqing opened her eyes in desperation. “If my sense is right, Curtis should be near the ocean.”

Parker grumbled in jealousy.

Qingqing must have liked the snake beastman a lot if she could sense him. If he got lost one day, would she be able to use her spousal mark to find him?

“Then, what do we do now?” Parker asked.

She looked at the vast ocean and replied, “We have to go into the water to find him.”

“Are you crazy? The ocean’s so big—how are we, land beastmen, going to find him?” Parker said as he let her down from his back. He also released the cubs around his waist as they started to make noise.