Beauty and the Beasts

“Jean, I’ve caught coral reef fish. I don’t know if you like them. It must have been very long since you’ve had them.”

Bluepool brought a shell that had fish on it to her. The fish was a dark gray and white striped one. Bai Qingqing took a few looks at it curiously and then said, “Call me Bai Qingqing.”

“You’ve changed your name?” Bluepool felt a little upset, but this emotion was quickly suppressed.

The organs had already been removed, and Bluepool made a few slits on the fish with his nail, cutting them into slices as thin as paper, then handing them to her, “Give it a taste.”

Bai Qingqing pushed his hand away and said, “I like to eat cooked ones. Bring it out and get my mate to prepare it. He’s called Parker. Tell him that I’m fine, and our three cubs Cur, Ti, and S are alright as well.”

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Bai Qingqing especially emphasized the “Cur,” “Ti,” and “S.”

“Meow—”

The cubs were very interested in the fishy smell and looked up at the shell in Bluepool’s hand.

Bluepool noticed the names and looked at them, finding them adorable. He asked, “They are called ‘Cur,’ ‘Ti,’ and ‘S’? Which is ‘Cur,’ which is ‘Ti’?”

Bai Qingqing tried to hold back her laughter. She feigned impatience and said, “Just go quickly. I’m hungry. The cubs will be hungry in a while too.”

Parker would probably be able to guess some things from this. He must be feeling very anxious, and she needed to quickly pass him the message.

Bluepool immediately said, “I know how to start a fire as well. I’ve been learning how to roast meat since very long ago. I’ll immediately roast it for you.”

“Who wants you to roast it? I like the food that Parker makes. You have to pass on the message for me as well.”

“Oh… Alright, then.” Bluepool was a straightforward fish. After agreeing, he immediately went out with the food.

Before he got out of the surface of the sea, he noticed a strange phenomenon.

Many peacocks were flying about in the sky. Bluepool felt perplexed. When did peacocks start eating fish as well?

Parker was still swimming in the sea. When he saw the merfolk appear, he immediately howled.

“Gah gah—”

Several tens of peacocks pecked at the merfolk. One of them had a bare butt—Alva.

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Parker also moved his limbs and swam over.

At this point, Bluepool naturally understood what was going on. He raised the food and said, “Bai Qingqing told me to come to ask you to make food. If you guys continue doing this, then I’ll be going down!”

Hearing the merfolk’s words, Parker immediately changed into his human form. “Everyone, stay away!”

Alva glared at the merfolk and got the peacocks to back off.

“Where’s Qingqing? Quickly return her to me!” Parker noticed that Bai Qingqing wasn’t here, so even if he were to kill this merfolk, he wouldn’t be able to get her back. He could only remain patient and ask.

Bluepool assessed Parker, trying to guess which part of him would make the female like him. He said, “You’re called Parker, right? Bai Qingqing asked you to roast fish for her.”

“Mm?”

The sudden change of topic caused Parker to be unsure of how he should reply. Why was Qingqing still thinking about food at this time? Ahh, it must be because of the cubs.

“Return her to me. I’ll naturally make a lot of good food for her,” Parker said.

Bluepool smiled proudly, placed the shell on the water, then pushed it toward him.

“Bai Qingqing already belongs to us merfolks, but I don’t mind your existence. Quickly go and roast the fish. It’d be bad if Bai Qingqing and the cubs get hungry.”

He then suddenly thought of the cubs’ names and said, “Oh, she also told me to tell you that Cur, Ti, and S are all doing well. They like the underwater world a lot.”

Parker’s eyelids twitched. When did Curtis become three?

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Wait a minute, Curtis?