Beauty and the Beasts

With the prickly fruits wedged between their bodies, the unprepared Parker didn’t sense anything. On the contrary, Bai Qingqing, who was prepared for it, felt a sharp pain from being pricked.

“Aiyah!” Bai Qingqing yelped in pain. She loosened her grip, and the prickly fruits scattered all over the ground.

Upon detecting the smell, the little cubs rushed over. They lowered their heads, and the tip of their noses was pricked by the thorns, causing them to let out continuous roars and shake their heads repeatedly.

Parker hurriedly set her down to check. There was now a tiny red dot on Bai Qingqing’s snow-white chest from being pricked by the fruit.

He bent over to blow upon her chest with a pained expression.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

Bai Qingqing gasped and stroked her chest, before saying, “A little. I’ll be fine in a while. Hurry up and peel the chestnuts. I want to eat them.”

“Little gluttonous beast.” Parker tapped her delicate nose, then bent over to pick up a prickly fruit. He asked doubtfully, “Is this edible? Did that tiger beastman give you this?”

“Mm, they can be eaten—Becky’s eaten several. I have tried something similar to this in the past.” Bai Qingqing rubbed her nose. She pulled Parker to their own tree, where there was a pile of extinguished ashes.

“They taste even better when cooked. Let’s roast a few as an experiment.”

Parker naturally had no objections. He picked up the flint by the side and efficiently started a fire. He then tossed two prickly fruits into the fire to roast them, before helping Bai Qingqing peel the raw chestnuts.

Although Bai Qingqing wasn’t fond of chestnuts in the past, this one seemed particularly sweet, making them taste like fruits. Once she tried one, she couldn’t stop eating them.

The prickly balls in the fire had turned black, and smoke was rising from within. Parker added several pieces of firewood and said, “I remember there being many such fruits in the forest. I’ll go and pick some later to return to them…”

“Mmmm.” Bai Qingqing nodded. “Let’s return the cooked ones to them. Since Becky is a foodie, delicious food will definitely aid her in recovering from her trauma.”

Parker didn’t comment. He looked up at the skies and said, “It’s drier here than in the City of Beastmen. Looks like the heavy rainy season is about to end soon. I’ll take you out for a walk and find your favorite foods to store them.”

“Okay, chestnuts can be stored for a long time.” Bai Qingqing nodded excitedly. She stroked her coarse tube top and chuckled. “I’ll finally get to wear fine clothes.”

“When that time comes, we’ll lay these old animal skins on the floor. It will definitely be very comfortable,” said Bai Qingqing with a look of anticipation.

Parker grinned foolishly as he stared at her. “We’ll do as you say.”

As the two of them visualized their blueprint for the future, they lost track of time, resulting in the few prickly fruits in the fire turning into several balls of fire.

It was Bai Qingqing—who remembered her food—who first realized this. She hurriedly used a wooden rod to dig them out of the fire, before carrying over a brick to smash them.

“Oh god!”

Bai Qingqing hurriedly scampered away to avoid getting hit by the ashes dancing about on the floor.

The startled little cubs, who had no idea what was going on, scurried around like little rats on the grass upon hearing their mother’s screams combined with the smashing sound.

Parker reached out to scoop up Third who happened to run by his leg. Putting on the stern expression of a father, Parker ordered, “All of you, stop where you are.”

Roar! The leopard cubs gazed at their surroundings warily as they ran to their father’s feet.

Bai Qingqing sputtered with laughter, then walked to the chestnuts, avoiding the fire. Although the shells were completely burnt, the chestnuts were only slightly charred.

Parker grabbed one chestnut and peeled it, then fed Bai Qingqing.

“Delicious!” Bai Qingqing breathed out hot air as she spoke. Aside from the faint charred smell, one couldn’t find any fault with the taste.

“Let’s go out now, I can’t wait,” said Bai Qingqing.

Parker cast a helpless glance at her, before sending the cubs into the tree hole. He tossed the cubs onto the asleep Curtis, then set off with Bai Qingqing on his back.