Beauty and the Beasts

It only took one day and one night for Bai Qingqing’s group to return to the village.

Layers of lush thick mountain forests were right in front of them, and even though the greenery looked so piercing under the sunlight, they felt a cooling sensation.

The young lady riding on the peacock’s back looked pale, her lips dried and flaking. Her eyelids were droopy, but her eyes were bright and energetic. She lowered her head and patted the baby in her arms, saying softly, “An’an, be good, we’re back home.”

Before they reached the borders, Bai Qingqing couldn’t wait to pat Alva’s back to get him to land.

Alva’s body declined and slid into the forest. He then landed by the nearest small river.

The moment they entered the forest, the air instantly turned refreshing. The oxygen-rich air brought about the right amount of moisture, and bathing in it made them feel as if even their skin was taking in moisture. Their lungs were also being cleansed.

Bai Qingqing sighed. A splash rang out as she carried the child and squatted in the river water.

When Bai Qingqing’s scorching skin was suddenly soaked in cold water, she shuddered intensely. However, she still couldn’t bear to come out. She carried her child with one hand while feeding water to An’an’s mouth with the other.

An’an’s lips were very dried as well, but it was much better than Bai Qingqing’s. After all, she still had a few mouthfuls of milk to replenish her moisture, after all.

An’an opened her mouth and kept on swallowing. Her parched appearance made Bai Qingqing’s heart wrench up, and she said with an aching heart, “An’an, it has been tough on you.”

Curtis loved water by nature, and it had been really tormenting to have been dried up for two days. However, he couldn’t care about himself for now. He walked over to a bunch of aquatic plants, plucked off a wide leaf, scooped up some water, then brought it to Bai Qingqing’s mouth.

“Drink some water.” Curtis’s voice sounded hoarse. After saying this, he couldn’t help but flick out his tongue and lick the water.

Bai Qingqing was also extremely parched. She lowered her head and drank the water, only to recall Curtis’s earlier action. She then took in another big mouthful of water, raised her head, and pushed the leaf to Curtis’s lips.

“You drink some too.”

Curtis smiled faintly and then raised his head to finish the water.

Alva drank his fill of water and then shook his head while making tsk sounds, thinking to himself, “The two of them are really alike. One of them only takes care of the child, while the other only takes care of their mate. But this is really envious.”

Bai Qingqing wasn’t just parched, she was also starving. It had been close to two days since she had last eaten anything. She had stopped producing milk in the morning. If she still couldn’t arrive at the village today, she’d be extremely anxious.

Curtis plucked a few fruits nearby, washed them, then handed them to her.

After soaking in the river and finishing three half-ripe wild fruits at one go, Bai Qingqing finally felt alive again. However, she felt even hungrier. Gastric juice kept being produced, urging her to return to the village.

They had only left for half a month, but the number of villagers had surged. Bai Qingqing almost couldn’t recognize it anymore.

Many people couldn’t recognize her and Curtis. They were very wary when they saw a snake beastman entering the village, but they realized that he was probably someone from the village when they saw that he was allowed entry.

Moreover, Alva was with them as well. Alva was very well-known in the village. Who would neglect the only peacock in the village?

To ensure a quiet life, Bai Qingqing wrapped herself up entirely from head to toe with animal skin, exposing only a pair of big eyes to look around.

“Children!” Bai Qingqing found the village a little unfamiliar and called out in a suppressed voice.

Her words made the new members of the village even more certain of her identity, and they accepted them. Young males also secretly stood close by, assessing Bai Qingqing from all angles.

She had given birth to a young child but still had male children in the village. She must be very good at giving birth!

Bai Qingqing probably would have never expected that she’d be targeted by the males with strong cravings despite having covered her body completely. If she knew, she would definitely be caught between laughter and tears.