Beauty and the Beasts

“Mm, thank you for taking care of my kids over this period of time. I’m so grateful.” Bai Qingqing bowed deeply at the tribal head.

The tribal head found it strange that Bai Qingqing was bowing at him, but he simply dismissed it and waved his hand. “As the tribal head, it’s my duty to take care of the young ones of this village. They are strong and would often drag back food. All we did was help them roast it.”

Hearing these words of praise, the leopard cubs proudly raised their heads.

Though Bai Qingqing threw them a displeased look, her heart swelled with pride as well.

After coming out from the tribal head’s home, Bai Qingqing felt relaxed, and there was even a light spring in her steps.

Being young, pretty, and fair-skinned, her appearance immediately attracted countless gazes. But having stayed in the village all this while, even though beastmen were still swooned by her looks, she wasn’t as eye-catching as when she had just entered the village. Everyone simply thought of her as a female in the village who rarely left home.

The rustling of tree leaves could be heard from the surrounding trees from time to time. Leopard, eagle, and even ape beastmen leaped between trees as they peeped at her.

Feeling uneasy with all those eyes on her, Bai Qingqing’s eyes rolled around as a wicked idea struck her.

“Babies, previously, you three made a mess of our home. What does our tree hole home look like now? Bring me over to take a look.”

The little leopards bouncing behind their mother froze in their tracks, then peered left and right, but couldn’t see the direction of their home. They even felt like they should flee.

Bai Qingqing certainly wouldn’t let them leave. She asked them to walk closer to her and even lifted Third, who had a more symmetrical figure.

Although Third didn’t look very big, his body was as heavy as if laden with lead. With Third in her arms, Bai Qingqing couldn’t straighten her back and had to shakily walk with her legs spread open like Donald Duck.

“Third, did you eat lead? Why are you so heavy?” Bai Qingqing’s face scrunched into a bun.

Third, who was complimented on his weight, shook his tail smugly and rested his front paws on his mommy’s shoulders. He then haphazardly stepped his way up to his mother’s back and tightly gripped his mother’s body using all four of his limbs like a monkey.

Carrying Third in this manner was much easier for Bai Qingqing. Also, it made her feel like the leopard cub was a human, making her not bear to set him down even more, her hands propping up Third’s butt behind her back.

Jealousy triggered, Eldest and Second surrounded their mommy and howled repeatedly, one clinging onto her left leg and the other onto her right leg like two sandbags.

With those two clinging onto her, she wasn’t able to even raise her legs. Caught between laughter and tears, she said, “All of you, come down. We’re home.”

The leopard cubs instantly got out of the way, reluctant to enter the big tree they called home.

Bai Qingqing swept a wicked gaze over them and kicked away the pile of grass on the first story, before bending over to enter.

The sealed-up tree hole had very dim lighting, and before Bai Qingqing’s eyes could adjust to it, an odd smell entered her nostrils.

By the time her pupils adjusted to the lighting, she saw a pile of garbage—cleanly eaten animal bones—on the floor upstairs.

If it were just bones alone, it wouldn’t have resulted in such an obvious stench. But these bones were neatly piled into a little mountain up to Bai Qingqing’s waist.

Bai Qingqing’s mouth twitched. She looked up and also saw animal bones in the air at the entrance upstairs. It wasn’t difficult for her to guess that the leopard cubs must have eaten upstairs and were too lazy to throw them away, so they directly tossed them to the lowermost story.

Bai Qingqing’s mouth twitched again. Did they regard this first story as a garbage room? Boys indeed weren’t fond of tidiness. This was applicable even in the beastman world.

A leopard cub sheepishly stuck his head in to look at his mommy’s countenance. Bai Qingqing caught him in the act and dragged him by the ears into the tree hole.

“Quick, get the garbage out. Looks atrocious leaving them inside,” Bai Qingqing reprimanded them sternly.