Beauty and the Beasts

“Probably not, but there are so many rooms in the castle—there are a few wood sheds next to the pit, just shift a few bundles of firewood out and people can sleep in them.” Bai Qingqing said with keen interest, “Also, salt powder and whatnot—it won’t kill someone to go without for a few days… the tiger king is not obliged to provide that.”

The frightened Eudora didn’t dare to blab nonsense anymore. After glaring at Bai Qingqing to show that she wasn’t willing to admit defeat, she went downstairs.

She had just gone down the stairs when her body abruptly stopped in its tracks. “Tig… tiger king.”

There were two tiger beastmen standing downstairs, and one of them was Winston. He was holding a plate of vegetables and meat, his face so tense it made him resemble a wooden sculpture as he looked up at Eudora.

Body trembling, Eudora ran away frantically.

Winston handed the food tray to the tiger beastman standing beside him, and said in a deliberately lowered voice, “Help me bring this up, I’ll go to the fields to take a look.”

“Yes.” The tiger beastman also responded in a hushed tone. He received the food tray and gazed at Winston worriedly.

Winston turned around and left in big strides.

Eve squatted down and patted the heads of her leopard cubs, then said in a gentle and soft voice, “Help Mommy look for ants… those tiny black bugs that would drag away your unfinished food.”

“Purr—”

The little cubs purred merrily, before lowering their heads and commencing their search.

Dismissing Eudora from her thoughts, Bai Qingqing asked, “Do you understand what they’re saying?”

“Of course, I’m a leopard female,” Eve replied with a smile as she pulled Bai Qingqing along to follow her leopard cubs.

Bai Qingqing felt envious. As a human, regardless of what she gave birth to, there was a 100% chance she wouldn’t be able to understand a word!

“Bai Qingqing!”

The unfamiliar voice of a tiger beastman from behind made Bai Qingqing turn her head. “Were you calling me?”

The tiger beastman walked over in those strong and long legs of his that gave off a rugged vibe and handed the food tray to Bai Qingqing. “This is the meat Parker roasted. The grass, His Majesty has specially plucked them from outside. They asked me to hand the food to you.”

There was a bowl of hand-shredded meat that was roasted with a variety of condiments, and a bowl of green leaves that resembled romaine lettuce. Ever since she discovered this type of vegetables here, she liked to eat it with meat rolled inside of it. One look at this combination and she knew this tiger beastman wasn’t lying to her.

Hence, Bai Qingqing took the food from him and smiled politely. “Thank you.”

With delicate features and a clean disposition, Bai Qingqing looked particularly charming when she smiled. The tiger beastman blushed in an instant and scratched the back of his head shyly.

The first thing that came to Bai Qingqing’s mind when she saw the tiger beastman’s reaction was “Oh no”. She quickly said, “Please carry on with your work.”

Nooo… she wouldn’t be able to cope with another admirer!

“Mm.” The honest tiger beastman went away as he was told.

Eve held back a chuckle with her lips pursed, a reaction that was met with a dagger-like gaze from Bai Qingqing.

The little leopard cubs were indeed efficient. In a short span of time, one of them managed to find the ants. With one paw stepping over the ants, that little cub roared at the ants.

Bai Qingqing hurriedly walked over.

The leopard cub raised his paw, and one ant propped its body up and resumed crawling. Using a tree leaf, Bai Qingqing scooped up the ant and walked briskly to the staircase. “Quick, follow me.”

The baffled and curious Eve called for her little cubs to follow her.

Just as they were about to reach the top level, Bai Qingqing made a gesture for them to keep quiet, before the two humans and three beasts went up to the top.

The water on the stone had dried, and that stained patch was no longer visible.

Bai Qingqing placed the ant upon it. The moment the ant hit the ground, it started crawling away. She scooped it back to that spot several times, yet the ant was perfectly unscathed.

Eh? Could the death of those two ants be a mere coincidence?

The instant the leopard cubs came up, they started shivering. Their clear beast eyes were filled with terror as they sniffed about their mother’s vicinity as well as the carved marks.