Beauty and the Beasts

“Do you still have the remnants of the prey that you’ve eaten earlier?”

“I threw them by the riverside. It was still there earlier. Why?” Parker threw a strange glaze at her, wondering what one could do with the remnants.

“You want to drink bone soup?”

“No, I just recalled that you don’t eat the hooves, and I’m thinking of braising hooves to eat. If that prey’s remnants are still around, then we can just cook them.”

Parker’s mouth twitched. “I had always felt that my mother’s preference for food when she was pregnant was strange, but I didn’t expect that yours is even more strange. To be honest, I haven’t seen anyone eating the hooves from their hunts before.”

Even aged beastmen starving to death would only chew on the bones that others threw away after eating. No one would chew on the hooves. Some animals’ legs could be eaten, but hooves were just a few pieces of tough shells. They were probably inedible even if they were cooked.

“How’s that strange? I didn’t recall this in the past, but hooves are quite delicious. Most importantly, they can help to promote lactation.” Bai Qingqing insisted. “Quickly go. I’m out of milk. Third is still hungry.”

Parker ran to the riverside doubtfully.

The hunt this time around was a deer. Parker saw that there was still some meat left on the deer’s legs and thus broke them off. After cleaning them up, he carried them back in a stone basin.

Bai Qingqing stared at the pot and waited anxiously as the legs were braised.

It would take a while for the soup to be done. Third was going to have to miss this meal. After he was tired from the crying, he fell asleep next to Bai Qingqing.

It was only two hours later that the hooves had softened a little, and a layer of oil floated up to the top.

Bai Qingqing couldn’t wait and took a sip. They were out of condiments, so it didn’t taste too good. It tasted fishy and greasy.

Parker was surprised. “I didn’t expect the hooves to be able to produce so much fat after cooking.”

“Of course. It’s all skin, and there are a lot of fats.” Bai Qingqing chewed on the hooves and spoke in a muffled voice.

For the sake of the fats, Bai Qingqing decided to finish up all four hooves. After consuming two bowls of piping hot soup and the four hooves, it didn’t take long before Bai Qingqing felt her breast bloating up. She quickly woke Third up.

“Meow meow—”

Both Second and First came over quickly, leaping about and wanting to climb up onto her. Bai Qingqing ignored them and let Third eat first.

Thankfully, there was sufficient milk this time around, and all three of them had their fill.

From that day onward, Bai Qingqing no longer dared to be careless about her food. Before she was hungry, she’d get Parker to look for the next meal quickly.

They settled down here. Bai Qingqing temporarily put aside the thought of searching for Curtis due to the children.

The children would have to eat over ten or even twenty times a day, and Bai Qingqing ate many meals as well. They grew up at an astonishing rate, looking different every day. They grew twice as big in three days. When half a month had passed, each of them weighed about 1.5 to 2 kilograms.

Having ample food, Bai Qingqing was able to provide enough milk for them. She was also one of the reasons the children could grow up so quickly. “Gah gah— Gah gah,”

A bird’s soft calling rang out from outside the cave. It sounded quite strange, so Bai Qingqing looked out. She didn’t expect to see a human face.

“Come— out—” Alva mouthed the words silently but didn’t manage to get Bai Qingqing to come out. Instead, Parker, whom he was fearful of, came out instead. Parker walked over in big strides. “You still dare to come?”

Seeing that he had been exposed, Alva stepped forth with composure. Looking into the cave, he saw Bai Qingqing, and his eyes lit up. “Qingqing.” “Howl—”

Alva had just spoken when a childish cry rang out from above his head. He looked up and saw a young leopard squatting on a branch and looking at him with his head tilted.

“The children have grown so much.”

“Is anything the matter?” Bai Qingqing’s tone was neither warm nor cold, and she went straight to the point.