Beauty and the Beasts

Suddenly realizing that she had been tricked, Bai Qingqing picked up a piece of clothing and hit Curtis with it. “You said we would feel warmer after mating.”

“I do. I nearly fell asleep last night.” Curtis didn’t dodge and allowed her to hit him with the animal skin. He said with a small smile, “It’s very effective, especially when I’m on the verge of collapsing.”

Knowing that she wouldn’t hurt him, Bai Qingqing continued hitting him and treated it like a workout, only stopping when she got tired.

The young leopards were hungry, so Curtis passed Bai Qingqing the bowl they used to feed them with. “Don’t forget to feed the children.”

Bai Qingqing’s breasts weren’t swollen yet, so she wouldn’t be able to produce much milk.

Seeing that Curtis was so insistent, she rolled up her blanket and said, “Give me the bowl.”

“Meow— Meow—”

The leopard cubs had some experience too. All of them obediently sat in front of Bai Qingqing and stared at her with their large, yellow eyes.

Bai Qingqing smiled and brought out the half-filled bowl.

The three cubs immediately surrounded her and lapped at the milk with great interest. Their prickly tongues were able to effectively lick up the moisture such that their drinking speed was comparable to a human’s. They were even faster than Bai Qingqing squeezing milk.

Bai Qingqing’s body felt much lighter after feeding the children. At this rate, I doubt I’ll ever get fat. This is nice.

She just didn’t know when she would stop lactating. She had been breastfeeding the cubs for about a month. Would she have to continue breastfeeding them until they were one year old as if she had given birth to human children?

She didn’t mind doing so, but the cubs would be very big when they were one year old. Wouldn’t they be mocked by the other children their age if she continued to breastfeed them every day, then?

“I think I’ll stop breastfeeding them in another month,” Bai Qingqing said.

Curtis immediately replied, “You can’t. You’ll go into heat.”

Bai Qingqing rolled her eyes and shot back, “You just want to mate with me, but you don’t want children, right?”

“Yep,” Curtis replied calmly.

Embarrassed, Bai Qingqing glared at him. “I’m not talking to you anymore. I’m going out to play.”

She climbed to the hole in the tree and shouted at Parker, who was making breakfast below, “Parker, catch me.”

Parker quickly ran over and opened his arms wide towards her with a grin on his face.

Bai Qingqing simply jumped down from the tree, which was four to five meters tall, and fell on his firm chest as she trusted him.

Bai Qingqing knew it wouldn’t be dangerous, but her heart pounded. It felt as exciting as sitting on a roller coaster.

As she neared the source of fire, Bai Qingqing sighed comfortably. “It’s so warm.”

“What are you cooking?”

Parker lifted the lid of the pot to show her and replied, “Stewed lamb trotters with chestnut. I’ve been stewing this even before the sun came up. I’ll heat some water for you to rinse your mouth with, and you can eat after that.”

The aroma was enticing, and there was even oil. Bai Qingqing licked her lips and said, “It’s okay. I’ll just rinse my mouth at the waterhole.”

She then got up and jogged towards the waterhole.

The snow had reached her ankles, and she left footprints in the snow with every step.

When Bai Qingqing reached the waterhole, she was stunned.

The water was completely frozen.

Bluepool lay on the ice, which had a small hole at the edge. His face lit up when he saw her. “You’re here. Are you alright? I heard the scorpion beastmen frightened you yesterday.”

“Ah! Even you’ve heard of it?” Bai Qingqing crouched down beside the waterhole and knocked on the ice. “The surface of the water’s sealed. Is there a lack of oxygen down there?”

“Yeah.” Bluepool scratched his head worriedly. He then found, to his surprise, that a thin layer of ice had formed on his head as well. He pulled a piece of it off.

“At first, I thought this place was better than the sea. I didn’t think the cold season would be like this.”