Beauty and the Beasts

Chapter 4: Camel Hump Valley

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Parker released the dead wolf from his jaws and bent his forelimbs such that his upper body was on the ground. Bai Qingqing immediately got the hint and slid down his back.

“The area in front is where my tribe and I currently live,” Parker said. He had transformed back into a human at this point. When Bai Qingqing looked over out of curiosity, she saw him crouching over the lake and scooping out a handful of mud. He then walked over to Bai Qingqing and smeared it all over her face.

“Ah!” Bai Qingqing screamed. As she avoided him, she haphazardly wiped at her face and asked, “What are you doing?”

Parker grabbed Bai Qingqing’s arm and evenly spread out the mud on her face. “Since you’re so pretty, if you go back with me just like that, those thirsty males will definitely remember you. As your mate, I’m not afraid of being challenged by those guys, but what if they take you away from me when I’m not looking?”

“What! I didn’t even agree to be your mate!” Bai Qingqing glared at Parker, feeling embarrassed and angry. She was secretly happy that he called her “pretty”. People in the modern world rarely used that word to describe her. They usually called her “adorable”, “pure”, and the like.

Furthermore, Parker was a young male. She couldn’t help but get butterflies in her stomach.

After Parker let go of Bai Qingqing, she was about to wash her face by the river when she heard him say in an aggressive voice, “If you wash your face, I’ll scratch it so that it becomes disfigured and you’ll never look pretty again!”

Parker felt uneasy as he threatened her. Females were physically weak, but they were domineering by nature and cared about their looks. What was he going to do if his female simply refused?

Bai Qingqing froze. She’d seen how bloodthirsty this leopard could get, so she didn’t doubt that he would really do something like that.

Forget it. She only had mud on her face, and the water in the lake was clean anyway. She’d just treat it like a free facial.

“Hmph! I won’t wash my face, then.” Bai Qingqing was naturally unhappy that he had threatened her. Once she got to that village or whatever, she’d find an opportunity to get away from this man. He was too dangerous.

Parker instantly beamed with pleasure. He then happily skinned the wolf and cut open its chest. After rinsing it clean, he said to Bai Qingqing, “Okay, let’s go.”

He then transformed back into a leopard and briskly walked over to her. Bai Qingqing pursed her lips as she climbed onto him and sat sideways.

Camel Hump Valley was up ahead. A small river flowed through the valley. The valley gradually appeared as Parker unhurriedly walked forward.

The river divided the valley in two. At the base of the mountain peaks were several wooden houses with humans and large animals walking around outside.

Parker said this was where the leopards lived, but there were tigers, lions, and wolves as well.

The human beastmen had skirts made of animal skin tied around their waists, leaving their upper bodies bare. Their strong and muscular chests were nothing like those of lanky bodybuilders. With the sheer power they exuded, they didn’t seem weaker than beasts.

Furthermore, all of them were pretty handsome. Half of the people had tattoos like Parker, except they only had a single line on one side of their faces. The rest of the people’s faces were completely bare.

Bai Qingqing remembered reading in a book that some savage tribes painted their faces as a symbol of status and power. Parker had more tattoos on his face than others. Did this mean he had a very high status?

The tribe made Bai Qingqing feel like she’d entered a zoo, when in reality she was the one being surrounded and watched.

The beastmen quickly gathered around when they noticed the smell of a stranger.

“Parker, where’d you find this female? She’s so dirty.”

“But she smells nice. I like her.”

“And she’s still single. I wonder if she’s come of age yet.”

Bai Qingqing nervously grabbed onto Parker’s fur as she watched the people and beasts surround them.