Beauty and the Beasts

“As for other times, I’m not sure,” said Winston.

Bai Qingqing inhaled deeply and tried her best to keep her calm. “Will the poison disappear with time?”

“It gets weaker and weaker each time,” replied Winston.

Bai Qingqing nodded. “That’s great… that’s great…”

“Since An’an has gone through this ordeal once when she was young, it will be easier for her when she goes through this again when she gets older. One day she will fully recover from it,” Bai Qingqing said with certainty. Not sure if she was trying to convince Winston or herself.

“There’s another solution,” Winston suddenly said.

Bai Qingqing’s eyes lit up. She grabbed Winston’s hand and asked urgently, “What solution?”

“Word has it that scorpion beastmen have the antidote to their own venom. I can seek the scorpion king to ask him for the antidote. But I was only able to infiltrate Flame City by disguising myself as a rootless beast. If I look for him regarding this matter, I will no longer be able to conceal the fact that I’m not. The scorpion king wouldn’t possibly hand the antidote to me easily.”

In her anxiousness, Bai Qingqing blurted out, “Curtis’s antidote is at…”

In the midst of her sentence, Bai Qingqing pulled the brakes and changed her statement. “Curtis’s antidote is hidden in a part of his body. I’m guessing it should be the same for scorpion beastmen. You can go with Curtis. If the scorpion king refuses to give you the antidote, restrain him and force him to hand it over. This way, you should be able to obtain the antidote.”

Winston sighed and shook his head. “I have yet to get a clear picture of Flame City’s influence, so I don’t know how powerful they are. Moreover, scorpion beastmen have venom throughout their bodies. If he gives us the part that contains lethal poison, An’an would face certain death if she consumed it.”

However, he didn’t tell her about the most important point—it wasn’t worth it. With their great numbers, if all the scorpion beastmen were to band together, their village might not be able to defeat them. He didn’t wish for Bai Qingqing to be in danger because of An’an.

“Then, what should we do?” Bai Qingqing asked frantically.

1

“I’ll go to Flame City to ask for the antidote. Whether the scorpion king chooses to give it to me, it’s up to him.” Winston said, “I’ll go when the light rainy season arrives.”

Now that Curtis had gone into hibernation, Parker wouldn’t be able to take good care of Bai Qingqing all by himself. As such, he could only wait around here for now.

After some thinking, Bai Qingqing didn’t object to his suggestion. It was the cold season now, and the heavy snow had covered the entire forest. Also, due to the great disparity in temperatures between day and night in the desert, it was definitely much colder there compared to the forest. She couldn’t bear for Winston to risk his life.

When Parker carried An’an home, one glance at Bai Qingqing and he instantly felt heartache.

“Didn’t you sleep at all? Your eyes are awfully red. Hurry up and go to bed,” said Parker. Having been tormented by the baby for an entire night, he looked completely exhausted as well, and his voice also sounded kind of raspy.

Bai Qingqing rubbed her blurry eyes. “I’m hungry.”

Parker smiled. “I’ll go and whip up something for you to eat. Hurry up and go lie down for a short rest. I’ll wake you up later.”

“Mm.” Bai Qingqing responded as she took the baby from him.

Having cried for an entire night, An’an’s lips had turned chapped and she looked much more haggard than yesterday. Heart aching terribly for her, Bai Qingqing carried her to the bed to breastfeed her.

The famished An’an instinctively started sucking even while she was sleeping. Even Bai Qingqing could feel that An’an’s mouth was very dry.

“Be good, An’an…” Bai Qingqing gently patted her. Suddenly, she felt two gentle pats upon her own back.

Winston sat down by her side and pulled her into his embrace.

Having coaxed An’an for an entire night, Parker felt like smoke was about to emerge from his throat. The moment he walked into the kitchen, he gulped down three large bowls of water, before starting to prepare breakfast for Bai Qingqing.

A simple bowl of fishball noodle soup was prepared in no time. Bai Qingqing had an especially good appetite today. After eating, she very quickly drifted off to sleep with An’an in her arms.

After the mother-and-daughter duo fell asleep, Winston told Parker about An’an’s condition, making Parker so infuriated he transformed into his beast form and sank his teeth into him.