Beauty and the Beasts

Parker was faster than them. He reached out and picked up the necklace before dangling it on top of An’an’s chest.

“Stop fighting. Let An’an play with it first,” he said to the leopard cubs sternly. When he looked at An’an again, the gentleness on his face was unparalleled.

His expression changed so quickly that even Bai Qingqing felt upset for the leopard cubs.

How was he their father?

An’an’s large, glistening eyes followed the necklace as it moved.

The leopard cubs quietened down and gathered around their father to look at their younger sister. Bai Qingqing crawled over as well. “An’an’s watching it.”

“Mm,” Parker responded.

The necklace continued to dangle in front of An’an’s eyes. As the two of them talked, her mouth suddenly opened as if she was about to cry.

Bai Qingqing held onto the crystal and chuckled. “An’an must be dizzy from watching the necklace dangle,” she said.

“I’ll stop, then,” Parker replied.

It was very warm inside the house, and An’an’s little hand was exposed. Bai Qingqing placed the necklace in her hand and said softly, “An’an can play with this.”

An’an opened her mouth and wailed loudly the moment her hand touched the stone.

“Waaa!”

An’an rarely cried, so it was shocking when she did. The first time she cried was when she was born, and the second time was during a full moon’s night. This was her third time crying.

The sudden sharp cries frightened Bai Qingqing, and she quickly took the necklace away.

“Mommy was wrong. Don’t cry, An’an. Don’t cry.” Bai Qingqing quickly placated her. It was of no use. An’an cried so violently that her fair and tender face quickly turned red.

Parker held An’an and continuously rocked her as he stood up. The cries somewhat stopped.

Bai Qingqing stood up and walked over. An’an then began to cry hysterically again.

“What’s wrong? Is the scorpion poison kicking in again?” Bai Qingqing’s face paled.

Parker glanced at the necklace in Bai Qingqing’s hand and replied, “She’s crying because of the necklace. Try hiding it.”

“Mm.”

Not knowing what else to do, Bai Qingqing did as he said, even making sure that An’an watched her place the necklace on his pillow. To their surprise, An’an’s cries immediately became softer, and she only sobbed.

Bai Qingqing’s mouth twitched. “It really was because of the necklace.”

Howl~

Third scratched at the pillow.

Bai Qingqing said, “If you want to play, go outside. Don’t make your younger sister cry.”

Third let out an excited cry, then pushed the pillow and ran off with the necklace in his mouth.

The other two cubs roared angrily before chasing after him.

The moment the necklace appeared, An’an seemed like she was about to cry. But before she could, the leopard cubs ran out of the room, and she swallowed it back.

“Ah. An’an must have eyes on the back of her head. She can tell when the necklace is brought out, even though she’s looking up.”

Bai Qingqing couldn’t help but laugh and gently tapped An’an’s chubby nose. “Crybaby.”

“Don’t say that. An’an’s the most obedient child,” Parker retorted.

Bai Qingqing thought about how her mother described her and embarrassedly shut up.

Since An’an disliked the necklace so much, she could only hide it under the pillow and touch it when she thought about it.

…

The iron-smelting process was very quick. After three days, the first piece of metal was produced from the underground furnace.

Although it took only three days to smelt the metal in the furnace, countless beads of sweat went into burning the copious amounts of charcoal needed, and the males failed several times before they found the right ore.

The sky had turned pitch black, and a red light seemed to flash in the dense forest.

Winston picked up a thin, shapeless piece of metal and said to the beastmen loudly, “Good job, everyone!”