âWhat are they saying?â Bai Qingqing asked curiously.
Parker grinned gleefully and said, âThey said Mommy must be pregnant with little leopard cubs.â
âHowl!â
The little leopards howled even more vigorously now, as though they were conversing with their father.
Curtis narrowed his eyes and swept them away with his tail. However, he did so very gently, unlike the way their father would thrash them.
âRoar~â The cubs instantly changed their stands.
Parkerâs countenance changed accordingly, and he was now glaring fiercely at them.
Bai Qingqing asked again, âWhat did they say this time?â
âNothing.â Parker lowered his head and handled the condiments, seething with anger. Spineless little rascals. How could they say their mother was pregnant with snake babies? How maddening.
Bai Qingqing pulled Curtis to a bonfire and sat down. Winston came back with the handled prey, and the family sat around the bonfire. That fart smell that was at times faint and at times intense aside, it was a blissful scenery.
Very quickly, the fragrance of the food wafted through the air. Eating the rich-tasting roasted meat, Bai Qingqing felt relieved that she didnât feel nauseous this time around.
âItâs been a long time since we sat together and ate like this,â Bai Qingqing said with fondness. âOh, right. Winston, the poison didnât act up these few days, right?â
Winston, who had just taken a bite of the meat, swallowed it without even chewing and replied, âNo. It hasnât acted up since I returned from the seaside.â
âThatâs great,â replied Bai Qingqing.
While Parker was eating the meat, his ears suddenly shook. He turned his head towards the forest, and Bai Qingqingâs gaze followed his.
A human figure walked out of the forest. Although it was dark, he was enveloped by a layer of glow, and his bright blue hair color could be seen.
He held a water ball of about one meter in diameter in his hand, and a glow was emitted from the bottom of the water ball. A small school of fishes was swimming inside. One side was bright and the other side dim, and the tree trunk beside it cast a flickering shadow on the ground.
âBluepool?â Bai Qingqing instantly got to her feet and walked towards him. âWhatâs that youâre holding? Whatâs that glowing thing?â
Bluepool grinned and quickened his pace. When he got to Bai Qingqingâs side, he said, âDidnât you say you wanted my pearls? I canât give that to you because Iâm giving that to my spouse at the official mating ceremony. Hence, I found you some pearls that give off a glow. Look.â
âYou went back to the sea? No wonder I didnât see you recently.â
Bai Qingqing pressed her hand upon the water ball. This ball was different from the bubbles Bluepool blew in the past and didnât have the bouncy feel of a balloon. âWhy is it hard?â
âStupid female.â The amused Bluepool said, âThereâs water inside. Soft bubbles wonât be able to hold water, so I secreted a substance to make the bubble hold its shape.â
Realization dawned on Bai Qingqing. Several tiny fishes smaller than tadpoles in the water ball swam to her palm. She asked, âWhat fish is this? Are you thinking of rearing them and eating them when they get big?â
Bluepool replied, âThis is called cleansing fish.â
Bai Qingqingâs eyes lit up in excitement. âI know about them. Youâre talking about the parasites that feed on big fishes, right? But arenât these a little too small?â
There existed fish spas in the modern ages. God only knew how much she yearned to try when she saw those images back then.
What a waste. She should have given it a try back in the sea.
Bluepool was astonished. âHow did a female on land come to know about this?â
âErrr...â
Very quickly, Bluepool thought of a reason. âJean told you about this, didnât she?â
âMm, thatâs right.â
âLetâs go to the waterhole.â Bluepool gazed towards it. Seeing flames abound over there, he frowned and said, âWhat are they doing?â
Bai Qingqing explained with a smile, âA new female has arrived in our village. Theyâre dueling to vie for mating rights. Do you want to give it a try?â