Beauty and the Beasts - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Top Delicacy
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The beastmen had a heightened sense of smell. With the unique aroma of the fish steamboat spreading throughout the village, very quickly beastmen came to surround their house.
“My goodness. What’s this? Fish medicine?”
“Parker, is your female sick? Is this the medicine Harvey prescribed for her?”
The beastmen surrounded the steamboat, and a lively discussion ensued with everybody trying to get a word in.
Bai Qingqing, who was adding salt into the pot, smiled at everyone. “I’m not sick. I’m cooking food, not medicine. Do you guys want to try this?”
Feeling curious, plus the smell was indeed too alluring, everyone couldn’t resist swallowing their saliva, the word “desire” clearly evident in their eyes.
Protective of his food, Parker let out a threatening growl, and his black eyes turned into long slits. The male beastman felt their hearts quiver and instantly retreated several steps to make clear their stands that they weren’t going to vie for the food.
What a joke. Although Parker was quite young, his battle prowess was absolutely number one in the tribe—the two animal stripes on his face were solid evidence of this.
Seeing this, Bai Qingqing said nothing. After all, the food wasn’t hers, so she naturally didn’t have the right to treat others to it.
Eudora also walked over with her mate following the trace of the smell. Seeing Bai Qingqing put heaps upon heaps of salt into the stone pot, she instantly reprimanded her. “What a prodigal female. Never mind that you’re adding food, you’re even using so much salt. Do you know how much meat has to be exchanged for all this salt? Everyone only receives a jar of salt every year. I’ll bet Parker won’t have enough salt to eat this year.”
Bai Qingqing’s hand halted. Ignoring Eudora, she looked towards Parker apologetically. “Is salt very expensive?”
Parker hadn’t much of an opinion of Eudora initially, but now, he was growing to detest her more and more. He made a tsk sound and said, “Ignore her. Your male can well afford to exchange for salt!”
“That means it’s really very expensive?” Bai Qingqing tried the taste of the fish soup with a tree branch. It was very tasty, albeit a little bland. But still, she set down the salt jar.
“Then let’s use it sparingly and not cook steamboat in the future.”
Mad and anxious, his head full of yellow fur stood on end. “No way! In any case, this jar of salt won’t be enough for the two of us. I’ll head to the City of Beastmen to exchange for more in a few days. I’ll change it for ten jars. That will be plenty enough for us.”
Parker’s generosity made the females present feel a tinge of envy, especially Eudora—she was so jealous that her eyes had turned red. Rolling her eyes, she scoffed. “This pot looks like a mess, I’ll bet it tastes awful.”
“Alright, Eudora, stop harping on it.” Eve gently pushed Eudora’s arm and said, “Actually, I find the smell quite pleasant.”
Bai Qingqing thought to herself, It’s not like I’m offering it to you. Even if it tastes awful, it’s none of your business.
Bai Qingqing couldn’t be bothered to argue with Eudora, but Parker wouldn’t stand by and watch his female be bullied. He instantly used a tree branch to poke some fish meat, stuffed it into his mouth, and was about to praise how delicious it was when he was astounded by the tastiness in his mouth, making him forget how to speak.
Parker’s pupils that had shrunk under the strong sunlight slightly enlarged as he murmured in a dazed state, “So yummy…”
Leopards belonged to the same species as cats and actually were very fond of eating fish. It was just that there wasn’t an appropriate way of cooking it, making them steer clear of fish. But even if they didn’t know how to cook it, there were actually many beastmen who liked to eat raw fish. It was only because the act of eating the raw meat and drinking the blood could easily scare off the females, especially females from a different species. That was why they kept quiet about this even if they secretly ate it.
Now that this fish was being cooked with an appropriate method by Bai Qingqing, not only did it remove the fishy smell, but it also retained the natural freshness and sweetness of fish meat. It could be considered a top delicacy to the leopard beastmen.
Everyone swallowed their saliva as they stared at Parker’s mouth, their stomachs growling incessantly.
It was only when Parker swallowed the fish meat into his stomach that he snapped out of his trance. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to convince everyone with his words alone, he declared, “The females may come over and taste it.”