12: Chapter 12 A Trip to the Market

"Hot... mmm..." Meng Lai still swallowed the piece of meat in his mouth, then waved at Sang Qing, his face stubborn, "Won't spit it out."

It's delicious; it would be such a waste to spit out such tasty food.

Meng Qi gave him a disdainful look.

Having learned from the foolish cub's experience, he picked up a piece of brightly colored meat with his chopsticks, blew on it gently, and only then put it in his mouth.

Mmm... so delicious!

Meng Lai gulped down a large cup of cold water, and when he turned back, the meat in the bowl placed in front of him was almost gone.

Dazed, Meng Lai saw the mountain of meat piled up in Meng Qi's bowl and cried out, "Father, save some for me!"

He had only eaten one piece.

Meng Lai immediately joined the scramble for the stewed meat.

The bowl in front of Sang Qing had only a small dent in the pile; both Meng Qi and Meng Lai were too embarrassed to snatch from hers. But she couldn't finish such a large portion by herself, so she smiled and pushed the bowl toward them.

In the end, Meng Lai used the meat sauce to mix with the rice and polished off the entire large pot of white rice Sang Qing had cooked.

Sang Qing: ... I was planning to save some for fried rice tomorrow, but it seems there's no hope now.

After the meal, three round-bellied Civet Cats lay neatly on the animal skin, resting, momentarily unclear whether they were sunbathing or just showing off their bellies.

"Burp~" Meng Lai let out a satisfied burp, patted his round belly, and sighed contentedly.

"Qing Qing, cook less rice next time. I'm so full."

Meng Lai was being cheeky after getting the better deal, and Meng Qi nearly kicked him.

Sang Qing rubbed her belly and stretched lazily, completely without decorum. "Burp~"

She was really, really full.

"Father, brother, was the rice good?"

She had been worried that Meng Lai and Meng Qi might not like it.

This rice was from a flash sale activity in the Mall today. She instinctively clicked when she saw the limited-time offer, and a thousand jin of rice ended up costing her a full ten points, making her heart ache for a while.

"Delicious," Meng Lai nodded firmly.

He felt the rice was soft and had a fragrant taste, different from the texture of beast meat, unique, making one want to eat more after having some.

Meng Qi also responded, "Extremely delicious."

It would be even better if they could eat it every day.

She noticed that today's rice, though expensive, had an excellent texture, far superior to ordinary rice. How to put it... it felt like the rice itself contained energy. After eating it, her whole body felt warm.

"If it's delicious, we'll eat it every day from now on."

As long as she could earn shell crystals to exchange for points, eating three meals a day wouldn't be a problem.

Sang Qing glanced at them with a smile, gently closing her eyes to rest for a while.

The weather lately is just perfect for sleeping. You can fall asleep the moment you close your eyes on any patch of ground.

Meng Qi also decided to take a nap. After waking up, he planned to take a stroll in the forest. His health had improved a lot recently, so it was time to go out and spar with beasts to sharpen his somewhat dulled claws and fangs.

He closed his eyes, but as soon as he did, he felt a surge of vigorous energy coursing through his body. Suddenly, he was astonished to discover he had broken through to the third rank.

No, it's more accurate to say he had returned to the third rank. Before his injury, he was a Third-Rank Warrior, and now, he had regained that strength.

"Ah!" Meng Qi exclaimed, transforming into his human form and sitting up, hurriedly checking the mark on his arm.

Three horizontal lines representing a male's power level were clearly visible. Was he really not dreaming?

Meng Lai was startled by the shout, and Sang Qing also opened her eyes, looking over in confusion.

"Father, you've recovered to the Third-Rank Warrior!!" Seeing the mark on his Father's arm, Meng Lai also transformed into his human form, cheering with joy.

This... the beast god has shown its divine power.

Meng Qi was obviously also very happy, speaking excitedly to Meng Lai, "Yes, I suddenly felt an extra surge of power in my body."

It wasn't a dream; he had truly returned to the third rank.

Sang Qing was first overjoyed, then stunned.

Although Father's recovery to the third rank was inevitable, she thought it would take more time. She didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

She noted the key phrase in Father's words: an extra surge of power in the body?

Now she also felt an unknown power within her body. What was going on?

Clenching her fist, her strength seemed a bit greater. Sang Qing pondered, Could it be... She remembered the rice she flash-bought today and quickly opened her purchase history to check.

With one look, she immediately understood.

It turned out this rice was low-grade spiritual rice from the cultivation world, rich in a small amount of spiritual energy.

No wonder. You really get what you pay for.

But... If spiritual rice can help Father advance, doesn't that mean that by eating more spiritual rice, they have hope of breaking through to higher levels?

However, Sang Qing's joy lasted only a few seconds. When she saw the original price of the spiritual rice, her excitement instantly vanished.

The original price of spiritual rice: fifty points for a thousand jin.

Considering she used about seven or eight jin of rice for three of them at lunch today, if calculated this way, a thousand jin of rice would only last her family at most two or three months. Moreover, as the males' strength increases, their appetites will also grow, and it might not even last two or three months.

So expensive. Can't afford it, can't afford it.

It seems I really need to earn points properly.

After breaking through to the third rank, Meng Qi was extremely excited. He didn't sleep anymore and, after greeting his two children, darted into the forest.

Sang Qing watched her Father's agile figure disappear from sight and twitched the corner of her mouth.

Old but vigorous indeed.

But to be fair, Meng Qi isn't old. Beastmen typically live around a hundred years, regardless of gender. However, due to the law of the jungle and harsh living conditions, their average lifespan is only about fifty or sixty years.

male Beastmen show significant differences as their rank changes. The higher the rank, the longer their lifespan and the slower their physical decline.

If a male can reach the seventh rank, then even in his seventies or eighties, he can still fight fierce beasts with sharp teeth, and living to a hundred years old wouldn't be a problem.

It's worth mentioning that this male's mate can enjoy the same lifespan as him.

After a female forms a Pair Bonding with a strong male, she can share the male's vitality. This is also why many females remain healthy and long-lived even after giving birth to multiple litters.

In terms of years, Meng Qi is only thirty-eight. In Sang Qing's eyes, he's in his prime. But according to the average lifespan in the Beast World, he's already starting to decline.

Beastmen generally reach adulthood after eighteen years. Meng Qi formed a Pair Bonding with Julie as soon as he came of age and quickly had Meng Lai as a cub. Sang Qing was born the following year.

Now Sang Qing is eighteen, and Meng Lai is almost nineteen. Beastmen pregnancy lasts only about four months, but the longer the gestation period, the stronger the cubs born.

Aside from other troubles, Meng Qi is considered one of the luckier males in the Tribe. He alone has two cubs, while most males typically only have one, and during the growth process, cubs have a certain probability of dying young.

Sang Qing and Meng Lai successfully reaching adulthood made Meng Qi incredibly proud back then.

Just... Sang Qing closed her eyes and rolled over. If Meng Qi knew that his cub's core had been replaced by another person, would he be very sad?

The cub he worked so hard to raise ultimately did not grow up and form a Pair Bonding as expected.

Sighing, Sang Qing buried her head in the animal skin, feeling a heaviness in her chest as she drifted off to sleep.

As night fell, most Tribesmen in the Tribe were preparing to rest. Only in one Treehouse, heart-wrenching wails continued to be heard.

"What should we do? Shaman, Nina can't give birth to the cub."

"Don't worry, I'm here. The beast god will also protect Nina."

... Just as dawn broke, Sang Qing was awakened by Meng Lai.

She flicked away the sleep from the corner of her eye, yawned repeatedly, and rolled out of bed, no longer feeling the previous restraint.

According to Meng Lai, it takes quite a bit of time to get from the Civet Cat Tribe to the Market. So, she had told Meng Lai yesterday that they would wake up early and set out today.

Finally, I can go on a trip. I haven't seen what the Beastmen's Market is like, and there's no memory of it in the original body either.

After washing up and braiding her hair, Sang Qing headed to the kitchen.

A faint, delicate tea fragrance filled the kitchen. Sang Qing lifted the lid of the pot, revealing a full pot of tea eggs before her eyes.

Meng Lai, catching the scent, darted into the kitchen. His eyes sparkled like stars as he took a deep breath and asked with a smile, "Sister, are the tea eggs ready?"

He had been looking forward to this pot of eggs since last night, even drooling in his sleep.

"Ready."

Sang Qing nodded, deftly scooping out the well-infused tea eggs from the pot and placing them in a bowl for him to take out.

These eggs were brought back by Meng Qi from the forest yesterday. Each egg was about the size of a goose egg. She didn't know what kind of eggs they were, but since her Father said they were edible, she just boiled them all together.

Having learned from yesterday's lesson of burning his mouth, Meng Lai was much more careful today. He waited for the eggs to cool down before eating them.

But... Sang Qing watched as Meng Lai put an egg directly into his mouth without even peeling the shell. The corner of her eye twitched violently again.

She had no choice but to hand him a peeled egg, shaking her head with a smile.

So adorably silly.

Meng Qi gave her the peeled egg from his hand. Sang Qing, smelling the fragrant aroma of the beast eggs, couldn't help her stomach growling, "Thank you, Father."

Taking a gentle bite of the egg white, the tender texture infused with a rich tea fragrance filled her mouth. It was much tastier than chicken eggs.

Sang Qing felt she had discovered another favorite food.

After eating two eggs, Sang Qing was full. The remaining eggs all went into the mouths of the Father and son, who even felt a lingering sense of not having enough.

Meng Lai made up his mind. When they return from the Market, he would go to the forest to find beast eggs. He still wants to eat Qing Qing's tea eggs tomorrow.

After the meal, Sang Qing changed into a new, beautiful dress and climbed onto Meng Qi's back.

Meng Lai carried the fruits and other items they needed for trade.

The size of Civet Cat Beastmen is considered medium in the forest, but carrying two females is no problem at all. Plus, Meng Qi is now a Third-Rank Warrior, larger in size, easily able to carry Sang Qing.

Sang Qing had just put on a new dress today and was too lazy to transform. Meng Qi was also happy to carry her. The Father and his two children chatted and laughed as they walked out of the Tribe.

Outside the Tribe, Meng Qi and Meng Lai picked up speed, following the remembered route toward the Market.

Sang Qing was curious about everything in the forest. Sitting on Meng Qi's back, she looked around at the towering ancient trees, noticing that the farther they got from the Tribe, the larger the trees became, almost blocking out the sky.

It seems I can't appear alone in the forest. The grass looks taller than me. I'm really afraid a fierce beast might jump out unexpectedly.

At this moment, the sun had not yet appeared. The forest was just waking from its slumber, with only the chirping of insects and birds lingering in the air.

Dew moistened Meng Qi's fur. His eyes were sharp as he stared ahead, his leg muscles powerful and well-defined, showcasing the unique speed of a Third-Rank Warrior.

Meng Lai perked up his ears, paying attention to the surroundings. Although beasts hadn't emerged yet, unexpected situations couldn't be ruled out.

Several dark shadows passed overhead. Sang Qing, hearing the eagle cries, got goosebumps.

Tsk, why didn't I become a Winged Tribe Beastman? At least with wings, going anywhere would be convenient.

Envy aside, the reality is here; changing it is impossible.

When dawn completely covered the entire forest, their family smoothly passed through the forest's edge and reached their destination.

Passing through a bright light at the very end, the bustling trading scene not far away came into view. At this moment, there were already many Beastmen at the Market; they had arrived just in time.

Yet Sang Qing was astonished, her small mouth agape. Wait, what was she seeing?

She actually saw an ocean?

Was she not mistaken? An ocean, a real ocean, the kind of boundless, azure, vast sea.

This... her brother and Father never mentioned that there was an ocean on this side of the forest.

It's like the bizarre opening the door for the bizarre, truly bizarre to the extreme.

The Market was situated on the beach along the coastline, winding and stretching for several hundred meters, full of liveliness.

Meng Lai, noticing his sister's surprised expression, followed her gaze and tilted his head in confusion.

What's she looking at? So astonished?

Probably because it's Qing Qing's first time at the Market and she hasn't seen so many unfamiliar Beastmen before.

Meng Qi hadn't been to the Market for a long time either. Looking at the Beastmen on the beach, he spotted a few familiar faces.

Sang Qing closed her gaping jaw and accepted the fact that the forest was next to the sea.

Actually, she quite likes the sea. It's just that the scene before her is a bit too peculiar, but it's not unacceptable.

I wonder if there are mermaids in the sea? I'll have to take a good look later.

Being next to the sea is good. There are so many good things in the sea. As soon as Sang Qing thought of this, she immediately became excited.

Right now, they were on a hill. There was still some distance to the Market. Sang Qing rubbed her hands together and urged her Father to hurry.

I can't wait to see what's at the Market. If I find something more valuable than shell crystals, that would be great.

At the Market entrance, Sang Qing climbed down from her Father's back, smoothed her dress, tucked the wind-blown strands of hair behind her ears, her face showing faint excitement as she prepared to explore.

She first glanced at the sea, then followed Meng Qi into the Market.

Beastmen don't hawk their wares. Most sit cross-legged with an animal skin spread in front of them, displaying the items they have for trade, much like street vendors.

But... Sang Qing noticed that when males sat cross-legged, their loincloths barely covered their... ahem... assets. She couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed.

No decency, no decency at all!