23: Chapter 23 River Monster

Aunt Nan Ru had said that the prettier a female is, the more dangerous she is. Sometimes they will do whatever it takes to attach themselves to a powerful male. She told him that when he was outside, he must be wary of these females and stay far away from them.

Xuan Xiao left after dropping those few words. Sang Qing frowned, withdrew her hand, and pursed her lips slightly.

Fine then, I'll just consider myself over-affectionate.

Returning to the stall, Meng Lai had finished packing the goods and had also picked a bunch of bang bang fruit to load up, preparing for the return journey.

Sang Qing slung her small bag over her shoulder, and after making sure everything was packed, she followed Meng Lai and left.

The two Merfolk who had chased after them saw this and frowned helplessly.

The slightly more powerful Young Male slapped his younger brother's shoulder in annoyance. "Fu Ning, I say, you're so useless. You don't even know how to strike up a conversation with a female."

He had asked him to go ask about something, not to pursue the female, yet he still managed to mess it up.

He didn't know when this female would come back again.

Fu Ning lowered his head shyly and defended himself in a small voice, "I... I was just a little nervous..."

"Then starting tomorrow, you don't need to follow us to the Market anymore." Fu Yu glanced sideways at his younger brother and turned to walk back.

Nervous? Why would he be nervous? He didn't see him get nervous when he was fighting the Shark Beast; he had even twisted the Shark Beast's head off. The ones who should be nervous are the swimming beasts in the sea.

"No, that won't do."

If he didn't come to the Market, how could he see that female again? Fu Ning quickly shook his head, strongly resisting his brother's decision.

He wanted to come; he hadn't even spoken to that female personally yet... After leaving the Market, Sang Qing had Meng Lai find a place with no other beasts and put all the bang bang fruit into her Storage Grid. Then she also transformed into her Beast Form, intending to run back to the Tribe.

Since the trading ended early today, Meng Lai thought about taking a detour through the forest on the way back to catch some Gu Gu Beasts.

He hadn't forgotten his sister's mention of stewing Gu Gu Beasts. As long as it involved food, he wouldn't forget.

Two agile Civet Cats sprinted through the quiet, vast forest. Sang Qing gathered all her strength and lunged forward with all her might.

Meng Lai couldn't understand for the life of him why Qing Qing's speed was so fast, even faster than his running speed as a Fourth-Tier Warrior.

By the rushing river, several Gu Gu Beasts were feeding on a low-lying patch of land. They didn't seem to notice the surrounding danger and were communicating leisurely.

Behind them, Meng Lai moved forward slowly with his rear sticking up, his eyes fixed on the fattest Gu Gu Beast in the middle, and then he suddenly launched himself forward.

"Gu gu gu~~~"

"Qing Qing, I caught another one!" Meng Lai held up the plump Gu Gu Beast in his hand and cheered happily to Sang Qing, who was sitting under a tree.

The terrified Gu Gu Beast struggled desperately under Meng Lai's claws as if calling for help, but its fleeing companions ran away without looking back.

Sang Qing looked at the pile of Gu Gu Beast carcasses at her feet and quickly waved her hand at Meng Lai.

"Brother, you've already caught ten. That's enough."

It was too many; they wouldn't be able to finish them even in two days, and she didn't like eating the same food all the time.

Meng Lai nodded and walked toward her, carrying the Gu Gu Beast in his hand.

Suddenly, he paused.

Lifting his paw, Meng Lai looked at the egg liquid stuck to the bottom of his foot and then looked at the surroundings. The expression on his face changed from a false alarm to wild joy.

"Qing Qing, come quickly! There are eggs here, lots of them!"

What? Eggs?

Sang Qing quickly went to Meng Lai's side. *Crack.* Without paying attention, she also stepped on a nest of eggs.

Ah! She quickly wiped her foot on the weeds, feeling incredibly disgusted.

But after wiping for a long time, she still felt it wasn't clean. Seeing that her brother had already started picking up the eggs, she looked at the river not far away. "Brother, I'm going to wash my foot and then I'll come back. You keep picking them up."

"Oh, okay." Meng Lai, immersed in the surprise of eggs being everywhere, nodded haphazardly, his hands never stopping.

There were so many; every patch of weeds contained a nest of eggs, large and round.

These eggs would be enough for him to eat tea eggs for several days in a row, wahoo!

Their luck was just too good; today was truly a happy day.

But when he finally realized that Sang Qing had gone to the riverside alone, his eyes instantly widened. He dropped the eggs in his hand and shouted, "Qing Qing, come back quickly!"

Sang Qing was so startled by his sudden shout that her soul nearly flew away. She patted her chest and looked back at him in annoyance. "What is it, Brother?"

Phew~ as long as she's fine.

Meng Lai quickly came to her side and pulled her back from the river, speaking with some lingering fear, "You can't go to the riverside. It's too dangerous. There are monsters in the river that hurt beasts; they'll make a beast bleed from their pinch."

Especially when the water levels rose, the riverside would be crawling with those monsters. Just looking at them was terrifying, and no beast dared to get close.

"Are you talking about this?" Sang Qing held up a large crab and looked at him innocently.

"Ah!" Meng Lai jumped three feet high, let out a scream, and looked at the monster in her hand in horror. "Quick, quick, throw it away, Qing Qing!"

beast god, Father, help! The monster is going to eat Qing Qing!

Sang Qing didn't listen to him. Holding the large crab firmly, she raised an eyebrow at him. "This isn't a monster; this is something delicious."

She never expected there would be large crabs in this river.

crispy crab, steamed crab, braised crab, crab roe noodles, crab roe cakes, crab roe fried rice... Ahhh, her recipe list could be refreshed again.

Meng Lai was so scared his face turned pale, his heart rate accelerated sharply, and he gestured wildly as he said to her, "You can't eat it! Throw it away quickly, Qing Qing!"

He didn't believe it. How could such a big monster be delicious? Qing Qing must be lying to him.

Those big claws... he was terrified just looking at them.

Sang Qing's lips curved into a smile. The crab had already been knocked unconscious by her; was there really a need to be this afraid?

She had been about to knock out a second one just now, but her brother's shout had startled her, and the crab had escaped.

Just this one wouldn't even be enough for her to eat alone.

No, she had to catch a few more to take back.

As she spoke, she dropped the crab at Meng Lai's feet. "Brother, you watch it. I'm going to catch a few more."

"No, that won't do! You come back here!" Meng Lai's eyes widened abruptly. Looking at his sister's cheerful back, he carefully bypassed the monster lying spread-eagled on the ground and chased after her.

Bonk, bonk, bonk again.

Sang Qing held a wooden stick and gave a group of large crabs sunbathing by the river a heavy strike.

Hehehe, big crabs, you're mine now.

Meng Lai had already gone numb. He hid behind Sang Qing and kicked a monster that had fainted, his expression strange.

Is... is this really the kind of monster he had seen before? How did it faint from just one hit?

"That's enough, that should be enough, Qing Qing..."

Tugging on Sang Qing's skirt, Meng Lai swallowed hard, his eyes filled with deep anxiety.

She wasn't going to make him carry these monsters back in a moment, was she? He was scared, really.

He didn't want to carry them. Those big claws... if they gave him a pinch, a large chunk of his flesh would be gone.

"Alright."

Sang Qing nodded, still wanting more. Looking at the group of crabs jumping into the water in a flash, she dropped the stick in her hand and clapped her hands together.

She would just take a few back today and come back tomorrow. This whole river of crabs definitely wouldn't escape her grasp.

Meng Lai looked at the ground full of dazed monsters and rubbed his arms, his face stiff.

Sang Qing didn't notice his expression. She took out the rope she had prepared in her Storage Grid and tied up the unconscious crabs one by one. "Alright, Brother, let's go back."

Going back to eat crabs!

Meng Lai took the rope with a bitter face and carefully lifted the pile of unconscious monsters, his heart filled with trepidation.

Waaa, Qing Qing is mean!

Sang Qing didn't forget the eggs in the grass either. She went over and put the eggs and the Gu Gu Beast carcasses into her Storage Grid.

Feeling her Storage Grid nearly overflowing, she sighed in her heart.

The one square meter she had just expanded was already almost used up. Did she really have to continue expanding it? She couldn't bear to part with her points.

The brother and sister were now each more depressed than the other. Meng Lai was afraid of the monsters in his hand, and his pace back was much slower, for fear that a monster would suddenly wake up and give him a pinch.

Returning to the Tribe, this was the time when the Tribesmen were most active. Many females were sunbathing with their Little Cubs on the grass in the middle of the Tribe. When they saw the brother and sister walking one after the other, their gazes were a bit subtle.

Su Na, who used to frequently mock Sang Qing, glared with a fierce look, but because Meng Lai was nearby, she didn't dare to speak out in ridicule.

But this didn't stop them from whispering privately.

After all, the Tribe was only so big, and there wasn't much gossip to talk about. Sang Qing's lack of fertility value was the topic they discussed most frequently.

"Julie, look, your Meng Lai has brought back so many things."

"Yeah, Meng Lai is really capable now. It's just a pity... he didn't bring any to you, his Mother."

What?

The sarcastic voice of her companion reached the ears of the irritable Julie. She flipped over and sat up from the grass. At a glance, she saw the things Meng Lai was carrying on his shoulder and immediately shouted at him, "Meng Lai, stop!"

This cub, how could he not know to offer good things to his Mother first? He hadn't been home lately, and she had lost quite a bit of weight.

Julie only now realized how rash her initial decision had been. It was all because of those idiots at home giving her bad advice. If she had known, she wouldn't have driven Meng Qi away. If Meng Qi hadn't left, Meng Lai would still be like before, offering all the best food to her.

No, she had to find a way to make Meng Lai and Meng Qi come home.

Julie walked toward Meng Lai with a slight smile on her face, already making demands as if it were only natural. "Meng Lai, what are you carrying? Why didn't you bring it to me? I am your Mother."

Meng Lai adjusted the weight on his shoulder and said with a neutral expression, "Mother. This isn't my stuff."

His eggs were all in Qing Qing's mysterious space. These were the big monsters Qing Qing insisted on bringing back; even if he gave them to his Mother, she wouldn't dare eat them.

As the distance closed, Julie also clearly saw the things in Meng Lai's hand. She was so scared that her whole body stiffened, and she couldn't help but scream out loud, "Ah!"

"Isn't this the monster from the river? Is this stupid cub Meng Lai crazy? Why did he bring the monster back?"

Julie was so scared she retreated repeatedly, tripped over a stone, and landed right on her rear on the grass. But this couldn't stop her determination to escape; she wailed and scrambled away into the distance.

Sang Qing snorted softly at the sight, her mood much improved. "Let's go, Brother."

Returning home, Meng Qi was also startled when he saw the monsters in Meng Lai's hand, his body taking a defensive stance. "This... how did you catch and bring back the monsters from the river?"

These two Little Cubs, they just act recklessly without him watching them, don't they?

Meng Lai pursed his lips and signaled his Father to ask his sister. "This is what Qing Qing wanted to bring back."

Sang Qing shrugged, too lazy to explain further. "Father, you'll know in a while."

Once she cleaned the crabs and put them in the pot, and the fragrance came out, they would know it was something good.

But not yet; she had to deal with the Gu Gu Beasts first.

Sophia heard the voices outside and quickly walked out, giving Sang Qing a big smile. "Master, you're back."

"Where is the Little Cub?" Sang Qing's gaze tightened when she saw Sophia's empty hands.

"Sleeping." Sophia pointed to the house and answered obediently.

That's good.

Sang Qing walked into the house, put down her small leather bag, and glanced at the Little Cub sleeping peacefully on the bed, her lips curving up slightly.

After sending Sophia to the stream to help her fetch water, Sang Qing walked into the kitchen and took out the Gu Gu Beasts, eggs, and bang bang fruit from her Storage Grid.

Meng Qi looked at the mess of things on the floor and couldn't help but palm his forehead.

"Qing Qing, why did you bring back all the bang bang fruit?"

These two cubs... he really didn't know what to say. Sang Qing chuckled and immediately picked up a kitchen knife to open a coconut-like fruit for him, offering it to him like a treasure. "Father, try it. The juice inside this bang bang fruit is drinkable and quite sweet."

Meng Qi looked down, and a fresh fragrance wafted out.

Hmm. He took the bang bang fruit with full trust and took a sip from the opening.

Meng Lai couldn't resist and opened a bang bang fruit for himself as well. "Father, it's good, right? Qing Qing was the one who discovered this."

Meng Qi licked his lips and nodded happily.

It was delicious.

As expected of his cub, she was so smart.

The Father and children chatted for a bit and then began to divide the work.

Meng Lai went to build a shed, Sang Qing processed the crabs, and Meng Qi went to the riverside to deal with the Gu Gu Beast feathers.

Cree brought Nina to Sang Qing's house. He looked at the empty grass and frowned in confusion.

Eh? Wasn't the Little Cub usually sunbathing at this time? Where was his cub?

"Sang Qing! Uncle Meng Qi?"

Cree called out in panic.

Meng Lai was nearby building the shed; he immediately heard Cree's shout and responded loudly, "Cree, Qing Qing went to the stream."

"Meng Lai, where is my Little Cub?" Cree asked nervously.

"He's at the stream too," Meng Lai said without looking up.

Sophia actually wasn't afraid of the monsters and wanted to see how Qing Qing handled them, so she simply carried the Little Cub to the stream with her.

"Wait here for a bit; Qing Qing will be back soon." Meng Lai hammered the wooden stakes into the ground with force. The crystal-clear beads of sweat on his arms slid down his smooth muscle lines, and with every movement, he radiated a strong aura of pheromones.

Nina bit her lip, watching this scene with some excitement.

Meng Lai was so handsome. It was a pity... he wouldn't bond with her.

Cree put down the prey on his back, reached out to cover Nina's eyes, and pulled her down to sit on the grass.

What was so good about Meng Lai? His mate's eyes were practically glued to him.