The three leopard cubs’ eyes lit up, satisfied with the proposal.
After tending to the injuries of all the little beastmen, Harvey would check on their condition from time to time. After he was done, he also sat down in the room and listened to the story for a bit, while keeping a watch over the little beastmen.
“How’s their condition?” Bai Qingqing looked towards him. The males in the house also looked towards him.
Harvey replied, “They’re fine after digging out the worm larvae. Those with minor injuries will be up and about by tomorrow.”
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
Bai Qingqing shoved at the heavy leopards beside her and got to her feet to leave. After telling stories for one to two hours, she was long thirsty.
As she turned around, Bai Qingqing caught the glimpse of an abnormal movement of the fur of a young beastman from her peripheral vision, making her halt and instantly turn her head back.
On that side, six chubby little tiger cubs were sprawled across the ground. Their father was guarding by their side, but as there were many of them, it was inevitable that he couldn’t give his undivided attention to every one of them. Besides, there was a tiger cub with an abnormally fat body. It looked like his body was full of muddied water, so much so his skin appeared taut as he laid on the ground. His fur was squirming unusually, as though something was wriggling within.
Bai Qingqing’s breath rose to her throat, and she quickly shifted the leopard cubs behind her before walking towards the child.
Noticing Bai Qingqing’s abnormality, everyone looked towards that child as well, and an aghast expression instantly appeared on their faces. That child’s father widened his eyes and revealed a look of grief.
Harvey quickly ran over and, after taking a glance, said, “This child is no more.”
He wasn’t being reserved, but he truly meant it in the true sense that the child was gone. Although there still remained a rough silhouette of his body, all that was contained within that physical shell were metamorphosed armored grasshoppers.
“Quick, find a basin and cover the body. We can’t let the armored grasshoppers burst out from within.”
Someone had just said this, and the armored grasshoppers seemed to understand human language, for after the cub’s fur vibrated violently for a while, an opening instantly split in the decayed skin. Little armored grasshoppers continuously flew out and gushed upwards like a jet of smoke.
The startled Bai Qingqing shrieked out loud and continuously retreated. Remembering there were many little beastmen lying on the ground, she managed to not step on them as she moved backward.
The males instantly got to their feet and rapidly captured the insects in the room. Parker and Curtis rushed over very quickly. One held Bai Qingqing, while the other ran to kill the insects.
Shortly after, this batch of little insects was wiped out. Several little beastmen were awoken by the commotion, and at the sight of the flying insects in the air, they revealed horrified expressions.
“This cub was too severely injured. If I had dug away the entire wound he would have died instantly, so I wanted to try my luck. Unexpectedly…” Harvey glanced at the child’s father, whose face was contorted in agony, then towards the terrified others, and explained, “Thankfully, these were only young insects and won’t produce larvae.”
Everyone was relieved to hear that. After this accident, they didn’t dare to blink, and those with more children placed their young ones neatly in front of them, caressing their bodies from time to time to ensure their safety.
The tiger cub’s corpse was brought out by his father in a shriveled animal skin bag with plenty of holes. A young armored grasshopper even attempted to squirm outwards.
Bai Qingqing simply cast a glance at it and didn’t dare to look anymore as she buried her head in Parker’s scorching chest.
“I’ll carry you out.” Parker lifted her horizontally. He placed the animal skin on his shoulders over Bai Qingqing’s body and then turned around to leave.
Buzzing insect sounds could be heard outside. Bai Qingqing’s body trembled violently, and, through the animal skin, she grabbed Parker’s firm arm and said, “Look after the kids.”
Parker cast a glance at the leopard cubs who were ferociously pouncing at and biting the insects in the surroundings.