But if you slighted this opponent because of this, you would be so mistaken.
The nest was deathly quiet, making Bluepool’s heart sink to its depths. Refusing to give up, he walked into the innermost area of the cave. Indeed, there wasn’t a female in here.
The female had probably been stolen about ten years ago. The elders left the sea every year, not to gather information, but to look for the female instead.
The implications struck Bluepool, and he left as quietly as he came, going up to the surface of the sea once more.
There wasn’t a single person on the white and vast beach anymore.
…
The bush forest had basically regained its greenness again, and it was very difficult to find traces of it having been burned. Smoke ascended from the mountains, adding a degree of liveliness to this bush forest which had gained a new lease of life.
Bai Qingqing squatted next to the pot and salivated as she watched the turtle. From time to time, she would dip her chopsticks in the pot to have a taste of the soup.
“Is it ready yet?” Having tasted the flavorsome soup, Bai Qingqing felt even more greedy for it. She rubbed her fingers together, eager to start eating.
Parker helplessly glanced at her, then scooped a small bowl for her. “Eat this first.”
Inside, he murmured, Surprisingly, this turtle smells really aromatic when cooked.
He had caught turtles in the past, but he felt that there was too little meat, and the bones were difficult to chew. Hence, he didn’t feel much appetite towards it. Surprisingly, though, it turned out to have such a tantalizing fragrance when cooked.
But still, it paled in comparison to his beloved steamed fish in his heart.
Bai Qingqing licked her lips, then raised her bowl, unable to wait for a second longer.
The turtle had just been cooked, and its skin was tough and difficult to chew. In fact, Bai Qingqing chewed so hard that she couldn’t even hold her chopsticks steady. Ultimately, she gave up and simply held it in her hands as she continued to chew at it.
Although the turtle hadn’t been stewed long enough to turn soft, it still tasted pretty fantastic.
The salt they were consuming now was exchanged from the peacock village by Parker. He even found raw ginger, garlic, and chili here; just these few condiments mixed together and added to the soup gave it a sweet and flavorsome taste already.
“Eat slowly. Give it some time and the ones in the pot will turn even softer,” Parker said.
Actually, turtles were considered relatively easy to cook. Bai Qingqing only had a hard time chewing it because she didn’t have tough teeth. Hence, every time Parker stewed meat, he would stew it over a long period of time; this had already turned into a culinary habit he had grown accustomed to.
Bai Qingqing let out muffled sounds as she nodded while continuing to eat at the same time.
Upon seeing their mother eating something, the baby leopards stared at her curiously.
“Do you want to eat this as well? No, you can’t eat meat as you don’t yet have teeth.” Bai Qingqing rejected them heartlessly.
With a purr, Eldest raised his front claws to scratch Bai Qingqing’s calf.
The cub then retracted his claws and rested his soft and furry paw on her body, melting her heart.
With a hand over her chest, Bai Qingqing resignedly glared at them, before saying, “Here, I’ll let you have a taste of it.”
“Qingqing!” Parker voiced his disagreement.
Bai Qingqing held out her empty chopsticks and looked up at him. “Don’t worry. I know when to stop. I’ll just let them lick the chopsticks.”
Only then was Parker’s heart put to ease. He lifted the pot cover to stir the contents, before covering it up again.
With the chopsticks in his mouth, Eldest habitually sucked into his mouth, nearly prying the chopsticks away from Bai Qingqing’s hand.
Tasting a saltiness that was different from the milk, the little cub widened his eyes and stared dazedly at her.
Bai Qingqing burst out laughing. “I said it’s not something for you to eat, right? Shocked, aren’t you?”
Second, too, ran over to bite the chopsticks. As the edge of the chopsticks was in Eldest’s mouth, he had no choice but to bite the mid-section of the chopsticks. Unable to close his mouth entirely, his pink and bald gums were revealed.
Bai Qingqing retracted the chopsticks from them and dipped into the bowl once more, before splitting the chopsticks in two directions and bringing them to the leopard cubs’ mouth.
With each of the chopsticks in Eldest and Second’s mouth respectively, Eldest started sucking it with relish. As for Second, after a momentary astonishment, he also started to look like he was enjoying it.