There were too many dangers in the forest. So, in the beastman world, there was an unspoken rule to reward males who rescued lone females in the forest: if a male saved a female, he could ask to be her mate, and the female would have no right to reject him.
Of course, if the female was extremely against it, the male wouldn't force her for the sake of his own happiness.
After all, a female could mate with multiple males, whereas a male could only mate with one female, as males could only mate once in their entire lives. If males were abandoned by their female mates, they could only spend the rest of their lives alone. This mostly happened when a male agreed to be someone else's lover when they were younger, and it was extremely tragic.
When Bai Qingqing was trying to get information from Parker, he was trying to get information from her as well. Once she gave him an answer he was satisfied with, he rejoiced with excitement as he transformed back into a leopard and sprinted.
This was great! The female didn't have a mate, so according to the rules, she belonged to him! Hahaha!
Bai Qingqing was dumbfounded as she watched Parker turn from a human into a leopard and sprint off.
Was this guy on drugs?
Also, was it really okay for that thing to be swinging around like that? Wasn't he afraid of hitting it?
Bai Qingqing covered her flushed face with her hands. If she looked at it any longer, she was going to have stys on her eyes.
After letting out his emotions, Parker leaped towards Bai Qingqing, his body transforming into a human's in mid-air. He then forcefully tackled her to the ground.
"Ah! What are you doing? That was so painful." If not for the smile on Parker's face, Bai Qingqing would've thought that he was going to eat her when he tackled her to the ground. She was so frightened that her heart stopped beating for a moment.
Bai Qingqing's beautiful eyebrows furrowed together as she pushed the unbelievably heavy man away. The law of conservation of matter held true, just as she expected. He was such a huge leopard—he had to be heavy even after turning into a human. She felt as if there was a mountain pressing her down on the ground.
Parker raised a golden eyebrow before saying, "I'm taking you back to the village."
"Okay." Bai Qingqing was stuck underneath Parker. Although she was nervous and afraid, she still had a calm expression on her face.
She would take things as they come. She couldn't live like a savage all by herself, after all. She'd have to integrate herself into their beastman world at some point.
The dark pupils in Parker's golden eyes were clearly constricting and dilating as he pressed the female below him down on the ground. He said in a strong voice, "Now, let's make this clear. Females are very precious, so they're allowed to mate with multiple males. But my mate can only mate with me. Do you understand?"
Bai Qingqing's mind went blank for a moment before she came to her senses. "Female" sounded so awkward, and since when did she become his?
"Since when did I say I'd be your mate?" Bai Qingqing was angry and finally demonstrated a shred of courage.
A feral and unrestrained smile spread across Parker's young face. "I found you, so you're my female!"
Bai Qingqing was speechless.
She continued to argue with Parker, but fear set in after she looked at the gloomy forest around her. She didn't dare to go overboard and kept quiet once she was no longer able to rebut his words.
Parker transformed back into his animal form and was full of joy as he carried the female he'd found on his back and ran back to his tribe's village…
The leopard village was located between two mountain peaks. It was known as the Camel Hump Valley due to the mountain peaks resembling camel humps. With the City of Beastmen south of the area and a misty forest north of the area, the village was a richly endowed yet dangerous intermediate zone.
At the edge of the leopard village, there was a clear lake the size of a golf course. Half of it was shrouded by the woods and half of it was exposed to the sun. The water rippled in the wind and glittered in the sunlight, and the air was filled with the fresh and clean smell of water.
Parker held a dead wolf between his jaws and carried Bai Qingqing, whose face was numb from the bumpy ride, on his back. He gradually slowed down as he reached the lake.
Parker released the dead wolf from his jaws and bent his forelimbs such that his upper body was on the ground. Bai Qingqing immediately got the hint and slid down his back.
"The area in front is where my tribe and I currently live," Parker said. He had transformed back into a human at this point. When Bai Qingqing looked over out of curiosity, she saw him crouching over the lake and scooping out a handful of mud. He then walked over to Bai Qingqing and smeared it all over her face.
"Ah!" Bai Qingqing screamed. As she avoided him, she haphazardly wiped at her face and asked, "What are you doing?"
Parker grabbed Bai Qingqing's arm and evenly spread out the mud on her face. "Since you're so pretty, if you go back with me just like that, those thirsty males will definitely remember you. As your mate, I'm not afraid of being challenged by those guys, but what if they take you away from me when I'm not looking?"
"What! I didn't even agree to be your mate!" Bai Qingqing glared at Parker, feeling embarrassed and angry. She was secretly happy that he called her "pretty". People in the modern world rarely used that word to describe her. They usually called her "adorable", "pure", and the like.
Furthermore, Parker was a young male. She couldn't help but get butterflies in her stomach.
After Parker let go of Bai Qingqing, she was about to wash her face by the river when she heard him say in an aggressive voice, "If you wash your face, I'll scratch it so that it becomes disfigured and you'll never look pretty again!"
Parker felt uneasy as he threatened her. Females were physically weak, but they were domineering by nature and cared about their looks. What was he going to do if his female simply refused?
Bai Qingqing froze. She'd seen how bloodthirsty this leopard could get, so she didn't doubt that he would really do something like that.
Forget it. She only had mud on her face, and the water in the lake was clean anyway. She'd just treat it like a free facial.
"Hmph! I won't wash my face, then." Bai Qingqing was naturally unhappy that he had threatened her. Once she got to that village or whatever, she'd find an opportunity to get away from this man. He was too dangerous.
Parker instantly beamed with pleasure. He then happily skinned the wolf and cut open its chest. After rinsing it clean, he said to Bai Qingqing, "Okay, let's go."
He then transformed back into a leopard and briskly walked over to her. Bai Qingqing pursed her lips as she climbed onto him and sat sideways.
Camel Hump Valley was up ahead. A small river flowed through the valley. The valley gradually appeared as Parker unhurriedly walked forward.
The river divided the valley in two. At the base of the mountain peaks were several wooden houses with humans and large animals walking around outside.
Parker said this was where the leopards lived, but there were tigers, lions, and wolves as well.
The human beastmen had skirts made of animal skin tied around their waists, leaving their upper bodies bare. Their strong and muscular chests were nothing like those of lanky bodybuilders. With the sheer power they exuded, they didn't seem weaker than beasts.
Furthermore, all of them were pretty handsome. Half of the people had tattoos like Parker, except they only had a single line on one side of their faces. The rest of the people's faces were completely bare.
Bai Qingqing remembered reading in a book that some savage tribes painted their faces as a symbol of status and power. Parker had more tattoos on his face than others. Did this mean he had a very high status?
The tribe made Bai Qingqing feel like she'd entered a zoo, when in reality she was the one being surrounded and watched.
The beastmen quickly gathered around when they noticed the smell of a stranger.
"Parker, where'd you find this female? She's so dirty."
"But she smells nice. I like her."
"And she's still single. I wonder if she's come of age yet."
Bai Qingqing nervously grabbed onto Parker's fur as she watched the people and beasts surround them.
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