Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  When Bai Qingqing returned to the tree, she saw a few small peacocks surrounding and poking at the pine cones with their beaks. When they heard her footsteps, they all flapped their wings and flew off, landing not far away and turning back to look at her.

  Bai Qingqing smiled at them, squatted down, and knocked out the pine nuts from a pine cone, scattering them out toward them.

  “Coo coo coo—”


  The children flew over happily, resting on the floor and picking up the food with their beaks like chicks pecking at rice grains. They didn’t spit out the shells either. She wondered if they’d be able to digest the tough pine nuts’ shells.

  Bai Qingqing sat under the tree to wait for Muir. Peacocks would often fly by, and their gazes would always land on her for a while.

  She had only cleaned herself up. Was there a need for the rate at which others turned their heads to look at her to increase so much? Bai Qingqing couldn’t help but think.

  She had no idea if she was wrong, but a few of the peacocks seem to fly past to and fro for multiple times.

  In less than an hour, Muir came back with a stone pot.

  “So fast?” Bai Qingqing was surprised.

  “Screech—” Muir lowered his head and rubbed it against her shoulder, then flew off again.

  Bai Qingqing’s arm was touched by the hard beak and that strange feeling caused her to take a look at her arm uncontrollably.

  Muir’s mouth was so smooth. Was it just as hard when he was in his human form? How would a female who kissed him feel?

  After realizing that her imagination was wandering off, Bai Qingqing slapped herself hard on the head, discarding the dirty-minded thoughts in her mind.

  A few minutes later, Muir moved over a set of grinding stones that was exactly the same as the one she had made in the City of Beastmen.

  Bai Qingqing walked over in disbelief as she touched the grinding stone. “That’s so fast.”


  Even Parker, who often forged tools from stones, could only be that fast. Muir was alone and didn’t have much chance to practice. This speed was too fast.

  Muir changed into his human form and replied, “I started preparing a few days back. It was going to be done soon, to begin with. I just finished up the last step today.”


  Bai Qingqing was struck by the realization and nodded. “So that’s how it is. This is good then. The food can be improved now.”


  It was too sickening to eat barbecued meat with garlic every day. With Muir here, her living standard was really shooting up.

  Bai Qingqing assessed the stone tools happily, her pale fingers touching here and there. Muir started up a fire while feeling hesitant as he took note of her reaction.

  These stone tools had, in fact, been done a lot of time ago. The reason it had been delayed for so long was that he had to clean off the oil that had gotten on them. There wasn’t any detergent, so it was very hard to wash away grease completely. Muir was very worried that Qingqing would notice.

  “Qingqing, how would you like to toast them?” Muir called out to get her attention.

  Bai Qingqing walked up to the fire and sat down on the ground. “Is the sand by the sea clean?”


  “You need sand?”


  “Mm.” Bai Qingqing nodded.

  In the beginning, she was planning to toast them in the pot directly, but while waiting for Muir, she recalled that the hawkers who sold roasted chestnuts on the streets had their pot filled with many black rocks. They would roast the chestnuts together with the black rocks so that the chestnuts would be heated up evenly.

  She should be able to do the same for the pecans and pine nuts as well, right?

  “You really have a lot of ideas. I have no idea how you come up with them,” said Muir, smiling. Although he didn’t have much faith in this idea, he still agreed without any hesitation. “Alright.”


  Not assured to leave Bai Qingqing here alone, Muir suggested, “I’ll bring you to the seaside to take a look. If you think it’s ok, we’ll bring some back.”


  Bai Qingqing was too lazy to move. At the thought of how she hadn’t been to the seaside in her life, she nodded in agreement. “Alright.”


  The wind by the seaside was very strong, gushing over in waves with a fishy smell.

  The beach was a clean ivory-white color and was unbelievably clean. A hint of impurity couldn’t be seen amongst the fine sand.