Gold coins

"I only have two methods to keep you safe as of now. One is to..." Angus paused and gritted his teeth together. "Find many males and mate with them; their mate marks will hide your scent. The more mate marks you have on your body, the better, as it will obscure your scent."

Lily's eyes widened in shock. "Why many mates? Tell me the second option," she replied immediately. "How would I want multiple husbands?" She shivered at the thought.

Angus stared fixedly at Lily. "You don't want the first option?" he inquired, his brows raised slightly.

Lily shook her head.

"The second method is that you will have to have the snake scent on you."

Lily's eyes widened. "That's better! How is that done?" she questioned.

Angus smiled. "If you want that method, then you won't have to do anything; I will take care of it," he assured.

"You won't get hurt, right?" Lily frowned suspiciously.

Angus gave a charming smile that instantly captivated Lily's heart. "Rest assured, nothing will happen to me."

Lily wasn't convinced. "He's definitely plotting something; I will need to pay extra attention to him," she thought, casting Angus a wary gaze.

"Err..." Liam cleared his throat. "Beauty, you said you wanted to create something unexpected with the rock. What is it?" he asked, diverting Lily's attention.

Successfully, Lily's focus shifted, and she chuckled. "First... we need to wash it clean, Liam. Is there a river or stream around?"

"Oh... there is! Let me take you there," Liam readily led the way with lily on his back while Angus carried the rock and followed.

Soon, they found a flowing, clear river.

Angus dropped the stone into the river, and Lily entered, carefully washing the ore with tenderness.

"Is it just washing? I can do it; you should sit back and watch," Angus commented. Before Lily could object, he lifted her with his tail and placed her on the dry ground while he washed the ore. Angus's hands were quite rough on the stone, directly peeling off the shell. All the dirt and debris were washed away, revealing a naturally rich, glowing golden beauty.

Both Angus and Liam were stunned, their eyes wide as they stared at the once-rough stone, which was now transformed into a golden treasure.

Looking at the glowing ore, Lily's happiness bloomed even more. "Don't expect it to be of high quality! Money! Oh, money!" she screamed inwardly.

"Beauty... this... the stone turned into this... is it a witch?" Liam asked.

"What witch?" Lily was left dumbfounded. "Forget it; everyone's IQ here is quite low," she thought. "Next, we need to shape the ore into desired forms," she commented, ignoring Liam's question.

Liam scratched the back of his head. "Beauty is really weird," he mused.

In order not to get the ore stained, Lily gathered leaves and placed the ore on them. She carefully looked around and found a bone awl. "Ha ha!" she exclaimed happily as she hurried back, seriousness etched on her face. She gently hit the rock to remove small pieces.

"Beauty... you are stressing yourself. Let me do it for you," Liam rushed forward in concern, but Lily stopped him.

"You won't get it; let me do it. You just watch," she insisted.

"That won't do... it will be a trouble if you get hurt; we will do it," Angus remarked, ready to pick up Lily again with his tail.

"Wait! Wait!" Lily immediately halted him. "Let me finish this one first. You guys can do it after I'm done, okay?" She blinked cutely.

Angus and Liam found it hard to refuse her, and they eventually acquiesced to her request. "Fine... just this one," they both echoed in unison.

Lily chuckled and continued her work, her expression becoming more serious as she concentrated. After removing a piece, she carefully cut it into her desired design. Then, she rubbed it to smooth it out. She rubbed it against the sand again to polish the surface, followed by using plant fibers to eliminate minor imperfections. Finally, she held it up, a triumphant smile creeping onto her face.

"Beauty... what's this round thing?" Liam questioned in confusion.

"This is called... a coin... a gold coin," Lily replied, grinning from ear to ear.

"Coin?" Both Liam and Angus exchanged puzzled glances. "What a weird name, what's it used for?" they asked in unison.

"This serves as money; you can use this in exchange for things you buy," Lily explained, walking towards the clear river and placing the coin inside to complete the polishing.

Both Liam and Angus widened their eyes, staring at the glowing gold coin resting in the clear river. "Beauty is truly intelligent to have come up with such a treasure," they both thought.

Lily was even more excited. "My years in high school were not a waste!" she exclaimed happily.

Both Liam and Angus exchanged glances. "She's so excited that she's starting to blurt out strange words," they both thought.

"Angel, I have many more stones in my cave. I can go and bring them right now," Angus offered.

Immediately, Lily appeared before Angus. "Really?" she exclaimed, her eyes glowing brightly.

Angus nodded in confirmation.

"Yay! Let's go and get them! Let's go quickly!" Lily urged.

Angus smiled warmly at the happy Lily. "Let's finish the coins first; after that, I will get you the stones."

"That's fine as well, but the ores you have we will use for another treasure. This one is for coins only," Lily declared, and soon they began working on the coins.

Lily was slightly surprised as she didn't expect Liam and Angus to memorize the method with just one demonstration, and they had even carved it perfectly.

Many coins were easily made in just a span of a day. Perhaps it was because both Angus and Liam weren't human; they weren't stressed out, and the once-huge ore was transformed into countless gold coins.

The gold was packed inside a sack, and the trio left the river when it was already dark, not noticing that the first coin Lily had personally made was being carried away by the flowing water.

...

In another beasts' tribe.

The moonlight shone selfishly on a very young, handsome man who was bathing comfortably in a flowing river. His eyes were closed, and his long blonde hair cascaded elegantly. Around his neck were nine black dots, which only added to his handsomeness.

In the middle of his comfortable bathing, he stepped on something. A low frown appeared on his fair, handsome face as he slowly opened his eyes, revealing wet, silvery irises that made him look even more handsome yet unapproachable. He looked down and picked up the solid thin object, raising it up. A surprised expression crossed his face. "What's this?" he murmured, his voice thick and laced with deep grudge. He clenched it tightly and closed his eyes. Suddenly, a blue-haired beautiful lady with blue eyes appeared in his vision. In the vision, he could see her smiling charmingly as she gazed at the gold coin. "This is called... a coin... a gold coin," the melodic voice belonging to the beautiful blue-haired lady whispered in his ear, trickling warmth through his heart.

The man opened his eyes and looked at the coin. "A gold coin," he repeated, a handsome smile spreading across his face. "Who is this female?" he murmured.

"Prince Art, the queen has requested your presence," a voice echoed from the distance.

Art's gaze turned cold instantly, and he swallowed any reply, he calmly consume the gold coin before climbing out of the river, dressing in his sack, and walking away.

...

In the grand palace of beasts, a lavish party was underway as various creatures filtered in and out. The hall buzzed with life and excitement. On a throne constructed from dry bones sat an exceedingly dark-skinned, unattractive female beast, covered in mate marks from head to toe. She had neither a tail nor any clear identifiers of her breed, but her unusually striking eyes confirmed her identity as a female dragon. She sat comfortably amidst a throng of males—her mates—buzzing around her while she sipped leisurely.

"Prince Art has arrived!" someone announced, causing the entire hall to fall silent, with everyone immediately kneeling.

Art walked in emotionlessly and took his place beside the queen.

Noticing Art's nonchalant demeanor, the female dragon who was the queen sighed. "Rise!" she commanded, and everyone rose immediately, though they dared not utter a sound. "Bring in the females!" the queen ordered after another sigh, and soon, many black-skinned, unattractive females were brought in, each possessing different tails that revealed their beastly lineage. Despite not having many mate marks, they were no better than those adorned with them.

As Art viewed the females, his aura turned deadly, and his expression soured dramatically. The crowd remained frozen, afraid to move.

"Art, my son, do you not fancy any of these females? They are the most beautiful ones I personally selected for you from outside. As you can see, they do not have many males, so look closely and you may find one you like," the queen remarked.

Art's brows knitted even tighter, but he remained silent.

"Brother, why don't you consider the one standing in the middle? She's from the leopard tribe and beautiful as well; you should select her," suggested a handsome man who was his brother.

Art remained unmoved.

"Son..." the queen called softly.

"You want me to choose a mate?" Art inquired.

Everyone was shocked, their thoughts racing: "The prince... the prince spoke!"

The queen was equally stunned and straightened up, a happy smile gradually creeping onto her face. "Art... Art, my son... you finally spoke to your mother!" she exclaimed.

"I don't wish to talk to you, but I will ask you to do something for me," Art replied coldly.

"Of course, just tell me, and I will certainly do it for you," the queen responded immediately, her excitement uncontainable, completely unbothered by the chill in Art's voice.

"You find this female for me. She has blue hair, blue eyes, and she's extremely fair and beautiful. Also... she only has one mate who was already at level eight," Art's cold tone fell.

Everyone was left in stunned silence.

The queen's smile slowly faded, and her happiness slipped away.