Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off

The cave was plunged into absolute chaos as the last of Hu Yan’s sanity snapped.

The cold, mechanical words from the past Su Qinglan’s lips acted like a torch dropped into a pool of oil.

His golden eyes bled into a terrifying, animalistic red...a color born not just from rage but from a soul-shattering madness.

His breathing became a jagged, uneven mess as he stared at the tiny, cold bundle on the ground.

The realization that his own mate had discarded their child like trash pushed him over the precipice.

"You... killed him?" he whispered, his voice hoarse and trembling with a lethal level of disbelief.

"Our child... you killed our child?" When no denial came, only that hollow, empty silence, a low, broken growl vibrated in his chest.

His claws became even longer, glinting in the dim light, and his aura turned so violent it felt as though the very air in the cave was being sucked out.

"I’ll kill you," he breathed, a promise fueled by pure agony. "Even if the Beast God punishes me... I will kill you!"

Without a shred of his usual restraint, Hu Yan lunged forward like a predator. He was no longer a husband; he was a grieving beast.

Han Jue moved instinctively to stop him again, throwing his body into the path of the golden tiger.

He blocked Hu Yan’s move with his body, his face straining under the pressure of his brother’s overwhelming strength.

"Hu Yan, stop!" Han Jue shouted, his voice desperate.

"You’re not thinking clearly! Stop this!" But the words meant nothing to a man who had already lost his world.

Hu Yan didn’t even seem to recognize Han Jue, his mind consumed by the image of the bloody cub.

"Move!" he roared, the sound echoing off the stone walls like thunder. "She killed him! She killed my son!"

Han Jue gritted his teeth, his muscles bulging as he tried to anchor the maddened tiger, but he could feel the terrifying shift in Hu Yan’s power. He was losing his grip to madness.

At that moment, Su Mingxuan rushed into the cave, his face full of horror. He skidded to a halt, his eyes darting from the blood-stained floor to the lifeless cub and finally to his daughter, who sat there looking like a ghost drenched in crimson.

For a heartbeat, the world stopped for him.

His grandson was dead, and the daughter he had spent his life protecting was the one holding the knife.

A deep grief tore through his chest, but even as doubt flickered in his mind...wondering if she had truly become a monster and he was too blind to see this.

But that was not the time to think this; his first priority is to save her.

He stepped forward to shield her. He couldn’t let her die, even if she deserved it.

"Hu Yan, stop!" he commanded, his voice firm despite the tremor of his heart. "Calm down!"

The command only served to feed Hu Yan’s frenzy. "Calm down?!" he shrieked, his voice cracking under the weight of his pain.

"She killed him! She killed my son!" Su Mingxuan’s expression tightened with a sorrow that aged him ten years in an instant.

"I know..." he said heavily, "but you cannot kill her." He stood his ground, a father protecting a fallen child, but Hu Yan was beyond reason.

With a furious roar, the tiger charged again. Su Mingxuan stepped in to intercept the blow, but the attack was too fast and too fueled by desperation.

Hu Yan’s sharp claws ripped through the air and plunged deep into Su Mingxuan’s chest, the brutal strike landing just inches from his heart.

Silence fell over the cave, thick and suffocating.

Blood splashed onto the dry dirt, and Su Mingxuan staggered back, his face draining of color as he clutched the gaping wound in his chest.

Han Ju’s eyes widened in sheer shock, a choked sound, "Brother...!" escaping his lips.

The sight of the blood on his claws seemed to act like a bucket of ice water on Hu Yan. His breathing hitched, and his eyes slowly traveled from his gore-stained hands to the man he had just nearly killed.

The madness began to recede, leaving behind a hollow, terrifying emptiness.

"I..." his lips parted, his voice barely a whimper.

"What... did I..." The rage was gone, replaced by a blank expression as his mind finally processed the horror of his own actions.

"Howwwwwwwl."

A broken, high-pitched sound escaped Hu Yan’s throat. He retreated a step, then another, his body shaking with a fine tremor as if he were freezing to death.

He didn’t look at Su Mingxuan or Han Jue again. He couldn’t...he couldn’t meet their eyes.

Instead, his unfocused eyes fell back to the ground.

Slowly, with a tenderness that was more heartbreaking than his rage, he bent down and picked up the tiny, muddy cub one last time.

He held the little body gently, as if afraid the cold wind might hurt him.

Without another word, he turned his back on the cave and walked into the darkness of the forest.

He carried the cub in his mouth like a mother tiger would carry a living child, disappearing into the shadows.

"Hu Yannn."

Han Jue called out his name, his voice filled with unknown fear, but Hu Yan never slowed down.

He left everything behind...his tribe, his mate, and his brothers drifting into the wilderness like a ghost.

Inside the cave, Su Mingxuan leaned against the wall, his hand pressed against the red stain spreading across his chest.

He watched the entrance, wanting to call Hu Yan back, wanting to offer some comfort, but the words died in his throat.

He had no right.

Han Jue stood with his fists clenched, staring into the dark trees where his brother had vanished, his heart filled with the agonizing realization that Hu Yan might never return.

The cave was left in a heavy, permanent silence, haunted by the memory of a child who never lived and a family that had finally shattered.