Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off

The room went quiet again. Everyone turned to look at Xuan Long, anticipating his answers.

Even Su Qinglan raised an eyebrow curiously.

For a moment, it seemed like he might refuse this useless advice. But then...

"...Alright."

The single word stunned everyone. They never thought he would say yes to something so ridiculous.

Su Qinglan’s eyes twinkled. Don’t tell her he was also very eager to find out.

Xuan Long stepped forward like a warrior approaching a battlefield.

Except the "battlefield" was... her stomach.

He leaned closer, his sharp features tightening with concentration. His nose twitched slightly as he began to carefully sniff the air near her belly, his expression growing more and more focused with each passing second.

"Why is he acting like a dog?"

Su Qinglan watched him and grinned.

"Well?" she teased, leaning back on her elbows. "Is it working? Did you find them yet? Or are you just smelling that I have not bathed for a week?"

Xuan Long: "..."

Rong Ye snorted. Hu Yan outright laughed. And just to make things worse...

She lifted her clothes slightly and pushed her stomach forward.

"Here," she said, completely shameless. "Try properly."

Xuan Long froze for half a second, his face turning red as a blush crept across it. But still, he didn’t retreat.

Instead, his expression hardened with determination, as if accepting some great challenge. If he had started this, then he would finish it. He couldn’t lose face now.

His mind began racing. Eight days since she fell asleep... fifteen days of traveling... another week in the mermaid tribe... and in this world, a week was eight days. Thirty one days. That meant it was already over a month.

His eyes sharpened.

At this stage, the cubs should already be partially formed. A normal beastwoman would have shown symptoms by now... fatigue, nausea, weakness. But Su Qinglan? She was laughing, teasing, completely fine. They didn’t even realize she was pregnant.

Xuan Long’s gaze darkened with focus.

Then, slowly, he placed his large, warm hand against the left side of her stomach.

Everyone held their breath. Even Su Qinglan went still.

"...Here," he said, his voice low but filled with certainty. "There’s one."

Rong Ye leaned in so fast he almost headbutted him. "Really?!"

Xuan Long ignored him. He moved his hand slightly to the right and pressed again.

"...And here is another one."

Hu Yan’s eyes widened. "Two?!"

Xuan Long lifted his hand and pressed in a different place.

"And here..." His brows furrowed slightly, but his tone remained confident. "...is another."

Han Jue’s expression turned serious. Shi Feng leaned closer. Rong Ye’s tail practically fluffed up in excitement.

Xuan Long continued.

"And here..."

Press.

"And here..."

Press.

"And..."

By the time he reached six... then seven... the room slowly fell into a very strange silence.

Rong Ye’s smile stiffened. Hu Yan’s ears drooped slightly. Han Jue frowned deeply. Even Shi Feng blinked with a shocked expression.

"...Wait," Rong Ye finally said.

Hu Yan crossed his arms. "There’s no way."

Han Jue narrowed his eyes. "How could there be so many cubs..."

All three of them turned toward Xuan Long at the same time.

"Xuan Long," Hu Yan growled slightly, "are you playing with us?"

Rong Ye’s eyes sharpened. "Don’t tell me you’re just pressing the same cub again and again."

Xuan Long froze completely. His hand was still resting on her stomach. He looked at them, then slowly looked back at her belly.

For the first time since he started, he looked... unsure.

"...I..."

He hesitated, his brows knitting together, because the truth was... he didn’t know. Were those different cubs... or just one very active cub moving around under his hand?

The silence grew heavier.

Inside the womb, the "very active cub" in question had just been poked, pressed, and squeezed four times in a row.

Unborn Cub: "..."

If it could speak, it would have already cursed. If it could move freely, someone’s finger would have been bitten off. The tiny, offended existence curled up in deep resentment.

Fine. Just wait. Let them wait.

The moment it came out... it was going to bite every single one of them.

Especially that one... the one with the big, annoying hand.

Back outside, Su Qinglan burst into laughter... not a gentle one, but a full, uncontrollable, tears in her eyes kind of laughter.

"Stop!" she gasped, clutching her sides. "You’re going to bruise them before they even see the sun!"

Xuan Long immediately pulled his hand back like he’d been burned. Rong Ye coughed awkwardly. Hu Yan looked away. Han Jue cleared his throat. Shi Feng pretended he had never leaned in that close.

Su Qinglan wiped the corner of her eyes, still smiling brightly. "Let’s just wait and see," she said, her voice warm and light. "Whoever they are..."

Her hand rested gently over her stomach.

"...they’re clearly very grumpy already."

As if responding, there was the faintest, tiniest shift beneath her palm... so subtle that no one else noticed.

But her smile deepened just a little.

The husbands finally backed off, reluctantly and suspiciously, though their gazes remained glued to her stomach as if sheer willpower alone might reveal its secrets.

And somewhere deep inside, a certain grumpy little cub was already preparing for revenge.

Han Jue finally stepped forward, his stomach letting out a small growl of its own.

Realizing that Su Qinglan hadn’t eaten a real meal in eight days, he grabbed Hu Yan by the shoulder. "Enough poking," he said firmly.

"I am going to the kitchen to start the fire. Hu Yan, come help me carry the ingredients." Hu Yan grumbled but followed, his mind still clearly stuck on the math of whether there were four cubs or seven.

Su Qinglan watched them leave and then turned her gaze toward the remaining men... Rong Ye, Xuan Long, and Shi Feng.

She felt heavy and sluggish from her long slumber. "Alright, please go get me some hot water," she complained, tugging at her clothes.

"I have been asleep for a week. I feel so sticky and gross, I cannot stand it."

Rong Ye, however, did not move an inch. He leaned back with a smug, casual tilt of his head, his fox ears twitching playfully.

"Lan Lan, what are you talking about? You always smell like sweet flowers," he chimed in, his voice smooth as silk.

Before she could thank him for the compliment, he added with a wink, "And do not worry about the stickiness. We wiped your body daily... every morning and every night. Very, very carefully. There is no way you could feel dirty; we made sure every inch was clean."

Su Qinglan froze, her hand still pulling at her top. She looked at Rong Ye’s proud face, then at Xuan Long, who actually nodded in agreement as if they had performed a holy ritual.

She was completely speechless. Her face turned a brilliant shade of crimson, her mouth hanging open as she struggled to find words.

"You... all of you... twice a day?" she stammered.

Rong Ye just smiled broader, looking like he expected a reward for his diligence, while Su Qinglan wanted nothing more than to crawl back under the covers and hide forever.