Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off

When Su Qinglan woke up, the warm glow of late afternoon sunlight was already spilling into the stone house.

For a moment, she lay still, her mind hazy with sleep.

The cubs were no longer napping beside her.

Instead, she heard soft rustling sounds nearby.

Turning her head slightly, she saw the three little ones playing quietly on a spread of dried leaves not far away. They were stacking small stones and bits of wood, whispering to each other as if afraid to wake her.

A gentle smile appeared on her lips. "They’ve been awake for a while..." she thought.

Slowly, she pushed herself up and sat upright. Her body felt light and comfortable, without the slightest discomfort.

She rubbed her eyes lazily before her hand instinctively moved to her stomach.

Her fingers paused. It had become noticeably rounder. Su Qinglan blinked, staring down at it for a moment.

"...It’s bigger again."

A strange feeling rose in her heart.

This pregnancy had been far too easy.

There was no nausea, no weakness, no discomfort... nothing at all.

If not for the visible change in her stomach and the system’s confirmation, she would have truly believed that she wasn’t pregnant at all.

She gently patted her belly, her expression softening.

"The baby is very well behaved..."

Just then, Xiao Er noticed that she was awake. His eyes lit up instantly.

"Mommy!"

Without hesitation, he crawled toward her with surprising speed.

Although the cubs could already walk steadily, they still seemed to prefer using both their hands and feet. Crawling was faster for them, and they clearly enjoyed it.

Su Qinglan laughed softly.

"My baby..."

She leaned forward and scooped Xiao Er into her arms, hugging him tightly before planting loud kisses on his chubby red cheeks.

"Mmmwah! Mmmwah!"

Xiao Er giggled, squirming happily in her embrace.

Seeing this, Xiao Yi and Xiao San immediately abandoned their game and rushed over as well, their little faces full of anticipation.

"Mommy! Me too!"

"Me too!"

Su Qinglan couldn’t help but laugh.

"Alright, alright... everyone gets kisses."

She pulled them both close, kissing each of their cheeks one after the other. The three cubs clung to her, their laughter filling the room with warmth.

After showering them with affection, she finally let them go.

Just then, voices came from outside.

At first, they were faint, but gradually became clearer. Su Qinglan paused.

"...Rong Ye? And Hu Yan?"

Her brows furrowed slightly. Hu Yan’s voice was noticeably louder than usual, carrying a trace of sharpness.

It didn’t sound like a normal conversation.

"...Are they arguing?"

A hint of concern appeared in her eyes.

She carefully set the cubs aside and was just about to stand up and go outside to check... but before she could take a step, the stone door curtain was suddenly pushed aside.

Two figures walked in.

Rong Ye entered first.

His usual playful and happy expression was completely gone. In its place was a rare look of panic. His brows were tightly knit, and his breathing was slightly uneven, as if something urgent had happened.

Behind him, Hu Yan followed closely.

His face was stern, his lips pressed into a thin line, and his eyes carried a heavy seriousness.

The atmosphere instantly turned tense.

Su Qinglan’s heart skipped a beat. Something was wrong. She stood up immediately, her expression turning serious as well.

"What happened?"

Rong Ye lowered his gaze the moment Su Qinglan looked at him.

For the first time, he did not meet her eyes.

"Lan Lan..." he said softly, almost hesitantly. "I... I have to go somewhere for important work."

His fingers curled slightly at his side, as if restraining something.

"How about... I come back in a week?"

His voice was low and unsteady. He still didn’t look at her. Su Qinglan froze.

"...A week?"

The words felt strange coming from him.

Her brows slowly knitted together, confusion flickering in her eyes. Instinctively, she turned to look at Hu Yan.

Hu Yan’s face was dark.

Before she could ask anything, Rong Ye suddenly spoke again, a little too quickly.

"Hu Yan won’t listen to me," he said with a forced laugh. "He keeps insisting I’m hiding something."

He chuckled, but it sounded hollow.

"What could I possibly hide?" he said, spreading his hands slightly, as if to prove his innocence.

"I just... want to go out and train."

This time, he finally lifted his head a little, though his gaze still didn’t fully meet hers.

"I want to become stronger."

There was a pause. "...I’m the only one in the family still stuck at the fifth strip," his voice dropped.

Hu Yan’s expression grew even colder at those words.

"Hu Yan and Han Jue have already reached the sixth strip," Rong Ye continued, his tone turning more strained. "Lan Lan... you know how difficult it is to break through after the fifth strip."

Su Qinglan did not interrupt.

Because what he said... was true.

In the beast world, every level after the fifth strip was like crossing a mountain.

Even her father had only barely reached the sixth strip after countless battles and years of effort.

Many beastmen would spend their entire lives unable to advance further.

Rong Ye clenched his fists slightly.

"I’ve been training hard," he said, his voice turning hoarse. "Fighting, practicing... but it’s not enough."

He let out a small, self deprecating laugh.

"After the fourth strip, just training alone isn’t enough anymore. You need resources... crystals... opportunities."

His eyes darkened slightly.

"And small tribes like ours don’t have those."

Silence filled the room.

"They can only rely on luck," he added quietly.

"If I can find some crystals... or a chance... maybe I can break through." His voice softened at the end, almost pleading.

"I just want to try."

He looked like he was explaining himself carefully, trying to make every word sound reasonable.

Trying to make her believe him. But Su Qinglan’s expression remained calm.

She simply looked at him, her eyes steady and unreadable.

Beside her, Hu Yan’s brows were tightly furrowed... so much so that it looked like he could crush a fly between them.

Rong Ye’s smile stiffened under that silence. And for some reason, that silence felt far more oppressive than anger.