Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off

Together, the two beastmen and the three cubs searched the entire estate. They checked under every bed, inside every closet, behind the heavy curtains, and even in the pantry.

Nothing.

Rong Ye closed his eyes, extending his sharp beast senses to track her scent. His eyes snapped open a second later, his expression completely cracking.

"This doesn’t make sense," Rong Ye growled softly.

Shi Feng looked at him, his heart sinking. "What is it?"

"Her scent is in the backyard where she was sleeping... but it completely stops there," Rong Ye said, his voice laced with sudden fear.

"There is no trailing scent leading out of the gate. There is no scent of any stranger either. The only scent in this house belongs to our family."

Shi Feng’s face turned pale. "How is that possible? No one has entered or left the courtyard all afternoon! We were right inside building the bed! If a stranger had approached, we would have smelled them instantly!"

"Exactly," Rong Ye’s jaw tightened into a hard line. "No stranger came in, and Yue Yue didn’t walk out through the gate on her own."

By this time, the commotion had woken up Su Qinglan. She walked out of the bedroom, rubbing her eyes with a sleepy Ciao Ciao held in her arms.

"What’s all the noise about?" Su Qinglan asked softly, looking at the stressed expressions of her husbands. "Did something happen?"

Shi Feng looked at her, his voice tight. "Qinglan... Yue Yue is missing."

Su Qinglan froze instantly. All sleepiness vanished from her body in a single heart-stopping second. "What?"

"She was sleeping in the backyard with Lulu," Shi Feng explained rapidly, his hands clenching into fists. "Lulu woke up and couldn’t find her. We searched the entire house. She’s gone."

Su Qinglan set Ciao Ciao down and ran to the backyard herself, calling out desperately, "Yue Yue! Yue Yue, where are you?!"

Silence answered her.

The entire household was instantly thrown into absolute chaos and panic. Su Qinglan stood in the middle of the yard, her face pale as snow, her chest heaving with terrifying fear.

Yue Yue couldn’t have walked out by herself without leaving a scent trail. No intruder could have walked into the estate past two powerful beastmen without being noticed.

Yet, the tiny snake cub had vanished into thin air.

Is Yue Yue kidnapped?

The horrifying thought struck Su Qinglan’s heart like a bolt of lightning, leaving the entire family frozen in pure terror.

***

Far away from Dragon Beast City, deep in an unfamiliar forest, a frail figure walked slowly along a dirt path.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The old man stopped near a tall tree. With a heavy sigh, he unslung the small cloth bag hanging from his shoulder and threw it unceremoniously onto the hard ground.

Thud.

He picked up the bag and gave it a rough shake.

"Ouch!"

A tiny white shape tumbled out onto the dirt, rolling a few times before stopping. It was Yue Yue!

The little snake cub quickly shook her head, her blue gemstone eyes wide with shock.

But the moment she looked up and saw the person standing before her, her memory clicked.

She immediately recognized him! He was the exact same strange, creepy old man who had arrived at their house that afternoon a few months ago... the one her fathers had beaten up and argued with!

Yue Yue’s tiny tail puffed up with absolute rage. She bared her small baby fangs, hissing furiously right at his face.

The old man only threw his head back and laughed softly. "So angry, so angry, little Yue Yue! Don’t worry, this old man won’t harm you."

Yue Yue didn’t believe a single word coming out of his mouth. She coiled herself tightly, ready to strike if he came any closer.

The old man rubbed his sore back and leaned on his crutch. "Are you hungry?"

Without waiting for her answer, he reached into his ragged robe, pulled out a cold, gray piece of leftover meat, and casually tossed it onto the dirt right in front of her nose.

Plop.

Yue Yue looked down at the piece of meat. She really was hungry...her stomach was practically sticking to her back after being trapped in that dark bag for so long.

But as she examined the food, her little face twisted in disgust.

The meat was gray, completely cold, and most importantly, it had been thrown directly into the mud! Coarse dirt, dry leaves, and tiny bugs were already stuck to it.

Back at home, her mother and father always cooked fresh, delicious meals for them. Everything was served cleanly on nice wooden plates. She had never seen anything so gross in her entire life!

Yue Yue felt so nauseous that her small stomach turned upside down. She gagged loudly, backing away from the filthy dirt-covered meat as far as she could.

The old man looked down at her reaction, his cloudy eyes filling with disdainful and arrogant amusement. He snickered coldly, shaking his head.

"Tch. So spoiled and pampered at such a young age," he muttered, reaching down to scoop up the muddy meat. He didn’t even bother wiping the dirt off. In just a few quick bites, he devoured the entire thing himself.

Swallowing the last piece, he glanced at her with a smirk. "Then stay hungry. This old man is quite poor, after all."

Before Yue Yue could even attempt to slither away into the bushes, the old man grabbed her by the tail, stuffed her back into the cloth bag, and pulled the string tight.

"Hey! Let me out!" Yue Yue hissed and thrashed wildly inside the dark cloth, but the old man simply slung the bag back over his thin shoulder and continued walking.

He walked slowly, step by step, heading deep into the vast, barren regions of the Beast World.

In this outer territory, there were no beautiful houses or bustling streets like Dragon Beast City.

There were no nice yards or warm fireplaces. The surroundings were dry, quiet, and desolate...filled only with small, crude stone huts, dark caves, and scattered, run-down dwellings.

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, the old man finally reached his destination.

Standing right in front of him was an ancient, magnificent structure. It wasn’t a normal house or a simple cave. It looked like a massive temple carved directly into the heart of a giant mountain!

If one looked closely at the shape of the mountain, it didn’t look like ordinary rock at all. It looked remarkably like a colossal, ancient serpent that had coiled itself up and fallen into a deep, eternal sleep.

The old man tapped his crutch against the stone floor, stepped past the towering stone entrance, and carried the trapped little Yue Yue straight into the dark depths of the mountain.