Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off

Su Qinglan stood up, her eyes slowly sweeping across the perimeter. Something was wrong.

She had clearly given everyone in Dragon Beast City strict instructions before: no one was allowed to harvest or eat the crops before they reached full maturity. Not even the cubs were allowed to play in the fields without supervision.

To enforce this, the beastmen had built a sturdy wooden fence around the entire farming area specifically to prevent anyone from accidentally trampling or damaging the food supply.

"So how did something get inside without anyone noticing?" Su Qinglan murmured softly.

Hu Yan immediately stepped forward, walking along the edge to examine the tall wooden barrier. "There doesn’t seem to be any obvious damage to the perimeter."

Han Jue checked another section further down, running a claw along the sturdy timber. "Neither here. The bindings are completely intact."

Rong Ye narrowed his sharp eyes, his dark gaze scanning the quiet field. "If someone entered through the main gate, the guards posted should have seen them immediately."

Su Qinglan’s expression became even more serious.

Exactly. That was the most baffling part of it all.

This wasn’t some remote, abandoned wilderness; the farm was located right within the safe zone of the beastman settlement.

Wild beasts would never casually approach a place smelling so strongly of powerful predators.

They instinctively feared beastmen, especially with so many high-ranked warriors residing nearby. Even if a wild animal had somehow wandered in by accident, it would have been frightened away by the slightest movement or sound.

"So it shouldn’t be a wild beast," Su Qinglan said, her mind racing as she walked around the ruined patch. "There are no broken fence posts, no snapped ropes... and no obvious heavy footprints in the mud."

She crouched down once more, sifting through the disturbed soil with her fingertips.

The earth around the plants had definitely been dug up, but strangely, the faint indentations didn’t resemble the broad, heavy tracks of a large mountain animal.

Su Qinglan frowned tightly. "What on earth came in here?"

A heavy silence fell over the group. The cubs, who had initially been so excited to visit the farm, had also become unusually quiet, sensing the tense atmosphere.

Xiao San peeked out cautiously from behind Su Qinglan’s leg, his eyes wide with concern. "Mother... did a bad beast eat our vegetables?"

Su Qinglan glanced down at her brave little boy and gently patted his head. "I don’t know yet, darling. But we’re going to find out."

She stood up, her voice firm as she addressed the rest of the group. "Everyone, don’t touch any of the remaining plants."

The bear beastman immediately nodded, standing guard.

Su Qinglan then turned to Hu Yan and Han Jue. "Check the entire fence line again. Look for even the smallest gap or hole in the ground."

"Alright." The two beastmen immediately spread out to inspect every inch of the perimeter.

Meanwhile, Rong Ye walked closer to the damaged crop line, carefully picking up a discarded leaf to examine the stems. After a moment, his neutral expression shifted slightly.

"Lanlan," he called out softly.

Su Qinglan turned toward him. "What is it?"

Rong Ye held up a partially eaten leaf, pointing to the edge. "Look at this bite mark."

She walked over to inspect it. The edge of the thick leaf had been bitten off cleanly, leaving a precise, sharp curve.

Su Qinglan narrowed her eyes, her gaze sharpening. "This definitely doesn’t look like the jagged bite of a wild beast."

Rong Ye nodded in agreement. "And whatever ate it wasn’t just mindlessly stuffing its face out of pure starvation."

"What do you mean?"

Rong Ye pointed across the entire ruined section, tracing a line through the crops. "Look at the pattern of what was taken."

Su Qinglan followed his long finger, and her eyes widened slightly as the truth clicked into place.

The vegetables hadn’t been trampled or eaten at random. Out of dozens of plant varieties, only specific, high-nutrient crops had been targeted. The bitter, lesser-quality greens were completely untouched, while the sweetest, most tender stalks had been picked clean!

Su Qinglan’s expression grew grave. "It’s... selectively choosing what to eat?"

"That’s exactly what it looks like," Rong Ye replied quietly.

Su Qinglan narrowed her eyes at the swaying crops.

The thing hiding inside was doing a surprisingly good job. It had completely concealed its scent, and even its movements were extremely careful. If it had been anyone else, they might have had difficulty finding it.

Unfortunately for the culprit, it had chosen the wrong farm to steal from.

Su Qinglan has a plant-type ability. Every single plant in this field was connected to her senses. The moment something moved between the crops, she could feel it instantly.

Her eyes suddenly turned sharp. "There you are."

Before anyone could react, Su Qinglan reached out her hand. The green vines beneath the crops suddenly moved according to her will, shooting forward and wrapping around something hidden inside.

"Ah!"

A startled, high-pitched cry echoed from the plants.

Su Qinglan pulled her hand back. A small, furry figure was immediately dragged out from the middle of the vegetables and dangled helplessly in the air.

Everyone stared in absolute silence.

It was a raccoon.

The little raccoon beast was hanging from Su Qinglan’s vine, his four limbs dangling helplessly in midair.

For a moment, Su Qinglan was completely stunned by the culprit’s identity.

The raccoon blinked his round, dark-ringed eyes at her. Then, as though hoping she might somehow be fooled by his innocent appearance, he gave her a sheepish, awkward smile.

"Hehe..."

Su Qinglan’s eyes twitched. "You ate our vegetables?"

The raccoon immediately looked away, refusing eye contact.

Su Qinglan’s expression darkened. Seeing her shift, the little fellow suddenly kicked his hind legs frantically toward her face, clearly trying to escape.

"Hey!" Su Qinglan instinctively released the vine to avoid the flying paws.

The raccoon landed on the ground with a soft thud and immediately turned around to bolt for the trees. But before he could take even two steps...

Hu Yan’s huge hand grabbed him firmly by the back of his neck, lifting him off his feet.

"Damn thing," the golden tiger beastman gritted out, his expression frighteningly cold.