Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off-Chapter 315: Xiao San is a grumpy little snake.

The next morning, the sun had barely risen when Xiao Er and Xiao Yi woke up. Usually, they would immediately start wrestling and biting each other’s ears, but today, they stopped dead in their tracks.

In the middle of the large bed, sitting in a specially made tiny nest of soft hides, was a small, green coiled object.

The two tiger cubs began to circle the nest very slowly. They moved on their tiptoes, their little bums wiggling with every step.

They were terrified of waking it up, but their curiosity was exploding. They looked at the snake, then back at Su Qinglan, who was sitting nearby with a bowl of warm soup. She only smiled and didn’t say a word, letting the children discover each other on their own.

Finally, the tiny snake cub, Xiao San, couldn’t take it anymore. He felt the heat of two heavy breathers right over his head. He popped his eyes open, expecting to see his mother’s gentle face.

Instead, he found a giant, fuzzy tiger face right in front of his nose. He flicked his tail and looked behind him...only to find another giant, fuzzy tiger face staring at his tail.

Xiao San froze. What is happening? he thought in his tiny snake brain. I went to sleep in my mommy’s warm arms; why did I wake up in a monster den?

Suddenly, Xiao Er’s eyes brightened. He decided he liked this new, shiny toy. He opened his mouth and gave the tiny snake a massive, wet lick from head to tail.

Xiao San’s entire body was instantly drenched in sticky saliva. He was so stunned he couldn’t move.

A look of pure disgust flashed across his tiny face. His beautiful, shiny scales were now a mess. He let out a sharp hiss.

Stop that! How dare you! He hissed in an angry mode.

But to the tiger cubs, a tiny hiss just sounded like a squeaky toy. Xiao Er thought the snake was enjoying it, so he licked him even harder.

Then, Xiao Yi joined in from the other side.

Xiao San was trapped. He was being licked from the left and licked from the right. He was so small he couldn’t even move against their giant tongues.

He looked toward his mother with a miserable expression, his little eyes screaming, Mommy, help me! These beasts are trying to eat me!

But Su Qinglan only giggled and took another sip of her soup. To her, it looked like the brothers were just showing deep affection.

Just then, Xuan Long walked into the room. Xiao San’s eyes lit up with hope. Father! Save me! They are eating me alive! He hissed desperately. Knowing his mother could not understand him but his father could.

Xuan Long looked at the bed, saw the two older cubs grooming the baby, and simply turned a blind eye.

He didn’t even stop. He walked straight past the bed to give Su Qinglan a kiss on the forehead. "Good morning, Lan Lan," he said smoothly, completely ignoring his son’s struggle.

Xiao San flailed his tail in despair. He had been given a bath at least ten times by now. He was dripping with tiger spit and smelled like stinky fur.

Finally, Hu Yan walked over. He saw the miserable state of the tiny snake and let out a loud laugh.

"Alright, you two stinky cubs, that’s enough. You’re going to drown your brother before he even learns to crawl!"

Hu Yan reached down and scooped up the two heavy tiger cubs, pulling them away. He scolded them lightly, but the two brothers just wagged their tails, looking very proud of their cleaning job.

Xiao San finally breathed a sigh of relief. He shivered, trying to shake the saliva off his scales. He looked at his giant cubs and decided right then and there: From now on, he was sleeping under the thickest hide.

He reached out a large finger and gently stroked Xiao San’s head to dry him off a little bit. Then, he turned his serious gaze toward the two furry tiger cubs, Xiao Er and Xiao Yi.

"Listen to me," Hu Yan said in a deep, firm voice. "This is Xiao San. He is your younger brother. Do you understand?"

The two tiger cubs sat back on their haunches, their ears perking up. They looked at the tiny green string in the nest and then back at Hu Yan.

"He is very small and fragile," Hu Yan continued, scolding them lightly.

"You cannot treat him like a chew toy. You have to protect him. If I see you bullying him or if you accidentally sit on him, you will be punished. No extra snacks for three days! Do you understand?"

The tiger cubs let out a low, rumbling coo of dissatisfaction. In their tiger language, they were complaining that they were just trying to make him smell like the family.

Other people might not understand those grumbles, but Hu Yan was a tiger beastman himself. He understood them perfectly.

"I don’t care about your excuses," Hu Yan barked. "You have to protect him. Give me a nod!"

The two cubs grumbled one last time and then obediently nodded their heads. They looked at Xiao San with big, curious eyes, as if promising to be guardians from now on.

Xiao San, however, was not touched by this scene at all.

He looked at his two giant, furry brothers and thought, No thanks! Just keep these furry monsters away from me! He didn’t want their protection; he just wanted a clean hide to wipe him.

He felt incredibly guarded as he tried to rub the stinky tiger scent off his shiny scales. He had worked so hard to grow such beautiful, clean scales, and now he smelled like a wet predator.

The scent was so strong and musky that it tickled his tiny nose. Xiao San’s little head bobbed, his body tensed, and then... ACHOO!

He sneezed so hard that his tiny body did a little flip in the nest. He landed on his back, looking up at the ceiling with a miserable expression.

Life is so hard, he thought. I better go back and sleep.