Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off-Chapter 317: Xiao San Is Afraid?

Xuan Long noticed the worried look on Su Qinglan’s face as she touched the soft fabric. She was clearly thinking about how quickly the babies would grow and how she didn’t have enough material to last forever.

​"Lan Lan, do you want more of this kind of cloth?" Xuan Long asked suddenly, his emerald eyes watching her closely.

​Su Qinglan looked at him, surprised. "Yes, of course... but it’s very hard to find. I don’t know where to get more," she said.

She was thinking that she would have to wait for the system to give her another reward, which might take a long time.

​Xuan Long smiled a mysterious, confident smile. "If Lan Lan wants more, I will get it for you."

​"Where?" she asked curiously. "Is there a place in the forest that grows this?"

​Xuan Long only shook his head and kept smiling.

He was thinking of An Mo. He had seen many rolls of this high-quality, strange fabric in An Mo’s palace.

In the past, Xuan Long never cared about luxuries. He preferred his snake form, and even in human form, he didn’t mind wearing rough hides.

But now that he knew his mate loved it and his cubs needed it, he decided he would go and borrow some from his old sworn brother. After all, An Mo had everything; he wouldn’t miss a few rolls of good material.

​Just then, the door opened, and Han Jue and Rong Ye returned from their morning hunt, carrying fresh prey. Xuan Long stood up and looked at Su Qinglan.

​"Lan Lan, wait for me. I will be back soon," he said. He leaned down and patted the head of the tiny snake in the nest.

"Xiao San, don’t make your mother worry, okay? I’ll be back before you know it."

​Xiao San’s tiny head popped up from his green sweater, his eyes wide with shock.

Going somewhere? Take me too! He thought, his tail twitching. He had been with his father every single second since he was in the egg.

The idea of Xuan Long leaving made him feel very small and scared.

​"No, stay here," Xuan Long said firmly.

​Xiao San’s eyes immediately grew teary. He let out a tiny hiss. He was only two days old, and the big world of the Fox Tribe still felt very strange to him.

​Su Qinglan saw her baby’s distress and immediately picked him up, nestling him in her palm. "It’s okay, Xiao San. Stay with Mommy, okay? Let Daddy go do his work."

​Feeling the warm, familiar scent of his mother, Xiao San calmed down. He curled himself into a tight ball in her hand and looked up at Xuan Long with a proud, stubborn expression, as if saying, Fine! Go! I have Mommy now!

​Xuan Long couldn’t help but tease him. "Oh? Weren’t you crying for me a moment ago? You heartless little cub," he laughed.

​Xiao San felt like he wanted to bite this father of his. He hissed back angrily, You bad man! Go away! Go do your work!

​"Don’t tease my baby!" Su Qinglan said, swatting Xuan Long’s arm playfully.

​Xuan Long laughed and patted the heads of the two tiger cubs, Xiao Er and Xiao Yi.

"Father Long will bring something good back for you two as well, okay? Take care of your younger brother."

​The two tiger cubs nodded with a chorus of "A-woo!" and wagged their tails.

​Before leaving, Xuan Long gave Su Qinglan a quick kiss. Once he was gone, Su Qinglan looked down at the tiny snake in her hand.

"Xiao San, do you want to sleep on the bed, or do you want to stay in my pocket?"

​Xiao San didn’t hesitate. He wiggled toward the pocket of her maternity dress and tucked himself inside. It was warm and dark and smelled exactly like her calming aura. He felt much safer there.

​Su Qinglan’s heart melted. Even though she couldn’t understand his language, she knew he was scared because Xuan Long had left.

She reached down and patted the outside of the pocket. "Don’t worry, little one. I’ll keep you with me all day."

Su Qinglan stepped out of the treehouse door and was greeted by the sight of a massive pile of fresh prey in the clearing.

Han Jue and Rong Ye were busy sorting through the hunt, their faces bright with energy.

When they looked up and saw her coming down, their eyes lit up, especially when they noticed the tiny green head of Xiao San peeking curiously out of her pocket.

"Lan Lan!" Han Jue called out, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Now that Xuan Long is back and we have our third cub here, shouldn’t we hold a grand gathering? We should have a feast to celebrate the birth of the snake cub and tiger cubs and the safety of our family!"

Su Qinglan nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, it is a good time for a celebration. The tribe has been through a lot of stress lately. A feast would cheer everyone up." She paused, her expression turning a bit soft.

"But I think we should ask my father first. He hasn’t been in a good mood. The situation with Mu Lihua has really hurt him, and I don’t want to make decisions without his blessing."

"Let’s go outside and see if I can meet him," she decided. "I want to see how he is doing and also meet Bai Ling."

Rong Ye immediately abandoned the pile of meat he was cleaning. "I’ll go with you," he said firmly. He didn’t want her walking through the tribe alone while two of his rivals were still roaming around.

As they prepared to leave, Su Qinglan felt two heavy, furry weights press against her legs.

She looked down to find Xiao Er and Xiao Yi looking up at her with pleading eyes. Their tails were wagging so hard they were hitting the ground with a thump-thump-thump sound.

"Do you two want to go too?" she asked with a smile. The cubs nodded their heads vigorously.

She looked at Hu Yan, who was standing nearby, leaning against a tree. "Is it okay to take them out? It’s still a bit chilly."

Hu Yan shrugged his broad shoulders. "Let them go. They are wearing those new clothes you and Xuan Long made, so they won’t feel the cold.

Besides, they are male cubs. We shouldn’t shelter them too much. If they grow up being too soft, no female will ever want to mate with them!"

Su Qinglan felt her lips twitch. She looked at her tiny, chubby cubs, who were barely learning to run without tripping. They haven’t even finished their milk yet, and he’s already worrying about their future mates? she thought, feeling a bit speechless.

"Fine, fine," she laughed. "Let’s go."

As they walked through the village toward Bai Ling’s house, it was anything but a quiet walk.

Xiao Er and Xiao Yi were in high spirits. They didn’t just walk; they pranced. They made sure to run ahead of Su Qinglan and Rong Ye, puffing out their little chests to show off their new orange jumpsuits to every beastman they passed.

"Look! Look!" their little "A-woo" sounds seemed to say as they stopped in front of a group of warriors.