Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off-Chapter 328: New Mission Alert!

When Su Qinglan finally reached the treehouse, the familiar scent of home washed over her, melting away the stress of the day.

As she stepped inside, she found a surprisingly harmonious atmosphere. Hu Yan, Han Jue, and Rong Ye all stood up immediately to greet her.

Each of them took turns kissing her cheeks, making her feel warm and cherished.

Seeing her husbands getting along so well made Su Qinglan’s heart feel full. She took a deep breath, catching a delicious aroma in the air.

"It smells amazing in here! What are you cooking?" she asked with a bright smile.

Hu Yan smiled back, his expression gentle. "Lan Lan, it’s your favorite...hand-pulled noodles with savory broth."

Su Qinglan’s eyes widened with excitement. "Oh, that’s perfect! I am so hungry; I feel like I could eat three bowls," she said, walking further into the house.

As she moved, the little tiger cub Xiao Er scrambled over to her feet. He rubbed his soft, fuzzy head against her ankles, purring loudly.

Su Qinglan bent down and scooped him up, cuddling him close to her face. "Did my good boy drink his milk? Do you want to try some noodles with Mommy?" she asked in a cooing voice.

Xiao Er let out a happy "A-woo!" sound, wagging his tiny tail as if he understood and agreed with every word she said.

But as she looked around the room, she noticed a missing member of the family.

"Where is Xiao Yi?" she asked, looking at her husbands.

All three men let out a simultaneous, heavy sigh. Hu Yan pointed a finger toward the far corner of the room.

"He’s over there... ’drinking’ his milk," he said, though his tone suggested something was wrong.

Su Qinglan walked toward the corner and stopped. There, sitting all by himself, was a very round, very grumpy tiger cub.

Xiao Yi was sitting with his back hunched, aggressively chewing and sucking on his bottle nipple.

The moment he sensed Su Qinglan’s gaze on him, he let out a tiny huff and shifted his body so his back was turned completely toward her.

He was clearly throwing a massive tantrum. He looked like a small, fuzzy ball of fury, refusing to acknowledge anyone.

Su Qinglan was stunned. She looked back at her husbands, her eyebrows raised in confusion. "What happened? Why is he acting like he’s been wronged by the whole world?"

Rong Ye rubbed the back of his neck, looking a bit guilty. "Well, let’s just say he didn’t appreciate the ’lesson’ we gave him about taking snacks from strange lions. He thinks we’re being unfair because we took away the rest of his red fish."

Su Qinglan looked back at the sulking cub. Xiao Yi gave one more loud, stubborn suck on his bottle and let out a muffled growl, still refusing to turn around.

Su Qinglan couldn’t bear to see her little cub so miserable. She walked over to the corner and sat on the floor, gently reaching out to stroke the back of Xiao Yi’s fuzzy neck.

"My little Xiao Yi, why are you so sad?" she whispered in her softest voice. "Mommy is back. Won’t you look at me?"

At first, the cub stayed stiff, still chewing his bottle nipple with a vengeance. But after a few more pets and some sweet words, his resolve finally crumbled.

He dropped the bottle, turned around, and burst into loud, dramatic tears. He crawled into her lap, wailing as if he had been through a great tragedy.

Then, to Su Qinglan’s absolute shock, he turned his body around and pointedly showed her his red bottom.

Su Qinglan froze. She looked at the slightly red fur on his rear and then looked up at her husbands with a stunned expression. "What is this?" she demanded.

The moment her eyes met theirs, Hu Yan and Rong Ye acted like they had just remembered a life-or-death emergency.

"Oh! I just remembered... I forgot to check the perimeter traps!" Hu Yan said, his voice unusually high.

"And I... I need to help him! Yes, the traps are very important!" Rong Ye added, nodding frantically.

Before Su Qinglan could say another word, the two of them guiltily ran out of the house as fast as their legs could carry them.

Su Qinglan turned back to the cub. She inspected the area and realized it was only slightly red...more of a "warning" swat than a real injury.

However, Xiao Yi was screaming at the top of his lungs, his tiny paws waving in the air as he told her a long, loud story about his suffering.

Su Qinglan didn’t understand a single word of his cub language, but she could feel his indignation.

"Alright, alright, my poor little tiger," she cooed. She used a bit of her healing power to heal the redness.

She rocked him back and forth, singing a soft melody until his loud sobs turned into little hiccups.

Finally, exhausted from his big emotions, Xiao Yi fell fast asleep in her arms, his tiny chest heaving with deep snores.

Once the house was quiet, Su Qinglan looked over at Han Jue, who was the only one brave enough to stay behind. He was still stirring the noodle pot with a calm expression.

"Han Jue, tell me the truth. What happened?" she asked with a sigh.

Han Jue gave a simple shrug. "Xiao Yi was being very stubborn. When Hu Yan tried to take away the Lion King’s fish, Xiao Yi actually bared his fangs and growled at his father. So, Hu Yan decided he needed a little ’physical’ lesson on respect."

Su Qinglan was stunned. Her little ball of fluff was already baring fangs at the strongest tiger in the tribe? She looked down at the sleeping cub and sighed.

She realized that tiger cubs were naturally aggressive and hot-headed.

As a fox, she didn’t have much knowledge on how to train a tiger to be a fine young man; she could only shower them with her love and leave the "tough" lessons to their fathers.

"He’s certainly got a big temper for such a small body," she whispered, kissing the cub’s forehead.

Just as Su Qinglan was beginning to relax, feeling the warmth of the sleeping Xiao Yi in her arms and the savory scent of the noodles, a familiar sound echoed in her mind.

[Ding!]

[Host! New Main Mission Activated!]

Mission Name: Shield of the Forest

Objective: Save the Fox Tribe from the upcoming Evil Ferocious Beast Tide.

Time Duration: One Week (8 Days).

Main Task: Stop the total destruction of the Fox Tribe village and its inhabitants.

[Warning]: If the mission fails, the Fox Tribe will perish. All progress will be lost.

Su Qinglan was completely stunned. Her breath hitched, and her hands subconsciously tightened around the sleeping tiger cub. A beast tide? And not just any tide, but an "Evil Ferocious" one?

In this world, a beast tide was the ultimate nightmare.

It happened when thousands of unevolved, crazed wild beasts swarmed together, driven by hunger or a dark influence, crushing everything in their path.

One week, she thought, her heart hammering. I only have eight days to prepare.