Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off-Chapter 335: The Easiest Prey

The moment Su Qinglan mentioned the word "scout," a flash of pure panic crossed the young beastman’s face.

His eyes darted around, looking for any way to escape, but he was pinned down by the sheer weight of Xuan Long’s presence.

Xuan Long noticed the shift in the boy’s expression and let out a dark, cold smirk. "Lan Lan," he said, his voice vibrating with a dangerous hunger.

"Do you want me to teach him a lesson? I can break his wing. He might find it easier to talk once he realizes he will never fly again."

The young beastman shivered, his feathers standing on end. "No! You can’t!" he shrieked.

"I told you, I’m just a traveler! I’m from the Sky-High Mountain, and I was just heading back because the weather looked bad. You Fox Tribe people are so cruel! You’re just like the rumors say...suspicious and mean!"

Su Qinglan narrowed her eyes. She didn’t believe a word of it. "If you were just a traveler, you would have been flying in a straight line, not circling the Fox Tribe for hours. And if you’re so scared of the weather, why were you lingering?"

She tried to pressure him for several more minutes, asking who had sent him and what he was looking for, but the young man was hell-bent on staying silent.

No matter what she said or how much Xuan Long hissed, he stuck to the same story. He kept crying about how they were bullying a young beastman and how his tribe would be angry if they found out he was being detained.

"I have done nothing!" he sobbed, though his eyes remained calculating whenever he thought they weren’t looking.

"Let me go! My father is a high-ranking warrior. If I don’t return, they will come looking for me!"

Xuan Long leaned closer, his tongue flickering near the boy’s neck. "Let them come. I’ll eat them too."

Su Qinglan sighed, feeling a headache coming on. They were in a difficult position.

They had no solid proof that he was part of the beast tide plot, and they couldn’t exactly torture a teenager in the middle of the woods while their own tribe was in a state of emergency.

If they kept him, they risked a conflict with the Bird Tribe. If they let him go, he would surely report back to whoever was leading the beasts.

"He’s not going to talk," Su Qinglan whispered to Xuan Long. "He’s been trained to stay silent. But the fact that he’s so stubborn proves he’s hiding something big."

She looked at the young man one last time. He looked like a 17-year-old boy, but his heart was clearly full of secrets. They couldn’t detain him forever without evidence, but they couldn’t trust him either.

Su Qinglan looked at the young beastman’s stubborn face and finally sighed. She signaled Xuan Long with her eyes, letting him know it was time to let the boy go.

"Fine," she said, her voice cold. "Go back to your mountain. But if I see you circling our village again, I won’t be so kind next time."

Xuan Long narrowed his eyes and pulled back his massive body, giving the boy space. "Get out of here," he hissed, his voice sounding like grinding stones.

"If you linger for even one more second, I will throw you directly toward your mountain. You won’t need wings to fly then."

The young beastman was terrified. He didn’t wait for a second warning. He immediately transformed back into his bird form, his feathers ruffled and messy.

He flapped his wings frantically, nearly crashing into the bushes a few times because his heart was racing so fast with nerves.

As he flew further away and realized no one was chasing him, the fear on his face vanished.

A wicked gleam flashed in his eyes.

Stupid foxes, he thought, letting out a mocking screech in the air. You actually let me go. You are all so stupid! Let’s see how long you actually survive when the tide hits. He let out one last triumphant cry before disappearing into the thick clouds.

Unknown to him, he was not as free as he thought.

As soon as he had taken flight, Xuan Long had let out a low, vibrating sound that traveled through the ground and the grass.

He was calling out to the smaller snakes hidden in the forest. He commanded them to follow the bird’s shadow from the ground and find out exactly where he was going and who he was meeting.

Su Qinglan watched the bird disappear, a calm expression on her face. She had already motioned for Xuan Long to set this trap before they let the boy go.

She knew they couldn’t just torture a young beastman without proof; doing so would only make an unnecessary enemy of the Bird Tribe when they were already facing a crisis.

"Is the trail set?" she asked softly.

Xuan Long shifted back into his full human form and nodded, his eyes looking toward the direction the boy had flown. "My little snakes are moving. They will follow him through the trees. He thinks he is clever, but he is leading us straight to his master."

Su Qinglan felt a bit of relief. "Good. A person who thinks their enemy is stupid is the easiest one to catch."

The young beastman flew as fast as his wings could carry him until he reached the highest peak of the Sky-High Mountain.

When he landed on the rocky summit, several bird warriors stepped forward and greeted him with respect. "The Young Master is back!" they called out.

He was indeed the son of the Bird Tribe Leader, which was why he was so arrogant and bold.

He smoothed down his ruffled feathers, trying to hide the fact that he had been knocked out of the sky by a giant snake. He walked quickly toward the largest cave at the top of the peak.

Inside, his father, the Bird Tribe Leader, sat on a high stone throne covered in thick furs.

"Father! I have news," the young man said, his eyes bright with excitement. "I think the Fox Tribe has already found out something. There was so much unrest and noise in their mountain. They are running around like headless ants."

The Tribe Leader let out a loud, mocking laugh that echoed against the cave walls. "The Witch Doctor was really right. The Priest of the Fox Tribe is very skilled to have sensed the danger so soon. It is a pity for someone like him to die. It would be much better if we could take him to our side and make him serve us."

The young beastman’s eyes brightened further. "Yes, Father! Let’s save the Priest. We already have the Witch Doctor from the Fox Tribe on our side. If we add the Priest, our Bird Tribe will surely boom and become the strongest in the forest!"

They laughed together, feeling very superior.

The young man then leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a smaller, more secretive tone.

"But Father... what about the females? Are we really going to let all the Fox females die in the beast tide? That would be such a waste of good resources."

He paused, a look of greed crossing his face as he remembered the woman on the snake’s head.

"Father, I think I have found a female I like from the Fox Tribe. She is incredibly beautiful...more beautiful than anyone I have ever seen. Can we save her too?"

"I want to make her my mate. Once all her current husbands are killed by the beast tide, she will be all alone. She will be so grateful to me for saving her life that she will have no choice but to love me."