Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off Chapter 852: The Growing Orca Baby

It didn’t take much longer before Bo Jian and his son returned. Soon enough, the gentle whistling sound of rushing water echoed along the riverbank.

Bo Jian hadn’t transformed into his massive full orca form...otherwise, the entire river would have overflowed from his sheer size! Instead, he stayed in his merman form while his son swam freely alongside him.

The moment the little orca spotted his mother on the shore, he poked his shiny head right out of the water, letting out a happy squeak.

Bo Jian stepped onto the muddy riverbank, smoothly shifting into his human form.

Instantly forgetting his previous embarrassment, Manis scrambled over to the water’s edge to pet the little orca. "Hey little fry! Do you remember your uncle?"

The little orca tilted his head, looking completely confused for a second. He blinked his large, dark eyes, looking left and right, before finally giving an eager nod.

He actually remembered! It was the same uncle who had taken care of him for a short time after he was born.

The little orca was surprisingly intelligent.

Manis felt his heart melt into a thousand pieces after being acknowledged by the sweet baby.

Grinning from ear to ear, he turned toward the shore and asked, "Sister-in-law, what did you name him?"

Lan Yue smiled warmly. "His name is Bo Yichen. It’s a name from my homeland."

Manis nodded politely, stroking the baby’s smooth head.

"What a wonderful, beautiful name! It suits our little fry perfectly." He let out a light laugh before looking at the baby’s actual size. "Though... you aren’t really a ’little’ fry anymore!"

Manis stared in awe. The baby orca had grown insanely fast over the past year... He was already almost bigger than a land elephant!

A sudden wave of realization hit Manis, and he looked up at Lan Yue with concern.

"Sister-in-law, how are we going to travel back to the East Sea now? We’ve delayed our journey for so long!"

If they had left sooner, the baby wouldn’t have been this massive, and carrying him would have been much easier. But now that he was this big, they couldn’t simply carry him across land.

Manis stroked his chin as he laid out the only two options available.

"Either he transforms into his human form so he can walk with us...though we can’t force that, since all beast cubs transform at their own pace, or we have to follow the river path until it connects to the sea."

"But taking the river route will easily take two or three months! We don’t even know where this river empties out or if it leads directly to the East Sea or somewhere else entirely."

Lan Yue nodded, her brows furrowed with worry.

She stroked her chin thoughtfully. "I’ve been worried about this too. I don’t understand why Yichen hasn’t transformed into his human form yet. Sister Qinglan’s cubs...who are even younger than him have already transformed! Even many of the other cubs in Dragon Beast City are walking on two legs now, but my little Yichen is still strictly in his aquatic form."

She looked at Bo Jian with a sad, guilty expression. "Bo Jian, do you think it’s because he isn’t in his natural habitat? Is living in a river instead of the deep ocean stopping his growth and keeping him from becoming big and powerful?"

Bo Jian gently shook his head, reaching out to wrap a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"Don’t worry, my love. All beast cubs are different, and their natural talents develop at different speeds. There is nothing wrong with him taking his time."

He paused for a moment before adding softly, "But if you’re still worried that something might be wrong, we can ask Sister Qinglan to check on him. She is a skilled healer, after all. She will definitely know if our son is healthy."

Lan Yue nodded repeatedly, feeling much more at ease. "Yes! That’s a great idea. I’ll bring my sister over to take a look at our little fry and see if everything is alright."

***

Su Qinglan finally returned home with An Mo.

By the time they reached the house, it was already well past noon, and both of them were thoroughly starving.

After all, they had skipped lunch completely! Su Qinglan’s stomach was protesting so loudly that she felt if she didn’t get food into her system immediately, she might actually bite into a live cow.

The moment she stepped into the front yard, however, she was forced to stop.

Someone was waiting for her.

Lin Muyu was pacing back and forth in front of the house with a deeply sulky expression. She looked like someone who had been abandoned for half a day and was fully prepared to demand a furious explanation.

Not far away, Shi Kuang was sitting on the grass, completely swarmed by cubs.

Mao Mao, her lion cub, had scrambled onto his uncle’s shoulder and was happily gnawing on Shi Kuang’s ear like a favorite chew toy.

Shi Kuang’s expression was pure, helpless resignation. "Mao Mao, that’s your uncle’s ear, not a piece of roasted meat."

Mao Mao ignored him completely and bit down again. Shi Kuang let out a long sigh, utterly accepting his tragic fate.

Lin Muyu spotted Su Qinglan at that exact moment, her eyes instantly narrowing. "Where on earth have you been?"

Su Qinglan blinked innocently.

Crossing her arms, Lin Muyu fixed her with an accusing glare. "Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you?! It’s practically the entire afternoon!"

Su Qinglan glanced up at the sun, then back at Lin Muyu. "It isn’t even mid-afternoon yet."

"Don’t change the subject!"

Su Qinglan rubbed her growling belly, attempting to walk past her, but Lin Muyu stepped right into her path.

Lin Muyu looked at Su Qinglan, then at An Mo, then back at Su Qinglan. Her eyes narrowed further as she picked up on their strangely cheerful, satisfied aura.

"Why do I suddenly get the feeling you two have been up to no good?" Lin Muyu asked suspiciously.

An Mo immediately coughed into his fist, turning his head away.

Su Qinglan, however, didn’t feel a single shred of shame. She smiled brightly and replied, "We were doing the exact same thing you were doing before coming here."

Silence instantly blanketed the entire yard.

An Mo choked on his own breath, while Lin Muyu’s face exploded into a violent crimson flush. "YOU...!"

Panicking, Lin Muyu threw a frantic glance toward Shi Kuang. Thankfully, the lion was sitting several paces away with his back partially turned.

Lowering her voice into a furious whisper, Lin Muyu said, "You don’t have to say it so directly!"

Su Qinglan shrugged helplessly. "You asked."

"I didn’t ask for details!"

"I didn’t give you any details."

"Your smug face gave enough details!" Lin Muyu snapped, her ears burning.

Su Qinglan burst out laughing.