Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off - Chapter 88

88: Chapter 88: Crash Landing on a Giant Puddle 88: Chapter 88: Crash Landing on a Giant Puddle The momentary shock of fear was instantly annihilated by a fresh wave of pure rage.

Su Qinglan uncurled instantly, pushing herself up from the rough rock face.

She ignored the throbbing in her shoulder and the scrapes on her palms.

Her eyes, though still struggling to focus, bore a murderous intent toward the massive, dark shape of the beastman towering over her.

But before she could spit out her next threat, the giant owl began to transform.

In a blink, the towering feathers, massive wings, and sharp talons were gone, replaced by the imposing frame of a man.

He was tall and had a sneer on his face.

He had sharp, hawkish features, and his eyes held a cold, unwavering killing intent directed solely at her.

Su Qinglan’s mind raced.

Who the hell was he?

She didn’t recognize him.

She searched the original owner’s scattered memories, but there was nothing about him.

Why did this complete stranger want her dead?

“Who are you?” she demanded, knowing it was the most useless question she could ask in this situation.

But it seems the beastman was more stupid, because in the next second he really answered.

“I am Luo Chen,” he answered, his voice a low, rough rumble that seemed to scrape against the cliff face.

“Then why did you kidnap me?” Su Qinglan asked again, trying to get more information from him.

But this time Luo Chen just sneered and said, “Female, you ask too many questions.

You shouldn’t.

You are going to die anyways.” Su Qinglan’s lips twitched in annoyance.

“Tell me how I’m going to die.

Are you going to kill me?

You know, a beastman who kills a female never ends well.” She threw the warning out, hoping the fear of the beast god might slow him down.

The sneer widened into a confident, hateful grin.

“Who says I am going to kill you myself?

I am not going to get your blood on my hand,” he stated, glancing dismissively at the sheer, dizzying drop off the cliff edge just inches behind her.

“You are just a weak female.

If I push you from here, you wouldn’t even survive the fall.” With that, his eyes darted around the tiny, craggy ledge, checking the surrounding peaks for any sign of pursuit.

Satisfied that they were alone, he gave a harsh grunt.

before he shifted back into his terrifying owl form.

He spoke in his muffled voice by the beak but still carried a chilling edge.

“Don’t try to run, female.

If you run…

you’ll be eaten by some evil ferocious beast in a moment, or worse, dragged by some beastman to become their female.” He paused, his sharp talons scraping the rock.

“So, stay right here.” With that, he beat his massive wings once, creating a gust that nearly knocked her off balance, and took flight, leaving her completely alone on the perilous ledge.

His dark, arrow-like shape vanished against the mountains.

Su Qinglan watched him go, a hateful sneer stretching across her face.

Like hell she would wait here!

She would rather encounter a ferocious beast than this hateful bastard.

She knew she could kill a feral beast, but not him because Luo Chen was a genuinely powerful beastman, and she couldn’t risk another direct fight while so drained.

Her only chance was to get away from here, far away, before this psycho came back and decided to drop her from a height where she couldn’t possibly survive.

First, she had to stop the blood.

She focused the last dregs of her spiritual power, sending a small, tight knot of energy to her injured shoulder.

The flow of warm blood immediately slowed and clotted.

She didn’t fully heal the wound because healing used too much energy, and she was already dizzy from overexertion.

If she used any more, she was afraid she would fall unconscious.

With the little energy she had left, she looked down.

The edge of the cliff was completely barren rock, hundreds of feet above the dark, blurry forest.

The only option was to get down and run.

She crept to the border of the ledge and peered over.

Below was the thick, dark canopy of trees.

If she could reach the forest floor and run, it might give her a chance to hide and recover.

Closing her eyes, she focused hard.

A thick, dark-green vine, strong and fibrous, snaked out from the seemingly barren rock face just below the lip of the cliff, anchoring itself deeply into the stone.

She wrapped the vine securely around her waist and shoulders, trusting that her creation would not break.

Gripping the vine tightly, Su Qinglan slowly lowered herself over the edge.

The cold, rough stone scraped her hands, but she didn’t stop, praying the descent would be fast enough.

Su Qinglan continued her careful, slow descent.

She was almost there…just a small distance above the looming, dark treetops below.

The wind was harsh, but her vine was solid, holding her weight perfectly.

Success was just seconds away.

She was actually going to pull this off.

But suddenly, a strange, furry head with huge, curious ears poked out from a small crevice on the rock face right next to her vine.

It looked like a mix between a large cat and a terrified rabbit, and it examined her with wide, innocent eyes.

It twitched its nose, looked at Su Qinglan, then shifted its gaze to the thick vine dangling beside him.

The beast tilted its head, an innocent, idiotic look plastered on its face.

Then, with absolutely no warning, it opened its tiny, razor-sharp mouth and bit down on the vine.

Snap!

The strong vine, her only lifeline, parted instantly.

“What the actual fuck!” Su Qinglan couldn’t control herself, and an angry curse echoed through the entire silent forest.

“You damned ugly rat!

I hope you get instant diarrhea for eating my rescue rope, you idiot!” Gravity grabbed her with a vengeance.

She plummeted straight toward the dark canopy of trees waiting below.

Even as she fell, her mind was a blur of pure, survival-driven focus.

She instantly channeled every last bit of available energy.

Vines exploded from below, thrashing and twisting to grab branches and slow her deadly fall.

The impact wasn’t a solid slam but a series of hard, tearing bumps.

The sudden, frantic vines snapped branches and dragged her painfully through the rough canopy.

She felt dozens of sharp sticks scrape across her skin and tear her clothes, cushioning her just enough to avoid breaking every bone.

She finally crashed through the last few leaves and hit the forest floor, but it wasn’t the hard dirt she expected.

Instead, she sank slightly into something soft, cold, and sickeningly slippery.

Su Qinglan blinked, pushing a wet leaf off her face.

“Perfect,” she muttered weakly, spitting out a twig.

“I survived a kidnapping, a high-altitude dive, and a crash landing, just to land in the only giant puddle of slime in the entire goddamn forest.”