Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off-Chapter 457: An Imoogi?

Su Mingxuan stood there for a long time before finally pushing himself upright. His heart was still restless, but now it carried something new, maybe hope, fragile yet undeniable. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Come," Lan Shun’s voice echoed from ahead, steady and grounding.

Su Mingxuan quickly followed, forcing his steps forward despite the storm still raging within his chest.

The deeper they walked into the core of Dragon Beast City, the more imposing everything became.

"This is the City Lord’s Hall," Lan Shun said calmly, his tone carrying quiet respect.

Su Mingxuan swallowed hard.

City Lord...

And that man was... her third husband.

A strange feeling rose in his chest...uneasy, bitter, and painfully complicated. Before he could think further, the massive doors slowly creaked open.

Inside, the hall was vast and cold, its emptiness amplifying every sound.

At the far end, sitting casually on a large stone seat, was a man. He looked young...no older than thirty, but his presence was overwhelming, like a mountain pressing down on everything around him.

His long dark hair fell loosely over his shoulders, and his golden eyes carried a faint, lazy sharpness that hid something dangerous beneath.

Beside him...

A small figure was running around wildly.

"Catch me! Catch me if you can!" the child laughed, his voice echoing brightly.

A little boy, no more than five years old, darted around the hall, his small face full of life. His movements were quick and slippery like a fish, impossible to catch.

"Xiao Li, stop running in the hall," the man said lazily, though there was no real anger in his tone.

"No!" the boy shouted, sticking out his tongue before quickly hiding behind a stone pillar.

Lan Shun stepped forward and nodded slightly. "Brother Mo."

The man raised an eyebrow, his golden gaze shifting toward Su Mingxuan with quiet interest.

"So... this is him?" he asked, his calm voice carrying a faint, invisible pressure.

Su Mingxuan felt his body stiffen instinctively.

Lan Shun nodded. "Yes. He is Su Mingxuan."

The man leaned back slightly, observing him with an unreadable expression.

"Hm."

Then, casually, he whispered his name back, "I am Mo Qingli."

Su Mingxuan blinked slowly. Mo Qingli, this... was Wang Mulan’s third husband. The City Lord of Dragon Beast City.

But what unsettled him the most wasn’t his identity...it was his aura.

There was something... strange about it. Not quite like any beastman he had ever encountered before.

Hesitating for a moment, Su Mingxuan finally asked, his voice cautious,

"...What kind of beastman are you?"

The moment the words left his mouth, the little boy suddenly popped out from behind the pillar, eyes shining.

"My father is the strongest!" he shouted proudly.

"Xiao Li," Mo Qingli sighed, rubbing his forehead in mild exasperation.

Lan Shun glanced at Su Mingxuan before speaking calmly, his tone steady.

"The City Lord is from the Imoogi race."

"Imoogi?" Su Mingxuan frowned slightly. "What is that?"

Lan Shun’s expression turned a bit more serious as he began to explain.

"The Imoogi are an ancient race. Very few of them still exist."

"They are a special kind of serpent beastman... but not ordinary serpents."

"They carry a trace of the Heavenly Dragon bloodline."

Su Mingxuan’s eyes widened faintly.

"Dragon...?"

Lan Shun nodded.

"Yes. It is said that long ago, before Dragon Beast City was built, this land was on the verge of destruction."

"A true dragon descended from the heavens and saved this place."

"That dragon later became the founder of Dragon Beast City."

Su Mingxuan unconsciously held his breath.

"And the Imoogi..." Lan Shun continued, glancing briefly at Mo Qingli, "are a branch that inherited a small portion of that dragon’s blood."

"They are born as serpent-like beings...half serpent, half dragons. They have no horns like true dragons, and their bloodline is mixed with lower-level serpents."

"But..."

He paused slightly.

"They possess the potential to evolve."

Mo Qingli smirked faintly at that, his golden eyes gleaming.

"If luck is good," he said lazily, "an Imoogi can shed its mortal body... and become a true dragon."

Silence filled the hall instantly. Su Mingxuan stared at him, completely stunned.

A being... that could become a dragon? His mind struggled to comprehend something so vast.

"Father! Look!"

The little boy suddenly ran over again, grabbing Mo Qingli’s sleeve with excitement.

"I caught a bug!"

He opened his small hand proudly, revealing a squirming insect wriggling in his palm.

Mo Qingli glanced at it for a brief second... then flicked it away without hesitation.

"Ah! My bug!" the boy cried out in shock.

"Go catch another one," Mo Qingli replied calmly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Su Mingxuan: "..."

Lan Shun: "..."

The mighty City Lord... behaved like this? Bullying a young child.

"That is my son," Mo Qingli said casually, as if nothing unusual had just happened.

"Mo Xiao Li."

The little boy puffed out his chest proudly, full of confidence.

"I’m very strong!"

Su Mingxuan looked at him, his expression turning increasingly complicated.

This mischievous, lively child was also Wang Mulan’s son.

Mo Qingli’s gaze slowly returned to Su Mingxuan, his expression shifting ever so slightly.

"So," he said, his tone becoming sharper, more focused, "you are the man who disappeared for twenty years."

Su Mingxuan’s body stiffened immediately, tension locking his muscles.

The air in the hall grew heavy again, pressing down on him.

"I..." he started, but the words refused to come out.

Mo Qingli watched him silently for a few seconds... then suddenly chuckled, breaking the tension.

"Relax."

"I’m not interested in your past mistakes."

He leaned forward slightly, his golden eyes glinting with something unreadable.

"What matters is..."

"You’re here now."

A brief pause followed, heavy with meaning. "And she will be coming back soon."

Su Mingxuan’s heart clenched tightly. Yes, she would be coming back soon, and they will meet each other...after twenty long years.

The atmosphere in the hall had only just settled when Mo Qingli suddenly moved.

There was no warning.

One moment he was lounging lazily on his stone seat, and the next, he was already standing right in front of Su Mingxuan.

So close... that Su Mingxuan didn’t even have time to react.

His pupils shrank.

What...?!

A faint chill ran down his spine as that overwhelming presence pressed against him again. Mo Qingli leaned slightly closer, his expression no longer lazy.

He sniffed once and twice; the movement was subtle but unmistakable.

Su Mingxuan froze completely.

Before he could even process what was happening, Mo Qingli’s golden eyes suddenly widened, a rare flicker of shock breaking through his calm.

"...Why do you have..."

His voice dropped low, almost a whisper, yet it echoed heavily in the vast hall.

"...the Teng Clan’s scent on you...?"