Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Leave After the Birthday
Ao Wu, who had been listening from the side, was still confused. "Then why was Wen Qing so afraid of seeing the Poisonous Insect Granny?"
After all was said and done, Wen Qing had only said the Invincible Alliance had captured her Beast Husband and Zaizai. Why was she so terrified of the Poisonous Insect Granny?
"Are you stupid?" Han Li said scornfully. "It’s obviously because the Poisonous Insect Granny is part of the Invincible Alliance. She’s afraid of the Invincible Alliance, so of course she’s afraid of the Poisonous Insect Granny."
"It’s also possible she saw the Poisonous Insect Granny going in and out of that house, so seeing her again would definitely scare her."
’He doesn’t get something so simple? Even I understood it. Is Ao Wu’s IQ actually lower than mine?!’
...Wait! No!
It was like a bolt of lightning. Yu An’s breathing suddenly quickened. "Brother, when did you say Wen Qing’s family moved to Dragon City?"
"A year ago," Ao Yi replied, puzzled. "Little sister, what’s wrong?"
"No one has ever seen the Poisonous Insect Granny’s face! She always wore a mask on the Beast God Continent!"
Yu An clenched her fists. "I heard people talking about it in the Mist Forest when the Poisonous Insect Granny brought me to the Beast God Continent."
"The Poisonous Insect Granny doesn’t wear a mask now, so Wen Qing wouldn’t recognize the face that was under it. Besides, the Granny came to the Dragon Clan alone that day without anyone from the Invincible Alliance. Even if Wen Qing saw her, she’d have no reason to connect her to the Invincible Alliance."
"And a year ago, the Poisonous Insect Granny was still on the Beastman Continent. It’s impossible for her and Wen Qing to have ever met."
So--
Wen Qing had no reason to be afraid of an old woman she had "never met before." Why was she so frightened?
"Wen Qing can’t have gone far," Mo Yan said. "An’an, I’ll go find her and bring her back now."
Yu An nodded. He left immediately, but for some reason, her right eyelid wouldn’t stop twitching.
Mo Yan was gone for a long time. Just as Yu An couldn’t resist going to look for him, he returned.
His expression was grim. "An’an, Wen Qing’s family... they’re dead!"
"What!"
Yu An shot to her feet in shock. "What did you say? Who’s dead?!"
"Wen Qing’s entire family. Her, her Beast Husband, and... and their Zaizai."
He said with difficulty, "I didn’t catch up to Wen Qing. When I got to her house, I found them. Her whole family... dead, with black blood coming from their mouths."
That way of dying...
Yu An immediately thought of the Invincible Alliance.
"Someone has already gone to take care of their bodies," Mo Yan said, grabbing Yu An’s wrist. "An’an, I saw it. Their deaths are just like those of the Invincible Alliance’s people. This has to be Ao Yin’s work."
"The most urgent thing now is to figure out if what Wen Qing told you this morning was the truth or a fabrication."
If it was fabricated, then does that house even exist? And what did Wen Qing learn from Yu An? Or, perhaps, what did she do to Yu An?
Yu An mentally replayed her conversation with Wen Qing but couldn’t find any oversights.
As for the matter of saving the four young cubs...
Thinking of this, Yu An suddenly remembered that her Female Mother had also entered the wooden cabin with her. That cabin was Invincible Alliance territory. Why didn’t Ao Yin know that her Female Mother had already recognized her?
The more she tried to sort it out, the more chaotic it became. Yu An felt as if her mind were a tangled mess of yarn that she couldn’t begin to unravel.
The only thing to do now was to keep a close eye on the Poisonous Insect Granny’s movements and, most importantly, ensure Yu An’s safety.
But for some time after that, it was as if the Poisonous Insect Granny had vanished. She holed up in her inn, never stepping a foot outside her room, let alone visiting the Dragon Clan.
The past few days had been strangely peaceful. Yu An even completed her task of selling winter delicacies without seeing the Poisonous Insect Granny once.
「Five days later.」
The Poisonous Insect Granny once again set foot in the Dragon Clan’s territory. But this time, she had come to see Yu Huang and take her back to the Invincible Alliance.
"Why? The murderer of your esteemed Alliance’s young mistress hasn’t been found yet. Why are you going back now?"
Ao Jin was the first to grow anxious. He didn’t want Yu Huang to return to the Invincible Alliance; after all, no one knew what Ao Yin might do.
The Poisonous Insect Granny said politely, "Chief Ao, our Alliance Hierarch sent word. The Invincible Alliance misunderstood the Dragon Clan. The one who murdered our young mistress was actually a resident of Invincible City."
"The Alliance Hierarch has already brought the killer to justice, so the Vice Alliance Hierarch and I should naturally be heading back."
"Why don’t you investigate a little more?" Ao Jin persisted, not giving up. "Maybe the killer had accomplices, and they’re right here in Dragon City."
"You jest, Chief Ao," the Poisonous Insect Granny said, a faint smile perpetually on her lips. "How could that be? Since the Alliance Hierarch says the killer has been executed, there are naturally no other accomplices."
"Vice Alliance Hierarch, let’s go."
Yu Huang was indifferent. She hadn’t finished her business yet, so she had to go back eventually.
But Ao Jin wasn’t having it. He frantically shot looks at Yu An.
’Daughter, quick! Throw a fit, make a scene, do whatever it takes to keep your Female Mother here! Your Beast Father is afraid that son of a bitch Ao Yin will pull some dirty tricks!’
Their family had only just been reunited; Ao Jin couldn’t bear the pain of being torn apart from his wife and child again.
Yu An knew Yu Huang had to go back to the Invincible Alliance. It wasn’t just her; even if all six of the little ones tried, they couldn’t stop Yu Huang.
But if she could stay just a few more days... the fruit in her space was about to ripen, and she wanted to pick it for Yu Huang to eat.
So, receiving her Beast Father’s desperate look, Yu An thought hard for a moment before grabbing Yu Huang’s hand.
"Female Mother, don’t go. I can’t bear for you to leave."
Yu An’s eyes welled with tears. "Female Mother, my birthday is in a few days. Can you stay and celebrate with me before you go? Please?"
Having lost her memories, Yu Huang naturally didn’t remember Yu An’s birthday. Hearing this, she hesitated.
The Poisonous Insect Granny stepped between them. "Young Mistress Ao, you must be joking. The Vice Alliance Hierarch of our Invincible Alliance is not your Female Mother. As for birthdays and whatnot, there’s no need..."
"WAAAH!!!"
Yu An suddenly burst into loud sobs, startling the Poisonous Insect Granny. By the time the old woman came to her senses, Yu An was clinging to Yu Huang like an octopus.
"Female Mother, you are my Female Mother! Female Mother, don’t abandon An’an..."
She cried her heart out, tears streaming down her face as if they were free.
No matter how the Poisonous Insect Granny tried to pull her off, she couldn’t pry her loose. Flustered, she actually looked to Ao Jin, trying to get him to help.
As if Ao Jin would help. He said apologetically, "My apologies, my apologies. I’ve spoiled my daughter rotten. When she starts crying like this, even I, her Beast Father, am helpless."
"Please, do us a kindness. Just let A Huang stay and celebrate my daughter’s birthday before she leaves. Otherwise, she’ll just keep crying and clinging to A Huang, and I really don’t know what to do!"
The Poisonous Insect Granny’s face darkened as she averted her gaze. She wanted Yu Huang to forcibly push Yu An away, but Yu Huang just looked lost, seemingly stunned by Yu An’s wailing and unsure of where to even begin.
To be honest, the Poisonous Insect Granny felt her own head start to buzz from the noise. She tried to speak louder to drown out Yu An’s crying, but... it was no use.
She couldn’t overpower it at all!
’What on earth did this girl eat growing up to have lungs this powerful!’
Out of the Poisonous Insect Granny’s line of sight, Yu An quietly took a sip of Divine Spring Water and continued to howl.
The Poisonous Insect Granny was at her wit’s end. Just as she was about to knock Yu An unconscious, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her head.
A second later, she relented. "Fine, fine, fine! We’ll celebrate it! We’ll leave after it’s over!"
