Chapter 208: Chapter 208: Does It Count As a Hermaphrodite?
Ao Wu didn’t return all night, and Yu An didn’t see him until noon the next day.
Noticing the box wasn’t in his hands, she quickly asked, "Ao Wu, where’s the box?"
"I hid it," Ao Wu said, downing a whole pot of water in one go. "An’an, don’t worry. Absolutely no one will be able to find it!"
Yu An breathed a sigh of relief. "That’s good. By the way, where did you hide it?"
Ao Wu chuckled. "I hid it in the Imprisonment Cave. Nothing can get that place open except for the key."
Yu An asked curiously, "You have the key?"
"Uh-huh. The last time Beast Father rescued me from the Imprisonment Cave, he said I had some sort of destiny with the place, so he just gave me the key."
Ao Wu looked a little embarrassed and snorted. "’Some destiny.’ He just thinks I’m going to end up in there again."
Yu An burst out laughing. "The Beast Father was just looking out for you."
Ao Wu pouted and took out the key. "An’an, you keep it. If you put it in your storage space, absolutely no one will be able to get it."
"No, wait," he said, slapping his forehead. "We should have put the box in your storage space. That’s the one place no one could ever find."
Yu An took the key and shook her head. "It’s better that it’s in the Imprisonment Cave. What if the thing inside the box gets out and wreaks havoc in my storage space?"
"That’s true," Ao Wu agreed. "An’an, put the key in your storage space. Don’t just carry it around."
Yu An lowered her gaze to the stone key. "Okay."
Ao Wu felt as if a great weight had been lifted. He hadn’t slept all night and was now feeling a bit drowsy.
"An’an," he said, taking Yu An’s hand and giving it a little shake. "Come nap with me for a bit, okay?"
As he spoke, he moved to pick Yu An up, only to be pushed away.
Ao Wu was confused. "An’an?"
"I still have to go see the Female Mother," Yu An said, giving him a little push. "You should get some rest. The Female Mother forgot to give me my birthday gift last night, and she told me to come over."
Ao Wu’s lips formed a pout. "Fine. I guess this lonely little dragon will have to sleep all by himself. So pitiful~"
Yu An fought the urge to roll her eyes and quickly left the room.
Ao Wu sighed. Just as he was about to get into bed, he felt something hard under his hand.
He moved his hand and saw a hairpin made from a Dragon Scale and a Phoenix Feather.
"’Isn’t the gift right here? Then why did An’an...’"
Ao Wu shot to his feet. "This is bad!"
He immediately ran after Yu An and saw Mo Yan and the other three on the road. They looked like they had just returned from outside.
Seeing him, Han Li called out, "Ao Wu, you’re ba—"
"Come with me and find An’an," Ao Wu interrupted. "An’an might have been controlled, just like the Female Mother!"
Along the way, Ao Wu quickly explained his reasoning. Mo Yan’s face turned grim. "No wonder An’an sent us out to run errands this morning."
’She was trying to get rid of them!’
Mo Yan then told Ao Wu what had happened after he left yesterday. Ao Wu gasped. "A soul swap?"
’This is wild!’
’No, we have to find Yu An first.’
「On Suspended Island」
Yu An headed straight for the Imprisonment Cave. When she arrived, she took out the key and opened the entrance directly.
The box was just a short distance away. She walked straight to it, picked it up, and opened it with ease.
A wisp of pale gold gas floated out. The next second, Yu An’s eyes turned pale gold.
"An’an!"
Seeing the box tossed to one side, Mo Yan and the others, who had just arrived, felt their breath catch in their throats. "You..."
Yu An turned around. They saw that her eyes had changed color. She ignored them and walked straight out of the Imprisonment Cave.
"You’re not An’an," Ao Wu snarled, grabbing her hand. His gaze was fierce. "Who are you!"
Yu An glanced back over her shoulder, a slight smile on her face. "You’re right, I’m not Yu An."
That was not Yu An’s voice.
Feng Xuan strode forward, demanding sharply, "Who on earth are you!"
"You want to know?"
Yu An shook his hand off. "Go ask Yu Huang. Or, you could come to the Invincible Alliance."
"Gentlemen," she said, her lips curling into a smile. "Farewell."
With that, she threw a handful of powder into the air. Ao Wu instinctively held his breath, but it was no use.
The five of them instantly collapsed to the ground, paralyzed. Yu An gave a little wave and leaped off of Suspended Island.
"It’s the same powder as last time, only even stronger!"
Mo Yan’s expression was grim. "Who the hell are they!"
For the first time, they felt a crushing sense of defeat. They didn’t even know who their enemy was and could only watch helplessly as Yu An was taken away.
Propping himself up, Ao Wu slammed a palm against the stone wall of the Imprisonment Cave. The loud noise drew the guards, and soon, Ao Jin and Yu Huang arrived on the scene.
Yu Huang understood their situation at a glance. "Don’t panic. This poison—let’s call it a poison for now—has no antidote, but it will wear off after a certain amount of time."
"As for An’an... try not to worry too much. She’ll be all right."
Hearing Yu Huang’s words, Mo Yan and the others breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Female Mother," Ao Wu seethed, wanting to clench his fists but lacking even the strength to do so. "Who was that!"
Yu Huang was quiet for a moment before sighing. "That is someone none of us can defeat."
Lan Yin was puzzled. "Female Mother, not even you and the Beast Father can do anything?"
"That’s right," Yu Huang nodded. "Anyone from the Beastman Continent or the Beast God Continent is powerless against Him."
"That powder He just threw at you... forget you guys, even Ao Jin and I would have succumbed to it."
The group exchanged stunned glances, and Yu Huang decided not to hide it from them any longer. "It is the Beast God. To be precise, it is the evil side of the Beast God—the one the Poisonous Insect Granny called Lord Mo before she died."
A bitter expression crossed her face. "That is the Beast God. We are His subjects; we cannot defy Him."
Han Li couldn’t believe it, but Yu Huang had no reason to lie to them. "So we just let Him take An’an? And besides, the Beast God... no, Lord Mo... why is He doing this?"
Yu Huang only answered the second question: "He wants to destroy this world."
They all felt as if the world had gone mad. The Beast God, who they thought only existed in myths, was not only real but also wanted to... destroy the world!
"Why? Isn’t this world yours?"
On the way to the Invincible Alliance, a soul-form Yu An stood in the palm of Lord Mo’s hand, wondering about the very same question.
Lord Mo had possessed her body. She wasn’t dead or anything, it was just... well, her soul had been ejected, and she’d turned into a tiny, five-centimeter-tall person.
"Doesn’t this count as killing your own children? We’re all your subjects, you know!"
"And where will you go after you destroy the world? Don’t tell me you’re just going to float around in outer space."
"Outer space can’t be as comfortable as home. How about this: Do you accept incense offerings or something? Give me my body back, and I’ll use my authority as the Beast God Envoy to build you a temple with a golden statue. I’ll make everyone worship you..."
Yu An rambled on and on, trying to persuade Lord Mo to release her.
At first, Lord Mo remained silent, letting her chatter on. Eventually, perhaps growing annoyed, He finally shot her a look—
"Shut up."
Yu An clamped her mouth shut. Two seconds later, she couldn’t help but ask, "Your voice sounds male, but I’m female. Does that make you androgynous?"
Lord Mo: "..."
’If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve just thrown her to the Dragon Clan!’
