Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Merfolk Skeleton, Take Me Home
Ao Jin arrived on the fourth day. It was his first trip to the Beastman Continent, and while he didn’t have to meet any in-laws, Yu Huang still had family there.
He had purchased some specialties from the Beast God Continent and brought them over in bags big and small.
Ao Jin had never met the Beast God before; the original deal had been struck by Yu Huang alone. He took a few looks at the god, thinking he seemed like a rather kind old man.
Once everyone had gathered, the Beast God was about to take them directly to the Beastman Continent, but Yu An suggested another trip to the Mist Forest.
"My Beast Husband, Lan Ying, encountered something strange there. He was struck by it, but when I examined him, I found nothing wrong."
"But he says there’s a dull ache in his chest, so I want to go and see what that thing was."
The Beast God nodded. "Alright, we’ll make a trip then."
In the blink of an eye, they were by the lake in the Mist Forest. With a wave of her hand, Yu An caused the aquatic plants at the bottom of the lake to grow frenziedly.
She closed her eyes to sense her surroundings, then commanded the plants to bind a filthy creature.
The creature struggled fiercely. Even after being dragged ashore, it continued to resist desperately.
Yu An commanded the vines to bind it, then summoned a Cloud Beast to give it a bath.
Soon, the grime was washed away, revealing the creature’s true form.
It was a skeleton—a Merfolk skeleton.
Yu An was stunned. "This is..."
The skeleton froze for a moment upon seeing Lan Ying, and then... it fell apart.
Bones large and small scattered across the ground, spelling out three words: Take me home.
Yu An guessed, "Lan Ying, could it be that it attacked you because it knew you were the Merfolk King? It wanted to get your attention so you would take it back to its homeland?"
Lan Ying belatedly realized the pain in his chest had vanished, but he felt it wasn’t that simple.
"That’s right," the Beast God interjected. "I’ve read some of his memories from before his death. He came here when the Merfolk Clan still lived on the Beast God Continent. After an accidental death, he longed to return home. That obsession has sustained him in skeletal form to this day."
With the Beast God’s explanation, Yu An and Lan Ying gathered the Merfolk’s bones, preparing to take them to the Treasure Pearl Sea on the Beastman Continent for a proper burial.
Once that was settled, the Beast God transported them to the Beastman Continent.
「Inside the Imperial Palace of Beast Emperor City.」
The Beast Emperor was handling recent affairs.
Ever since Yu An and the Zaizai had been taken away and Mo Yan’s group had given chase to the other side of the Endless Sea, the Beast Emperor had been filled with anxiety.
She worried something had happened to Yu An. She would wake from nightmares in the dead of night, dreaming of her sister, Yu Huang, who would blame her for failing to protect Yu An.
The Beast Emperor hadn’t slept well the previous night either. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, her brows aching. Just as she was about to take a break, Qiuyue suddenly burst in from outside.
Qiuyue, who was usually so mindful of her etiquette, ran faster than a rabbit. She announced joyfully, "Your Majesty, the Princess has returned!"
"What!"
The Beast Emperor shot to her feet. "Who did you say has returned?!"
"Aunt, I’m back."
Yu An’s voice preceded her, and a moment later, she appeared in the Beast Emperor’s field of vision.
"And us! Great-Aunt, my little brothers and sisters and I are back too!"
"Great-Aunt, Xiao Yu is back too!"
The Imperial Palace, silent for who knows how long, suddenly burst with life. There were many people, but Yu Tinglan only had eyes for Yu Huang.
Yu Huang gave her a faint smile. "A lan, it’s been a long time. Don’t you recognize your big sister anymore?"
Tears welled up in Yu Tinglan’s eyes. She ran over, threw her arms around Yu Huang, and let out a loud "WAH," crying without any regard for her image.
Seeing this, Yu An gestured for the others to leave, giving the two sisters who hadn’t met in years some privacy.
They had only stayed in Beast Emperor City for a short time before, so Yu An didn’t know many people there.
Lei Wang was something of an acquaintance. When he heard they had returned, he brought a huge pile of gifts to congratulate Yu An on her safe homecoming.
Chef Jiao was also overjoyed. Hearing that they hadn’t eaten yet, he and his apprentices prepared a simple meal for them.
He was already an expert chef, and after Mo Yan had generously shared all he knew, his culinary skills had become even more refined.
Before long, the two sisters, Yu Huang and Yu Tinglan, arrived. Yu Tinglan’s eyes were red, but her face was filled with a smile she couldn’t suppress.
Yu Huang introduced her to Ao Jin and his son, as well as the few Zaizai she hadn’t met. As for the Beast God, He didn’t want to reveal His identity, so He was introduced as an elder they had met on the Beast God Continent.
Ao Jin was worried, afraid that Yu Huang’s family wouldn’t accept him, but he was overthinking things. Yu Tinglan’s entire focus was on her sister; she had no time to spare him a thought.
Lei Wang was even more carefree and hadn’t considered it at all. Besides, he had no say in the matter; no one cared whether he approved or not.
After staying in Beast Emperor City for a few days, Yu An proposed going to the exiled land to bring Bai Ruo’s and Su Lian’s families back to the city.
Yu Tinglan didn’t want her sister Yu Huang to leave, so Yu Huang and Ao Jin remained behind while the others accompanied Yu An to the exiled land.
When they asked the Beast God, He waved His hand. "I’ll sit this one out. I’ll wait here for your return."
There was nothing to pack since they had everything they needed in their spatial storage, so Yu An’s group quickly departed from Beast Emperor City.
They retraced their previous route to Beast Emperor City in reverse. Their first stop after leaving the city was the Treasure Pearl Sea.
Lan Yin was still recovering from using Instant Teleportation to find Xiao Yu’s shark pearl in the Mist Forest. Therefore, it was Lan Ying who recounted recent events to Elder Hai.
Lan Ying was a little awkward at first, but he relaxed as they continued to talk.
After hearing the story, tears streamed down Elder Hai’s face. He carefully collected the Merfolk child’s shark pearls and the adult Merfolk’s skeleton, preparing to lay them to rest.
The surviving cubs from the Rabbit Clan and Cat Clan had been left in Beast Emperor City by Yu An. If their families could be found, someone would arrange for them to be sent home.
The Merfolk child, however, had come with them to the Treasure Pearl Sea. The Merfolk Clan was small, and his family was quickly located.
The main culprit was already dead, which offered some solace to the victims’ spirits. Elder Hai, though filled with rage, had no outlet for it.
After a few days at the Treasure Pearl Sea, they departed for the Northern Tiger Clan amid the Merfolks’ reluctant goodbyes.
Feng Yue was now the Clan Leader of the Tiger Clan. Just as one of the Tiger Clan elders was remarking on how much calmer he had become, Feng Yue leaped to his feet upon hearing that Yu An and the others had arrived.
"My big brother’s back! My sister-in-law’s back! My little nephews and nieces are back! HAHAHAHAHA!"
He whooped and hollered as he rushed out, leaving the elders in the room to sink into contemplation.
’Seriously, is our Clan Leader really a tiger?’
’Why is he acting like a monkey!’
Since it had been a long time, Yu An thought the Zaizai would be distant with their Uncle Feng Yue, but she realized her worries were unfounded the moment she saw him.
After shouting greetings to his brother and sister-in-law, Feng Yue made a beeline for the Zaizai. He hugged and kissed each one, calling them his "good little cubs."
It wasn’t just Da Hu and the others who had met him before; even Xiao Lang and Fuzai, who were meeting him for the first time, hit it off with him instantly.
There was no secret to it—this uncle was just too much fun, like a monkey.
Feng Yue shifted back into his beast form and gave them rowdy piggyback rides. The more playful ones like Ao Si, Ao Wu, and Han Li joined in the fun. For a moment, Yu An had the distinct feeling she’d been transported to Huaguo Mountain.
