Chapter 244: Chapter 244: The Beast God Is Adept at Raising Gu
The Endless Land was not as vast as the Beastman Continent or the Beast God Continent, but it was still impossible for Yu An to find Mo Yan and the others on her own in a short amount of time.
She came up with a plan: she drew portraits of the three of them and had people post wanted posters... ah, no, missing person notices.
When he received this task, Ao Er hesitated. "Hall... Hall Master, these three people are..."
"Ahem," Yu An said, covering her lips. "They’re just like Feng Xuan and Lan Ying."
Ao Er looked completely bewildered. "They are also your... Hall Master’s..."
"Yes. Oh, and each of the three of them has a child. They all need to be brought back safely... On second thought, just find out where they are, and I’ll go see them myself."
Feng Xuan and Lan Ying couldn’t leave their respective cities, and it was likely the same for Mo Yan and the other two. Otherwise, they would have come to Beast God City to find her long ago.
After repeatedly stressing the importance of the task, Yu An finally sent Ao Er off with his men to start the search immediately.
Ao Er agreed in a daze. After he left, his heart was filled with admiration.
’My Hall Master actually has five men and has given birth to five... no, six children. How incredible!’
Ao Er quickly led his men out of Beast God City. During this time, Yu An settled down and focused on managing the Beast God Hall.
’It’s my future domain, after all,’ she thought. ’If I get it in order now, things will be easier later.’
Feng Xuan quickly realized that Yu An had recovered her memories. While the change wasn’t drastic, they had been together for so long that her little habits were deeply ingrained in his heart.
Learning that Yu An would soon be leaving to find Mo Yan and the others, Feng Xuan wished he could stay by her side every moment of every day.
Yu An had no objections. She would nestle in Feng Xuan’s arms to read while their two Zaizai lounged in her lap and played.
Throughout their journey to the Beast God Continent, the family had been apart more than they were together. It was a rare and precious moment of peace for them all.
Thinking about her future trip to the Upper Realm, Yu An secretly resolved that she would definitely bring her Beast Husbands and Zaizai with her. ’I can’t go alone again.’
These peaceful days didn’t last long. A message arrived from Ao Er, saying he had found the father and son pair, Han Li and Little Wolf.
However, when Ao Er found them, they mistook his men for enemies trying to capture them, so... they fled.
Ao Er’s men failed to catch them and couldn’t find them again despite turning the entire city upside down. Left with no other choice, Ao Er hastily sent a message back, requesting reinforcements from Yu An.
After reading the letter, Yu An immediately packed her things to depart. Although Da Hu and Xiao Hu were reluctant to see her leave, they knew their Female Mother was going to find their Han Li Beast Father and little brother Little Wolf, so they obediently saw her off.
Feng Xuan had little to say, only repeatedly reminding Yu An to be careful.
Yu An’s ears were about to fall off. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Don’t you know how to say anything else? Starting last night, I’ve heard you say that eight hundred times!"
"There’s nothing else to remind you about," Feng Xuan said, warming her fingertips in his hands. "Just be safe. Besides that... stay warm. Without me there to keep you warm, you’re not allowed to sleep without a blanket at night!"
"I know, I know. You guys should head back now."
Yu An waved at them and swiftly climbed into the carriage.
The city where Han Li and Little Wolf were located was quite far, a journey of more than ten days. Ao Si accompanied Yu An, while Ao Yi and Ao Shan remained behind to guard Beast God City.
On the road, Ao Si acted as if he’d never seen the world before, constantly lifting the carriage curtain and craning his neck to look outside.
Yu An, sitting on the other side of the carriage, found his behavior amusing. "Fourth... I mean, North Hall Master, is the scenery outside pretty?"
"It is!" Ao Si said enthusiastically. "The mountains are mountains, the rivers are rivers, and the trees are trees. Even though it’s not that different from Beast God City, I just feel like everything out here is so new and exciting."
He had volunteered for this trip with Yu An. The title "Four Great Hall Masters" sounded impressive, but a rule passed down in the Beast God Hall forbade them from leaving Beast God City unless it was for a matter of life and death.
The current generation of Hall Masters, Ao Si included, was bound by this rule. The only exception was leaving on the Hall Master’s direct orders, so those instances didn’t count as a violation.
Even so, whenever one of them had to leave, they would repeatedly ask Yu An if it was against the rules. Only after Yu An assured them it was fine did they dare to leave Beast God City.
Yu An was curious as to why such a rule was passed down, but Ao Si couldn’t explain it either. He only said it was a tradition inherited from their ancestors, and so they followed it.
"Hall Master, you’re actually not supposed to leave Beast God City either," Ao Si added. "It’s just that since there was no Hall Master before you, the rule was basically ignored."
Ao Si seemed even more curious than Yu An. "Since you are so highly valued by the Beast God, why not wait for Him to come out of seclusion and ask Him?"
Yu An just laughed noncommittally. ’When the Beast God comes out of seclusion, it’ll be a fight to the death,’ she thought. ’Either He dies, or I do. How could we possibly sit down and talk peacefully?’
She touched the bracelet on her wrist. Ever since they left Beast God City, Lu Lu had transformed into a vine bracelet coiled around her wrist, just as it had on their last trip to Qi Yuan City.
According to Lu Lu, this form could conceal Yu An’s aura, preventing the Beast God from sensing that she was no longer in Beast God City.
Yu An deliberately kept her distance from Lu Lu. She was not one to tolerate betrayal, and Lu Lu was ultimately on the Beast God’s side. It had backstabbed her once before, and the thought of it still made her... uncomfortable.
But Lu Lu had always treated her well, and recently it had been trying its best to cautiously curry favor with her, even swearing it wouldn’t report her to the Beast God.
Yu An wasn’t sure what to think anymore. She didn’t know if she was tolerating Lu Lu to placate it and keep it from reporting to the Beast God, or if it was because of their former friendship.
"An’an, I know!"
Lu Lu stirred, rubbing against her wrist ingratiatingly. "The Beast God doesn’t let them leave Beast God City because He’s worried the Hall Masters will discover the problem with their bodies."
"Before you came, the Beast God Hall had no Hall Master. To ensure the loyalty of the Four Great Hall Masters, He inflicted them with Gu."
Yu An’s pupils constricted. "Gu?"
"What was that?" Ao Si asked, pulling his head back inside. "Did you say ’drum,’ Hall Master?"
"It’s nothing," Yu An said, realizing she’d spoken aloud. She quickly invented an excuse. "Da Hu’s rattle-drum is broken. I was just reminding myself to buy him a new one on this trip."
"I’ll make a note of it, then," Ao Si said, taking out a small notebook to jot it down. "I’ll be sure to remember and remind you later, Hall Master."
His personality was flighty, but he was never careless when it came to serious matters.
Seeing that he’d believed her, Yu An breathed a slow sigh of relief and resumed her mental conversation with Lu Lu.
Learning that the Beast God was skilled in using Gu, she couldn’t help but think of the Poisonous Insect Granny.
After merging with the Demon, she had also gained its memories. Yu An searched through them and learned that the Poisonous Insect Granny’s origins were unknown, but she had possessed an extraordinary Gu Raising Skill even before becoming the Demon’s subordinate.
The Beast God was an expert in Gu, and the Poisonous Insect Granny’s origins... Yu An had more or less guessed the connection.
If Lu Lu hadn’t brought it up, she never would have known that the Beast God was an expert with Gu, let alone that He had placed Gu on her four sworn brothers. Thinking of this, Yu An’s feelings toward Lu Lu grew even more complex.
Noticing that Yu An’s tone had softened considerably when speaking to it, Lu Lu was secretly delighted and continued, "As long as the Four Great Hall Masters are in Beast God City, the Beast God can immediately detect any abnormalities with the Gu Worms inside them."
"But if they leave Beast God City and travel far enough away, the Beast God won’t be able to sense it immediately, even if the Gu Worms die."
"Also, there’s one more thing. The Four Great Hall Masters are replaced very frequently. The official reason is to prevent them from developing selfish ambitions after holding the position for too long. But in reality, all the previous Hall Masters were devoured by their Gu Worms."
