Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Returning to the Mist Forest

From head to toe, Yu Huang couldn’t find a single thing about her that resembled a Phoenix Beastman.

But Yu An’s aura was undoubtedly that of her own kin. Yu Huang would never be mistaken about that.

Yu An sighed and changed back into her human form. "Female Mother, are you sure I wasn’t adopted by you and Beast Father?"

Yu Huang hesitated for a moment. "How about we go ask the Clan Leader of the Dragon Clan?"

Yu An: "..."

"Pfft—"

Seeing her crestfallen expression, Yu Huang couldn’t help but burst out laughing. "I’m just teasing you. The Phoenix Clan is different from other races. Only after Nirvana do we become true Phoenixes."

Yu An: "..."

Her face was filled with exasperation. "Female Mother, was that fun?"

Yu Huang’s lips curled. "It was pretty fun."

The moment the words left her mouth, she suddenly froze.

’I can’t believe I just teased her like that.’

It wasn’t just her; Chu Feng and the others who had been "eavesdropping" the whole time also burst into an uproar.

"I didn’t mishear that, did I? Lord Huang was actually joking with the Young Miss!"

"Is this still the Lord Huang I know? What’s going on?"

"But don’t you all think she seems much more approachable now? Her previous frosty demeanor was like she was wearing a mask. It was so unnatural..."

"Is she recovering?"

Yu An’s eyes sparkled. "Female Mother, I’ve heard so many stories from Aunt Chun about how you used to be. The old you was a completely different person from the emotionless Lord Huang of the Invincible Alliance, you know!"

’Her personality is slowly coming back. Regaining her memories can’t be far off!’

Yu Huang reached up to touch her own face and murmured, "I hope so."

Even when she looked at her own reflection, her expressionless face felt alien to her. She always felt that she should be like any other person—someone who could cry, throw a tantrum, and laugh.

"Oh, right," Yu An’s small face wrinkled in thought. "Female Mother, what’s this Nirvana you mentioned? Do you get set on fire?"

Yu Huang snapped out of her reverie, smiling and waving her hand dismissively. "No. To be honest, I don’t know the specifics either. I just know that overnight, my beast form changed from its original state into a Phoenix."

’Oh, an open-ended answer. I’ll have to figure it out myself.’

Yu An was about to ask what Yu Huang’s original beast form was, but Yu Huang simply showed her.

It was an agile female eagle, whose spread wings could have encircled three of her.

An idea popped into Yu An’s head. She dismissed the Cloud Beasts, changed into a small bird, and rested on her Female Mother’s back, softly pleading for her to take her down to land.

What else could Yu Huang do?

She agreed, of course.

An hour later, the mother-daughter pair landed safely on the ground. Yu An saw something lying on the ground up ahead.

"Don’t look," Yu Huang said, blocking her view. "It’s frightening."

She glanced over coolly; it was Ao Yun’s corpse, mangled beyond recognition. It was a sight that would surely give a child nightmares.

Yu An obediently closed her eyes, only opening them after Yu Huang had taken care of it. Then, through a bit of coaxing and trickery, she sent Yu Huang into her spatial dimension and brought Han Li out.

’Strange places are always full of danger. The two of them are tough and can easily heal from minor injuries, but it would be a real problem if Yu Huang got hurt.’

Han Li was curious. "An’an, has Mother-in-law never been injured before?"

"She has," Yu An sighed. "I heard from Uncle Chu that every time Female Mother gets hurt, it takes her over a month to recover. Once, she was injured so badly, she almost..."

Chu Feng had said that the Alliance Hierarch, Ao Yin, had procured some Divine Medicine from an unknown source and given it to Yu Huang, saving her life.

Han Li’s expression turned serious. "An’an, don’t worry. I’ll protect you both."

He clenched his fist in resolve. ’With the others gone, I have to be extra vigilant against any potential dangers!’

A smile played on Yu An’s lips. "Okay, I believe you. And our Zaizai believes in its Beast Father, too."

"The little one is so well-behaved. It can understand what I say and even responds to me with kicks."

Speaking of which, Han Li was reminded that he had a child on the way. He guiltily touched Yu An’s belly. Unsurprisingly, Zaizai ignored him.

Yu An didn’t notice his sheepishness; she was busy observing their surroundings.

Her attention hadn’t been on her surroundings before, but after a careful look, she realized this was actually the Mist Forest!

’I thought the Jade Pendant contained its own separate world, just like my spatial dimension. It turns out I wasn’t sucked inside it, but was teleported instead.’

"An’an, how can you be sure this is the Mist Forest? It’s not night yet, and the trees here look just like they do everywhere else."

Han Li looked left and right but couldn’t spot anything unusual.

"I’ve been here before," Yu An said, pointing to a peculiar scratch on a tree up ahead. "The Poisonous Insect Granny made this mark."

The reason the Poisonous Insect Granny was always able to lead everyone safely out of the Mist Forest was thanks to the Gu Worms she had left behind.

A special Gu Worm that avoids danger was hidden inside each scratch mark. As long as you found one before nightfall, you could spend the night in safety.

Furthermore, following the trees with these marks would lead you to the exit.

According to the Poisonous Insect Granny, after capturing Yu An and bringing her to the Beast God Continent, she no longer needed to visit the Beastman Continent, so she had removed all her Gu Worms.

Yu An had stumbled upon her while she was retrieving them. After Yu An threw a fit and threatened a hunger strike, the Poisonous Insect Granny, figuring it wasn’t a major secret, had casually explained it to her.

At the time, Yu An had only listened to it as if it were a story, thinking it was better to know more than less. She never imagined it would be useful now.

"We just need to find the trees with scratches and follow them to get out."

Han Li nodded. This was completely new to him. Back then, he and Xiao Yu had just wandered around blindly, relying on instinct. They eventually ran into some Beastmen who were hunting in the Mist Forest and simply followed them out.

The two walked side-by-side for a while before Han Li, worried that Yu An would get tired, changed into his beast form and let her ride on his back.

Before, only the very tip of his tail had been gray, but now the color had spread to the entire thing.

"An’an, don’t look," Han Li said in a muffled voice, quickly tucking his tail under his belly. "It’s not pretty."

He had always been proud of his snow-white fur, which was perfect for catching a Female Master’s eye. But now his tail had turned a dingy gray and was even starting to shed, a stark contrast to the rest of his body. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

’How is this any different from being old and losing my looks?’

Yu An pulled it back out. "It’s beautiful. Let me pet it."

If it hadn’t been for Housekeeper Han’s letter, Yu An would never have known the Snow Wolf Beastman clan had such an endearing trait.

Females usually experience some morning sickness and physical discomfort during pregnancy. But when carrying a Snow Wolf cub, all those symptoms are transferred to the male.

The most noticeable change occurs on the male’s tail, which begins to turn gray and lose fur. In severe cases, it can even affect his entire body.

Yu An stroked the large, rough-feeling tail. "After Zaizai is born, the fur on your tail will grow back."

"Thanks to your tail, I haven’t had a single symptom of morning sickness. Thank you, A Li’s tail."

Feeling the soft kiss on the tip of his tail, Han Li flushed beet-red.

’I haven’t fallen out of favor! And I even got a little kiss! I’m so happy!’

"An’an, A Li’s mouth wants a kiss, too..."

"We need to keep moving."

"Oh."

Mission: Get a Kiss—failed.