Chapter 149: Chapter 149: The Merfolk Cub Who Died at Birth

At regular intervals, a scratch mark appeared on a tree. After walking for a while, Yu An saw a familiar spot.

It was the place where she, Poisonous Insect Granny, and the others had spent the night in the Mist Forest. There was a crooked tree next to it, which was why she remembered it so clearly.

This discovery boosted her confidence. It seemed they were on the right path.

The sky gradually darkened. Yu An climbed down from Han Li’s back. "Let’s stop. We’ll go into the space and rest for the night."

Inside the space, a meal was already prepared. At the dining table, Chun Nuan’s eyes were red, a sign that she had already spoken with Yu Huang.

Chu Feng was also at the table, holding Xiao Yu and chatting with Zhou Dayong, one of the first residents of the space.

When he learned that they had been living in the space for a long time and got delicious meals as long as they worked, Chu Feng was extremely envious.

"Brother Chu, are you all going to live here too? My brothers and I built a lot of houses in our spare time, and we were just worrying about them being empty."

The space was Yu An’s secret. Zhou Dayong was well aware that they might never be able to leave, but they had no desire to anyway.

’Outside, you can’t get enough to eat or wear. It’s better to stay in the space and diligently farm the land!’

People naturally enjoy a lively atmosphere. Seeing Chu Feng and the others enter the space, he thought they were getting new companions.

Chu Feng waved his hand. "We follow the Lady. We go wherever she tells us to go."

"If we were to live here, I’d have to bring my Female Master and Zaizai over."

His family was still at the Invincible Alliance.

Xiao Yu listened to the two adults talk, bored, and fiddled with the Shark Pearl bracelet on his wrist. Only when he saw Yu An and Han Li enter did a smile appear on his face.

"Female Mother, Han Li Beast Father, hold me."

He was a rather heavy cub now and would tire the Female Mother.

Yu An’s attention was on his tail. "Xiao Yu, why don’t you change into your human form?"

She hadn’t paid much attention before, but thinking about it now, Xiao Yu seemed to have been in his beast form from the very beginning.

At the mention of this, Xiao Yu’s little face scrunched up. "Female Mother, I can’t change back."

Han Li recounted what had happened, altering the story slightly for Yu An. As she listened, Yu An tried to heal Xiao Yu with her Wood Element Ability.

A steady stream of superpower flowed into his body, and Xiao Yu felt a pleasant warmth spread through him, but... his fishtail still didn’t turn into a pair of legs.

Yu An was puzzled. "What on earth is going on?"

She wasn’t a professional doctor, after all. She could provide simple and direct treatment for injuries, but she was completely clueless about a situation like Xiao Yu’s.

Even the experienced and knowledgeable Yu Huang couldn’t make heads or tails of it. With no other Merfolk present, they could only leave things as they were for now and ask Lan Yin once they found him.

Her gaze fell on the Shark Pearls on Xiao Yu’s wrist. Yu Huang suddenly spoke up, "What did that lake you mentioned look like? Did it have any specific features?"

Han Li scratched his head. "Specific features..."

He had been so focused on finding a way out at the time that he hadn’t observed the surroundings at all.

"Does having a lot of pearls at the bottom of the lake count?"

Xiao Yu raised his hand. "There were some on the shore too, but not many, and they were all tiny."

Hearing this, Yu Huang frowned in thought. Yu An asked uneasily, "Female Mother, do you know what’s happened to Xiao Yu?"

’Could he have run into a water spirit or something?’

Having lived through an apocalypse in her previous world and then transmigrating to this Beast World, Yu An would no longer be surprised by the appearance of any strange phenomena.

"I don’t understand Xiao Yu’s condition, but I do know something about these."

Yu Huang pointed at the Shark Pearl bracelet Xiao Yu was wearing. "The Beast God Continent isn’t suitable for the Merfolk to live on. A long, long time ago, the Merfolk migrated to the Beastman Continent."

"Poisonous Insect Granny goes out every so often, and each time she returns, she brings back some beastman cubs. I’ve seen a few Merfolk cubs among them."

"From what she said, Merfolk cubs are too fragile, and many of them perish each time. The bodies of those Merfolk cubs are thrown into Pearl Lake."

She paused, then continued, "That lake didn’t have a name before. Later, after so many Merfolk cubs had been thrown into it, it was named after their homeland."

"Pearl Lake... Treasure Pearl Sea?!"

Yu An’s palm suddenly tightened into a fist. "But cubs have been especially rare in the Treasure Pearl Sea in recent years. I haven’t heard of any going missing."

Chu Feng interjected, "There haven’t been any from the Merfolk Clan among the cubs brought back recently. The Alliance Hierarch was displeased for a while, thinking that the people sent to the Beastman Continent were slacking off."

"Later, Poisonous Insect Granny must have said something to the Alliance Hierarch, because he wasn’t angry anymore."

Yu An was silent for a moment before asking about the specific time and the number of cubs. Chu Feng had a good memory and quickly stated a time.

"I’m not too sure about the number," he said hesitantly. "Maybe twenty?"

There were sixteen Shark Pearls on the bracelet. The numbers checked out.

"They might be cubs born from marriages between Merfolk and other clans," Yu An said, pursing her lips. "The Merfolk Elder said those cubs die shortly after birth. The Merfolk Clan has thirty-six stillborn cubs recorded in its official registry."

’How did Poisonous Insect Granny manage it?’

’One or two dying is believable. Perhaps the cubs weren’t watched closely enough, and someone took advantage of an opening.’

’But for all of them to die, and all of them to be taken away by Poisonous Insect Granny... there’s definitely something more to this story.’

The Shark Pearls didn’t have much sentience. They only knew that Xiao Yu’s aura was the most comforting to them, which was why they were especially drawn to him.

Xiao Yu was also constantly monitoring their state. He discovered that when they heard the name "Poisonous Insect Granny," the Shark Pearls expressed an emotion of fear.

He immediately told Yu An about his discovery.

"It should... be those cubs."

Taken away right after birth, some now sleeping eternally at the bottom of a lake, others’ whereabouts unknown... Yu An couldn’t bear to imagine the heartbreak their parents would feel if they knew.

If the first few cubs born were still alive, they would be a few years older than her.

These matters were only known to a few high-ranking members of the Invincible Alliance, and Yu Huang and Chu Feng were two of them.

But even Yu Huang, the Vice Alliance Hierarch, didn’t know what the Alliance Hierarch, Ao Yin, wanted with those cubs.

Han Li had been fidgeting restlessly. Thinking about how Xiao Yu and the other three had been captured, he wondered, ’Could it be that they were also supposed to be taken to the Invincible Alliance and handed over to the Alliance Hierarch?’ 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

He looked at the furious Yu An and opened his mouth, wanting to say something. But when his gaze fell on her pregnant belly, and he saw Yu Huang’s warning look, he closed his mouth again.

’I can’t tell An’an. At least, not right now. Otherwise, before we even find the other Zaizai, she might worry herself sick, and that would be terrible.’

"Let’s not talk about this for now," Yu Huang said, changing the subject. "An’an, after we get out of the Mist Forest, I’ll make a trip back to the Invincible Alliance. I’ll do my best to find any surviving Merfolk."

"Don’t be so quick to stop me. Finding them is just something I’ll do on the side. I still have things to take care of at the Invincible Alliance, so I can’t return to the Beastman Continent just yet."

Yu An said, "Then we won’t leave yet either. Female Mother, you must protect yourself."

"Don’t worry," Yu Huang said, patting her shoulder. "Your Female Mother knows what she’s doing. Besides, I have Chu Feng and the others with me."

Chu Feng immediately added, "That’s right, Young Miss, rest assured. We will protect the Lady."