Chapter 179: Chapter 179: The Beast God Is on the Invincible Alliance’s Side

"It seems you’re willing to take this trip with me, Miss..."

"What does Alliance Leader Ao’s old friend have to do with me?"

Yu An scoffed. "Never mind ’about to die’—even if this person were actually dead, they’re no friend or relative of mine. Why should I go with you to the unfamiliar Invincible Alliance for someone I don’t even know?"

Ao Yin was slightly stunned, but on second thought, even if the female before him was Yu Huang’s daughter, she had never met her Female Mother, Yu Huang, or her Beast Father, Ao Jin. It was only natural that she didn’t know her own parentage.

After all, the Poisonous Insect Granny was tight-lipped and hadn’t revealed a thing on the journey.

He said no more and turned to leave.

The Sand City City Lord finally let out a sigh of relief, gave Yu An a quick salute with clasped hands, and followed Ao Yin.

Mo Yan pulled Yu An down to sit. "An’an, what Ao Yin said just now about his old friend being sick... he might have been making it up, but it’s also possible..."

"Impossible," Yu An said firmly. "I know my Female Mother’s constitution very well. I attended to her health every day when we were together, and I brought plenty of Divine Spring Water with me when I left. She’ll be fine."

"Besides, my Female Mother is no old friend of Ao Yin. She wishes she could kick him to the ends of the earth!"

’If Ao Yin wants to curse his friends, let him. It’s not like his curses can reach Yu Huang anyway.’

After this whole scene, the perfectly good food had all gone cold, making Yu An so angry she cursed Ao Yin a couple more times.

’Day in and day out, all he does is cause trouble!’

While cursing him, Yu An remembered something. "Mo Yan, hasn’t Ao Yin seen you before? How come he didn’t recognize you just now?"

Mo Yan shook his head, looking confused. "I don’t know either. I’d forgotten all about it. Maybe he forgot too? After all, quite some time has passed since we first arrived on the Beast God Continent."

’That was the only explanation. Could Ao Yin really be that forgetful?’

Ao Yin took up temporary residence in the City Lord Mansion. On the surface, the City Lord was respectful and courteous, but inwardly, he was cursing his luck.

’With such a big shot staying here, what if I fail to serve him properly...’

Once you reached the position of City Lord, your perspective was far beyond that of an ordinary Beastman. The Invincible Alliance was excellent at keeping up appearances, but in reality, they were a band of villains who had secretly murdered countless people and spared no effort in slandering the Dragon Clan.

The Sand City City Lord hadn’t personally participated in the great war decades ago, but the various city lords all kept in touch.

An insider had told them that the reason the Dragon Clan was defeated in that war was that the Invincible Alliance had a stranglehold on their lifeline.

’And what could a Beastman’s lifeline be?’

’Their most precious young, of course!’

’This move by the Invincible Alliance... many city lords found it despicable. But they had to keep up appearances. What would happen if they offended the Invincible Alliance and faced secret retaliation?’

After returning to his room, the more Ao Yin thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

The faces of Yu An and Yu Huang flashed alternately in his mind. They were just too similar.

Moreover, on the way to the City Lord Mansion, he had asked the City Lord and learned Yu An’s name.

’They both have the surname Yu. How could there be such a coincidence in the world?’

Ao Yin was hesitant. After a moment of contemplation, he summoned a subordinate.

"You will return to the Alliance and tell the Vice Alliance Hierarch..."

After receiving his instructions, the subordinate departed.

「The next day」

Yu An set up her stall with her people as usual. She had a clear conscience; after all, the two fugitives, Ao Er and Feng Xuan, weren’t at her house.

When Ao Yin heard about it, he brought his men there, but unfortunately, he couldn’t squeeze his way in.

As far as the ordinary Beastman townsfolk were concerned, it didn’t matter if you were the Hierarch of the Invincible Alliance or the Clan Leader of the Dragon Clan—you’d better get to the back of the line like everyone else!

The line was incredibly long. For reasons unknown, Ao Yin patiently got in line himself. He waited for nearly two hours before it was finally his turn.

Standing before Yu An and meeting her gaze—which clearly said, ’How dare you show up here?’—Ao Yin felt a sudden, inexplicable urge to make things difficult for her.

This feeling was the same as when he saw Ao Jin. Ao Yin became even more certain that Yu An was Ao Jin’s child.

He smiled, ignoring Yu An’s displeasure. Just as he was about to order, Yu An, her face devoid of any smile, spoke first.

"Alliance Hierarch, please leave. I’m afraid I can’t sell this shaved ice to you."

Yu An’s voice wasn’t loud, just enough for the surrounding Beastmen to hear.

Ao Yin’s brow furrowed, his tone darkening slightly. "Why?"

"Does Boss Yu play favorites, deciding who can and can’t buy?"

Yu An corrected him. "It’s not that some people can’t buy. It’s just you I won’t sell to."

Her tone was tinged with mockery. "Yesterday, you claimed for no reason that I was the child of your old friend and tried to drag me to the Invincible Alliance. Who doesn’t know that the Invincible Alliance looks good on the surface but is actually involved in murder and arson?"

"I was terrified. Luckily, the City Lord was there, so you didn’t just have me tied up and dragged away. Even now, seeing you makes my heart pound with fear."

"The world is a big place; it’s inevitable that some people look alike. You have no proof at all, yet you want to take me away. Could it be you have some other motive?"

"An’an," Ao Wu’s eyes darted, and he feigned surprise as if he’d just guessed the truth. "Selling ice in Sand City is very profitable. Could it be that Alliance Leader Ao wants to get the Ice Making method from you, then make ice to sell to the people of Sand City at a high price?"

As soon as he said this, the surrounding Beastmen erupted.

"What? The Hierarch of the Invincible Alliance would do something like that?"

"Trying to monopolize the Ice Making method? That’s going too far!"

"The rich and powerful are all bad news! The Messenger already said she’d teach us the Ice Making method for free. Is the Invincible Alliance trying to steal it now?"

"And to think I actually thought the Invincible Alliance was a good organization. Turns out... crows are black the world over!"

Angry murmurs rippled through the crowd. The Beastmen in line turned one by one to glare furiously at Ao Yin.

With Ao Yin’s guards present, they didn’t dare to get physical, but a few glares were fair game. ’After all,’ they thought, ’what proof do you have that we’re staring at you?’

’As the Hierarch of the Invincible Alliance, he was met with praise wherever he went. Never before had he been looked at by Beastmen with such utter disgust!’

His expression flickered between pale and livid. He trembled with rage, never having expected Yu An to air this out in public.

"You—"

Ao Yin pointed at Yu An, unable to form a complete sentence for a long moment.

’He was sure now!’

’Yu An had to be Ao Jin’s child!’

’This father-daughter pair were his bane! He had lived under Ao Jin’s shadow, and now... it was his daughter’s turn!’

Yu An met his gaze. Her eyes were clear and forthright, yet tinged with fear. "Alliance Hierarch, as the messenger chosen by the Beast God, I only wish to peacefully complete the tasks He has given me. I beg you, please be magnanimous and stop making things difficult for me."

"It’s impossible for me to teach the Ice Making method only to you. Otherwise, not only will I be unable to benefit everyone, but I will also be punished by the Beast God for failing my duties."

At the mention of the Beast God, Ao Yin recalled the City Lord mentioning yesterday that Yu An had been visited by the Beast God in a dream.

’But that was utter nonsense. The Beast God is on the side of the Invincible Alliance; there’s absolutely no way He would have appeared to *her* in a dream!’