Yu An was taken aback and quickly brought the Blood Crystal closer for a better look. But no matter how she examined it, it just looked like an ordinary glass box filled with a flowing red liquid.

"Beast Father is right inside," the Little Wolf said, puzzled. "Female Mother, Beast Father is in here. He’s swimming."

He pointed it out to Yu An, but after staring at it for a long time, she gave up in frustration.

She really couldn’t see anything.

’Is it because the Little Wolf is special that he can see things ordinary people can’t?’

From the Little Wolf, Yu An learned that Han Li was floating in the red liquid inside the Blood Crystal and was not in any immediate danger.

Tian Shu had said he didn’t know how to restore someone who had been turned into a Blood Crystal, and those few Tian Family guards probably didn’t know either.

’I wonder how much the Pseudo Beast God, Tian Fu, knows,’ Yu An mused. ’I’ll probably have to make a trip to the Upper Realm to restore Han Li.’

Fortunately, she had already learned from Tian Shu how to get to the Upper Realm. As soon as she found the others and settled things here, she could leave at any time.

Unsure if Han Li could hear anything from the outside, Yu An decided to try anyway, like a last-ditch effort. She recited her plan to the Blood Crystal several times, telling Han Li not to worry.

Inside the Blood Crystal, Han Li floated expressionlessly on the surface of the blood-red water.

After being turned into a Blood Crystal, he had thought he was a dead man for sure. He never expected to just be "tossed" into this boundless sea of blood.

He couldn’t swim, but luckily, as long as he didn’t move around too much, he would float on the surface. For the time being, he wasn’t in any mortal danger.

He tried to slowly drift in one direction, thinking he might find land, but he drifted for a very, very long time without seeing any sign of a shore.

’Don’t tell me... there’s no land here at all?’

He didn’t really mind; he could soak for as long as it took. But he was afraid his sudden disappearance would scare Yu An, so he was anxious to get back.

He tried shouting at the top of his lungs but never heard another person’s voice. The place was frighteningly quiet, as if he were the only person in this vast world.

’Could it be... that I’m really the only one here?!’

The moment that thought arose, a small stone appeared and hit him on the forehead.

Han Li cried out in pain and reached up to rub his aching forehead, only to feel something hard.

’A stone? Who threw that?’

No, wait—this meant someone else was here. Overjoyed, Han Li sat up and eagerly looked all around.

"Stop looking. There’s no one here."

A childish voice spoke. Han Li froze, then hurriedly tried to find its owner.

’The voice sounded like a child’s. Could there be a kid here besides me?’

"Stop looking. I’m in your hand."

Han Li quickly looked down. When he saw the small stone in his hand, his eyes widened in terror. "The stone can talk!"

"What are you making such a fuss about?" the voice said with obvious disdain. "A wolf can turn into a person, so what’s so strange about a stone being able to talk?"

Han Li suspected the Little Stone was talking about him.

"Ahem, listen up. I am... the first Divine Stone in all of heaven and earth. Passing through this place, I saw that you have a most unusual aptitude..."

"Lord Divine Stone!"

Han Li immediately groveled, his eyes burning with intensity. "I beg you, please tell me how to get out of here!"

’An’an must be worried sick. I have to get back to her as soon as possible.’ 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The Little Stone said irritably, "Let me finish. I’ve decided to take you as my disciple and teach you how to cultivate true spiritual power. When you graduate, you will naturally find a way to go home."

"Will it take long?"

Han Li said, conflicted, "Lord Divine Stone, I’m afraid my family will worry. I want to go home soon."

"You just focus on your training. This lord is benevolent; I’ll let your family know you’re safe on your behalf."

"Alright, alright, stop wasting time. Just do as I say..."

Hearing the impatience in the Little Stone’s voice, Han Li didn’t dare make any more demands. After all, they had only just met.

’As long as Yu An knows I’m safe, she won’t worry too much.’

...

Yu An quickly prepared a table full of food, only to watch the Little Wolf, chopsticks in hand, devour it all like a whirlwind. In no time, the entire spread was in his stomach.

She was afraid the Little Wolf would eat himself sick, but after observing him for a moment, she saw he was perfectly fine.

"Female Mother, I’m full! Just as full as usual."

The Little Wolf patted his small belly, showing no signs of being overstuffed.

"Good," Yu An said, sighing in relief. "Zaizai, let me tell you something. There’s a special ’tenant’ living inside your body, and it needs to eat a lot to fill its stomach. If you get hungry, you tell Female Mother, understand?"

The Little Wolf blinked his eyes and was just about to speak when Yu An said, ruthlessly and coldly, "You are not allowed to use this as an excuse to eat more candy!"

The little guy instantly stopped giggling. "I gnow."

Yu An checked her space and, seeing no one outside, moved Winter City directly out of it.

Such a massive move caused the ground inside Winter City to crack, and many houses suffered varying degrees of damage.

Yu An had Lu Yi take people to help the citizens with repairs, telling them to withdraw funds from the main hall if they ran out of money.

In the past, most of the Beast God Hall’s wealth would have been pocketed by the Pseudo Beast God, but since he was currently in a deep sleep, the funds in the treasury had not yet been taken.

’Better to spend it on the Beastmen than let the Pseudo Beast God take it!’

How could Lu Yi take Yu An’s money? But she couldn’t refuse her insistence, so she had no choice but to accept.

"My Lady, rest assured, I will manage Winter City well and not disappoint you."

Lu Yi’s face was a mixture of adoration, excitement, and some confusion. "My Lady, many of our people still don’t know that the one on the Divine Mountain is an imposter. Should we spread the word so they won’t continue to be deceived by him?"

She added eagerly, "Many citizens have already volunteered to go to the various cities and expose the imposter’s identity."

Having been deceived for so long, the thought that their sincere devotion had been misplaced—and that they had nearly died for it—filled them with an unstoppable rage.

Yu An shook her head. "Not for now. When the time comes, I will notify you."

Lu Yi was a little disappointed, but not much. She was determined to follow the Beast God’s commands, so she hurried back to take charge of the situation and tell the citizens to be patient and not act on their own.

’I should go to the Divine Mountain,’ Yu An thought. She didn’t feel comfortable with Tian Shu acting alone, thinking that if they worked together, their chances of success would be higher.

But Ao Er and Ao Si could be back at any moment, and she worried they would panic if they couldn’t find her.

’Oh well. Lu Lu and Little One went with Tian Shu. With the three of them cooperating, there shouldn’t be any major problems.’

As Yu An had expected, Ao Si returned on the third day, and he brought news of Mo Yan.

"Hall Master, I’ve found Lord Mo. He and the Fourth Young Master are waiting for you in Qing City."

Yu An was delighted. "We’ll leave for Qing City right now!"

As they were leaving Winter City, the citizens, who had somehow heard the news, were so enthusiastic that Ao Si and his men had a hard time squeezing through the crowd.

"What’s all this about? I was only gone for a few days, right?"

’It hasn’t been years or decades, so why do the people of Winter City adore the Hall Master so much now?’

Yu An just smiled at his question and didn’t answer. The people of Winter City felt they now shared a little secret with their Beast God, and they guarded it fiercely.

By the time they reached the city gates, Yu An was a little nervous. Even though Han Li had become a Blood Crystal, she didn’t know if she could take him and the Little Wolf out of Winter City.