Chapter 113: Chapter 113: The Offspring Will Die Prematurely

"Cubs born from a union with an outsider will be unhealthy?"

The color drained from Yu An’s face. "Then what about Xiao Yu...?"

She instinctively glanced outside at Xiao Yu, who was happily playing with the Merfolk. The expressions of Mo Yan and the others inside the room turned grave.

Before Elder Hai could explain, Lan Yin hurriedly said, "An’an, Xiao Yu is fine! In the past, those cubs all... they all perished shortly after birth. Xiao Yu didn’t, so he’s different from the others."

Yu An breathed a sigh of relief, but she grew tense again when she learned that the Merfolk Clan still hadn’t figured out why the cubs had perished.

Just because Xiao Yu was fine now didn’t mean he would be fine in the future. As his Female Mother, she was determined to shield her Zaizai from every possible danger!

Unfortunately, no useful information had been recorded back then. The Merfolk couldn’t find the cause no matter how they investigated, so they could only bury the cubs who had perished.

Still worried about Xiao Yu, Yu An used her superpower to give him a full-body check-up.

The little one was flipped over and turned about. Though he didn’t know why his Female Mother was doing this, he obediently let Yu An fuss over him.

"Alright," Yu An patted his little head. "Go play with your brothers. If you want to get in the water, remember to ask Grandpa Hai to take you."

Xiao Yu nodded and said in his sweet, childish voice, "I know, Female Mother!"

With no new mission from the space, Yu An decided to teach the Merfolk Clan how to cook fish and shrimp.

The Merfolk Clan lived in the sea or on the shore. Aside from specific individuals who went out to procure goods, some Merfolk had never even left the Treasure Pearl Sea.

And those who did go out were mostly Merfolk with mates, who wouldn’t be dazzled by the Beastmen outside like the younger Merfolk were.

Night fell. The Luminous Pearls placed around the settlement emitted a soft glow, and smoke from cooking fires slowly rose, filling the entire area with the aroma of roasting meat.

The Merfolk sang and danced to welcome Yu An and her party.

Tonight, it was Lan Yin’s turn. He secretly pulled Yu An into the water. The moment they entered the Treasure Pearl Sea, the clamor from the shore was instantly muffled.

Yu An had thought the Treasure Pearl Sea would be pitch-black at night, but as soon as she entered the water, she saw that it was brightly lit.

It wasn’t as bright as daylight; the light on the seabed was soft, making the underwater scenery even more beautiful.

"Lan Yin, is there something glowing on the seabed?"

Lan Yin was being mysterious. "Come down with me and you’ll see."

His legs transformed into a fishtail. With a gentle sway, he led Yu An deeper down.

When they reached the bottom, Yu An discovered that the seabed was paved with a layer of perfectly round pearls. These pearls reflected light from a type of glowing coral, illuminating the entire sea.

It was a perfect photo-op spot. Yu An took out her waterproof camera and had Lan Yin take lots of pictures of her.

Lan Ying could hear the activity outside. He wanted to come out too, but unfortunately, tonight wasn’t his. He could only watch them being lovey-dovey in frustration.

"Lan Yin, can you let Lan Ying out for a moment?"

Suddenly hearing Yu An mention him, Lan Ying instantly perked up.

Lan Yin’s smile faded. "An’an, tonight is my turn," he said, disgruntled. "Why do you want him to come out?"

Yu An took his arm and said softly, "I just want to let Lan Ying see his home. Just for a moment, and then you can come back. He must miss it, right?"

Lan Yin paused, nodded slightly, and in the next moment, Lan Ying was in control.

Lan Ying had heard her words, and his expression became a little awkward.

"An’an, I don’t like this place, but I’m very happy to be out here with you."

Lan Ying made no effort to hide his aversion for the place. He wrapped his large tail around Yu An and buried his head in her chest, his voice muffled.

Yu An cupped his face, making him meet her gaze. "You do like it here, Lan Ying. This is your home, the place you’ve dreamed of returning to."

"Both sides were at fault for what happened back then. It’s in the past, so just let it go, okay?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

What Yu An left unsaid was that if she had been in the Merfolk Elder’s position, she would have done the same thing.

Fewer and fewer Merfolk cubs were being born, while the elderly Merfolk couldn’t extend their lifespans. The Merfolk Clan couldn’t withstand any more turmoil.

’Besides, five hundred Merfolk and some Sea Beasts who aren’t even good at fighting on land are going to rule the world? What were they thinking!’

Lan Ying knew all this; he just couldn’t get over his pride. Yu An’s words gave him a way to back down gracefully.

"I was locked away for centuries. It’s been so long, I’ve pretty much forgotten all about it."

He fidgeted and finally managed to squeeze out the sentence after a long pause.

Yu An burst out laughing. "Then it’s settled. Tomorrow, I’ll go talk to Elder Hai and have him add you to the family registry."

The incident back then had been too serious. When a young Lan Ying heard he was going to be suppressed within their body, never to see the outside world again, he used the last of his strength in a fit of rage to destroy the Merfolk Clan’s thousand-year-old family registry.

Furious, the elders hadn’t added his name when they recreated it.

Lan Ying muttered under his breath, "Whatever. It doesn’t matter. It’s not like I care that much."

"An’an, my home is wherever you are. I don’t care if they add me or not. I just want to be with you; none of that other stuff matters."

Lan Ying wrapped his arm around her waist, his tail pressed tightly between her legs, and pecked her on the corner of her lips.

Ignoring Lan Yin’s fury raging inside their shared body, Lan Ying felt that today was truly a wonderful day.

But happiness is always fleeting. Yu An gave him a little push and told him to let Lan Yin back out.

"I’ll let Lan Yin show me around today. I’ll take you exploring tomorrow."

Lan Ying reluctantly retreated. When Lan Yin emerged, the first thing he did was bite Yu An hard on the lips.

"You said just for a moment! How long has it been?"

He grumbled and sulked. Yu An found it amusing and placated him by agreeing to spend the night underwater, which finally shut the aggrieved fish up.

Or rather, he didn’t stop talking; his mouth was just put to a different use.

He produced a clamshell bed from somewhere, swam inside with Yu An in his arms, and with a wave of his hand, the shell closed, hiding the splendid scene within from any prying eyes.

For the next few days, Yu An spent her days in the water, taking turns with Lan Yin and Lan Ying. At night, whoever’s turn it was would warm her bed. But Yu An was so tired from playing all day that she just fell asleep, leaving Han Li and Ao Wu with no outlet for their... skills.

Among the Beast Husbands, they were the only two without a Zaizai, and their Female Master was too busy having fun to favor them with her attention. Their gazes were filled with resentment, like neglected husbands.

Yu An would offer a few placating words before going right back to her fun. It wasn’t often she got to be by the sea in Beastman territory, so of course she had to play to her heart’s content!

"An’an, there’s a red light over there! Let’s go check it out!"

Today it was Lan Ying’s turn. He had also lived in the Treasure Pearl Sea for a few years, so he quickly reacquainted himself with the area and coaxed Yu An to explore farther away.

Yu An wanted to do the same, but Lan Yin never let her go into unfamiliar areas. Today, she and Lan Ying were on the same page, and they swam off into the distance, hand in hand.

This area wasn’t much different from where the Merfolk Clan lived. Fish and shrimp swam about leisurely. The only difference was that there were fewer pearls on the ground here—more large ones and fewer small ones.

Lan Ying was picking out pretty pearls with Yu An when he casually glanced up and saw a flash of red light in the distance.

Yu An followed his gaze. "That doesn’t look like light from a pearl. Come on, let’s go see."