Chapter 118: Chapter 118: The Female Mother’s Phoenix Feather

It was very late when Yu An and Ao Wu returned. She decided she would look at it with Chun Nuan tomorrow, so she didn’t open it.

On her way back to her room, she noticed the door to the Zaizais’ room was open a crack.

Yu An was about to close the door for them, but when she walked over, she found that the four Zaizais weren’t asleep. Seeing her, they scrambled to pull up their blankets.

"It’s very late," Yu An said, walking over and patting each of their little heads. "Go to sleep. You can play tomorrow."

Da Hu exchanged a look with his brothers. They all nodded obediently and hid the wooden mallets Lu Lu had made for them—the extra-painful version—deeper under their blankets.

’Phew, good thing Female Mother didn’t see that!’

After tucking them in, Yu An turned to leave. Ao Wu hadn’t gone back to their room; he was leaning against the doorframe, waiting for her.

"Why didn’t you go inside?" Yu An asked, taking his hand and pulling him in. "It’s so cold out here."

"I’m not cold," Ao Wu said, sweeping her up into his arms and striding toward the bed. "I’m burning up, actually. An’an, are you cold?"

Yu An instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes curving into happy crescents. "Yes, I’m freezing. Is there a kind dragon around who could help me warm up?"

Ao Wu leaned in, pressing his cheek against hers. "Of course. See if this is warm enough for you."

Yu An answered with a perfectly straight face, "Not enough."

"Then let’s get moving," Ao Wu said, a smirk playing on his lips. "You’ll warm up once we get moving."

It certainly did get warm. And tiring. Their "warming-up exercises" continued until the break of dawn, and only then did the sleepless pair finally fall into a deep slumber...

The whole reason Yu An had agreed to stay in the Imperial Palace was to find this box. She hadn’t expected to find it so quickly.

The next day, she had Mo Yan teach Chef Jiao how to cook while the others stood guard outside. She, in turn, entered her space to get Chun Nuan.

Ao Wu wanted to go with her, and since she couldn’t talk him out of it, Yu An agreed.

"Aunt Chun," Yu An said, taking out the box. "I found it. This is it, right?"

"Yes, that’s the one!"

Chun Nuan nodded excitedly and carefully unwrapped the Beast Skin. The box wrapped inside was completely unscathed.

The box was made of wood and carved with exquisite patterns. At a gesture from Chun Nuan, Yu An opened it.

The moment she opened it, a golden light burst forth, so bright it hurt to look at.

Ao Wu instinctively covered Yu An’s eyes, only letting go after the light had dimmed a little.

Yu An looked into the box. A single Feather lay nestled inside, brilliantly colored and dazzling to behold. On a strange impulse, she reached out and touched it. The texture was soft yet lustrous, as smooth as silk.

"This is..."

"It’s a Phoenix Feather," Ao Wu murmured. "Its owner can summon a Phoenix Illusion three times. That’s equivalent to having three extra lives."

Those were supposed to be Chun Nuan’s lines, but Ao Wu had said them first. She shot him a surprised look.

"He’s right," Chun Nuan said, left with little else to add. "I heard the Princess speak of it. I just never imagined the Princess would place her own Feather in a box for me to keep safe."

’So it’s that important. No wonder the Beast Emperor wants to get his hands on it.’

Chun Nuan’s gaze softened. "In that case, Little Master, I entrust this Feather to you."

Yu An nodded in a daze, picking up the Feather to examine it more closely.

The Feather swayed gently, and its downy filaments brushed against the back of her hand with a feather-light touch.

Yu An put the Feather away, and her gaze fell upon Ao Wu. Seeing this, Chun Nuan quietly excused herself.

When only the two of them remained, Ao Wu spoke before Yu An could even ask. "An’an, you know that I’m a Dragon Clan Beastman. It’s only natural that Phoenix Beastmen exist in the world, too."

’That’s right. Yu Huang’s beast form is a Phoenix.’

"And?" Yu An narrowed her eyes. "Dragon and Phoenix... sounds like a perfect match. Don’t tell me you have some childhood sweetheart fiancée from the Phoenix Clan, or maybe a betrothal arranged before you were even born?"

"Wait a second, I remember now," she said, narrowing her eyes further. "The last time I asked if you had a childhood sweetheart or a fiancée, you didn’t give me a straight answer."

It was only then that Yu An recalled asking Ao Wu two questions that day, of which he had only answered one.

She had been speaking in a joking tone, but Ao Wu remained silent for a long moment.

Yu An’s heart sank. "You really do?"

Ao Wu nodded with a look of profound sorrow. "I do. The ’betrothed from birth and childhood sweethearts’ kind."

Before Yu An could say anything, he continued, "You’ve met her, too."

A confused look crossed Yu An’s face. "I... I’ve met her?"

"That’s right," Ao Wu said, a sly grin suddenly spreading across his face. "She’s been right under your nose this whole time. An’an, you see her every time you look in the mirror."

Yu An stared blankly for a full three seconds before it dawned on her. Then she started smacking him.

"You scared me to death!" she said indignantly. "I really thought I’d stolen someone else’s Beast Husband!"

"Pull a stunt like that again, and I’m taking you off the rotation for a whole year!"

Ao Wu poked his fingers together pitifully. "Okay, I get it."

"And another thing," Yu An said, rolling her eyes at him irritably. "What’s all this about being ’betrothed from birth’? We haven’t even known each other for half a year. Except for Lan Ying, the other four all met me before you did."

"That’s not true..."

Ao Wu mumbled something she couldn’t quite catch. Just as she was about to ask him to repeat it, he suddenly pointed ahead.

"An’an, look! What’s that?"

Yu An followed his finger. "Isn’t that the vegetable patch? Why is there a tree planted in it?"

They walked over for a closer look. A straight little sapling stood there, towering over everything else like a crane among chickens and making the small cabbages below look even more stunted.

"What kind of tree is this? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like it before."

Ao Wu admitted he didn’t recognize it either. The sapling seemed to be thriving, so Yu An decided to just let it grow. She’d figure out what kind of tree it was when it got bigger.

With that business concluded, Yu An was about to go check on Chef Jiao’s progress, but as soon as she stepped out of her space, Han Li called out to her.

Yu An followed him back to his room, utterly confused. "What is it?"

"An’an," Han Li’s voice was laced with panic. "Can you take a look for me? Am I sick?"

He shifted into his beast form. There, on the very tip of his snow-white tail, was a patch of gray that stood out sharply.

Yu An reassured him, "Don’t panic. Let me take a look."

But after checking him over and over, she couldn’t find anything physically wrong with him. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"It’s over!"

Han Li looked utterly devastated. "An’an, if even you can’t find what’s wrong with me... what if I die? Will you forget me?"

"Waaah, I don’t want to die! And I don’t want you to forget me... Promise me, even if I die, you’ll still save a little place for me in your heart, okay...?"

Yu An’s head was buzzing as if a thousand ducks were quacking inside it. Finally at the end of her rope, she snapped, "Shut up! Not another word!"

Han Li froze, then choked back his sobs and simply let the tears stream down his face in silence, looking even more hopeless than before.

Yu An sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead. "Alright, how about this? Send a letter to Housekeeper Han and ask him what’s going on with you."

"There’s a Book Collection Pavilion in the Imperial Palace. It might have some information on your condition. I’ll take you there to have a look later."

"You’re not necessarily sick. Maybe you’re... uh, maybe you’re evolving?"

Han Li mumbled dejectedly, "Evolving? What’s that? I’ve never heard of a Beastman evolving. An’an, you don’t have to try and comfort me..."

Whether it was psychosomatic or something else entirely, he suddenly felt his whole body start to ache.

Yu An pressed her lips together. "Okay, new plan. Until we get a reply from Housekeeper Han, you’re sticking with me."

’That way, if something does happen, I’ll be there to help immediately.’