Chapter 160: Chapter 160: Light Golden Pool Water

Lan Yin kept a close eye on the Shark Pearl as he traveled. The pearl had once been inside Yu An’s body, so it would likely react if Yu An was nearby.

Unfortunately, there was no reaction for the entire journey. Lan Yin was beginning to think it was useless, but as he passed a certain stretch of sea, the Shark Pearl began to glow.

Lan Yin stopped short, his gaze burning as he stared at the sea before him.

’An’an... could he be under the sea?’

"Go take a look and you’ll know. Hurry up and get in the water."

Inside him, Lan Ying urged impatiently.

Lan Yin took a deep breath and walked into the sea.

"Hey, young man over there, stop right there!"

The voice of a male Beastman called out from behind. Lan Yin instinctively turned to look and saw a young male from the Turtle Clan.

The man ran over, panting for breath. After catching his breath for a moment, he said urgently, "Young man, you can’t—you can’t go in the sea!"

"Why not?"

"The seabed... there’s a monster on the seabed that eats Beastmen," the man’s voice trembled. "Our tribe has already lost over a dozen Beastmen to it!"

"A monster? What kind of monster?"

The man shook his head. "I’ve never seen it, but I heard people say it’s a Sea Demon that preys on Beastmen who enter the water. The few tribes that live nearby take turns sending out patrols, just in case someone who doesn’t know wanders in and gets eaten by it."

"Thank you for the warning, young man," Lan Yin said, giving a slight nod. "But I have urgent business and must go into the sea."

The man exclaimed, "What business could possibly be more important than your life?"

Lan Yin paused. "It is."

Seeing that he couldn’t be persuaded, the man sighed in resignation. "Then please be careful. If you see something like a whirlpool forming on the seabed, drop everything and swim for the surface as fast as you can."

"A few members of our tribe only managed to escape because they were fast swimmers."

Lan Yin thanked him again and headed into the deep water.

The moment he was fully submerged, his legs transformed into a fishtail. With a single flick, he shot toward the seabed.

He held the Shark Pearl in his hand, and it pulsed with a faint red glow.

As the Merfolk King, a reaction from Lan Yin’s Shark Pearl meant one of two things: either the person who once possessed it was nearby, or there was a member of his clan nearby who was not recorded in the Merfolk Clan’s genealogy.

Lan Yin thought the second possibility was impossible. Every newborn in the Merfolk Clan was delivered under the watchful eyes of the elders and a large crowd of clan members.

Forget being stolen—it was impossible for one to even be lost to the outside world.

The young ones—the Zaizai—were so precious. If anyone dared abandon a little one, the other Merfolk would slap them to death with their tails!

Lan Yin himself was a prime example. If he wasn’t the Clan Leader, and if the elders didn’t have to give him face, they would have slapped him with their tails long ago.

’Ahem, I’m getting sidetracked.’

The main point was, the ancestors of the Merfolk Clan once said that the Merfolk first appeared on the Beast God Continent. Later, when the Beast God Continent became unsuitable for their survival, the entire clan moved to the Beastman Continent.

’So there couldn’t be any other Merfolk here. It has to be Yu An!’

At this thought, Lan Yin grew excited. He even found himself hoping that the "Sea Demon" the Turtle Clan male had mentioned would appear. Perhaps Yu An was with the creature.

As an overlord of the sea, his journey was completely unimpeded. He swam all the way to the bottom, but no whirlpool appeared.

Undiscouraged, Lan Yin began to search the area.

But even by late night, he had found nothing.

Lan Ying mused, "Hey, you don’t think it’s hiding because it knows you’re looking for it, do you?"

Lan Yin considered this for a moment. "Then I’ll stop looking. I’ll try pretending to be a fisherman."

He returned to the surface for the night. At dawn, he bought some fishing gear and pretended he was there to fish.

It was supposed to be Lan Ying’s turn to take control today, but he was afraid his acting wasn’t up to par, so he let Lan Yin handle it.

Lan Ying commented, "An’an was right. You really do have a knack for acting."

Lan Yin ignored him, determined to stay in character.

He followed a large fish, taking a sudden dive into the sea, and as he swam closer and closer to the seabed, a whirlpool began to form.

Lan Yin feigned a startled look. "A whirlpool! So there really is a Sea Demon!"

He abandoned his fishing gear and frantically swam for the surface. But he was a fraction of a second too slow and was caught by the whirlpool’s pull, unable to escape.

Lan Yin struggled for a while before feigning exhaustion and letting himself be pulled into the vortex.

He remained conscious the entire time. After what felt like an eternity, the whirlpool finally subsided.

He cautiously cracked open his eyes and vaguely saw two figures walking toward him. He was no longer in the water. This place looked like an underwater city.

"Finally, another one. If not, we’d be the ones getting thrown in."

"Tch. It’s because the nearby Beastmen have gotten smart. They don’t go into the sea at all, or if they do, they just catch a few fish near the shore."

"Whatever, let’s just get him over there. They’re about to collapse on that end, and the Steward has been cursing everyone out daily."

The two muttered as they lifted Lan Yin and carried him inside.

After a while, they arrived at a new area, and the two men, who had been chatting idly, suddenly fell silent as they continued to carry him deeper inside.

Lan Yin didn’t dare open his eyes, but he could feel the air growing colder.

"It’s freezing in here. Let’s drop him off and get out."

One of them grumbled. They put Lan Yin down, and when a person walked out of the Coral House, they hurriedly offered their greetings.

"Steward, we’ve brought back a new Beastman."

"Mm," the Steward glanced at them. "Find a way to get more. Otherwise, if our superiors hold us accountable, none of us will escape punishment."

"Yes, we understand."

The Steward waved a hand dismissively, and the two men quickly retreated. Then, someone else came out and carried Lan Yin into the house.

Lan Yin felt an intense chill, and when cold water was splashed on his face, he pretended to regain consciousness.

"Who are you people!"

He cried out in terror, "Where is this place? Wasn’t I eaten by the Sea Demon?"

The Steward didn’t answer, asking impatiently, "What kind of Beastman are you?"

Lan Yin shivered, feigning fear. "The C-Carp Clan."

Behind the Steward, someone muttered, "He’s not even a Sea Beast. What’s someone from the Carp Clan doing in the ocean? How strange..."

Lan Yin caught the words and looked at the Steward. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"

The Steward ignored him again. "Throw him in the pool. Even if he’s from the Carp Clan... it’s better than no one new."

The men behind him obeyed, shoving Lan Yin through a long, dark passage until they reached the so-called pool.

It was an enormous pool. Many Beastmen were inside it, soaking in pale golden water with expressions of agony.

Guards stood watch at the pool’s edge. Lan Yin barely got a glance before he was shoved in without warning.

He choked on a mouthful of the water and spat it out immediately, wondering what had been added to the pale golden liquid.

"Stay in there and soak," the man who had pushed him in said coldly. "See those guards? Dare to climb out, and you’re dead!"

Lan Yin remained silent. After the man left, he quietly made his way toward the other Beastmen soaking in the pool.

Seeing a new face, they merely lifted their eyelids for a glance before closing them again.

Soaking in this pool, even the simple act of opening one’s eyes was exhausting.

For them, even death had become an extravagant hope.