Chapter 190: Chapter 190: A Wedding Requires Wedding Wine

When Yu An looked his way, Lan Ying had a bad feeling.

"An’an..."

"Lan Ying, go back to the space first."

Yu An spoke before he could. "Xiao Yu has already made his request. As his Female Mother and Beast Father, we can’t very well refuse him, can we?"

Lan Ying was hesitant. "Xiao Yu, how about your Female Mother and Beast Father both play with you?"

"No, no," Xiao Yu shook his head firmly. "I only want Female Mother!"

"You go on back," Yu An coaxed quietly. "I’ll spend time with you tonight. We can make up for last night, alright?"

Only then did Lan Ying reluctantly agree. After he entered the space, Yu An gave Xiao Yu a kiss. "You’re brilliant, sweetie!"

’He understood what I meant without me having to spell it out. He’s my son, all right!’

Xiao Yu shyly covered his face, then asked curiously, "Female Mother, why did you send Beast Father away?"

Although he said he disliked his Beast Father, Xiao Yu still hoped both his Female Mother and Beast Father would be with him.

Yu An thought for a moment. "Because Female Mother is going to do something that Beast Father can’t know about. Xiao Yu, will you come with Female Mother?"

Xiao Yu nodded, and Yu An led him back to the Coral House.

She studied the wall for a moment, then had Xiao Yu press a raised spot. The elders’ Shark Pearls reappeared.

"Xiao Yu, say it with Female Mother..."

A moment later, the Shark Pearls vanished again, and Yu An’s expression turned grave.

Xiao Yu didn’t quite understand what was happening, but seeing Yu An’s grim expression, he asked, "Female Mother, what’s wrong with Beast Father?"

"Beast Father is sick," Yu An explained, calming herself. "But he doesn’t know it. Xiao Yu, until Female Mother has cured his sickness, you mustn’t tell him about this, alright?"

Xiao Yu didn’t quite understand, but he unconditionally trusted whatever his Female Mother told him.

After that, they played on the seabed for the whole day, only entering the space at dusk.

Before, Yu An had been in a hurry to figure out Xiao Yu’s problem, and then she had spent a long time alone with Lan Yin at their secret base, which meant that tonight was the family’s first official reunion.

A family reunion naturally called for a celebratory meal. The space was lively, but Lan Ying sat off to the side without a word, looking completely out of place.

When Yu An entered the space, his previously listless eyes finally brightened.

But when he saw that Yu An didn’t come to him first, instead handing Xiao Yu to Mo Yan to hold, he discreetly clenched his fists.

’Right, I’d forgotten. There are four other eyesores here.’

Yu An whispered, "Did they drink it?"

Mo Yan took Xiao Yu. "They all drank it, but as for Lan Ying..."

He shook his head. "I gave him the Divine Spring Water, but he said he’d drink it later. He actually poured it out."

’Looks like the Divine Spring Water is effective.’

"I can handle it," Yu An said, breathing a sigh of relief. "As long as it works."

According to what the Shark Pearls had shown, Lan Ying was being influenced by the water from the pool, and the Divine Spring Water could purify the pool water inside his body.

"An’an," Lan Ying said, walking over to her. "Why didn’t you come to me first?"

Yu An took his hand. "I had to give Xiao Yu to Mo Yan to hold. Don’t worry, I won’t break my promise to you."

Only then did Lan Ying smile. He stayed glued to Yu An’s side, and whenever anyone came near, his expression would instantly turn cold—not even the cubs were an exception.

"Beast Father, what’s wrong with Beast Father Lan Ying?"

Da Hu, who had been glared at for no reason when he got close to Yu An, turned to Feng Xuan to ask about it.

"He’s bewitched," Feng Xuan said, patting his little head. "Pay him no mind. Go play with your little brothers and sisters. He’ll be better in a few days."

Fuzai was nearby, and she piped up in her high, childish voice, "Beast Father Feng Xuan, do we need to use black dog’s blood and sticky rice to drive out the evil?"

Ao Wu, holding Fuzai, beamed with pride. "Look at that, look at that! My little cub is so knowledgeable!"

The words had barely left his mouth when he suddenly felt two chilly gusts of wind from behind him.

He turned to see Ao Er and Ao Shan.

Ao Er had a smile on his face as he asked amiably, "Fuzai, who taught you that?"

"Beast Father," Fuzai replied, selling out her own Beast Father without a moment’s hesitation. "It was in a book Beast Father showed me."

The books in the space were a motley collection that Yu An had casually gathered, thinking at the time that they would be good for kindling if nothing else.

Ao Wu had dug up a miscellaneous book from somewhere, filled with folk mystery stories. He had been reading it with great relish, and Fuzai had asked him to tell her the stories.

He was rather carefree himself and, unafraid of scaring Fuzai, had been telling them as bedtime stories.

Ao Wu’s heart leaped. "Brothers, listen to me—"

Ao Er and Ao Shan gave him a chillingly "amiable" smile. "No need to explain. We already know."

Fuzai was lifted onto a chair by her two uncles, while Ao Wu was dragged away by his ears by his two older brothers.

Yu An was enjoying the show when a large hand suddenly covered her eyes.

"An’an," Lan Ying said, pulling her onto his lap and burying his head in the crook of her neck. "Let’s go back to our room."

Yu An chuckled and poked his chest. "In such a hurry?"

"I want to be alone with you for a while," Lan Ying said in a muffled voice. "It’s too noisy here. Everyone keeps interrupting us."

"Is that your reason for scaring the cubs away?" Yu An said, exasperated. "You can’t do that. If you make them cry, are you going to be the one to comfort them?"

Lan Ying kept his head buried, the gold in his eyes growing deeper. "I won’t..."

’I don’t like them. Other than Xiao Yu, I don’t like any of them.’

’Even Xiao Yu—if he weren’t proof of my love with Yu An, I wouldn’t like him either.’

’I hate everyone who stands between me and Yu An. I wish I could eliminate them all...’

"Hm?"

"I didn’t scare them," Lan Ying’s tone softened. "And I won’t in the future. They’re your cubs, after all."

The gold in his eyes faded, and with it, half of his previous thoughts dissipated.

’How could I think that way? The cubs aren’t just those four guys’ children; they’re Yu An’s too.’

’Lan Yin is already deep in slumber. Soon, he’ll never wake up again. I just need to get rid of those four guys, and then I can live happily ever after with An’an and the cubs.’

Thinking of their wonderful future, Lan Ying unconsciously curled his lips into a smile and led Yu An away.

After he left, Han Li muttered, "He really is bewitched. That look in his eyes... it was like he wanted to kill us."

As someone who had also once wanted to monopolize the Female Master, he understood exactly what Lan Ying’s gaze meant.

’But how did Lan Ying get so stupid after his mind was affected by that pool water?’

’He doesn’t even know how to hide it, just openly revealing his murderous intent like that.’

Back in their room, Lan Ying eagerly pulled Yu An into an embrace, placing a cherished kiss on her lips.

"Finally... An’an, it’s finally just the two of us..."

Yu An stopped his advances and asked, "Is he still refusing to come out?"

Lan Ying froze for a moment, then understood. "That’s right."

"Then let’s ignore him," Yu An huffed. "You tell him not to bother coming out ever again. I’ll just pretend Xiao Yu only has you for a Beast Father!"

"Don’t be angry," Lan Ying said with a subtle smile. "Maybe after a while, he’ll come to his senses."

"Even if he comes to his senses, I don’t want him."

Yu An muttered, then took out a pot of wine. "A Ying, it feels like we’ve never been formally married. I heard that people who get married are supposed to drink wedding wine."

Lan Ying had never heard of such a custom on the Beastman Continent, but that didn’t stop him from being pleasantly surprised.

"An’an, you mean..."

Yu An handed him a cup. "Of the six of you, you are the first to drink this wedding wine with me. Will you drink it?"