Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Warm My Bed to Pay Off the Debt

Yu An looked from one to the other, gave each a playful swat, and shooed them both away.

"Feng Xuan, come give me a hand."

SWOOSH—

The two were suddenly a united front. Two hostile glares landed on Feng Xuan in unison, both hoping he would refuse.

Feng Xuan was reluctant to spend much time with Yu An, but Da Hu had given him a serious talk about the future.

For instance, whether or not he still wanted his two Zaizai, Da Hu and Xiao Hu.

Of course, Feng Xuan wanted them. He even wanted to take Da Hu and Xiao Hu back to the Tiger Clan, but the two of them refused.

"Beast Father, Xiao Hu and I are determined to stay with Female Mother. If you don’t want to be her Beast Husband, then you can just leave now."

"It’ll be a perfect chance for me and Xiao Hu to find a new Beast Father. Hmm, Beast Father Mo Yan and Han Li Beast Father are both pretty great."

Those were Da Hu’s exact words. After some serious thought and a fierce internal debate, Feng Xuan found himself torn. On one hand, he resisted getting close to Yu An; on the other, he wanted to try and accept the situation to give his Zaizai a complete home.

"Beast Father, Beast Father, hurry up and go!"

Seeing him stand still, Da Hu started frantically motioning to him with his eyes.

If possible, he wanted to have both his Female Mother and his Beast Father. Female Mother was so wonderful; he was certain that if his Beast Father just spent a little time with her, he’d fall in love.

The little guy was convinced of this, and he wouldn’t accept any arguments to the contrary.

Feng Xuan had no choice but to get up and walk over. "Okay."

Following Yu An’s instructions, he went to prepare the wild chicken. In the meantime, Yu An started on the pork rib and mushroom soup.

The pork ribs had already been cut. She placed the uniform, small pieces into a pot to blanch, removing any unpleasant smell, before moving them to a clay pot.

She added washed bamboo fungus and some cordyceps flowers that Feng Xuan had picked earlier. Then, she poured in enough boiling water to cover the ingredients, put on the lid, and let it simmer on low heat for forty minutes.

’Dried mushrooms are actually better for soup, since the flavor is more concentrated, but there wasn’t time to dry them.’

Feng Xuan happened to glance over and saw what Yu An was putting into the pot. He nearly chopped his own hand while cutting the chicken!

"Yu An, what are you doing!"

He said sternly, "Mushrooms are poisonous! You can’t eat them!"

Many Beastmen had died from eating poisonous mushrooms because they couldn’t be treated in time. To reduce the risk of poisoning, Beastmen had removed mushrooms from their diet entirely.

"This is bamboo fungus. It’s edible. I know which mushrooms are poisonous and which ones aren’t."

Yu An was already preparing the next dish. Without looking up, she said, "Relax. I’m not about to poison our entire family."

Hazel mushrooms and chicken are a perfect match. She washed the hazel mushrooms and stir-fried them in the wok; searing them over high heat brought out a richer aroma.

Next, she added oil, followed by green onions, ginger, garlic, and dried chili peppers. Once they were fragrant, she added the chicken. After giving it a stir-fry, she added the hazel mushrooms and seasonings.

Finally, she added water, letting it simmer on low heat before reducing the sauce on high. The chicken was tender and succulent, and the savory aroma that filled the air was so strong it even woke up the sleeping Xiao Hu.

Xiao Hu groggily climbed out of bed and, PATTER PATTER PATTER, ran to Yu An’s side, hugging her leg. "Female Mother, it smells so good! Xiao Hu is hungry."

Yu An bent down and stroked his little head. She picked out a piece of chicken with her chopsticks, blew on it to cool it down, and fed it to him. "Here, try Female Mother’s braised chicken with mushrooms."

One bite sent the little guy into a blissful daze.

Yu An picked out a few more pieces for him to take to his big brothers for a taste. Xiao Hu nodded, but first, he clumsily picked up a piece with his chopsticks and held it to Yu An’s lips.

"Female Mother eats first."

Yu An accepted the bite. She watched as he picked up another piece and said with a serious expression, "Little Serpent eats too."

’Oh, so he’s gone and named the little serpent in my belly.’

’The braised chicken with mushrooms was missing its glass noodles. A pity I haven’t found any sweet potatoes yet.’

Yu An also made steamed eggs with button mushrooms and a simple mushroom stir-fry.

By now, the mushroom soup was also ready. She seasoned it with a little salt. The broth was rich and delicious, the ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender and savory. A single sip was so flavorful it could make your eyebrows fall off! 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The family gathered around the table to enjoy the feast. Everyone was present, really, except for Han Li.

Da Hu shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth and asked worriedly, "Female Mother, isn’t Han Li Beast Father coming back yet? I miss him a lot."

He had recognized the masked Young City Lord as Han Li Beast Father today, but it hadn’t been the right time to acknowledge it.

Yu An stroked his little head and said gently, "Soon, very soon. In a few more days, our family will move to Han Ling City. You’ll be able to see your Han Li Beast Father then."

Da Hu and Xiao Yu cheered in unison. Xiao Hu, having never spent time with Han Li, wasn’t as excited.

"Oh, by the way, these are the gifts Han Li Beast Father brought for you. See if you like them."

They were little trinkets, the kind popular with cubs in Han Ling City. The children accepted them joyfully and, after dinner, shared them as they played together.

The task of cleaning the bowls and chopsticks was left to Mo Yan and Ao Wu. They wanted to help, didn’t they? Well, there was plenty of work for them to do.

Mo Yan: "..."

Ao Wu: "..."

"Then what about him?" Ao Wu pointed at Lan Yin. "He gets to do nothing?"

’It wasn’t that he didn’t want to work, he just didn’t want to do any work that wasn’t by Yu An’s side.’

"Lan Yin has an important task tomorrow," Yu An said, rubbing her eyes. "You two can rest once you’ve finished cleaning. Lan Yin will be sleeping next door with me."

As soon as she said this, the other three men’s heads snapped to look at her.

Feng Xuan quickly averted his gaze, then herded the three Zaizai off for their bath.

Lan Yin was taken aback. "Me?"

Mo Yan said disapprovingly, "An’an, you can’t be alone with him. I’m worried..."

Yu An cut him off. "It’s fine. Lan Yin was just being impulsive last time. He won’t do it again."

"Isn’t that right, Lan Yin?"

After a moment’s silence, Lan Yin slowly nodded.

Seeing that Ao Wu was about to speak too, Yu An stepped forward and gave each of them a kiss. "Alright, alright, it’s getting late. Go get some rest. We have to go foraging together tomorrow."

Ao Wu huffed. "Just one little kiss? That’s not enough."

"How about two, then? Is that okay?"

Naturally, she gave Mo Yan another one as well. Only then did the two of them drop their protests.

Soaking in the bathtub, Da Hu looked over at his own Beast Father and suddenly sighed.

’He’s hopeless, I swear!’

Being alone with Yu An again made Lan Yin a little nervous.

His former disgust had vanished into thin air, and now he wasn’t sure what he truly felt for Yu An.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Lan Yin said helplessly, "Yu An, you could choose any of the others. They’d be more than happy."

"Didn’t we agree? I’m only staying as the Zaizai’s Beast Father. I won’t... I won’t have any other kind of relationship with you."

"I remember," Yu An said, casually pulling back the covers. "But you’re eating my food and living under my roof. You should at least pay for room and board, shouldn’t you?"

Lan Yin was taken aback. "In that case, when we get to Han Ling City, I’ll go to Ping’an Gold Bank and withdraw some Gold Coins for you. Any amount you want."

’As the king of the Merfolk Clan, he commanded untold treasures of the sea; he could certainly afford to pay for his meals.’

Yu An waved her hand dismissively. "There’s no need for money. I’m not short on it myself."

"You can warm my bed for me... and I mean that in the most literal sense. Don’t get the wrong idea. You can do it until I get tired of it."

If she hadn’t added that explanation, it might have been fine. But with it, Lan Yin immediately felt the atmosphere in the room become charged.

A single male and a single female, alone in a room together. The bed beneath him was soft and large.

The young female beside him exuded a sweet, uniquely feminine scent that wafted over to him in waves.

It was like a kitten’s paw, gently, insistently scratching at his heart.

An accidental glance brought a sliver of Yu An’s luminous, white neck into view.

Lan Yin slowly grew flustered. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he shifted his legs, adjusting his posture to be more concealing.