"Beast Father, you’ve gone too far! How could you knock Female Mother out?"

"I didn’t knock her out. She fainted on her own."

"And another thing! Why won’t you let me go to Female Mother? Female Mother isn’t a Merfolk, so she can’t like being underwater for a long time."

"She likes it. And if she doesn’t, she can bear it."

"Beast Father, you can’t talk like that. I’m your Zaizai, you have to be patient with me..."

"Lan Xiaoyu, you’re so noisy."

"..."

The two voices, one big and one small, bickered back and forth, so loud that Yu An couldn’t even pass out in peace.

"Stop arguing!"

She struggled to open her eyes and was met with Xiao Yu’s little face, all scrunched up.

The little one’s legs had turned into a fishtail, and his chubby little tail was slapping the water, making splashes.

"Female Mother, you’re awake!"

He helped Yu An sit up and immediately tattled, "Female Mother, Beast Father said I was being noisy and covered my mouth to stop me from talking!"

Lan Yin, who hadn’t lifted a finger: "..."

"Then Female Mother will cover his mouth for you," Yu An said offhandedly, looking around. "Lan Yin, where are we?"

"Underwater," Lan Yin said coolly. "We’ll stay here for a few days. After a while, I’ll take you and Xiao Yu back to the Treasure Pearl Sea."

"Wait, what?"

Yu An thought she had misheard. "Stay here? And go back to the Treasure Pearl Sea? Lan Yin, what are you talking about?"

"Mo Yan and the others must be worried sick. We have to go back now..."

She stood up to leave, but Lan Yin frowned and grabbed her wrist. "You’re not leaving. As my Female Master, the Treasure Pearl Sea is your home."

"I’ll take care of the Exile Grass on you and Xiao Yu. Stay here obediently. I don’t want to get rough with you."

Yu An stared at Lan Yin, a strange look on her face.

’This tone, this attitude... it doesn’t seem like Lan Yin at all.’

But the contract told her this was, in fact, Lan Yin himself.

Seeing her remain silent, Lan Yin thought she was still determined to leave. His spiritual power began to fluctuate, and his grip on her wrist tightened.

Yu An said quickly, "Alright, I’ll stay."

The hand on her wrist instantly loosened. Lan Yin turned away coldly. "You and Xiao Yu stay here. I’m going hunting."

He turned and left. Yu An noticed a large wound on his tail, carelessly wrapped in seaweed, with trickles of blood seeping out from time to time.

After Lan Yin left, she finally had a chance to ask Xiao Yu what had happened.

Xiao Yu thought for a moment. "Female Mother, Beast Father and I came here to catch fish. Then an old man found Beast Father, and they talked for a long time..."

He repeated everything he’d heard, but since the two of them had been talking a fair distance away, he had only caught bits and pieces.

"Then Beast Father and the old man started fighting. Beast Father got hurt, and he brought me here to hide underwater."

Cooperation, command, Imperial City...

Xiao Yu had heard these words, and Yu An repeated them to herself over and over.

"Female Mother," Xiao Yu said uneasily, nestled in Yu An’s arms. "I think Beast Father has changed. He used to be so gentle with me."

But now, Beast Father was ice-cold. He would say a lot, but Beast Father would only reply with a few cold words.

Yu An patted his little head. "Beast Father hasn’t changed. It’s just..."

She looked troubled, unable to come up with a reason for Lan Yin’s strange behavior.

Fortunately, Lan Yin returned just then, carrying a large fish.

He set the large fish down and began slicing it into fillets. "Eat."

Xiao Yu’s eyes widened. "Beast Father, are we going to eat it raw?"

He had eaten only cooked food since birth and was unsettled by what Lan Yin was doing.

"Mm," Lan Yin nodded. "We can’t start a fire underwater. We’ll have to make do for a few meals."

Xiao Yu looked resistant, covering his mouth to show he wouldn’t eat.

"Lan Yin," Yu An blocked his hand as he tried to force-feed the boy. "Xiao Yu probably isn’t hungry. He can eat later. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Nothing happened," Lan Yin said, pulling his hand back. "I was always going to bring you and our son back to the clan. It’s been delayed long enough. It’s time to go back."

"Da Hu and Xiao Hu have their own Beast Father to look after them, so you don’t need to worry. If you miss them, I can bring them to the Merfolk Clan to stay for a few days."

His gaze swept over Yu An’s lower abdomen. "The snake Zaizai... I can raise that one as well."

Yu An found this even more bizarre. "Lan Yin, are you saying you planned all of this from the start, just to take me and Xiao Yu away?"

"You faked your own injury? And the Beastman who attacked me, that arrow... you arranged all of it?"

Lan Yin paused, not answering.

’How could he say no?’

’He had been a part of it. The moment he agreed to Han Fengyun’s deal, he became one of the people plotting against Yu An.’

’Although, his original intention was only to protect Yu An and the Zaizai.’

Yu An had been watching the changes in his expression, and her heart sank as she found her answer.

She asked point-blank, "Who else is involved?"

"You said you came to the exiled land alone! Conspiring with outsiders to plot against your own family... Lan Yin, how could you do this to us?!"

She said grimly, "We heard you were in trouble and rushed here to help you, only to be met with an ambush and a sniper’s arrow!"

Combining what Xiao Yu had told her, a suspicion began to form in her mind.

In the exiled land, there was only one person who would dare to make a move against her.

Han Li’s Beast Father—Han Fengyun, the City Lord of Han Ling City.

Lan Yin was silent for a moment. "I’m sorry."

"But you and the Zaizai must return with me to the Treasure Pearl Sea. That is not up for discussion."

His tone was resolute, but Yu An refused to indulge him. She held Xiao Yu and prepared to leave.

Seeing this, Lan Yin quickly moved to block them. "Don’t go!"

"Get out of the way," Yu An said coldly. "I don’t want to fight you."

Xiao Yu was a little confused by the situation, but he knew he just had to stick close to his Female Mother.

He hugged Yu An’s neck and said to Lan Yin with a serious little face, "Didn’t you hear what my Female Mother said? Beast Father, you’re in the way."

Lan Yin took a deep breath. "Yu An, let me explain..."

"Explain what? That you had your reasons?"

Yu An’s lips twitched into a sneer. "I hate betrayal more than anything. No matter what your reasons are, I want nothing more to do with someone who would betray their own family."

Lan Yin froze. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but a strange power suddenly surged within him, sending a chill through his entire body.

The water began to grow foggy, and the visibility dropped to near zero. Yu An felt her body suddenly stiffen.

She remembered the dense fog she had seen on the shore and was instantly on high alert.

’It looks like Lan Yin was the one who created that fog.’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Lan Yin, are you going to attack me..."

"Go!"

Lan Yin cut her off, his voice low and severe. "Get out of here! Now!"

His voice was laced with obvious fear, as if something dangerous was about to appear.

But before he could push Yu An away, a low, sinister voice spoke up. "Why leave? I haven’t even met our Female Master yet."

"Oh, and I haven’t met the Zaizai, either. Waking up to find I have a Female Master and a Zaizai... what a pleasant surprise."

"I really have you to thank for this, Lan Yin."