Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Eve of Departure, Zhu Qingqing’s Background

The Exile Grass in Yu An and the Zaizai’s bodies had been neutralized, and she was planning to leave the exiled land for the Imperial City.

Unexpectedly, Mo Yan was even faster than her. She had already packed her things and, with her two burdens in tow, came to say her goodbyes.

"You’re leaving the exiled land too? That’s good. Another order came from the Imperial City, telling me to make a move on you again—your life or death be damned."

Han Fengyun hadn’t held much animosity toward Yu An to begin with. Now, with his change of heart, he relayed all the orders he had recently received to her.

"My apologies for my past offenses, An’an. Please don’t take it to heart. Whatever you do, don’t let me affect your relationship with Li’er."

Han Xiaoyun scoffed. "You are you, and Li’er is my son. What does you offending An’an have to do with him?"

Just as the two were about to start bickering again, Mo Yan smacked them both, and the world was finally quiet.

She turned back and said sheepishly, "An’an, please don’t mind them. They’re just a rowdy bunch."

"A Feng is my Beast Husband, after all. Husband and wife are one entity, so I apologize to you for his past behavior."

"Please, don’t say that," Yu An said, holding Mo Yan’s arm. "It was all just a misunderstanding. As long as we’ve cleared the air, it’s fine. We’re all family here."

’As if.’

Yu An wasn’t nearly that magnanimous. She had only reluctantly forgiven Han Fengyun because he’d promised to let her take her pick of anything from his private treasury.

Han Li had told her that Han Fengyun’s private treasury had mountains of gold and silver, along with countless pieces of jewelry and jade.

’When the time comes, I’ll absorb the gold and silver first, then pick out a few pieces of jewelry I like. Perfect!’

The City Lords of other cities required an appointment from the Beast Emperor, but Han Ling City was different. Here, only strength and ability mattered.

Whoever had the power to seize the City Lord’s position would be reported to the Imperial City, and they would become the New City Lord.

Choosing the next City Lord would take time, and sending the official report to the Imperial City would take even longer. It was possible the letter wouldn’t even arrive by the time Yu An reached the Imperial City.

Mo Yan and the two men left first. Yu An planned to visit her old friends in the Giant Stone Tribe before leaving the exiled land for good.

Come to think of it, they were leaving less than half a month after they had moved into Han Ling City.

"Are you really leaving?"

Bai Rong was sad to see her go. "Sister An’an, I’ll miss you."

Yu An patted her on the shoulder. "I have some things to take care of in the Imperial City. We’ll see each other again."

Bai Ruo, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as sad, because she knew Yu An didn’t belong here and would have to leave sooner or later.

"An’an, I don’t have much to tell you, but there is one thing I want you to remember."

Bai Ruo gently stroked her hair, her voice soft but firm. "You must stay safe."

Yu An suddenly felt the urge to cry.

She was an orphan who had grown up in an orphanage. According to the director, she had been left at the front gate without a single thing on her to prove her identity.

In Bai Ruo, she had finally experienced the motherly love she had never known.

Holding back the tears welling in her eyes, Yu An forced a wide smile. "Aunt Bai, I will."

"By the way, where did Qingqing go? And why are there so few people in the tribe? Where is everyone?"

Just as Bai Ruo was about to answer, Zhu Qingqing returned.

She was carrying a basket on her back, panting heavily.

Having not seen her for over ten days, Yu An noticed Zhu Qingqing’s weight had returned to normal. She had a baby face, with a bit of lingering baby fat on her cheeks that made her look soft and adorable.

The moment Yu An saw her, she felt a sense of familiarity.

’It’s like... where have I seen her before?’

"Sister An’an," Zhu Qingqing said, not even waiting to catch her breath. She presented the contents of her basket to Yu An as if it were a treasure. "Look! These are the sweet potatoes I dug up!"

"Uncle Ma took some people to pick soybeans, Chief Qingyan took people to dig up potatoes..."

She rattled it all off in one breath before accepting the water Bai Rong handed her and taking a sip.

Yu An was touched. "Did everyone go out to gather food for me?"

"Yes," Bai Rong said with a grin. "When they heard you were leaving the exiled land, the two Clan Leaders organized everyone to work through the night gathering supplies."

"Meat doesn’t keep well, and you can hunt on the road, so we didn’t prepare any."

As they spoke, footsteps and voices echoed from outside the cave. They went out together and saw the Beastmen returning, laden with goods either carried on their backs or hoisted on their shoulders.

Yu An had never met the Clan Leader of the Giant Stone Tribe. He had led the tribe’s young Beastmen on a long-distance hunt before she arrived, and as luck would have it, they only returned after her family had already moved into the city.

They had missed each other perfectly.

The people of the Giant Stone and Qingyan Tribes gathered in a lively crowd, warmly greeting Yu An.

Before moving into the city, Yu An had taught them some simple cooking methods, and now both tribes had started eating cooked food.

The two Clan Leaders had originally planned to hold a farewell feast for Yu An and her family, but she politely declined.

"Clan Leader, I’d like to use this time to teach everyone a few new recipes. That way, you can all make them for yourselves after I leave."

"That would be wonderful," Chief Qingyan said, his eyes lighting up. "Boss Yu, what ingredients do the new recipes require? I’ll have people go gather them right now."

Food is the first necessity of the people. For ordinary Beastmen, daily life revolved around two things: procreation and finding new things to eat. Discovering just one new edible food source could help their family or tribe grow stronger.

"They’re made with potatoes, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. These will be enough."

The Giant Stone Tribe’s Clan Leader disagreed. "But these are a gift for you. How can we..."

"We’ll only use a small portion for the demonstration. It won’t take much."

Knowing this was a heartfelt gesture from the Beastmen, Yu An didn’t refuse. The recipes she taught them would be the best way to repay their kindness.

The soybeans were for making tofu. Mo Yan and the others had already learned how, so Yu An had them teach the Beastmen.

Meanwhile, another group of Beastmen followed her to learn how to make sweet potato starch and potato starch.

The process was nothing more than grinding the vegetables into a paste, filtering it, letting the starch settle, and then drying it. It wasn’t complicated, but it was very time-consuming.

Fortunately, there were plenty of Beastmen and ample time. Yu An even used a bit of "technology," and by nightfall, they had obtained piles of glistening white potato and sweet potato starch.

A gourd was split in half and holes were poked in the bottom to create a makeshift press. Once the water boiled, they could begin making potato and sweet potato noodles.

The potato noodles were soft and chewy, sparkling and translucent. The sweet potato noodles were silky smooth and springy, and they didn’t turn mushy even after being boiled for a long time. Yu An made a batch of Casserole Potato Noodles and a batch of Hot and Sour Sweet Potato Noodles, and the fragrant aroma wafted over the Giant Stone Tribe, lingering long into the night.

After returning home, Red Fox went out again. By the time night fell, it had returned with a pack of wild beasts, bearing prey for Yu An.

This was the second time since Yu An’s disappearance that the Beastmen and wild beasts had coexisted in harmony. The two groups sang, danced, and shared the delicious food.

Having not seen their little playmates in a long time, the three Zaizai went wild. Xiao Hu completely shed his usual laziness, frolicking about with the other young cubs.

With Mo Yan and the others watching the children, Yu An sat on a rock, sipping a cup of hot milk tea and chatting with Bai Ruo and the other women.

Zhu Qingqing was much more lively than before, chattering away with Bai Rong, while Yu An and Bai Ruo listened.

Staring at Zhu Qingqing’s face, Yu An still couldn’t for the life of her remember where she had seen her before. The thought kept nagging at her until Feng Xuan called for her to come home.

"I remember now!"

In her excitement, Yu An shook off Feng Xuan’s hand and ran toward Zhu Qingqing. "Qingqing, wait a second!"