Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Mother and Children Reunion

Chu Feng chuckled, not about to compete with the young man.

The sides of the passage were lined with Fluorite. Han Li could barely make out the steps below his feet. He switched on the flashlight Yu An had given him, and the passage instantly lit up.

The group descended single file. Yu An estimated they had been walking for about ten minutes when Han Li, who was in the lead, came to a halt.

"Han Li, why did you stop?"

Han Li was at the very front. He was tall, and Yu An, who was right behind him, was completely blocked from seeing what lay ahead.

After a long moment, Han Li finally found his voice. "An’an, you... you should prepare yourself."

Yu An’s heart skipped a beat. She asked tentatively, "Is it the zaizai?"

"Yes."

"Then... then are they still alive?"

Behind Yu An, Yu Huang and the others had also heard their conversation and were waiting for Han Li’s answer.

Han Li didn’t answer. He just moved aside a little, allowing those behind him to see the situation inside.

When she saw the scene inside, Yu An gasped.

In the cramped space, mangled and bloody lumps were piled on the ground. Upon closer inspection, one could recognize that they were zaizai.

The features of some of the zaizai were still barely recognizable. Suppressing the horror in her heart, Yu An went forward to check each one, looking for any signs of life.

None.

None.

Still none.

A mist of tears gathered in her eyes, blurring Yu An’s vision. She fought to keep them from falling.

’These zaizai were treasures to their families. Now, they lay in this cold, lifeless place, having suffered unspeakable torture before their deaths...’

"An’an, there’s a living zaizai over here!"

"Miss, there’s one here, too!"

Living zaizai were discovered in several spots. Yu An had no time for grief; she hurried to check on each of their conditions.

There were four surviving zaizai: one each from the Merfolk Clan, the Rabbit Clan, the Cat Clan, and even a Dragon Clan zaizai.

Yu An first fed them some diluted Divine Spring Water, then used her superpower to heal them according to the severity of their injuries.

Once the four zaizai’s lives were temporarily secured, she moved them into her space.

She also placed the deceased zaizai in a separate area. Just as Yu An was about to speak, the ground suddenly began to tremble violently.

Yu Huang’s expression changed. "This is bad! This place is about to collapse!"

Yu An immediately pulled them all into her space. She shifted into her beast form and was carried away by Han Li, who fled the area at high speed.

They had barely made it out of the wooden house when it collapsed behind them.

It wasn’t just the wooden house; the entire surrounding area was part of the collapse. Han Li ran a great distance before the ground finally stopped shaking.

The commotion was so immense it startled the birds in the Mist Forest. At the forest’s entrance, Ao Wu frowned.

"What’s going on in there? Such a huge commotion."

Ao Si looked nervous. "Don’t tell me something happened to Little Sis?"

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey," Da Hu said immediately. "Don’t say that, Uncle! The Female Mother will be fine!"

Ao Si quickly corrected himself. "Right, Little Sis is so powerful, what could happen to her? Xiao Wu, should we wait here, or go in and find her?"

A few days ago, the Beast Father had given them a round disc with a pointer. Following the disc’s guidance, they had arrived at the Mist Forest.

’To think, this was where I first met Little Sis,’ he thought. ’After all this time, I’ve ended up back here.’

Ao Wu considered for a moment. "Let’s go in and look. We’ll come out before dark."

The two brothers together could protect the five zaizai during the day without a problem, but they worried something might happen at night.

Ao Si nodded. Just as he was about to step into the Mist Forest, two blurry figures suddenly appeared ahead.

The collapse had spread so quickly that Han Li could only focus on running forward, paying no attention to his direction. When he finally stopped and looked around...

’Ha, isn’t that the exit up ahead? What a stroke of luck! We found it without even trying!’

Yu An shifted back to her human form, and the two of them walked toward the exit.

They were about to get out. Along the way, Han Li wanted to bring up the zaizai to Yu An several times, but he didn’t dare.

Especially after witnessing that horrific scene earlier, he couldn’t even imagine how devastated Yu An would be to learn that the zaizai had been taken by people from the Invincible Alliance.

’Should I tell her, or not?’ The two options floated in his mind.

Yu An’s emotions gradually calmed. ’Sadness is temporary,’ she thought. ’The most important thing is to find out why the Invincible Alliance’s Hierarch did this, and to get revenge for the zaizai who died.’

On the way, she noticed Han Li kept looking at her. At first, she thought he was just worried about her emotional state, but later she felt that wasn’t it.

His gaze held conflict, hesitation, and even a hint of guilt.

Yu An was a little puzzled and decided to ask him directly, "A Li, why do you keep looking at me? Is there something on my face?"

"N-No!"

Han Li waved his hands in a hurry. He looked so startled that his two fluffy ears popped out uncontrollably.

Yu An’s mouth twitched. "Am I that scary?"

"Spill it. You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?"

Han Li opened his mouth, steeled himself, and decided to tell her. "An’an, actually, the zaizai..."

"It’s the zaizai!"

"And Ao Wu!"

Before he could finish, Yu An suddenly cried out in surprise. Han Li instinctively looked over and saw five people—two adults and three children—standing at the exit of the Mist Forest.

He was startled, but that was quickly followed by unconcealable joy.

’We found the zaizai! I don’t have to be on edge all day anymore!’

Both groups ran toward each other. Da Hu and his younger brothers rushed toward Yu An in a flurry.

"Female Mother!"

"Female Mother, Xiao Hu missed you so much!"

"Female Mother, Female Mother, look, I’ve transformed!"

Ao Wu felt like he was going crazy from missing Yu An, but the zaizai were blocking the way between them, making it impossible to get close.

Not to mention the Golden Egg in his arms was bouncing restlessly, eager to get out and see its Female Mother.

Ao Si was squeezed to the side with nowhere to stand. Resigned, he decided he would have to wait for their reunion to finish before greeting his Little Sis.

Because of that earth-shaking collapse, the Beastmen who had been hunting in the Mist Forest were all fleeing.

This wasn’t the place to talk. Suppressing her excitement, Yu An brought them into her space.

Of course, she didn’t leave Ao Si behind.

The moment they entered, the Golden Egg couldn’t help but leap out. Its brilliant golden color instantly caught Yu An’s eye.

"This is..."

"This is our zaizai!"

Ao Wu said proudly, "An’an, ours!"

He briefly described the Dragon Clan’s method of reproduction to Yu An. Stroking the Golden Egg, Yu An marveled at how amazing Dragon Clan Beastmen were.

’They don’t even have to carry all the zaizai themselves!’

The Golden Egg rubbed affectionately against Yu An’s palm and nestled obediently in her arms.

Its obedient behavior made Ao Wu extremely jealous. "An’an, this little one is a real tormentor! It’s bashed me black and blue. How is it so well-behaved with you?"

"It’s so unfair!"

He showed her the red and swollen marks on his body, and Yu An couldn’t help but let out an uncharitable laugh.

Han Li, holding his own unhatched zaizai, deeply sympathized. "Mine’s the same. It gets so lively when it sees An’an, but when it’s with me, it’s like it’s asleep. Doesn’t even acknowledge me."

The two men looked at each other and sighed in unison.

Seeing them get sidetracked onto the topic of parenting, Ao Si quickly tugged on Ao Wu. "Hey, hey! There’s still a living, breathing person here!"

Only then did Yu An notice Ao Si. "And you are...?"