Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Leaving the Underground Mine

After some forceful methods from Ao Si, the three men impersonating Ao Yi and his brothers finally revealed a few things.

Fortunately, they hadn’t been impersonating them for long. Plus, the main mission for Ao Yi and his brothers had been to find Yu An, so they hadn’t posed a major threat to the Dragon Clan.

"What about my big brother and the others? Where were they taken?"

In the Dragon Clan’s prison, Ao Si’s gaze was grim. The trussed-up male trembled. "I-I don’t know. Our mission was just to impersonate them."

"They were led away by someone else. I really don’t know!"

Ao Si questioned the three repeatedly, and once he was certain they truly didn’t know anything, he grew frustrated.

’Not a single clue. Where was he supposed to find his big brother and the others?!’

"F-Fourth Master, the Eldest Master is back!"

The prison door burst open, and a guard ran over, panting. "The Eldest Master is back!"

Ao Si froze, then spun around in excitement. "What did you say? My big brother is back?"

"Yes, the Eldest Master just returned. He’s already headed to the Clan Leader’s courtyard." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Ao Si immediately dropped the interrogation tools in his hands and bolted outside excitedly.

Ao Yi had just finished speaking with his Beast Father, Ao Jin, and had given a youngling he brought back to the clansmen to find its birth parents, when Ao Si burst in.

He was overjoyed to see Ao Yi. "Big Brother!"

"Little Four," Ao Yi said with a smile. "It’s been a while. You’ve grown up."

’He used to be so irresponsible, never taking anything seriously. I can’t believe he was the first to find our little sister and even made those three impostors spill everything they knew.’

Ao Si grinned sheepishly. "Oh, right, Big Brother. When I came in just now, I heard you telling Beast Father that you met our little sister?"

"Yes," Ao Yi nodded. "I fell into the Death Abyss, and there I met one of our little sister’s Beast Husbands..."

He recounted the whole story. While Ao Si was relieved, he couldn’t help but worry about his second and third brothers.

"I wonder where Second and Third Brother were taken," Ao Si said, dejected. "It’s a shame those three impostors were completely clueless. Otherwise, we could have gone to rescue them."

Ao Yi clapped him on the shoulder. "Don’t worry. I’ll take some men and find them."

"Beast Father," he said, turning to Ao Jin. "Our little sister’s two Beast Husbands are also missing. While we’re looking for our second and third brothers, let’s have the clansmen search for them as well."

Ao Jin nodded slightly. "The order has already been given. Ao Yi, you just got back. Go and rest first."

The Dragon Clan had already dispatched most of its available members, so they could spare Ao Yi for now. The flowers representing Ao Er and Ao Shan hadn’t withered, which meant they were still alive, or at least their lives weren’t in danger.

Ao Yi’s anxious heart settled slightly. He decided to do as his Beast Father said and rest before joining the search.

His big brother’s return finally allowed Ao Si’s frayed nerves to relax. He was even in the mood to joke around with his Beast Father. "Big Brother, go get some rest. I’ll tell Beast Father all about our little sister."

"Beast Father, you have no idea how cute our little sister is! Oh, and her Zaizai... wait, you’ve already seen the Zaizai. I’ll just tell you about our little sister, then..."

And then, Ao Yi saw his Beast Father’s face darken.

He quickly left the room, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. Sure enough, just as he got outside, he heard Ao Si start to yelp.

"Beast Father, Beast Father, let go! My ear, my ear! You’re going to pull it off!"

"Big Brother, help me! Big Brother, don’t go! Save me...!"

Hearing this, Ao Yi ran even faster.

’Beast Father was already upset that he still hadn’t seen his own daughter. Ao Si’s bragging was just asking for trouble.’

’So...’

’Fourth Brother, forgive me, but I’m powerless to help you.’

While the clansmen were out searching, Feng Xuan and Ao Er hadn’t given up on finding a chance to escape. The next few days would present the perfect opportunity.

They were scheduled to transport ore to a place near a city called Sand City. The guards would be strict along the way, so their best chance to escape would be after reaching their destination.

The most important thing now was to get assigned to the transport detail. Even if it didn’t mean freedom, just getting out for a breath of fresh air would be good.

So, the miners did everything they could to get a spot, and some even started fighting over it.

Since they had been keeping their heads down lately, and because the two supervisors Feng Xuan had bribed when he first arrived happened to be in charge of selecting the transport crew, Feng Xuan’s "financial persuasion" worked its magic. Both of them were chosen for the ore transport detail.

"Hurry up! Don’t waste time, or you can forget about getting paid for the next few days!"

The miners hadn’t seen the outside world in a long time, and some tried to escape in the chaos. The supervisors, who had been relatively lenient, instantly turned vicious and became exceptionally strict with them.

Two of the miners who resisted the most fiercely were even beaten to death on the spot.

Feng Xuan and Ao Er remained silent. When others tried to flee, they were among the few who didn’t, so the supervisors’ attitude toward them was still tolerable. However, they also ordered their men to keep a constant watch on them.

The two of them acted as if nothing had happened. They ate when told, slept when told, and marched when told, all to conserve their strength and wait for the perfect moment to escape.

「Meanwhile, Yu An and her group arrived in Sand City.」

As its name suggested, Sand City was located in a desert. The Beastmen of Sand City would wrap a cloth around their faces when they went out to avoid getting a mouthful of dirt whenever the wind kicked up sand.

At first, Han Li found the cloth to be a nuisance. But after getting a mouthful of dirt and sand in his eyes, he obediently wrapped one around his own face.

Sand City was hot, and its heat knew no time or season; it was sweltering all year round.

Before entering the Sand City region, the weather had been cool, and Yu An and the others had been wearing thick clothes. But after arriving, they all changed into light, thin garments.

The cloth wraps also offered protection from the sun. Even so, the complexions of the city’s Beastmen were mostly a wheat-like tan.

’The space’s task board is really thoughtful,’ Yu An mused. The task it issued upon their arrival in Sand City was related to cooling foods—

[Sell one thousand servings of iced products within seven days. Type of product is not limited.]

This time, the stall cart came with two large freezers—the kind that could refrigerate without being plugged in. Although a thousand servings was a lot, Yu An was determined to complete this task no matter what.

’The space can keep food from spoiling, but it can’t chill it. With these two big freezers, I’ll never have to worry about not being able to make heat-relieving snacks in the summer again.’

As before, she rented a courtyard in Sand City. After tidying up the kitchen, Yu An began to figure out what to make.

The simplest option was shaved ice. She decided to start with that and would consider adding more variety later.

There were cows being raised in her space, so Yu An boiled some milk to pasteurize it, let it cool, then put it in the freezer to freeze. While waiting, she started preparing the toppings for the shaved ice.

Fruit was a must. She diced apples, hawthorns, strawberries, and other fruits grown in her space, and also stewed several large pots of assorted fruit jams.

Red beans and raisins were also essential. There were some recipes in the space, and previously, when they had free time, Chun Nuan and the others had picked ripe fruit and dried a lot of it.

’It’s a shame that nata de coco is hard to make, or else it would definitely be among the toppings.’

Once everything was ready, the milk in the freezer had also frozen solid into blocks of ice.