Chapter 290: So Many Grandfathers
But when he reached the area where the Cloud Beasts were gleefully zapping people with lightning, Tian Shu silently scrapped his previous thought.
’Forget it, forget it. I’d rather ride a dragon. It’s thrilling, sure, but at least my life isn’t on the line.’
"Brother?"
Just as Yu An was getting tired of capturing people, she caught sight of Ao Yi and the others out of the corner of her eye.
She immediately went over, checked on Ao Si’s condition, and inquired about the situation in Beast God City.
"Don’t worry, Little Sister," Ao Yi said in a gentle voice. "We’ve already stabilized Beast God City. We were worried something might have happened to you, so we came to check."
He saw that the people Yu An was having captured were not Beastmen, and as fate would have it, they also had someone with them who wasn’t a Beastman.
—Tian Shu.
Ao Yi gestured for Yu An to look at Tian Shu, asking with his eyes if he should be captured as well.
Yu An shook her head slightly. "Brother, let me formally introduce you. This is Young Master Tian Shu of the Upper Realm’s Tian Family."
"Not at all, not at all," Tian Shu hurriedly waved his hands. "You Excellencies can just call me Little Tian or Xiao Shu."
Are you kidding? His life was in Yu An’s hands. How could he dare put on the airs of a young master?
In the time it took them to speak, the Cloud Beasts, the swarm of snakes, and the Merfolk Clan had captured everyone. Not a single person slipped through the net.
Yu An collected them all into her space. If they were useful, she’d use them. If not, they would be put to work in her space.
With so many people, the Cloud Beast no longer had to plant vegetables itself. It just conjured a small whip and would lash anyone who didn’t work hard.
This was also a classic case of killing the chicken to scare the monkey—and the monkey, of course, was Tian Shu.
Contrasted with the miserable state of his companions, Tian Shu felt incredibly lucky. He didn’t have to be struck by lightning or serve a sentence.
So, he hastily pledged his loyalty to Yu An.
A wise man adapts to the circumstances. For now, at least, he swore his allegiance to Yu An!
"That won’t be necessary," Yu An said with a smile. "You’re a disciple of the Tian Family and one of the Young Master’s men. Naturally, you should side with the Tian Family and the Young Master."
"Tian Fu was injured when he fled. Where do you think he went? If he returned to the Tian Family, would they have a place for him?"
After leaving the Illusion Realm, she hadn’t sensed Tian Fu’s aura. He must have fled to the Upper Realm.
Tian Shu realized Yu An wanted to inquire about Tian Fu’s status in the Tian Family and quickly said, "My Lady, the Family Head once promised that if Tian Fu brought the Beastman Blood Crystals back to the family, he would be granted the position of Young Master. But he failed to bring them back, didn’t he?"
"Besides, the Tian Family is already under the control of the Clan Leader and the Young Clan Leader. For Tian Fu to return to the family after failing his mission... he’d be lucky not to be punished."
Yu An pondered for a moment. It seemed that ordinary Tian Family members didn’t know Tian Fu’s true identity. That made sense; a secret like this would only be known to the Family Head and a few elders.
And from the way Master Tian acted, it was clear he wasn’t truly loyal to Tian Fu. Perhaps Tian Fu once had confidants among the elders, but after so many years, they had likely been dealt with.
In other words, Tian Fu couldn’t gain a foothold in the Tian Family unless he revealed his identity as their old ancestor.
However, for Master Tian to feign compliance while secretly disobeying, even knowing Tian Fu was the ancestor, he must have a way to deal with Tian Fu.
Perhaps Master Tian had been dissatisfied with Tian Fu for a long time. After all, he was doing just fine as the one in power, and then an ancestor suddenly appeared out of thin air to lord over him. No one would be happy about that.
The enemy of an enemy is a friend. As long as someone was dissatisfied with Tian Fu, they were a potential ally for Yu An.
Adhering to the principle of striking an enemy when he’s down, Yu An immediately decided to head to the Upper Realm.
When she proposed leaving Ao Yi and the other three in the Beastman World to protect the surviving Beastmen, the four of them didn’t quite agree.
Ao Er shook his head and said, "Little Sister, since the Pseudo Beast God has already left, there’s no real danger here. We should go with you to the Upper Realm."
"Yeah, yeah," Ao Si agreed. "Little Sister, your Fourth Brother’s spiritual power may not be that high, but my running speed is absolutely top-notch. If we can win, we fight. If we can’t, we run."
Ao Shan burst out laughing. "Right, right. All those years of being beaten by our Beast Father have finally paid off. Your escape skills are finally useful."
Ao Si’s hackles rose. "Third Brother, what are you talking about?!"
’That damned Third Brother! Don’t make me lose face in front of Little Sister!’
Among the group, only Ao Yi caught the key point. "Little Sister, you said these people in the Endless Land are the surviving Beastmen... What does that mean?"
’Did something happen to the Beastman Continent and the Beast God Continent?’
Yu An hadn’t intended to hide it from them. She just hadn’t had time to explain before. Now, she told her four brothers everything that had happened recently all at once.
The Tian Family from the Upper Realm, the Blood Crystals, Tian Fu’s true identity, and her own identity in the Upper Realm...
Hit by a series of bombshells, none of the four could speak. They were all busy processing the information.
They had only known that Tian Fu was the Pseudo Beast God; they never imagined so many other things were involved.
In a corner, ignored by everyone, Tian Shu’s expression went from fawning to shocked as he dazedly listened to the whole story.
He wasn’t interested in the Blood Crystals; he knew about those. But he had no idea that Tian Fu was actually the Tian Family’s old ancestor!
’Me, an insignificant figure as ordinary as they come, I actually volunteered to the Young Master to assassinate the Tian Family’s ancestor, who’s been alive for who-knows-how-many-years?!’
’That was just asking for a death sentence!’
’Thank god, thank god I was captured by Yu An before I could make a move.’
’Well, I did make a move, but I had helpers then. And when we failed, they even took me with them when they ran... Whatever. As long as I’m not dead, it’s fine.’
The four Ao brothers, however, focused on the Blood Crystals. "Little Sister, do you mean everyone on the Beastman Continent and the Beast God Continent, including our Female Mother and Beast Father, and all our clan members, have been turned into Blood Crystals?"
"Yes. But don’t worry, I already know how to restore the Blood Crystals. It just requires a period of practice."
Yu An pulled Han Li over. "Han Li was turned into a Blood Crystal before. Look, he’s perfectly fine after being changed back."
"Brothers, don’t you worry. I will restore everyone."
Tian Shu, focused solely on currying favor with Yu An, hadn’t noticed Han Li’s presence. Only after hearing Yu An speak did he realize that Han Li was the very person his men had turned into a Blood Crystal in Winter City.
Ao Yi said gently, "Little Sister, we believe in you. Since you’ve already made up your mind, we brothers will wait here in the Endless Land and stand guard until you return."
Yu An gave Ao Yi a Jade Token imbued with her superpower. If anything were to happen in the Beastman World, she would know as soon as the token was crushed.
Before departing for the Upper Realm, Yu An took the group on a trip to the Beastman Continent.
As the Beast God, Yu An could do as she pleased in the Beastman World and could instantly arrive anywhere she wished.
She had expected the Beastman Continent to be completely deserted, but when they arrived and saw the scene before them, Yu An’s jaw nearly dropped.
The others weren’t any better off. They looked questioningly at Tian Shu, but he also had a baffled expression.
’I don’t know! Why is it like this?’
Little Wolf, held in Ao Yi’s arms, stretched out his finger and pointed around as if choosing soldiers, counting as he went:
"One grandfather, two grandfathers, three grandfathers..."
He looked at Yu An, his face full of amazement. "Female Mother, does Grandfather know the Clone Technique? Why are there so many Grandfathers here?"