Chapter 299: A Lonely Vigil and a Sleepless Night
"I’m not full..."
"I want more..."
The greedy wolf offered up his fluffy ears and tail in exchange for another bite, but he was rejected.
To be precise, his fluffy ears and tail were still fair game for petting, but all other unreasonable demands were firmly refused.
Yu An toyed with Han Li’s fluffy tail. It automatically wriggled in her arms, as if trying to act cute and curry favor.
Her eyes were half-closed, heavy with sleep. "Alright, alright, next time... For now, let’s go back and rest."
’All this fuss... I guess we don’t have to hurry tomorrow?’
"I can carry you."
Han Li mumbled but ultimately didn’t press the issue. After they cleaned up, he held his soft wife and drifted off to sleep.
He was quite content. Right now, he was the only one by Yu An’s side, with plenty of opportunities for intimacy.
’Unlike some people... Tsk, tsk, all alone in an empty room, unable to sleep a wink~’
Just as he’d suspected, the others he was thinking of were indeed wide awake.
They stared at the moon in the sky without a hint of drowsiness.
"You cannot leave again," a somber voice echoed within the magnificent golden temple. "None of you. Otherwise, the Heaven and Earth Illusion Realm will be in jeopardy..."
"Get lost!"
Lan Ying had no patience for the Divine Hall Spirit and casually grabbed a nearby wine cup, hurling it at the voice.
The phantom image of a Merfolk shattered from the impact. Lan Yin poured himself a cup of wine. "Why are you getting angry with it?"
"Don’t worry, we won’t leave again."
The Divine Hall Spirit quickly coalesced again, its voice flat and emotionless. "You’d better not."
Lan Ying rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything more. He and Lan Yin had been focusing on restoring their spiritual power and wouldn’t be wracking their brains for a way to escape for the time being.
The future, however, was another matter. Once their strength was restored, they might be able to win their freedom.
Mo Yan and Feng Xuan were in the same boat. Unable to sleep, they seized the time to cultivate, straining with all their might to be the first to find Yu An.
Over on Overlord Mountain, it was a different scene entirely. The moon was especially full tonight, and Ao Wu felt a wave of melancholy wash over him. He sat alone at the highest peak of Overlord Mountain with a wine jug, drinking by himself under the moonlight.
"Sigh—"
The bandits on night watch counted. That was the Chief’s fifty-second sigh. Anyone who didn’t know better would think Overlord Mountain was about to be trampled flat tomorrow.
"Hiss... I have a bad feeling about this. You don’t think something’s actually going to happen to Overlord Mountain, do you...?"
"Don’t overthink it. Instead of worrying about that, you should be worrying about how we’re going to get the drunk Chief back later. He doesn’t let anyone near him except the Young Miss."
"Nothing’s going to happen," Fuzai said calmly, appearing out of nowhere. "Beast Father is just missing Female Mother."
"He’s drinking juice, not wine. He won’t get drunk."
The night watch bandits: "..."
’Well, that was a waste of worry.’
After telling them to go rest, Fuzai pattered up, turned into a small dragon, and flopped onto her Beast Father’s head.
"Beast Father, when do you think Female Mother will come find us?"
"Zaizai," Ao Wu said, taking a sorrowful swig. "Beast Father wants to know too."
Fuzai let out a heavy sigh and asked for the umpteenth time, "Can we really not go look for Female Mother?"
’Trying our luck has to be better than just sitting here waiting.’
"Don’t you dare mention the word ’luck’," Ao Wu said irritably. "Your Beast Father has no good luck."
"That’s true. You went to the Beastman Continent to find Female Mother but ended up trapped in the Endless Land for over ten years. And as soon as you got back to the Beast God Continent, you were stuck in the Imprisonment Cave for days."
Fuzai shook her head like a little adult. "If it weren’t for your dear Zaizai, you’d still be locked up in the Imprisonment Cave right now, Beast Father."
Ao Wu: "..."
The night deepened. Fuzai had been sleepy for a while, and as she spoke, her eyes slowly closed.
Before falling asleep, her last thought was—
’Maybe I should go find Female Mother by myself?’
When Ao Wu heard Fuzai go quiet, he put down the wine jug full of juice and carried her back to her room to rest.
He was completely unaware that his own child was planning to ditch her old man and go find her mother all by herself.
The people had returned safely, but all the goods were gone. On the road, the Steward’s face was etched with worry, but he didn’t dare let it show too obviously.
Because Tian Rong had already said he would take full responsibility, in the eyes of the other guards, it was just a few carts of ordinary goods—nothing to be so worried about.
’The master taking responsibility isn’t even worried, so what are you, a subordinate, worrying for?’
But what the guards didn’t know was that while Tian Rong ate and drank as usual during the day, seemingly unaffected, at night, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Guo Min was the one who shared his bed; she knew him better than anyone. She saw everything.
If he could afford to compensate for the loss, her carefree husband wouldn’t be anxious to the point of insomnia. That left only one conclusion—
Not only was the cargo they were transporting impossible to compensate for, but to put it more seriously, losing those items would send the Family Head into a thunderous rage!
Thinking of this, Guo Min didn’t remain idle. She mentally calculated their family’s savings. Also, their son, Tian Shu, was away on an errand for the Young Master. Perhaps on their son’s account, the Young Master might help plead their case.
And so, amidst the apprehension of these three individuals, the convoy returned to Tianhuan City.
Because this shipment was extremely important, Young Master Tian Heng came to receive them personally.
Tian Rong was originally from a branch family. After his father saved the Family Head’s life, he was promoted and valued by the Family Head. So, it wasn’t entirely out of place for Tian Heng to come and greet him personally.
However, when he saw the single, empty carriage, a crack appeared in the smile on Tian Heng’s face.
But he quickly composed himself and took the initiative to approach, first asking if Tian Rong and his wife had a safe journey.
He was just about to ask where the cargo was, but Tian Rong beat him to it.
His face was a mask of anger and helplessness. "Young Master, bandits stole all the goods!"
"What? Bandits?"
"Yes!"
Tian Rong seethed with righteous indignation. "It was a bandit fortress called Overlord Mountain. You wouldn’t believe it, Young Master, but the chief of Overlord Mountain actually has Divine level Spiritual Power! People like us were no match for them at all."
"They demanded we hand over all the cargo, or none of us would leave alive. I figured our lives were more important than the goods, so I gave them everything."
Tian Rong pretended not to see the stunned look on Tian Heng’s face and continued his act. "Don’t worry, Young Master. The responsibility is mine. I alone will bear the family’s losses."
"Whatever the cost of the damages, please have someone calculate the amount, Young Master. Even if I have to empty my family’s savings, even if I have to borrow, I will definitely compensate for it!"
He spoke with great bravado. And since they were at the gates of Tianhuan City, the passersby who overheard what had happened couldn’t help but give Tian Rong a thumbs-up.
’Righteous!’
The guards were also quite moved, and they began discussing how they could help shoulder some of the burden.
But Tian Heng could barely maintain the expression on his face.
’Compensation?’
’Even if everyone here paid with their lives, it wouldn’t cover even a tenth of the losses!’
However, they were at the city gates, with people coming and going, and the nature of the cargo couldn’t be exposed to the light. Tian Heng had no choice but to pretend he didn’t care.
"Uncle Rong, what are you saying? It was just some unimportant cargo. Your safe return is what matters most."
As he spoke the word "unimportant," he nearly ground his teeth to dust!
Tian Rong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This was a crucial part of the plan he had devised after days and nights of thought.
By revealing the matter at the city gates, the Family Head wouldn’t, at the very least, take action against his family immediately in a fit of rage.
’First, I’ll delay for a while. My son will be back soon. Then, the whole family can make a run for it!’