"It's you?"
The knife in Yu An's hand had yet to strike when the large hand on her neck suddenly let go.
Feng Xuan looked at the female before him, then glanced around and asked, "Why are you alone? Where are the Zaizai?"
To prevent infant mortality, females always kept their newborn cubs with them. This ugly female didn't have a single Zaizai with her. 'Could it be... she threw them away?!'
"Who are you?" Yu An rubbed her neck where he had squeezed it, her voice cold. "I don't know you."
'What a strange male.'
It was all a misunderstanding. Judging by his appearance, he probably wasn't an accomplice of the bear cub. Yu An immediately got back in her vehicle, ready to continue her journey.
Feng Xuan grabbed her by the wrist, his brow furrowed. "You don't know me? Yu An, say that again!"
'She drugged me, and did... that... to me, and now she's saying she doesn't know me!'
Alarm bells rang in Feng Xuan's mind. 'Could it be that this ugly female doesn't want to give me the Zaizai and is deliberately pretending not to know me?'
"I said I don't know you! Let go!"
Yu An was growing impatient. She tried to shake off Feng Xuan's hand, but his grip was so strong she couldn't break free.
Han Li leaped up from her arms and swiped at him fiercely with a paw, but unfortunately, he wasn't strong enough to even break the skin.
Feng Xuan didn't even frown. He casually picked up the little pup, tossed it back into Yu An's arms, and revealed his identity. "I am Feng Xuan."
"Where are the Zaizai? I'm taking them with me."
Yu An froze for a moment, then grabbed his hand and pulled him into the vehicle with her. Feng Xuan had just opened his mouth to speak when he was hit with a faceful of wind.
Feng Xuan: "!!!"
"Where are you taking me?"
"To rescue Zaizai," Yu An said, her expression grave. "Someone took him to Snow Mountain. I was just on my way to find him."
The moment Feng Xuan stated his name, Yu An remembered.
He was the biological Beast Father of Da Hu and San Dan, the Clan Leader of the Northern Tiger Clan, and one of the Beastmen she had spent that passionate night with.
'In any case, another person means another pair of hands. The priority is to rescue Da Hu first.'
It dawned on Feng Xuan, and he roared in fury, "Yu An, who did this? I'll tear them to shreds!"
As his anger surged, his determination to take the Zaizai away grew even stronger. This harsh environment was no place for the Zaizai, and a weak female like Yu An was incapable of protecting them.
Yu An briefly explained what had happened. Snow Mountain was just ahead, and she sped toward it.
Snow covered the mountain from its base, a vast expanse of white.
Fortunately, both Han Li and Feng Xuan had keen senses of smell. Yu An gave Feng Xuan one of Da Hu's belongings, and they began to search for his whereabouts.
Han Li gave Feng Xuan a couple of extra glances. He had heard Feng Xuan's name back in Han Ling City.
The Clan Leader of the Northern Tiger Clan. A few months ago, he had gone to the Beast Emperor City for the Beast Emperor's birthday banquet, only to be taken advantage of by the Imperial City's notoriously ugly female.
'To think that female was actually Yu An.'
"I've detected him. He's over there."
Feng Xuan had unleashed his spiritual power to search, which was much faster than simply tracking. He quickly located a young black bear running toward the summit of Snow Mountain, holding a tiger cub.
Yu An's face lit up. Just as she was about to give chase, Feng Xuan shifted into his beast form and leaped in front of her. "Get on. I'm faster."
The giant white tiger sprinted toward the summit, the cold air it kicked up making Yu An shiver.
She took out some thick clothes and put them on, then tucked Han Li into her coat. Otherwise, the two of them would freeze solid before they even found Da Hu.
The aura of a male with Heavenly Level Spiritual Power was incredibly intimidating. The bear cub's hair stood on end, but he gritted his teeth and kept running.
Da Hu's eyes were shut tight, his breathing faint. He was still small, and his body temperature was dropping rapidly in the frigid snowscape.
The bear cub, for some unknown reason, hastily wrapped him in a Beast Skin, shielding him slightly from the freezing wind.
'The little cub can't die yet. The greatest pain for Yu An would be to witness his death with her own eyes.'
The thought of Yu An being devastated spurred the bear cub on, and he ran in one last burst of energy to the cliff edge he had planned to reach.
Below the cliff was a bottomless abyss, a dangerous territory that no Beastman or wild beast ever dared to enter.
A white tiger soon appeared in his line of sight. The bear cub was surprised for a moment. He had expected the black snake. 'Where did this unfamiliar white tiger come from?'
But it didn't matter.
His gaze swept over a dozen or so mounds in the snow, and the bear cub calmed down.
'It doesn't matter who it is. I spent all the money my Female Mother and Beast Father earned to hire powerful help. No matter who they are, they'll be buried here.'
"It really is you," Yu An said, dismounting from the white tiger's back. Her voice was sharp. "Give Da Hu back to me!"
The bear cub sneered. "Give him back to you? Fine. Come and take him yourself."
At his command, a dozen or so male Beastmen suddenly emerged from the snow. They brandished their weapons and charged, attacking without a word.
Feng Xuan remained in his beast form, single-handedly holding them back. "Yu An, go rescue Da Hu!"
The bear cub's original plan was for the hired Beastmen to hold everyone off while he leisurely tied Da Hu to the edge of the cliff. He would wait for Yu An to kneel and beg, savoring the sight of the ugly female's groveling, and then throw Da Hu off the cliff.
But now, his plan was in complete disarray.
The bear cub cursed them as useless. Seeing the formidable approach of Yu An and Han Li, he grabbed Da Hu by the neck. "Don't move, or I'll strangle him!"
Yu An was forced to a halt. As the bear cub gloated, the figure of Lu Lu appeared behind him, approaching silently.
The bear cub, completely unaware, said maliciously, "Want to save your cub? How about this, ugly female: you get on your knees and kowtow to me. I'll let your cub go whenever I'm satisfied. How about... AHH!"
Before he could finish, Da Hu bit his hand hard. The bear cub cried out in pain and flung Da Hu away.
Yu An remained unusually calm and immediately ordered Lu Lu to catch him. As the tiny tiger cub was gathered into her arms, the heart that had been lodged in Yu An's throat finally settled.
The bear cub was also bound by vines, and Lu Lu slapped him hard across the face twice.
"An'an, what should we do with him?"
Looking at the bear cub glaring at her and then at Da Hu in her arms, Yu An was a little dazed.
'Is the crisis over just like that?'
Before she could answer, the battle on Feng Xuan's side had also ended. He strode over. "Where's Da Hu? How is he?"
"Da Hu is fine," Yu An said, glancing at the bear cub in disgust. "Take him down the mountain, flay him, and feed him to the dogs!"
Han Li thought the Beastmen Feng Xuan had killed looked familiar and was examining them. When he heard Yu An's words, he was instantly displeased.
'What kind of trash is that? A dog wouldn't eat him!'
The cliff was too dangerous, with the risk of collapsing at any moment. Han Li decided to argue with Yu An about it after they got back.
Feng Xuan looked at Da Hu with longing but didn't try to snatch him from Yu An's arms. He kicked the bear cub. "Get moving!"
The bear cub looked utterly wretched. His gaze swept over the Beastmen corpses on the ground, then landed on what was in Yu An's arms.
Suddenly, he gave a strange smile.
Yu An seemed to sense something and looked up, her eyes meeting his.
Before she could wonder why the bear cub was smiling so happily despite his failed plot, Da Hu, nestled in her arms, suddenly opened his eyes and swung his little paws.
Yu An felt a sharp pain on her face and her hands loosened instinctively. The next second, Da Hu struggled free from her grasp and leaped off the cliff without hesitation!
"Zaizai—"
Yu An cried out in alarm, her body reacting faster than her mind as she jumped after him!