Yunyang knew that over the past half month, it wasn’t only Qin Mo and Xuan Yu who had been working hard to improve their abilities. The other beast husbands had been doing their best as well.
So she rose to her feet and kissed each of the remaining six beast husbands in turn.
Of course, she only kissed the others on the cheek.
After rewarding all eight of her beast husbands, Yunyang suddenly sighed. “I wonder how A-Ye is doing now.”
Half a month had already passed, yet there was still no news of Pei Wenye. The Black Jiao Tribe hadn’t sent anyone to notify her either. How could she not be worried?
The eight beast husbands fell silent as well.
After a while, Fuyuan spoke. “Female Lord, why don’t I go take a look at the Black Jiao Tribe?”
He was an aquatic beastman too. Even if the Black Jiao Tribe refused to accept males from outside, they had no reason to stop a merman like him from entering the sea, right?
He would only be going to look around the seabed. He had no intention of entering their tribe.
Yunyang was a little uncertain. There was only one tribe on Waterstar, which meant that the entire planet was the territory of the Black Jiao Tribe. Could Fuyuan really enter the seabed?
But she was genuinely worried about Pei Wenye, so after hesitating for a moment, she nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
If the Black Jiao Tribe refused to welcome Fuyuan, then with her there, they probably wouldn’t drive him straight back onto land.
“All right.” Fuyuan agreed without hesitation.
The Black Jiao Tribe was very friendly toward females, and the other beast husbands trusted Fuyuan to protect Yunyang. Together, they escorted the two of them to the shore.
Fuyuan entered the water first, then reached out a hand toward Yunyang.
Behind a rock not far from the shore, a tiny snowy owl poked out his fluffy head and stared intently at Yunyang’s back.
Over the past half month, Yunyang had rarely left the habitat pod, so he hadn’t had a chance to see her.
Now, he finally got to see her again.
A layer of feathers had already grown over his body. He wondered whether Yunyang would like them.
Nuo Xiao really wanted to go over and ask Yunyang whether she liked his beast form. But when he saw the eight beast husbands beside her, the foot he had tentatively stretched out silently withdrew.
The eight beast husbands had always remembered that, besides Yunyang and themselves, there was another beastman on land.
Therefore, even after Cang Zhuonian sensed Nuo Xiao’s presence, he didn’t say anything.
He merely shifted slightly, blocking every bit of empty space around Yunyang. Then he smiled at her.
“Female Lord, be careful on the way.”
Yunyang nodded. After activating the diving equipment, she reached out toward Fuyuan.
Her hand landed in his palm. He exerted a little force and pulled her into his arms.
Yunyang had visited the Black Jiao Tribe once before. She would give Fuyuan directions from his arms, while he concentrated on traveling at full speed.
Before long, the two of them arrived outside the Black Jiao Tribe.
The Dragon Abyss lay behind the tribe. Yunyang craned her neck to look, but aside from complete darkness, she couldn’t see a thing.
It seemed they would still have to ask the Sacred Female.
Yunyang patted Fuyuan’s arm. Once he lowered her to the ground, she set off toward the Black Jiao Tribe.
Fuyuan followed beside her, maintaining his swimming posture.
Yunyang had initially been worried that Fuyuan might be stopped outside.
But whether Xie Wenna had given them advance notice or the Black Jiao beastmen had recognized Fuyuan’s beast form, none of the Black Jiao beastmen along the way stopped them.
After entering the Black Jiao Tribe, Fuyuan transformed into human form and followed closely behind Yunyang.
The two arrived at Xie Wenna’s residence without a problem.
Yunyang knocked on the door. “Sacred Female.”
Hearing the familiar voice from outside, Xie Wenna rose from her bed and straightened her clothes before going to open the door.
She didn’t spare Fuyuan a glance. She merely inclined her head slightly toward Yunyang. “Lady Yunyang, you came to ask about Pei Wenye, didn’t you?”
Yunyang immediately nodded.
“I’m afraid I don’t know either.” Xie Wenna sighed. “There’s no way for anyone outside to investigate the situation in the Dragon Abyss. Unless Pei Wenye comes out on his own, we have no idea how he’s doing.”
“But I do know that if a jiao has already begun transforming into a dragon, it can complete the transformation in as little as twenty days if everything goes quickly. If it takes longer…” She trailed off. “Then it’s hard to say.”
Twenty days was how long it had taken the tribe’s ancestor to successfully transform into a dragon.
But over the past thousand years, no one in the tribe besides that ancestor had succeeded. As a result, even Xie Wenna wasn’t certain how long the process would actually take.
Yunyang pressed her lips together. Only five days remained until the twenty-day mark.
Then she would wait a little longer.
She ought to trust Pei Wenye.
“I understand. Thank you, Sacred Female.”
Yunyang actually wanted to remain in the Black Jiao Tribe until the twenty-day deadline had passed, but her several beast husbands certainly wouldn’t be welcome there, and she didn’t want to stay alone.
The Black Jiao Tribe respected females greatly, but it was still wise to remain cautious around strangers.
Therefore, after bidding farewell to Xie Wenna, Yunyang left the Black Jiao Tribe with Fuyuan.
As soon as they left the tribe, Fuyuan transformed back into his merman form and scooped Yunyang into his arms once more.
He engaged the strength in his waist and abdomen, carrying Yunyang swiftly toward the shore.
Mermen were incredibly fast. Among the aquatic beastmen currently known in the Federation, Fuyuan ranked among the top three.
In less than five minutes, Fuyuan had swum nearly ten kilometers.
However, at that very moment, a painful, thunderous roar suddenly rang out from the Dragon Abyss behind the Black Jiao Tribe.
Fuyuan’s movements halted. He instinctively tightened his hold on Yunyang, then turned to look toward the Dragon Abyss.
Yunyang narrowed her eyes and looked over as well.
From where they were, they happened to have a clear view of the Black Jiao beastmen rushing out of the tribe.
Xie Wenna had also emerged from her residence, along with the tribe’s chief.
The Black Jiao beastmen bowed slightly toward Xie Wenna.
“Sacred Female, that sound came from the Dragon Abyss. Could it be that the tribe member who entered earlier has successfully transformed into a dragon?”
Xie Wenna couldn’t say for certain.
The chief shook his head. “Our ancestor only successfully transformed into a dragon after entering the Dragon Abyss for twenty days. That tribe member has only been inside for half a month. It should be too soon.”
That was what he said, but the deep sound had rolled out like thunder, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the dragon roars they knew.
So everyone—from Xie Wenna and the chief to the young jiao who had only just learned to walk in human form—remained in the open area, unwilling to leave.
Yunyang had a powerful premonition. “Fuyuan, let’s go down there.”
“All right.”
Fuyuan didn’t hesitate. He immediately took her back to the Black Jiao Tribe and quietly joined the crowd.
Xie Wenna and the chief naturally noticed the two of them, but for Yunyang’s sake, neither of them drove Fuyuan away.
Everyone’s attention was focused on the Dragon Abyss behind the tribe.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes…
A full half hour passed, yet no further sound came from the Dragon Abyss.
The young jiao could no longer hold out. They had already gone off in groups to play nearby.
The adult Black Jiao beastmen continued waiting.
Another dozen or so minutes passed before a series of explosions rang out from within the Dragon Abyss.
Zan Moli, standing in the crowd, froze for a moment.
Why did that sound resemble Nuo Xiao’s exploding feathers so much?
Nuo Xiao was a snowy owl, but unlike most of his people, whose abilities were ice- or wind-based, his ability was Feather Blast.
Every one of his feathers was equivalent to a concentrated energy bomb. Combined with the fact that he was a flying beastman, even land and aquatic beastmen of the same level would have a hard time gaining the upper hand against him.
Zan Moli had suffered at his hands before, so he was far too familiar with the sound of Nuo Xiao’s feather blasts.
Could it be that Nuo Xiao had gone into the Dragon Abyss as well?
Zan Moli was deep in thought when a pitch-black figure suddenly burst out of the Dragon Abyss.
