Werebeast Gongs CH 107 If This Is The End
Lei Jin and Mingya spent half the day searching the area. The ruins of collapsed buildings were everywhere, overgrown with weeds, but the towering city wall that seemed so close remained frustratingly out of reach. No matter how far they walked, they couldn’t seem to get any closer—as if they were going in circles.
"This place is seriously weird," Lei Jin muttered, chewing on a blade of grass as he leaned against Mingya, one leg propped up and swinging idly. He couldn’t figure out what was going on.
"Lei Jin, what should we do now?" Mingya rolled onto his back, pulling Lei Jin onto his stomach. The two had been lying on this overgrown path for a while now, and the ground was freezing.
"Quiet, let me think." Lei Jin adjusted his position, resting comfortably on Mingya. This makes no sense. Is there some kind of barrier or illusion at work here? If so, they were in trouble—he knew nothing about this kind of thing.
Remembering Roger’s map, Lei Jin carefully pulled it out along with the black jade stones. But to his disappointment, Roger’s map mainly marked underground passages, with only a few surface structures—all inside that damn city wall.
"Huh?" Lei Jin frowned, noticing something strange.
"What is it?" Mingya perked up, scanning their surroundings warily.
"There are two strange symbols here. What do they mean?" Roger had probably explained them, but Lei Jin had only paid attention to the parts inside the city wall, assuming the rest wasn’t important. Now, ironically, they were stuck outside. There were annotations, but he couldn’t read Roger’s writing.
"Mingya doesn’t understand either." The symbols were too strange—he’d never seen anything like them.
"Didn’t expect you to." Lei Jin had been talking to himself anyway.
"But Mingya knows this word!" Mingya’s large paw covered the entire map, blocking Lei Jin’s view of whatever he was pointing at.
"Stop messing around. Let me see." Lei Jin pushed his paw aside.
"That word means ‘tree.’ Mingya knows it—papa taught us." Mingya insisted, anxious that Lei Jin didn’t believe him.
"Tree?" Lei Jin’s eyes lit up. He scrambled off Mingya and climbed onto a nearby rock, surveying their surroundings. Everywhere else was overgrown, but to the southwest, trees loomed thickly. Could the entrance to the forbidden area be hidden there? Guessing wouldn’t help—they had to check.
"Mingya, let’s go that way." The more Lei Jin thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
Mingya obediently crouched, gesturing for Lei Jin to climb onto his back.
"This place…" Lei Jin’s brows furrowed. Why was it here?
Mingya landed in a small clearing.
"Huh? Isn’t this where Mingya first met you?" Mingya looked around at the familiar scenery. Back then, something had urged him to come here. He’d just perched on a tree when a beautiful, scantily dressed female climbed up. His heart had raced—he’d instantly known this was the feeling papa described when you liked someone.
With Mingya’s confirmation, Lei Jin was certain. Despite seasonal differences in the landscape, this was definitely the spot. So after all this circling, the way back is where I came from. That day, he’d felt something unsettling deep in the forest. Now he realized—he’d been looking toward the so-called forbidden area.
As dusk fell, the forbidden area loomed in the mist, exuding an ominous aura.
Gurgle… Gurgle…
"What was that?" Lei Jin turned to Mingya.
Mingya hugged his stomach and grinned sheepishly. "Mingya’s hungry."
"The mood is practically ruined by you." Lei Jin patted his head. They hadn’t eaten since morning—with his size, no wonder Mingya was starving.
"Let’s find something to eat."
"Are we still going there?" Mingya hoped not. The place smelled weird, and he didn’t like it.
"Tomorrow." Now that they’d found the entrance, one more night wouldn’t hurt. Besides, sunlight might make the place less eerie.
"Oh." Mingya’s last hope was dashed. He really didn’t like that place, but if Lei Jin was going, he’d follow.
Whether due to the cold or the forbidden area’s influence, it took them a long time to find any animal tracks in the snow. But their patience paid off—they caught a dragon pig.
"Life is complete." Lei Jin had a complicated relationship with dragon pigs. One had attacked him on his first day here, and now, on his last, he got revenge. It might not be the same one, but close enough.
Rock shelters weren’t rare in the forest—with time and patience, you could always find one. Right now, Mingya was outside gutting the boar while Lei Jin gathered firewood. The damp branches were hard to light, and once they finally caught, the smoke was thick.
Lei Jin skewered the meat, scored it with his knife, rubbed it with salt, and roasted it over the fire. The heavy smoke gave it a smoky flavor. After scraping off the charred bits, the meat inside was tender. Dragon pig was finer than wild boar but more flavorful than farmed pork. They ate some and packed the rest for tomorrow.
Lei Jin woke in the middle of the night to find himself in Mingya’s arms again. Hot tears dripped onto his neck, searing his skin.
"Mingya…" Lei Jin sighed inwardly. This pure-hearted boy had stayed by his side from beginning to end, through all the twists and turns, from the beginning to the end.
Mingya turned his head, avoiding Lei Jin’s hand. His voice trembled. "Lei Jin, are you really leaving tomorrow?"
Lei Jin hummed lightly in affirmation.
"Will you remember Mingya?"
"I don’t know." Lei Jin stared at the snow outside. He wanted to forget this world and start fresh—but could he? He wasn’t sure.
"Mingya will remember you forever. Elder Brother and Second Brother will too. Even if you leave, remember the way home. We’ll wait for you. Mingya will plant lots of grapevines in the yard so you’ll have grapes when you come back…" He remembered how much Lei Jin loved wild grapes in summer.
"I won’t come back." Lei Jin hardened his heart and interrupted him.
"Mingya will wait and wait. Until you return." Mingya clutched Lei Jin’s sleeve, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
"Don’t cry, Mingya." Lei Jin tilted his head up in the dim firelight. Mingya’s blue eyes were glazed with tears, droplets rolling down his cheeks.
"How can I leave peacefully if you’re like this?" Lei Jin pulled him into a tight embrace. When he’d first arrived, this kid had loved curling up in his arms. Now Mingya was big enough to hold him in return—but he was leaving.
"Then Mingya won’t cry. Mingya won’t be sad." Mingya bit his lip, sniffling hard.
Lei Jin’s heart ached, but he forced a smile, tilting Mingya’s chin up. "Let me see—are your eyes red like a rabbit’s now?"
"Mingya really isn’t crying." Mingya buried his face in Lei Jin’s shoulder and refused to move, his voice thick with tears.
Then what’s soaking my shoulder? Lei Jin thought wryly. Mingya, I’m not worth it. You understand? Someone worthy wouldn’t watch you all suffer and still walk away. You, Xiya, Moya… you all deserve better.
Mingya cried himself to exhaustion. Lei Jin, however, couldn’t sleep. As dawn approached, the cold deepened. He tried to get up to add firewood, but Mingya stirred instantly.
"Lei Jin, where are you going? It’s still dark." Mingya’s voice was uneasy.
"Just adding wood." Lei Jin pointed at the dying fire.
"Oh." Mingya scrambled up, sticking close.
Lei Jin smiled bitterly. Afraid I’ll run off in the middle of the night? He poked the embers, added branches, and blew on them until flames leaped up.
"Lei Jin, look—shooting stars!" Mingya dragged him to the cave entrance, pointing at the sky.
At first, there were just a few. Then, countless stars streaked across the sky toward the southwest—a meteor shower.
Under the same sky, Xiya and Moya were also racing against time.
"Lei Jin, do you have stars where you’re from?"
"Yes." Though he’d never really looked at them.
"Does it snow there?"
"Yes." Not like this, though—he hadn’t seen snow this heavy in years.
“...”
“...”
Since neither could sleep, they sat by the cave entrance, watching the stars and chatting idly until dawn. The time for parting had come.
According to Roger’s map, an underground passage between two trees outside the city wall led to the Door of Reincarnation. But after searching, Lei Jin and Mingya only found a collapsed entrance. Abandoning that plan, they followed a crumbling road hidden in the woods.
Up close, the city wall was made of massive stone bricks, weathered but still standing. The gates were two towering black monoliths—each weighing tons. How had the people who used to live here move them?
The gates, unused for years, creaked ominously as Lei Jin and Mingya pushed them open just enough to squeeze through.
Mingya wrinkled his nose in discomfort—the foul stench was getting stronger.
The sight beyond the gates sent chills down Lei Jin’s spine. He suddenly got the urge to turn around and flee, but his will was always strong and he butchered.
Mingya gestured for Lei Jin to climb onto his back.
A broad road stretched ahead, flanked by rows of intact buildings—evidence of past prosperity. But now, the place was eerily silent, shrouded in mist despite the sunlight outside. Shadows lurked everywhere, and Lei Jin felt like he was descending into an abyss.
Then, lights flickered in the windows—approaching.
"Run, Mingya!" Lei Jin shouted.
Mingya, sensing danger, took off instantly, flapping his wings. Behind them, strange creatures emerged—humanoid but covered in gray fur and unable to walk upright, with hooked claws and bat-like wings. Their glowing yellow eyes had been the "lights" Lei Jin saw.
Though Mingya was fast, the creatures were relentless. Plus with a larger number, they soon caught up.
"We need to hide!" Lei Jin said. Fighting blindly was too risky. It was likely that the werebeast disappearances around here were due to these creatures.
"There are only houses, where can we hide, Lei Jin?"
"Definitely not the houses!" Those things had come from inside—entering would be suicide. Even if not, cramped spaces would limit their movement.
As the lead creature swiped at Mingya’s leg, Lei Jin smashed it with a torch. It recoiled but kept coming.
Mingya hid Lei Jin in a thick tree.
"Stay here, Lei Jin." Mingya nuzzled Lei Jin’s cheek reassuringly before turning to fight.
“Please be careful.” Lei Jin reminded, at this time he couldn't be indecisive. He would only be a burden to Mingya.
Mingya nodded and turned to battle. Lei Jin couldn't see the fighting situation clearly in the thick fog. He could only tell from the growls and blows that the battle was quite intense.
Lei Jin was anxious, knowing that no matter how brave and fierce Mingya was, it was impossible for him to handle so many opponents at the same time. But what should he do? What should he do?
Just as Lei Jin was wailing in his heart, a window under the tree was pushed open from the inside. A pair of turbid eyes stared at Lei Jin with a cunning light, and a whistle sounded from his mouth. Then, more creatures began gathering from all directions.
Lei Jin’s blood ran cold. Fine. Let’s see how you like fire. He lit all his oil-soaked torches and hurled them onto the rooftops. To his surprise, the roofs—whatever they were made of—caught instantly. The wind spread the flames rapidly. Seeing this, Lei Jin became a little worried, the forest wouldn't catch on fire as well, would it? But there wasn't time to worry about that.
A sound similar to that of a baby crying came from the houses, which made Lei Jin pause. However, when he saw that the fire had dispersed the thick fog and Mingya's fur was stained red with blood, the last bit of softness in his heart disappeared and he threw torches in one after another.
There seemed to be something very important to them in the houses. Those strange creatures howled and rushed in one after another, but they never came out. The few remaining ones surrounded Mingya and attacked him madly and desperately.
"Mingya, come here." Lei Jin shouted, came down from the tree, set all the clothes in the basket on fire and threw them at the remaining few creatures.
Though it likely wouldn't kill them, the distraction bought them time to flee toward the temple at the road’s end. But the temple doors were locked. Lei Jin kicked and shoved, but they wouldn’t budge. The creatures were closing in.
Calm down, calm down. Lei Jin studied the door. There were some patterns on the door, but they were nothing like those in the tribe. The nine numbers from one to nine were represented by nine groups of holes, and there was a fist-sized hole under each group. Lei Jin put the other end of the torch in and tried twice, but it was blocked. The noise behind was getting louder and louder. Suddenly, Lei Jin remembered the time he went to the temple with Xiya. Many things in the temple could be combined in threes, sixs, and fives. Whatever, why not give it a try? He reached in and tinkered with them one by one. With a click, the door opened automatically. Lei Jin pulled Mingya in and slammed the door shut, two claws that had swiped after them got caught by the door and broke off.
Inside, the temple was pitch-black. Lei Jin didn’t care about the deity but he still cupped his fists in respect. He then headed straight for the third room behind the altar, where Roger’s map indicated a hidden passage.
After entering, Lei Jin was taken aback. The tunnel walls were translucent, emitting a faint glow—crystal veins? Lei Jin thought of Chunji, who’d mentioned his homeland’s crystal mines which was why he had a lot of crystal vials at home. But this time in order to keep his leaving a secret, he never even said goodbye to him.
"Mingya, let me check your wounds." Lei Jin collapsed, exhausted but feeling like they were out of danger for the moment.
"Mingya’s fine." For some reason, Mingya avoided Lei Jin’s approach.
"You’re covered in blood. How is that fine?" Lei Jin insisted.
"It's their blood." There's no time, Lei Jin, there's no time. As the houses caught on fire and collapsed, Mingya felt as if the crystal tunnel was also starting to tremble.
"Are you really okay?" Lei Jin lowered his eyes and looked at him, somewhat unconvinced.
"En." Mingya stood up and shook his fur. The beads of blood yet to dry were shaken off by him, and the silver fur became much cleaner immediately.
Lei Jin was relieved then, turned around and led the way with a torch in hand.
But the winding tunnel eventually led back to the collapsed entrance outside the city wall.
"Mingya, go home from here. The rest is my journey alone." Lei Jin wasn't disappointed, only relieved—this way, Mingya wouldn’t face those creatures again.
"Mingya wants to watch you leave." Mingya crouched in the shadows, refusing to step into the sunlight.
"Fine. But remember—go home after." If Mingya followed secretly, it’d be worse.
The whole time, Lei Jin didn’t see Mingya’s injured hind leg dragging blood behind him.
At the tunnel’s end stood a translucent door engraved with star patterns like those in the tribe’s temple. Lei Jin fitted the three black jade stones into the third groove and turned them. The door began to rise—and Roger’s pocket watch, silent until now, started ticking. Lei Jin's heart picked up in excitement. This should be it.
But the door stopped after rising just an inch—barely enough for a mosquito to pass.
"What’s wrong?" Lei Jin anxiously checked for more mechanisms but found none.
Although he knew it was unlikely, Mingya was still afraid that Lei Jin would accidentally see his wound, so he quietly moved to the corner. Inadvertently, he seemed to touch a protruding object. He accidentally pressed it and the door actually began to rise again.
"Lei Jin, the door is opening." Mingya said in surprise, staring.
"Strange. Did it just jam earlier?" Lei Jin muttered.
Beyond the door was a white void, nothing visible as far as the eye could see.
"I’m leaving, Mingya." Lei Jin tried to sound casual, but the weight in his chest belied his words. It turned out that when the time to leave really came, he wasn't as relieved and happy as he thought.
Mingya was already crying silently, unable to speak. He only crouched on the ground, unmoving.
"Don’t cry so much in the future." Lei Jin turned away, not allowing himself to hesitate any further.
"Lei Jin, remember Mingya! Remember to come back!" Mingya finally broke, crying out loud.
Lei Jin clenched his fists, then unable to resist, he glanced back—and froze.
Because as this door rose, another stone slab was descending behind Mingya, trapping him.
"Mingya, run!" Lei Jin’s vision darkened as he lost consciousness.
"Mingya…"
"Who are you calling, Brother Jin?" Liu Si mumbled, turning on the bedside lamp.
"Liu Si?" Lei Jin avoided her outstretched hand, rubbing his throbbing temples. "Where am I?"
"Brother Jin, are you sleep-talking? This is your home. I was hoping for a nice evening, but you fell asleep in the bathtub. I barely managed to drag you to bed, and now you’re calling out ‘Mingya’? Male? Female?" Liu Si smoothed her long hair, poking Lei Jin with a manicured nail.
"Was it all just a dream?" But it had felt so real.