Werebeast Gongs CH 109 Proposal And Selling Out
Mingya sensed something different about Lei Jin after he woke up, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. But as long as Lei Jin was unharmed, he could relax. He really needed to sleep now. He hadn't closed his eyes in days.
"How long have we been trapped here?" The cramped space left them barely able to move, their bodies stiff. Lei Jin estimated it had been quite some time.
"Mingya doesn't know. Mingya tried digging a way out, but every time I moved, more of these white stones fell. So I stopped." Mingya hung his head in shame. He was supposed to protect Lei Jin, yet here they were, helpless.
Lei Jin stretched his neck, his eyes adjusting to the dark. The faint glow from the crystal veins revealed their position—wedged in a corner, relatively safe. Tapping the wall produced a dull thud, suggesting hollowness beyond. This was the second door behind Mingya. His memory of that moment was blank. He didn't even know how he'd dragged Mingya's massive beast form out. If Mingya was right, they'd barely escaped before the tunnel collapsed. The cold air meant they wouldn't suffocate, at least.
"Lei Jin, what are you thinking?" Mingya nuzzled his shoulder.
"How to get out." Without food, they could last, but without water, they wouldn't survive long. Rescue in this wilderness was unlikely.
The thought of water made his throat burn. He licked his cracked lips—dry and peeling, yet his mouth tasted strongly of blood. At first, he thought he was bleeding, but found no wounds.
"Mingya?" Lei Jin nudged him, sensing something amiss.
The moment he touched Mingya, he realized Mingya was burning up like a furnace. No wonder it was so warm.
"En?" Mingya rubbed his sleepy eyes, forcing himself alert.
"How have we survived without water? And why are you feverish?" Lei Jin's hands groped for Mingya's paws in the cramped space.
"Mingya's fine. Just tired." Mingya tucked his paws under his belly, hiding them.
Lei Jin fixed him with a sharp, disbelieving stare and yanked his forepaws out. What he saw made his heart clench—large patches of fur had been torn away, leaving raw, bloody wounds.
"Did you bite these open yourself?" Lei Jin asked after a steadying breath.
"En, Mingya was thirsty. Wanted water." Mingya traced circles on the ground, nervously avoiding his eyes.
"How could you be this foolish?" Lei Jin felt utterly helpless with Mingya.
"Mingya's grown now. Can protect you." The boy's gaze was clear and resolute, shedding his earlier pitifulness.
"Let me bandage these." Lei Jin avoided his eyes, unwilling to shoulder another's devotion. It was too heavy, he couldn't bear it.
"No need. It stopped bleeding." If bandaged, Lei Jin couldn't drink from them.
Lei Jin insisted, tearing his undershirt into strips with trembling hands. The makeshift bandages were clumsy, leaving them both sweating and exhausted.
Over the next two days, Lei Jin tried digging again, but as Mingya warned, each movement brought more collapses.
"Mingya, we might really die here." Lei Jin's throat was parched, his attempts to swallow futile. He refused Mingya's blood, but the boy kept him from biting his own wrist, pinning him down the whole time.
"Eldest Brother and Second Brother will save us." Mingya's faith was unshakable.
"Xiya and Moya..." Lei Jin chuckled bitterly. Even if they forgave his betrayal, would they arrive in time? Mingya's fever burned relentlessly. Without him, escape meant nothing.
"Mingya, do you have a wish? Something you've always wanted?" Returning home had driven Lei Jin this far, but now it felt hollow.
"Yes." Mingya's immediate answer startled him. He had always thought this little guy, always airheaded and happy-go-lucky, didn't have much desire.
"What is it?" Lei Jin teased absentmindedly, expecting childish whims.
"Mingya wants you to be his mate." The boy's voice dwindled to a whisper, courage faltering.
Lei Jin chuckled. "You're still thinking of that now?"
"If—if we live, will you agree?" Mingya lifted his head from Lei Jin's chest, his eyes pleading.
Lei Jin meant to deflect with a joke, pretending not to understand, but the boy's earnestness disarmed him. He could only reply, "We'll talk after escaping."
"If Mingya dies here, you don't have to—"
"Enough. I agree." The words tumbled out, sealing his fate.
"Really? You'll be Mingya's mate?" The boy trembled with joy and asked eagerly.
"...Yes." Lei Jin sighed, rubbing his eyes. In his heart he thought, we're probably dying anyway. Let him have this.
He didn't yet realize this promise would bind him for life—with no take-backs. He had sold himself out, and when he had been eaten down to the bone, it would be too late for any regrets.
In the dark, Mingya's blue eyes shimmered. He licked Lei Jin's lips, grinning like a fool.
Days blurred into delirium. Lei Jin, dehydrated, drifted in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware of metallic warmth trickling into his mouth. He wanted to refuse, but his lips wouldn't obey.
The days moved slowly with nothing to do but wait. But Mingya's body was cooling his arms and Lei Jin had lost hope. Gathering his last strength, Lei Jin held him close and let darkness claim him.
Not long after they lost consciousness, a white fox wriggled through the rubble. Finding them, it yipped excitedly, stomping on Mingya's head before sniffing him and whining mournfully.
"Little fox! Did you find them? How are they?" Xiya's voice echoed from outside. He and Moya had searched for two days, battling monsters until luckily the little fox found this hidden entrance and led them here.
Moya tilted his head to listen closely, then began digging carefully. "They're close."
When the rubble cleared, revealing the motionless pair, Xiya and Moya nearly collapsed, seemingly having no energy to move any closer. Eventually, biting their teeth, they checked for breath and sagged in relief, shirts soaked with sweat.
They carried them to a temporary cave, where warm water waited. Lei Jin stirred after gulping salted water, but Mingya's leg was dire—bone protruding, flesh blackening. Without treatment, he'd lose it. But they had followed in a hurry and only had some hemostatic herbs on them, good for the two front paws but not for the hind leg.
"To the Tiger Tribe." Xiya decided immediately. The Tiger Tribe was relatively the closest and there at least they could find a healer.
"En, let's go to the Tiger Tribe to deal with it first, and then rush back to find Chunji as soon as possible. Hopefully there will be a solution." Moya was scrubbing Mingya's wound with salt water. It was surely painful, but the little brother who was always afraid of pain didn't react at all. Moya felt that it should not only be a problem of inflammation of the wound, they must not delay any longer.
"You are talking about Chunji? Is he a young man in his twenties with blond hair and blue eyes?" Xiya and Moya's whole attention was on the two people they had just rescued, and they didn't notice when they were being followed.
"Who are you?" Xiya looked at the strange old man wrapped in black standing at the entrance of the cave.
"Tell me first, is the Chunji you mentioned like I described?" The new arrival seemed very anxious. If either Lei Jin or Mingya was awake, they would recognize that this was the mysterious old man they met when they came to the forbidden area.
"Just who are you?" Xiya was a little impatient. His youngest brother and Lei Jin were both injured, so he had no time to deal with this strange person.
"If you tell me, I will help you save him." The man in black laughed strangely and pointed his finger like a dead branch at the unconscious Mingya.
"Chunji's skills came from me. Only I can heal those wounds."
"You're Chunji's 'damn old man' master?" Moya recalled Chunji's rants.
The stranger cackled. "Where is that brat? I haven't seen him in ten years!"
With the strange old man's help, they bypassed the Tiger Tribe. By the time they reached home, Mingya had stabilized, though they still took him to Chunji.
At the doorstep, infant wails greeted them. Chunji, scowling, froze at the sight of the old man, his eyes reddened then he dragged him inside, grip tight. "Damn old man, you're alive?! Help me with this baby!" His actions seemed rough but the hand supporting the old man did not let go.
As the door slammed, Lei Jin stirred in familiar arms.
"I think I heard that child crying again."