Werebeast Gongs CH 110 Accepting The Three
"Lei Jin?" Chunji's voice cut through the haze as he peered past Xiya to where Moya cradled Lei Jin.
"What happened this time?" Chunji rubbed his temples in exasperation. Of the ten times he'd seen Lei Jin, eight involved injuries.
"Chunji, please check Mingya and Lei Jin. Both are hurt," Xiya said, still in his golden leopard form after carrying Mingya's massive beast body back to the tribe.
The strange old man in black robes chuckled. "Still don't trust me? I told you they're fine."
"Wrapped up like a weirdo, who'd trust you? I almost didn't recognize you." Chunji dragged a stool over for him. "This damn old man may be useless otherwise, but his medical skills are reliable."
"As expected, you know me well, brat."
"You're sure they're okay?" Chunji still asked in a whisper, unable to hide his concern.
The old man's smug expression vanished, replaced by irritation from Chunji's words. He huffed, "The female just needs rest. As for the young werebeast—he'll keep his life, but lose a leg. That's more than they deserve for venturing where they shouldn't."
"Mingya's leg?" Lei Jin's vision swam at the words. He struggled free of Moya's hold.
"I warned you—that place is cursed. Surviving was luck enough."
"But you said you could save him!" Xiya protested.
"I said I'd save his life, not his leg." The old man rolled his eyes at their gloomy faces. Ungrateful whelps. That female could barely stand yet still putting on a strong front for who knows what.
Chunji wordlessly peeled the herbs from Mingya's wounds and his brows immediately furrowed. "You finally went to the forbidden area? And took Mingya with you?"
Under Chunji's fierce glare, Lei Jin nodded.
"You actually gathered all three black jade stones?" Chunji had been certain Lei Jin couldn't find the key stones to open the Door of Reincarnation. Originally eight circular jades, four had been taken away, leaving four on this continent—each split into three pieces scattered among twelve tribes. To open the door required not just any three pieces, but three from the same original jade. The difficulty was unimaginable. Or perhaps, Lei Jin only went there but didn't manage to open the door…
"He opened it," the old man interjected, knowing what Chunji was pondering.
"Then why—" Chunji meant why was Lei Jin still here? After being so desperate to leave.
"How should I know?"
"Chunji, Mingya's injury—" Lei Jin cut in. He didn't understand how Chunji knew about the jades—even Roger had only speculated—but Mingya's leg mattered more.
Chunji's anger softened at his anxious concern. He could only sigh helplessly. "Remember when I warned you never to go there?"
Lei Jin did—back when he was recovering. But he could think of nothing but leaving back then so he'd ignored the advice.
"Taking Mingya there was practically sending him to die." Chunji examined the wounds. "I can't explain fully, but those creatures you met? The half-human, half-beast monsters? They are the werebeasts who went missing from various tribes."
Lei Jin recoiled. Those horrors—former werebeasts? Even Xiya and Moya, who'd fought them, looked stunned.
"Mingya was bitten. To survive, one either stays in the forbidden area as a mindless monster or return to die. Without my master, even I couldn't have saved him. Be grateful he's alive—this is no exaggeration."
Silence fell.
The old man opened his mouth, but Chunji silenced him with a glare.
A baby's cry shattered the quiet.
Chunji groaned. "I forgot about this little terror. Damn old man, come check him."
"Chunji, is there really no hope for Mingya's leg?" Lei Jin ignored the pang the cries evoked.
"Full recovery? Impossible. But I'll try to get him healed to the point he can walk."
"That's enough." More would be greed.
Lei Jin had never seen Roger cry before—silent sobs that spoke volumes. Yet Roger never blamed him. Neither did An Sen or An Luo. They even spoke words of comfort to him.
With Mingya still asleep and Xiya and Moya distant, Lei Jin wondered if he still belonged here. He'd grown too comfortable in this home that wasn't truly his. But with Mingya injured, leaving wasn't an option.
He sat by Mingya's bed, kissing his eyelids. "If you can't walk, I'll feed you. I can hunt, gather, farm—maybe even build a house for us. So wake up soon."
"Then you're really staying?" Mingya's whisper startled him.
Lei Jin's heart leaped. "You're awake!"
Mingya's blue eyes fluttered open, drowsy but clear. "You won't leave? You'll stay with Mingya?"
"Yes. When did you wake?"
"When you said you'd build us a house."
"Convenient timing." Lei Jin ruffled the fur on his belly.
"What about Eldest Brother and Second Brother?" Mingya asked timidly. Lei Jin hadn't mentioned elder brother and second brother earlier.
"Them? We'll see." Lei Jin yawned, carefully shifting Mingya aside to climb in. "Sleep now. Tomorrow, we'll change your bandages at Chunji's."
“En.” Mingya curled a paw around Lei Jin's waist, pretending to be cool about it.
Lei Jin turned onto his side but didn't protest.
Mingya's heart soared. He lets me touch him now! And we even sleep together!
As for Xiya and Moya... Lei Jin gazed into the dark. He'd wronged them first. Their coldness was deserved. But with Mingya like this, he couldn't leave. If reconciling meant accepting all three... Could he really do that?
Lei Jin closed his eyes and thought for a while. The loneliness and coldness of being alone in the dream came to his mind again. Forget it. Maybe he would have considered it for a long time before, but after waking up, he understood a lot. In fact, many things were not as important as he imagined. Compared with loss, it was more important for everyone to be happy together. He liked Moya, and he knew this. As for Xiya, the feelings were much more complicated. He couldn't explain it clearly, but he knew it was hard to give up. Such a handsome and smart person, it was rare to be confused. Let's just live like this in this life. Lei Jin was very good at comforting himself.
But first, he wanted his own house—a place no one could take from him. Not that he distrusted them, but equal standing mattered. He might not be able to compare to them physically, but he wanted them to know that without them he could still do well on his own.
Content with this decision, Lei Jin slept.
"You can still sleep? Guess we weren't obvious enough. Once things are less busy, see if we don't punish you." Xiya began fiercely, but towards the end actually started smiling. Being mean to this person? Even he didn't believe it. But there was still a way for everyone to be happy and punish Lei Jin at the same time, a wicked grin appeared on Xiya’s face.
“How about we do you until you can't even get out of bed. See if you can run then?” He nipped Lei Jin's nose.
"Brother? What are you doing?" Moya stood in the doorway, looking at Xiya's weird crouching position by the bed.
"Oh, I came to see if the two of them kicked the blanket." Xiya was caught by his own brother. He looked embarrassed and scratched his head to cover up. After thinking for a while, he came up with this excuse on the spur of the moment.
In order to show that this was the case, Xiya actually pressed down the corner of the blanket. He was the one who had vowed to Moya that he would never forgive Lei Jin easily when he came back. He didn't expect that he would turn out to be first in being unable to help himself. He was determined not to let Moya know, otherwise how could he maintain his image as the eldest brother?
"So that's how it is." Moya nodded seriously.
"Okay, it's getting late, let's go to bed early." Xiya came over, and when he passed by Moya, he patted his shoulders in a friendly manner.
"Brother." Moya suddenly called out behind him.
"En? What is it?" Xiya turned around.
"I just wanted to say, your idea isn't bad." Moya's eyes sparkled with rare amusement.
Xiya grinded his teeth subtly. This little brother was not cute at all. Did he have to reveal that he had overheard?
Chunji only had a single bed and those lovers of his didn't even get a chance to touch it, let alone Mingya. But daily wound care required hours, so Xiya and Moya took turns carrying him over and back. Lei Jin always stayed with Mingya.
The treatments were agonizing. Mingya teared up but forced smiles for Lei Jin.
"Stop grinning. It's ugly." Lei Jin left to wander the yard. Just when he was bored, he heard the baby. He called, "Chunji, I'll play with your son."
Before Chunji could respond, Lei Jin darted inside.
"Lei Jin, this guy, is he asking me or informing me?" Chunji muttered in annoyance, but he looked into the house worriedly.
When Lei Jin leaned over, he was met with a pair of large emerald green eyes. The owner of the eyes was sucking his fingers in a serious manner, seeming to be having a lot of fun. However, when he saw Lei Jin, he opened his mouth and started to wail loudly, as if he had been bullied and felt extremely aggrieved.