Werebeast Gongs CH 131 Taking A Wife
With so many people, Hao Chen's house naturally couldn't accommodate everyone. Lei Jin suggested moving into the valley. There were plenty of caves there, cool and shaded. His stored food and essential tools were also there, so meals wouldn't be a problem. Everyone else was also eager to see the place where he'd lived for three years. It was a perfect match.
Leaving the valley was easy; getting back in was hard. The large group roasted under the sun for most of the morning while Mingya searched fruitlessly for the entrance. Flying around the general area for ages, he found no trace of the valley. Roger paced at the foot of the mountain, picking up a few slightly blackened stones. After pondering for a while, he asked Lei Jin, "Are you sure it was that direction?"
"It shouldn't be wrong." It was near the river estuary. Mingya also nodded in confirmation.
Roger asked An Luo to carry him up high to survey the surrounding terrain. Landing, he said, not entirely certain, "Let's rest in the shade first. We'll come back to look this afternoon."
Lei Jin didn't understand the connection between the entrance and the time of day, but Roger's eyes clearly held some knowledge.
The afternoon was sweltering, but the strange thing happened. As the werebeasts flew against the light, the sun shifted to a specific position. Instantly, a black valley appeared between two mountains. Had they not known in advance, they would have thought it an illusion.
Rong Chuan spotted the large group entering from afar. Fearing retribution from Lei Jin's mates, he hid in his cave, not daring to show his face.
Everyone found caves, put down their belongings, cleaned them, and after dinner, retired to their respective caves to rest. Lei Jin noticed An Bu had a separate cave, not sharing with Roger, An Sen, and An Luo. He had thought the four had reconciled. Seems I was overthinking it.
Lei Jin rinsed off in the lake, casually drying himself. Just as he stepped onto the bank, before he could steady himself, someone grabbed his wrist and skillfully threw him onto the grassy shore. It didn't hurt, but his mind blanked for a second. The kiss that followed was deep and fierce, biting and tearing at his lips. The faint taste of blood quickly spread in his mouth. The hands on him lacked their usual gentleness; his chest was kneaded and pinched, sharp pain radiating. Yet, arousal flared just as intensely.
"Bastard! Xiya, you—" Lei Jin managed to curse as soon as his lips were freed.
Xiya lifted himself slightly, his face expressionless. As Lei Jin's eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw the feral light in Xiya's eyes. His heart skipped a beat. Even in their most intense moments before, there had always been restraint. But now, Xiya seemed like an unbridled beast, driven only by primal lust.
Xiya's large hand slid down his thigh. Lei Jin didn't know why, but this time, he didn't want it at all, despite the lingering tingles of arousal.
"Get off, Xiya! Don't touch me!" He was fine during the day; why go crazy at night?
Xiya gave a low laugh, but to Lei Jin, the smile felt alien and cold.
Something is really wrong. Did something truly irreparable happen in these three years?
Xiya pinned Lei Jin's struggling body. Fingers probed roughly inside, stretching him briefly. A knee forced one leg open. Without any soothing foreplay, Xiya thrust his hips, driving deep into the tight passage.
"Ah!" Lei Jin couldn't suppress a cry of pain.
Hearing it, Xiya paused briefly, but soon resumed his forceful invasion.
Lei Jin trembled, shuddering under the violent intrusion inside him.
Pain and pleasure warred and accumulated.
"I may have stolen you from Moya, or tricked you away from him... but now, we have children. Don't think I'll ever let you go. Never, not even in death. From now on, I'll watch you. I'll never let you leave for so long again." Xiya repeated these words over and over as he moved.
For three years, he had constantly told himself Lei Jin couldn't have left. But it had been too long. On the surface, he pretended nonchalance, confidently reassuring Moya and Mingya they'd find him. Even today in front of everyone, he hadn't lost control. But deep down, only he knew his patience had worn dangerously thin. If they hadn't found him soon, he didn't know how much longer he could hold on. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Lei Jin lying wounded and alone in some unknown place. Lei Jin never liked him anyway; he wouldn't miss him even if he died.
"Xiya, this is what you've always thought?" Lei Jin wasn't particularly perceptive, but he'd vaguely sensed it. He just never thought Xiya would actually say it out loud.
Xiya opened his mouth, unsure what to say, turning his face away in slight shame.
Lei Jin grabbed his hair and pulled him back. If I'm hurting, you won't feel good either. His gaze was cool as he stared at him. "If it had been Moya and me who disappeared together this time, would you have assumed I chose to leave with him?"
"You always liked him better, didn't you?" That was a fact everyone knew.
"Yes. So you shouldn't have provoked me in the first place. Without you, Moya and I would be living well." Seeming to imagine that pleasant life with just Moya, a touch of warmth appeared on Lei Jin's face as he lightly curved his lips.
"I couldn't do it." Xiya gripped Lei Jin's waist tighter, pushing in another fraction.
"Well, expecting me to return your feelings equally is something I can't do." Lei Jin scoffed, the hardness still deeply embedded within him making the discussion feel bizarrely novel in this position.
"I never expected equal treatment, or to be the most important. I know I can't keep you. But now, with Pomelo and Orange..."
"If I didn't want you, having children wouldn't change that. If I left, I'd take them with me. I wouldn't leave them for you." Harsh, but true. "Back in the Tiger Tribe, did you really think your little schemes escaped me?" Maybe he hadn't noticed at first, lost in his despair over his injuries. But after so long, did Xiya truly believe he was oblivious? He didn't deny genuine feelings existed, but deliberately playing the victim, lowering himself—wasn't it all to soften Lei Jin's heart? As Xiya wished, he had softened and accepted. But Xiya remained perpetually insecure about this stolen affection, and Grapes' birth had only intensified it. That's why Xiya had always been the one most desperate for a child.
"You mean... you also have feelings for me...?" Xiya was too excited to speak coherently. This was the first time Lei Jin had acknowledged any affection for him.
"It's exactly what you think." They have been separated for three years, it was time to give him reassurance, but along with this answer was Lei Jin's hard punch to Xiya's jaw, no matter what the reason was, forcing him could not be forgiven.
Xiya uncaringly slipped the tip of his tongue out to lick the corner of his bleeding mouth. He was glad, this was the Lei Jin he knew, always stubborn, unwilling to easily compromise, so when a person like him admitted that he really returned his own feelings, he could finally rest assured.
"But it's been three years. I have thought about you so much that it hurts." Once reassured, his usual playful smile resurfaced. He rolled the two of them while still remaining connected, and held Lei Jin on top of him, his hips driving upwards.
But Lei Jin wasn't a pushover, and knowing that Xiya cared about keeping face, he picked the most visible places to hit. The two of them rolled around on the grass for the first time in three years, ending with Xiya being beaten to a swollen pulp, although he was quite proud of himself before he got kicked out of the house.
"When did you get here?" Lei Jin lay sprawled on the ground, limbs like jelly, too tired to move.
Moya helped him put his clothes back on and sat beside him. "A while ago." He didn't deny he'd been present earlier.
Lei Jin raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He just shifted, resting his head on Moya's lap, and closed his eyes.
"Sleepy?"
Lei Jin felt Moya's fingertips press gently against his temples, massaging his scalp.
"Can't sleep." Lei Jin turned over, wrapping his arms around Moya's lower back. He probably didn't realize it was an extremely dependent posture.
Moya seemed to be laughing. Lei Jin felt the tremor against his cheek where it rested on Moya's abdomen.
"Then let's walk around the valley. The moonlight looks lovely tonight."
"Now?" It was the middle of the night. Moya certainly had a sense of romance.
"You can't sleep, right?" Moya pointed out the obvious.
"But I have no energy." Half true, half because he just wanted to lie there like this, as he'd imagined countless times over the years.
"I'll carry you. Feels like it's been forever since I carried you." Moya touched the hair Lei Jin had hacked short himself. He'd noticed it immediately upon seeing him—uneven, truly ugly. He hadn't been able to stop himself from wanting to laugh then.
"Alright." Lei Jin agreed reluctantly.
"You've lost weight." Moya hefted him slightly.
"You don't understand. This is called 'lean muscle' now." Lei Jin rolled up his sleeve and shoved his arm in front of Moya. "See? Before it was flab. Now it's muscle."
"What chicken meat?" More of those words he doesn't understand. (TN: ‘muscle’ in Chinese sound like ‘chicken meat’)
"And I say pig meat? Told you you wouldn't get it." Lei Jin wanted to roll his eyes but remembered Moya couldn't see them and gave up.
Having lived in this valley for three years, Lei Jin knew every corner intimately, even where the bird nests were. As they walked, he pointed things out to Moya: here he'd smoked out a rabbit warren; there grew fat-ear plants that sprouted wildly in spring, delicious dried and steamed with braised pork...
Moya listened quietly, nodding occasionally, interjecting a question or two.
"These three years must have been hard?" Though Lei Jin deliberately avoided mentioning it, it was easy to imagine how difficult life must have been for a female trapped in this deserted valley with two newborn infants.
Lei Jin stopped talking. He pressed his face against Moya's back and sighed inwardly. "Exhausting." To others, he could pretend everything was fine. Only with Moya did his defenses crumble, revealing his true feelings. No food. The newborns starving, curled up and wailing. His leg broken, unable to walk. Rong Chuan constantly lurking, a threat. At the worst times, he could only crawl to the cave entrance, cupping rainwater in his hands to feed the babies. Looking back now, he didn't know how he'd endured it.
"It's our fault. We left you but didn't protect you." But what use were these words now?
"No." Since their reunion today, he'd sensed Moya's smiles didn't reach his eyes. Now, his mood was especially low. "This time was my own carelessness." He had to take responsibility for his own mistakes. Even if they lived together in the future, he wanted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them, not be constantly protected as the weaker one.
"Let's not talk about this. Summer days are short; dawn will come soon. Let's head back." Unconsciously, they had walked quite far.
"Wait. Keep going straight. See that small hole in the rock face?" Lei Jin patted Moya's shoulder, smiling.
"See it. What about it?" About the size of a bowl. What could it be for?
"Good stuff to eat." Lei Jin urged him to hurry.
Lei Jin reached in and pulled out a leaf-wrapped package. Opening it, he ate one first, smacking his lips appreciatively. "Still nice and crispy. Try one."
Moya hadn't even seen what it was before Lei Jin stuffed it into his mouth.
"How is it? Good?" Lei Jin asked expectantly.
"Not bad. A bit salty," Moyu answered truthfully.
"That's why I hid it here! If I left it near our cave, those two little rascals would have found and eaten it all ages ago. I remember Healer Qing Qiao said kids shouldn't eat too much preserved stuff."
Moya chuckled. It was surprising he remembered that. Qing Qiao had droned on incessantly at home back then; Lei Jin had looked thoroughly impatient. "What is this? Tastes good."
"Cicada pupae. Dug them out of the ground. Salted and pickled, then deep-fried. When I was a kid, I was an expert at finding these." Lei Jin was quite proud. He munched on one himself, popping another into Moya's mouth. Over the years, he'd tried every edible thing in the valley. Compared to rotten leaves, this was truly a rare delicacy.
"Dawn's really breaking now." Leaning together, talking and eating, their clothes were damp with night dew.
Lei Jin yawned in Moya's arms. "By the way, did the three little ones sleep with Mingya last night?"
"When I left, Pomelo and Orange had just finished bathing and were trying to drag Grapes over to the hearth fire to dry their fur." Moya said, suppressing a laugh.
"Bet Grapes beat them up again. Serves them right." He wasn't worried. Fight away! Fighting builds affection.
"Let's pick some lotus seed pods. We'll make lotus seed porridge for them. You guys should try something fresh too." He'd saved plenty of lotus seeds. They could dig a pond at home to plant them.
When they returned with an armful of lotus seed pods, everyone except the children was already up. An Luo and the others were grilling meat. Lei Jin gathered everyone. The werebeasts, with their rough hands, were tasked with shelling the lotus seeds. He and Roger removed the bitter green hearts. With so many hands, they soon had a pile of plump, white seeds. Cooked until soft and glutinous, the lotus seed porridge filled the pot. On top were savory mixed-vegetable pastries with minced meat. Except for Lei Jin and Moya, who had secretly shared a large bag of cicada pupae, everyone else ate heartily.
In the afternoon, Berg and Hao Chen's family arrived. Rong Chuan's papa heard about it and came to plead with Hao Chen, hoping they could return to the tribe. He spoke incessantly of how well they'd treated Lei Jin over the years, omitting everything else. Lei Jin interjected a few good words; they had helped him, after all. However, Kun Ge couldn't agree outright. Rong Chuan had been expelled by unanimous tribal decision. Unless Rong Chuan found a mate—something that would reassure everyone—there might be room for negotiation. Jing Yue agreed to inquire back at the tribe. Lei Jin specifically advised him to find a werebeast companion for Rong Chuan—partly out of mischief, partly because Rong Chuan was impotent with females anyway. Later, Jing Yue brought back good news. The tribe had taken in a wandering werebeast a few years back. Though strong and powerful, his appearance was marred by a scar running across his right cheek, said to be quite frightening. Females in the tribe feared him, so naturally, no one had become his mate. He knew Rong Chuan and, remarkably, didn't mind his condition. He was willing to form a werebeast companion bond—a "brotherhood" union—with Rong Chuan.
Rong Chuan's papa was initially reluctant. But considering Rong Chuan's physical limitations, he eventually agreed. Rong Chuan himself was thrilled at first about returning and Lei Jin not crippling him. But when he learned he was being paired with a werebeast mate, he flatly refused. Lei Jin thought the deal was off. Unexpectedly, a few days later, Rong Chuan came back and agreed.
Lei Jin later met the werebeast. Perhaps due to long-term survival in the wild, he was exceptionally strong. Though the scar wasn't pretty, Lei Jin found it quite distinctive and manly. He praised him enthusiastically at home for several days, much to Xiya and the others' chagrin.
Roger pulled Lei Jin aside, leaving the others. They walked along the valley for a long time, Roger frequently stopping to examine things closely.
"Roger, what are you looking for?" Ever since entering the valley, Lei Jin had noticed Roger seemed preoccupied. He'd just forgotten to ask amidst the busyness.
"Do you remember how I told you I came to this world?" Roger asked.
"You said you discovered some ruin, took shelter from the rain, and ended up here." He remembered that clearly.
Roger nodded. "Exactly. This is that place."
Lei Jin walked with his hands clasped behind his back, his usual casual air. "Meaning?"
"I'm saying the ruin we discovered back then... is this place."
"Joking? You said there were murals and stuff inside. There's nothing like that here." He knew this place inside out.
"I know. I've looked everywhere these past few days. But the layout and structure are unmistakably the same. More importantly, these black stones—don't you think they resemble the black jade stone you carried when you left? I suspect our inability to find this valley before was due to these stones. Back then, we only discovered the ruin because of an accidental aerial photograph taken by a plane. The photo was taken precisely at two o'clock in the afternoon."
"And then?" What was Roger really getting at?
"The day we entered, I estimated the time by the sun. Mingya and the others also found traces of the valley around two in the afternoon. Could that also be a coincidence?"
"That doesn't prove anything. I didn't go to school much, but I know there's no historical record of a 'Werebeast Era'."
"Unknown doesn't mean it didn't exist. The universe holds too many secrets humanity hasn't uncovered yet." That had once been his life's work. He didn't have Lei Jin's boundless energy to thrive anywhere. He'd just wanted to pursue his research quietly.
"Maybe you're right." Lei Jin agreed insincerely. He didn't want to argue; Roger's expression wasn't good.
Roger's expression remained faint. "Lei Jin, did you... go back then?" He hadn't dared to ask before.
"I don't know. It just felt like a very real dream."
"What did you dream?" Roger pressed.
"I dreamed I went back. And I dreamed... your father passed away. I gave your pocket watch to someone named Joey." He had sent some people to check the place Roger mentioned back then. That man named Joey had actually pursued them and eventually found his way to him.
"At least it returned to its rightful owner. Father's health wasn't good later; I expected it."
"There really is a Joey?" Lei Jin's eyes widened. So I really did go back?
Roger nodded. "Joey was my father's student. He was also the financial backer for that ruin excavation."
Judging by your expression, it wasn't that simple. Lei Jin thought.
"Lei Jin, come walk here with me more often in the future, will you?" Roger picked up a stone and threw it far into the lake, suddenly speaking loudly.
"Come back for what?" Could this place also trigger time-space shifts?
Roger smiled mysteriously, saying nothing more. But his eyes shone with an unprecedented brilliance.
As long as Roger is happy. Some things didn't need exhaustive answers. Lei Jin deliberately changed the subject. "Take the three little ones back first the day after tomorrow. Xiya and the others are taking me to the forbidden land."
"What do you want to do now?" Roger asked, concerned.
"I'm going to dig up some crystal. To build a house." Lei Jin said lightly.
Roger looked puzzled. How had the topic jumped to building a house?
Lei Jin glanced back at the six figures splashing and playing in the lake to cool off. He said with utmost seriousness, "I'm not young anymore. It's time to build a house and take a wife."
Three years ago, they had asked countless times. He'd felt that being together didn't necessarily require formalizing it with bonds that might constrain them. After three years apart, they'd remained so faithful and obedient; the likelihood of them changing now seemed small. Thinking about it now, confirming his ownership didn't sound so bad after all.