Werebeast Gongs CH 135 Let’s Get Married
“Chunji, stay for lunch today. Moya is already cooking. I’ll have Grapes go invite your master too,” Lei Jin said, rubbing his sore shoulders as he saw Chunji emerge from the room.
“Alright,” Chunji replied, washing his hands in the basin in the yard, not standing on ceremony with Lei Jin.
“Grapes, wash these yourself. I’ll pick some more,” Lei Jin tilted his chin towards the pile of grapes on the table. That simple-minded Mingya, knowing Lei Jin liked grapes, had gone all out planting them around the house. Now, looking across both courtyards, all you could see were lush green grape trellises. They were almost all ripe now, more than the family could eat. Grape berries were falling everywhere. Lei Jin had recently planned to pick them to make some wine; it would be a shame to waste them.
“Daddy, are you calling me?” Grapes pushed open the window and poked out his little head.
Lei Jin chuckled ruefully. Why hadn’t he thought of this complication when naming the kid? It really was troublesome.
Chunji laughed and beckoned Grapes over, sending him off to deliver the message to Tian Qi. As for Orange and Pomelo, naturally, they fulfilled their roles as Grapes’ constant tails and dutifully followed.
Grapes habitually glared at the two little ones but didn’t stop them from following. A pink, tender little boy led two golden little leopard cubs wobbling out the door.
Chunji clapped his hands and laughed heartily. “I think Grapes’ personality is just like yours.” Strong, independent, but also knew how to cherish and embrace the people around him. Easy to say, but how many could truly do it? At least he and Roger hadn’t managed it. That’s why he’d ultimately lost Pei Ning, why Roger and An Bu were still torturing each other. But Lei Jin… he could be the happiest one.
“My son naturally takes after me,” Lei Jin raised an eyebrow, not bothering to hide his pride at all. He handed the grapes he’d picked to Chunji, then jumped onto another stool. Lowering his voice slightly, he asked, “So… how’s the Chief’s injury?”
An Bu had been gravely wounded back then. Although he seemed fine moving around now, the foundation of his health was damaged; he needed careful recuperation. His own home was empty now, so An Sen and An Luo had discussed bringing him over. Living together meant they could look after each other.
After these years apart, Chunji had changed a lot too. He’d become more steady, cultivated his own plot of land, and practiced medicine with Tian Qi in the tribe in exchange for food, no longer needing to rely on werebeasts. Thankfully, his sharp tongue remained; otherwise, Lei Jin wouldn’t have recognized him as Chunji.
Chunji placed the washed grapes into another wooden basin, not looking up. “When I changed his dressing today, the wounds looked mostly healed. But whether his body can fully recover won’t be certain until after this winter.” After all, it was a wound near the heart, not some other place.
“That’s good. When spring comes next year and the Chief is better, my house should be finished too. I’ll save a room for him then.” Thinking about the house gave him a headache. Once they’d actually started construction, he realized building a house in this world was no simple task. Materials couldn’t be bought; they had to prepare everything themselves bit by bit. Plus, wanting it to be comfortable meant needing even more things. Rather than constantly being short of this or that, it was better to pause construction and get everything ready. Besides, winter was less than two months away, and the tribe’s elders said houses built in winter weren’t sturdy. The only upside was that Jia He had already made quite a bit of the furniture Lei Jin wanted.
Moya tossed a handful of emerald-green spinach into the pot, deftly cracked two eggs into it, and stirred. Hearing Lei Jin’s words, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. Lei Jin understood his thoughts. No matter what his papa's final decision was, he would support it. As for his dad... he could take care of him.
“I’ve been using Chunji’s medicine since coming back, and I feel much better now,” An Bu emerged from the room just in time to hear Chunji’s words.
“I know my own medical skills; you don’t need to flatter me,” Chunji retorted, not about to accept the gratitude. Thinking back now, he’d been far too stubborn back then. Having grown up following his master in the forbidden land, he’d hardly seen any normal people. When he started traveling alone in his teens, An Bu was the one who treated him best. But from start to finish, An Bu had only ever seen him as a child to care for. Why had he persisted for so many years?
An Bu’s gaze was gentle and calm; he didn’t take Chunji’s words to heart. He added, “I’ll move back to my own place in a couple of days. Leaving the house empty isn’t good; houses deteriorate quickly without people living in them.” He knew Lei Jin and Moya were good kids, but this wasn’t really his place to stay. At his age, he’d lost the impulsiveness of youth. Living alone wasn’t so bad.
Lei Jin wanted to persuade him to stay, but seeing Roger standing behind An Bu, his face instantly darkening, the amusement in Lei Jin’s eyes grew uncontrollably intense.
An Bu naturally noticed Lei Jin’s odd reaction, and that longed-for presence behind him… how could he possibly fail to recognize it?
Roger, embarrassed and angry under Lei Jin’s teasing gaze, directed the pent-up frustration inside him at the source. “Fine! If you’re going, leave sooner rather than later. No one’s forcing you to stay!” As soon as the words left Roger’s mouth, he kicked the door shut right in An Bu’s face.
“Serves you right,” Chunji muttered, feeling no pity for him. Someone usually so clear-headed when handling matters became utterly brainless the moment Roger was involved.
Lei Jin, with his nature of delighting in stirring up trouble, patted An Bu’s shoulder condescendingly from his perch, adding fuel to the fire with words like “tsundere” and “contrary.” The others listened, confused, only managing to make Roger grab a handful of charcoal sticks from the table and hurl them out the window at Lei Jin.
Seeing Roger’s complexion improve, Lei Jin happily teased him, nimbly dodging back and forth between the stools, occasionally even managing to cut down a bunch of grapes. But pride goes before a fall. He misstepped, a stool tipped over, and he tumbled down.
Moya, who had been leaning against the kitchen doorway watching their antics, lunged forward and caught him just in time. Glancing at Lei Jin’s stomach, he sighed, “You’re the papa of three children now, can’t you be a bit steadier?”
Lei Jin was unfazed. He loosened his grip and jumped down from Moya’s arms. “It’s fine, worst case, I take a tumble.”
Xiya and Mingya had gone into the mountains today to fell trees for the lumber needed for the new house.
An Sen and An Luo returned from the fields, bringing back some tender corn, green beans, cucumbers, and a few sweet potatoes, all washed clean in the stream.
Over the past few years, more people in the tribe had started planting corn and rice. Xiya and the others often went to the Tiger Tribe and brought back vegetable seeds from there as well. Plus, people had found some edible wild greens in the mountains to cultivate. Now there was a wide variety of vegetables. Some Lei Jin recognized; others were unique to this world, things he’d never seen before, with all sorts of different flavors.
One vegetable Lei Jin called “sugar green” was Grapes’ favorite. It was a small perennial shrub with purple-tinged green leaves. It sprouted and flowered in spring, bore fruit in summer, but the fruit only ripened in winter. The fruit was fist-sized, golden yellow. Boiled in a pot for half a day, it turned into sweet, fragrant syrup. When it solidified, it became semi-transparent, pale yellow sugar blocks, crisp and crunchy. When Lei Jin boiled it, he’d add various fruits inside, making it look fresh and pretty. Grapes always kept a couple of pieces in his pocket, ready to use them to charm other little females (and sometimes little werebeasts) whenever he went out. With his cunning little mind, Lei Jin wasn’t worried about him getting bullied; he was more concerned that Grapes would bully others.
Nowadays, during the spring famine, people in the tribe rarely starved to death. Since the seeds used by many families originally came from them, their family had become very popular in the tribe. Combined with An Bu’s status, if Xiya wanted to be chief, it would be practically guaranteed.
“Ol’ Dad! Ol’ Dad!” Two little furballs tumbled in first. Oil beads still glistened on their little whiskers; clearly, they’d eaten something outside.
Lei Jin grabbed their front paws, one in each hand, and plopped them onto his knees. “Where did you eat this time? At your godfather Qi Luo’s place?”
Pomelo lifted a furry paw to wipe his mouth. “Godfather Jia He cooked a huge pot of mutton.”
Orange licked his little lips, still savoring the taste.
Thinking of this, Lei Jin wanted to laugh. They’d agreed back then to let Qi Luo and Jia He help raise one of their children. Initially, it was supposed to be Pomelo, given his slightly smaller size back then. But Qi Luo and Jia He, overjoyed at finally having a child, went all out every day making delicious food to win Pomelo over. But Orange wasn’t having it. He started impersonating Pomelo to get free meals. When the two were together, you could tell them apart by size, but when Orange went alone, no one except Lei Jin could tell them apart at a glance. Even Xiya had made the mistake of bathing Pomelo, then immediately grabbing Pomelo and dunking him in again. So, at Qi Luo’s house, they often had this bizarre scene: they’d just fed Pomelo and sent him off, and the next moment, he’d come happily trotting back for more! Qi Luo was amazed at the kid’s appetite. After several times, Jia He finally caught on and came to discuss raising both children with Lei Jin. Lei Jin figured it amounted to the same thing now, so he agreed.
Mingya doted on Grapes the most. The moment he returned, he’d scoop him up for hugs and kisses. He’d just sat down beside Lei Jin when a foot nudged his leg. “Go wash up, you smell of sweat. It's almost dinner soon.”
Mingya obediently agreed but didn’t move. He leaned in and whispered, “Were you uncomfortable today?”
“Nothing at all. What are you so worried about?” Lei Jin propped his chin on his hand, looking at him sideways, unconcerned.
“But…” Mingya bit his lower lip, glancing at his older brothers in the kitchen, unsure how to say it.
“Do I look like I have a baby inside me?” Lei Jin took Mingya’s hand and placed it on his still flat, firm abdomen.
Mingya hugged Lei Jin, carefully feeling his belly with his hand. Since Lei Jin’s return, the three of them had agreed not to use their beast forms when mating with Lei Jin for the next couple of years. Thinking about how much Lei Jin suffered each time he gave birth scared them.
But Lei Jin always took advantage when his older brothers were away, tricking Mingya into mating in beast form. It had happened several times already. Maybe his belly already held Mingya’s baby.
“If only I could be the one to give birth. Mingya isn’t afraid of pain anymore,” Mingya said, frustrated. He knew now that werebeasts couldn’t have babies.
Lei Jin ruffled his silver-white hair, amused by his adorable expression. “Hmm, I thought about it. Having a baby who looks like Mingya wouldn’t be bad.” He would probably never truly get used to pregnancy and childbirth. But since Moya and Xiya had children, he didn’t mind giving Mingya one too.
Hearing this, Mingya immediately grinned, leaning down to plant a quick, stealthy kiss on Lei Jin’s cheek. Then he shifted into his beast form, carrying the two little ones off to wash in the stream behind the house.
With more food options available now, Lei Jin had spared no effort in turning all three into cooking masters. Moya’s lunch of crispy meat pies – the pastry coated with meat sauce, yet flaky and layered when bitten – paired with a refreshing spinach soup, earned high praise from Chunji and Tian Qi. The werebeasts favored the pot of braised meat. The fire in the hearth crackled, filling the yard with the aroma of roasting corn and sweet potatoes.
After the rainy season, the sky grew higher, clearer, and brighter each day. Lei Jin busied himself taming his antelope on the grasslands with the three little ones. Roger stayed home, constantly writing and sketching, frequently visiting the old priest at the temple for advice. In between, he discussed making a simple blueprint for the new house with Lei Jin. The werebeasts of the household went into the mountains to fell trees, gather stone, dry thatch grass, find people to weave mats, tend the fields, and go on hunts. Everyone was busy with their own tasks, but the days were warm and peaceful. An Bu eventually chose to move out. The autumn harvest arrived swiftly, and the whole family got busy.
Inspired by the wheeled crib made for Grapes, Lei Jin just described the general idea this time, and Jia He, amazingly, intuitively created a two-wheeled flat cart. Even Lei Jin had to admire the other's woodworking talent.
Though wheels sometimes jammed or came off, overall, it was a huge help. The werebeasts didn’t have to constantly shift forms to carry things home on their backs – which was taxing on their bodies. However, time was tight, so Jia He only managed to make five carts for close families, two of which Lei Jin had reserved early. The rest would have to wait.
After ten hectic days, potatoes and sweet potatoes were stored in the root cellar. The front and back yards were covered in golden corn and soybeans drying, fiery red chilies, and brown mushrooms and beans. Lei Jin also pickled sweet garlic, garlicky eggplant, cabbage, and wild vegetable pickles. Large pottery jars sealed with mud in the corner contained preserved quail eggs, pheasant eggs, duck eggs, goose eggs, and various unidentified bird eggs – all gifts from Mura, the egg enthusiast. Since the family couldn’t eat them all, Lei Jin pickled them. With these provisions, winter should be manageable.
After the autumn harvest, the northwest wind began to blow. The wheat hadn’t been sown yet; the fields held only short corn stubble.
“Let’s go. We’ll stop here for today. It’s getting dark; time to head home,” Moya patted Lei Jin’s shoulder, calling out to Xiya and Mingya not far away.
Dusk deepened, the tribe shrouded in blue-grey cooking smoke.
“Let’s get married.” Lei Jin gazed out at the vast, dark, cold, and silent wilderness. Yet, because of the three people beside him, many things felt different. In that moment, he suddenly wanted to settle down.
“En?” Moya didn’t understand.
“I said, let’s have the ceremony.”
Bathed in the sunset, Lei Jin stood tall and straight. The wind lifted the hem of his tunic. A smile spread across his face slowly, his dark eyes gleaming with unfettered brilliance and passion.
This version of Lei Jin… was truly beautiful. Moya was momentarily stunned.
“Let’s have the ceremony. When the house is built, the four of us will have the ceremony. I’ll take you all home!” Lei Jin shouted excitedly.
Passersby laughed good-naturedly. They’d never seen such a proactive female before.