Werebeast Gongs CH 063 Mingya's Departure
Moya woke up to the salty sea breeze, his first sensation being a splitting headache. He instinctively raised a hand to rub his temples for relief, only to find that something seemed to be pressing down on his arm. After a few failed attempts to move it, he finally looked down and was stunned to discover that Berg was lying in his arms, his warm breath against Moya’s neck. What shocked him even more was that neither of them was wearing any clothes.
Moya felt his headache worsen. He pushed Berg away and sat up.
Berg’s body hit the ground, and his delicate brows furrowed slightly as he slowly opened his golden eyes. Seeing Moya with his back turned, putting on his clothes, a deeply affectionate smile appeared in his gaze. He didn’t seem to mind the current situation at all. Crossing his legs and shifting his posture lazily, he said, “What’s the rush? Still eager to leave?”
Moya didn’t turn around. He fastened the last knot of his clothing before finally facing Berg and asking, “What happened last night?”
Berg smiled nonchalantly. “Isn’t it just as you see?” He openly revealed the marks all over his body—bruises of various shades, especially concentrated on his chest and inner thighs.
Wait… Moya suddenly noticed something he had overlooked—Berg’s fishtail was gone, replaced by a pair of long, slender legs.
“Your legs?” Moya asked.
“You probably don’t know this yet, do you? Once we merfolks mate with someone, our tails can freely transform into legs. Just like how werebeasts, after reaching adulthood, can shift between their beast and human forms at will. We were together last night, so now I can walk on land. That means I can return to the Leopard Tribe with you,” Berg revealed his plan without hesitation.
Moya tried hard to recall what had happened the previous night. He only remembered that after Berg left, he was about to sleep when Berg suddenly returned in the rain, his clothes still dripping wet and looking exhausted. Just as Moya was about to speak, he felt a sharp sting from something Berg was holding, and soon after, he lost consciousness. He had no memory of anything beyond that.
But as for whether he had actually been intimate with Berg… maybe the old Moya could have been fooled. However, after experiencing it multiple times with Lei Jin, his body’s senses wouldn’t deceive him—he was sure nothing had happened last night. Thinking of Lei Jin’s tight, hot entrance, he even felt a reaction.
Just bear with it for now. When I get back, I’ll make it up to you—make it up to you plenty. Moya silently comforted his most intimate little brother.
Berg took Moya’s silence as a lack of words. He then said, “Don’t worry, I won’t make things difficult for you. I’ll just go back to your tribe with you.”
“I already have a mate, so that won’t be possible.” Moya finally looked up. There was a rare smile on his lips, but his eyes were as cold as ice.
Berg hadn’t expected Moya to remain so composed at this moment, and he panicked internally. He was certain that Moya had been unconscious—after all, Purple Starfish venom never failed. A sufficient dose could even knock out a giant orca. When he had undressed Moya last night, the latter hadn’t resisted at all, right? Berg tried to reassure himself.
While he was lost in thought, Moya picked up the clothes from the ground and tossed them to him. Though neither of them cared much about nudity, having a naked man in front of him was still an eyesore—aside from Lei Jin, he had no interest in seeing anyone else. If Lei Jin decided to walk around naked every day, though, Moya wouldn’t mind.
Not only would he not mind, but he would probably welcome it warmly, tackle him onto the bed, and make love until the world crumbled and spring flowers bloomed.
Berg brushed his golden hair and laughed freely. “I haven’t been to many places, but I do know some of the continent’s customs. If a werebeast and a female have relations, and the female agrees, they must hold a ceremony.” Berg didn’t intend to provoke Moya, but the truth was that in this situation, if the female consented, a ceremony was mandatory—since females were precious, after all.
“Berg, let’s be clear. You and I both know that nothing happened between us, let alone a ceremony. Also, you’re a male merfolk, not a female, so this rule doesn’t apply to us.” Moya didn’t want to waste any more time. Even though it was still raining outside, and the chances of his brother and Lei Jin leaving the tribe were slim, he’d rather brave the rain to meet them at the river than continue this entanglement with Berg.
“Do you know why golden merfolk are the most revered in the Merfolk Tribe?” Berg asked, not waiting for an answer before continuing. “It’s because golden female merfolk have the highest fertility rates. But there’s another reason—all golden male merfolk are intersex.”
This was a closely guarded secret of the Merfolk Tribe, yet Berg spoke of it carelessly, his eyes filled with mockery. In years when golden female merfolk were scarce, golden male merfolk were forcibly used as substitutes.
“You’re saying…” Moya frowned as he grasped the meaning behind his words.
“I’m saying I can also be female. If you want children, this body has that ability too.” Berg pointed to his stomach.
“If it’s not his, I don’t care for it.” The “he” Moya referred to needed no explanation.
“I’ve never been rejected like this before.” Berg finally felt a chill and put on the clothes Moya had thrown at him. “Even after this, I still can’t keep you. Now I’m even more curious about your mate—what charm does he have to make you all so utterly devoted?”
“We know his worth, and that’s enough.” At the thought of Lei Jin, Moya’s gaze finally softened.
“How can you be sure I’m not better than him if you haven’t tried?” Berg stood up and leaned closer, but Moya swiftly dodged. Last night, it wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to go through with it—it was just that, after Moya passed out, there had been no reaction at all. He could have fucked Moya, but that would have completely burned their bridges, and that wasn’t what he wanted. He had hoped to deceive Moya, but to his dismay, Moya wasn’t falling for it at all.
Hearing that Berg’s words indirectly confirmed they hadn’t done anything, Moya no longer bothered to waste time arguing. He picked up a small bundle from the corner of the cave—it contained medicinal herbs he had gathered for Lei Jin and dried fruits he had prepared for the journey. Everything was packed and ready to go.
Berg watched him silently packing up and smirked meaningfully. “It’s not enough for just you to say nothing happened. Many others will soon believe otherwise.”
As soon as Berg finished speaking, Moya felt a strange sense of foreboding. Despite the torrential rain outside, his sharp werebeast hearing picked up the sound of many people rapidly approaching.
Moya’s expression remained indifferent, but he knew things had taken a turn for the worse. This Berg was truly a plague—whoever got close, trouble would follow them. The approaching crowd moved swiftly and in large numbers; escaping now was impossible. His mind raced, searching for a way out, but before he could come up with a plan, the cave entrance was suddenly filled with a dense throng of merfolk. Their scales gleamed in an array of colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet—all present.
Berg intimately clung to an older golden mermaid at the front and shot Moya a provocative glance. Kicking his new legs playfully, he said, “Dad, I can walk on land now.”
The middle-aged golden merfolk was clearly not in the same good mood as his son. Seeing his son's legs exposed beneath his clothing, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. His mouth opened and closed several times before he finally choked out the crucial question:
"Who's on top and who's on bottom?"
Berg was completely unprepared for his dad's bluntness. The sudden question made him stumble on his still-unfamiliar legs, nearly falling over.
Alright then. Old Mr. Shell decided there was no need to ask any further. His son was already standing so unsteadily after being fucked, what else was there to question? He waved his hand to the people behind him and then pointed at Moya.
"Take him back to the Merfolk Tribe, lock him up in the Nether Sea, and never let me see him again!"
He was furious. He had raised his precious son with such effort, only for him to be "eaten" just like that. At the very least, they could have come and greeted him first! Not that it would have made a difference—he still wouldn’t have agreed!
"Dad?" Berg secretly pinched his dad's arm. This wasn’t how the script was supposed to go! Wasn’t he supposed to barge in and say: Since my son has already been taken, you must hold a ceremony together? His dad had obviously rewritten the plot!
But at this point, Mr. Shell had no interest in playing along with his son’s lines. The mere thought of his son being "eaten" had already sent half of his souls fleeing and the other half ascending to heaven.
Moya glanced at the dozens of strong merfolk behind Mr. Shell. Their tails gleamed with scales as sharp as blades. To fight or not to fight? Winning was out of the question. But if he didn’t fight, he’d end up locked at the bottom of the sea.
Screw it. He still had to get back to see Lei Jin. He didn’t have time for a seawater bath.
The outcome was inevitable. Moya was indeed a male werebeast, but the merfolk were also males, and they had numbers on their side.
When Moya next regained consciousness, he found himself at the bottom of the pitch-black sea. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized the scenery was quite spectacular—ruins stretched in every direction, with thick seaweed growing wildly between the cracks in the rocks, swaying gently in the water. Apart from that, there wasn’t a single living thing in sight. No wonder they call this the Nether Sea.
Thick chains bound his waist and ankles, though his hands were free. Not that they were much use—other than plucking some seaweed, there wasn’t much he could do.
But he needed to figure out a way out of here. Moya surveyed his surroundings and began to think calmly.
Meanwhile, Xiya and Lei Jin had been waiting at the river mouth for days, but there was still no sign of Moya. Xiya was growing anxious. The markings Moya left behind had clearly indicated their usual meeting spot.
So why hasn't he arrived yet?
Moya was always reliable—it made no sense for him to leave them waiting like this. Xiya had a nagging feeling that something had happened, but the jungle was vast, and he had no way of knowing where Moya was. If he went searching now, they could easily end up missing each other.
So, he forced himself to be patient. Thinking that if there’s still no news in two days, he'll take Lei Jin back to the Tiger Tribe first and then search for Moya alone.
Xiya didn’t dare leave Lei Jin alone. Every time he went hunting, he brought Lei Jin with him. As for Lei Jin, he never asked a word about Moya’s whereabouts, acting as if he didn’t care at all. But Xiya noticed that, several nights in a row, Lei Jin had woken up from nightmares in his arms, his eyes instinctively flicking toward the cave entrance. It was obvious what he was worried about. Yet, as soon as daylight came, he went back to pretending none of it concerned him.
Lei Jin sat on a rock by the water, soaking his feet.
Xiya busied himself with five bamboo tubes he had cut, following Lei Jin’s instructions to drill small holes in them. He filled them with rice, dried meat, and water, then buried most of them in the ground, sealing the holes before lighting a fire around them to cook slowly. They had been eating only meat for days, and Xiya noticed Lei Jin's appetite was poor. That’s why he wanted to make him some rice. He wasn’t sure how, but Lei Jin at least had a vague idea.
This method was called bamboo tube rice.
"Lei Jin, how do we know when it's done?" Xiya had already caught the scent of cooked rice but wasn’t sure if it was ready.
"Once the steam stops, it should be done." Actually, Lei Jin wasn’t completely sure either. He had never cooked bamboo tube rice himself—only eaten it at restaurants. But he remembered the rice being dry, not watery.
Once the rice was cooked, Xiya dug the bamboo tubes out, split them open, and was greeted by the rich aroma of rice, meat, and fresh bamboo. The scent was truly enticing.
He set the rice aside to cool slightly before helping Lei Jin put on his shoes and bringing him over. Using a smooth bamboo sliver, he scooped up a portion and fed Lei Jin.
As expected, Lei Jin’s appetite improved immediately. He finished three tubes of rice in one go. Xiya saved the remaining two for Lei Jin’s next meal, choosing instead to chew on some dried meat himself.
Just as they were struggling to figure out their next move, they happened to run into Hao Yang, who had just returned from a hunt.
From Hao Yang they learned that he had seen Moya with a golden merfolk.
That was all Xiya needed to hear. If Moya was with the merfolk, then their next destination was clear—Xiya decided that he and Lei Jin would leave for the seaside the next day to find him.
Meanwhile, Mingya had just passed by the same tree—where the little fox had peed—for the sixth time. He plopped down on the ground with a groan, admitting that he was indeed lost.
"Caw, caw, caw! I must have been out of my mind. I shouldn't have followed an idiot werebeast just because I want to watch them get it on in bed."
"I'm not moving. My legs have gone numb. I'm exhausted."
"Lei Jin, eldest brother, second brother, where are you? Mingya really, really misses you." Mingya wiggled his tiny paws, lamenting his fate. Stuck with these two unreliable companions, he silently shed tears in his heart.