Werebeast Gongs CH 073 The Last Piece
Xiya and Moya could recognize the voice, and of course, so could Lei Jin. He called out to the figure darting around in the distance, "Mingya..."
Mingya's furry ears twitched. Did he just hear Lei Jin's voice? Was he dreaming again? Mingya looked up at the sky, but the sun was still high. It wasn’t night, and he wasn’t asleep.
Mingya stopped in his tracks, shaking his head as he pondered, but the crowd behind him was closing in.
Seeing the situation take a turn for the worse, Xiya and Moya decided they couldn’t just stand by and watch. They hurried over to intervene. Earlier, they had noticed that the people chasing Mingya were all females, so they hadn’t stepped in. They knew these females couldn’t harm their little brother, and as werebeasts, they couldn’t recklessly attack females. Doing so would violate a major taboo and could potentially spark a conflict between the Leopard and Wolf Tribes.
The Wolf Tribe’s young females, who had been solely focused on chasing Mingya, hadn’t noticed Xiya and Moya earlier. Now, seeing two strikingly handsome werebeasts present, they felt a bit awkward. Many of them were disheveled, with unkempt hair and clothes, and some were even barefoot.
Xiya, naturally poised, acted as if he didn’t notice their discomfort. He flashed a warm, friendly smile and asked, "What has my little brother done to offend the Wolf Tribe?"
"Your little brother? Are you from the Leopard Tribe?" A young man with brown hair stepped forward, smoothing his damp hair. His collar was slightly open, revealing a black stone pendant.
"Elder Brother!" Mingya, hearing Xiya’s voice, wriggled his small body through the crowd’s legs, causing another wave of commotion among the females.
"Your little brother was caught peeking at young females bathing in broad daylight," the brown-haired youth said without embarrassment.
Lei Jin raised an eyebrow and let out a light, disapproving huff. "The little guy’s grown up, huh?" When they were together, Mingya’s hands were never still, and now he had escalated to sneaking into another tribe’s territory to peep at females. In just over two months, Mingya hadn’t grown much in size, but his audacity had certainly expanded.
"Lei Jin, is it really you?" Mingya’s tail wagged excitedly, his eyes shining as he pounced forward, only to be kicked away by Lei Jin before he could get close.
"Lei Jin?" Mingya’s ears drooped as he picked himself up from the ground, his eyes filled with unmistakable grievance.
"What’s going on here?" Lei Jin asked, gesturing toward the crowd behind them.
"Mingya doesn’t know," the little guy replied. He had just been looking for some water to drink when he poked his head out and was immediately chased by these people.
"You dare deny peeking?" the brown-haired youth raised his wooden club, his expression darkening.
"Mingya didn’t see anything," Mingya insisted stubbornly, his gaze fixed on Lei Jin. His words were clearly directed at Lei Jin. He didn’t want to look at those people; they weren’t as good-looking as his female.
"Then how did you end up in the Wolf Tribe’s territory?" Moya bent down, patting his little brother’s head reassuringly. It was common knowledge that one shouldn’t trespass into another tribe’s territory, and Mingya should have known that.
"Mingya was returning a little pup," Mingya said, scratching his head with his paw, avoiding his second brother’s gaze.
"What little pup?" The brown-haired youth’s expression shifted, as if he had remembered something, but he added, "We didn’t see any pup when we caught you."
"It’s a little gray wolf. He’s still in the grass over there," Mingya retorted defiantly.
"What? A gray one? Could it be Qing He’s child?" someone from the crowd whispered to the brown-haired youth.
"Take us to see," the brown-haired youth said to Mingya.
The group, now led by Mingya, made their way back. They passed through a grove of trees and arrived at a lake surrounded by low hills. The lakeside was lush with green grass, and the calm water reflected the distant mountains and white clouds. The scenery was quite beautiful.
"Little fox!" Mingya called as he ran, but there was no response.
The brown-haired youth grew angry. "Where’s this child you mentioned?"
"Little fox, my big brothers are here. Come out!"
"Caw, caw! You should’ve said so earlier," a black crow flapped its wings, flying up with a head full of grass.
The little fox poked its head out from the grass, its paw pinning down a gray wolf pup several times its size. The pup’s white belly was exposed, and it was clearly asleep, little bubbles forming at its mouth.
The brown-haired youth quickly stepped forward, gently picking up the wolf pup and cradling it in his arms. He brushed the dirt off its head and nodded to Mingya. "We misunderstood. Since you’re here, why not rest in our tribe before continuing your journey?"
Lei Jin was surprised that the matter had been resolved so easily. Given the earlier commotion, he had expected Mingya to be in for a beating, even if he had a valid reason.
Xiya, as if reading his thoughts, leaned in and whispered, "If Mingya weren’t still a child, this wouldn’t have been settled so easily. Those people were just trying to scare him."
So that’s how it worked? It seemed this continent had its own set of rules. Lei Jin looked down at the little guy squatting beside him, grinning mischievously. He always caused trouble but somehow managed to escape unscathed.
"It’s getting late. Let’s stay here tonight and leave tomorrow morning," Moya suggested. After several days of camping in the wild, they wanted Lei Jin to get a proper rest.
With the misunderstanding cleared up, Mingya cautiously approached Lei Jin. Seeing that Lei Jin only glanced at him and didn’t kick him away, he boldly snuggled up.
The Wolf Tribe’s settlement was nestled in a dense forest at the foot of a mountain. Tall houses made of black stone and yellow grass were arranged in an orderly fashion.
Strangers visiting the tribe were required to report to the chief, and this time was no exception. However, before they could even make their way there, they were surrounded by the family of the little wolf pup, who had heard the news.
Xiya and Moya were immediately bombarded with gratitude, only to realize that the real hero was the little guy currently curled up next to a female, acting spoiled.
That night, they stayed at the home of the tribe’s chief, Yu Qi. The chief was a young man who appeared very mature and composed. The brown-haired youth was his mate, who later introduced himself as Mu He.
Dinner consisted of large chunks of boiled meat. Noticing Lei Jin’s pale complexion and apparent injuries, Mu He took a few flatbreads and toasted them on the stove before handing them to Moya, who was feeding Lei Jin.
"Give him these. They’re a specialty of our tribe, and females love them."
Moya thanked him and broke the bread into small pieces to feed Lei Jin.
From the moment Mu He started toasting the bread, Lei Jin had noticed a familiar aroma. Now, tasting it, he confirmed it was cornbread. The texture was coarser than what he was used to in the modern world, but the corn flavor was pure and strong.
"Mu He, can I ask if the corn—the stuff you use to make these breads—is yellow with lots of kernels?" Lei Jin tried to describe it, gesturing with his fingers to indicate the size.
Mu He smiled. "That’s about right, but the ears are much smaller." Seeing Lei Jin’s interest, Mu He set down his bowl and went to the kitchen to fetch a couple of dried corn cobs. They were golden with a hint of red but no larger than Lei Jin’s palm.
"Does your tribe eat this often?" Lei Jin asked.
"Only a little. We save it for the females," Yu Qi chimed in.
"Yes, the land to the west of our tribe is very dry. Only corn and small ground fruits grow well there, and even then, not much."
"Small ground fruits?" Lei Jin asked curiously.
Moya handed Lei Jin a sip of water. "Let’s eat first."
In truth, many things were tacitly understood among the tribes, especially regarding food sources. Although werebeast tribes primarily relied on meat, each tribe had its own reserves to survive lean years.
Mu He, however, didn’t seem to mind. He continued, "Luckily, I brought a handful with me. Take a look. These are small ground fruits." He opened his left hand, revealing a few pale pink kernels.
Small ground fruits? These were peanuts! Lei Jin recognized them at a glance.
"They’re quite tasty when boiled fresh, but once they harden, they’re not as good."
"You can extract oil from them," Lei Jin suggested.
"Extract oil? How? What’s it used for?" Yu Qi quickly asked the key questions.
"I don’t know how to extract it," Lei Jin admitted. He had eaten peanut oil but had no idea how it was made. Still, the principle was straightforward. "Basically, you squeeze the oil out of them." Lei Jin took a peanut, crushed it in his hand, and showed the oily residue. "Add a little to your cooking, and it’s very fragrant."
After dinner, the little wolf pup’s family returned, this time bearing gifts—two large pieces of fabric. The color wasn’t particularly appealing, a dull gray, but the material was thick, soft, and somewhat resembled cotton. The usual cloth towels used back at home were made of the same material.
Without waiting for a response, they handed over the fabric and exchanged a few words with Yu Qi before leaving.
"We really owe you our thanks," Mu He said after seeing the visitors off. "To be honest, Qing He was Yu Qi’s strongest competitor for the position of chief. Although he lost, he and his followers have been challenging Yu Qi’s authority. Thanks to you bringing back the child, our relationship has improved."
Lei Jin thought to himself, no wonder Mu He acted like he’d found his own child when he saw that chubby little wolf. There’s more to this story.
That night, the four of them shared a room, while Berg, who had been keeping a low profile since arriving at the Wolf Tribe, had a room to himself. It wasn’t until Xiya started helping Lei Jin undress that Mingya finally realized something was wrong. He crawled over and asked, "Lei Jin, what happened to your arms?"
After hearing Moya’s explanation, Mingya clung to Lei Jin, tears streaming down his face and dripping onto Lei Jin’s chest.
Lei Jin suddenly felt a burning sensation in his heart. This was the first time someone had cried for him since his injury. Losing his arms and the ability to care for himself in this unfamiliar world—he had wanted to cry too, but his eyes remained dry, not a single tear falling.
"Alright, stop crying," Lei Jin heard himself say, though his heart felt hollow.
"Lei Jin, don’t cry. If it hurts, you can pull Mingya’s ears," Mingya said, seeing the emptiness in Lei Jin’s eyes. He felt Lei Jin’s sorrow.
Mingya stuck out his furry bottom, pressing his head into Lei Jin’s hand and wiggling his ears.
Lei Jin couldn’t help but grab them. "Which eye of yours sees me crying? Go to sleep. We have to travel tomorrow."
"En," Mingya blinked away his tears and curled up in Lei Jin’s arms. "When Mingya grows up, Mingya will protect you. Mingya won’t let you get hurt or be sad."
Lei Jin didn’t take the childish words seriously.
"By the way, how did you find that chubby little wolf?" Lei Jin asked, noticing Mingya’s guilty expression earlier. He knew there was more to the story.
"It wasn’t me. It was the little fox. He said he was hungry and caught a little wild dog to roast. Later, we realized it was a wolf pup from the Wolf Tribe."
"So, you’re saying you were the ones who took the chubby little wolf in the first place?" Lei Jin finally understood.
Mingya grinned sheepishly and nodded.
Even though he had braced himself for this, Lei Jin still felt his next breath get stuck in his chest. After a long pause, he finally found his voice. "Alright, don’t mention this to anyone in the Wolf Tribe." If they found out, gratitude would be the last thing on their minds. They’d probably want to kill them.
Xiya and Moya were already accustomed to their little brother’s knack for getting into trouble and miraculously escaping unscathed.
"Tomorrow, if Mu He asks, tell him you want the black stone he’s wearing," Lei Jin said before falling asleep. Mu He had mentioned giving them some corn and peanuts and asked if they needed anything else. Lei Jin trusted his instincts—the stone Mu He wore was similar to the one Jing Ping had. There had to be a connection.
Lei Jin had left Jing Ping’s stone with Xiya, as he didn’t like wearing accessories.
Moya, lying on the other side, heard their conversation and pulled out the stone he had picked up from the seabed. He had intended to show it to his papa, but since Lei Jin was also interested in these stones, he wondered what the connection was.