Werebeast Gongs CH 077 The So-called Truth
"Wipe it off." Image is crucial. Lei Jin managed to utter his final instruction before finally passing out. He couldn't hold on any longer—he was utterly exhausted.
"Lei Jin..." Moya's usual cold demeanor vanished completely.
Lei Jin's sudden collapse caught everyone off guard. Moya, who was already by Lei Jin's side, quickly scooped up his limp body and held him close. With his wings spread, he flew toward the tribe. Xiya, following closely behind, instructed Mingya, "Take Berg home," before taking off after them.
"Mingya wants to go too!" Mingya, who couldn't fly yet, called out to the other werebeasts who had come to meet them, asking them to take Berg back to their home. Then he dashed off on all fours, chasing after the others.
"What just happened?" The crowd exchanged confused glances, unsure of what had transpired. Lei Jin had disappeared right before their eyes back then, and now that he was back, many had wanted to greet him. But they hadn't even gotten a chance to see him properly.
"Let's go. I'll take you to Xiya's place," said Qi Luo, one of the werebeasts who had been present. He had only caught a glimpse of Lei Jin earlier and hadn't had time to see what was going on.
Moya didn't take Lei Jin to the tribe's healer. Instead, he went straight to Chunji's house. Everyone knew Chunji was the best healer, though he also had the worst temper. However, Chunji owed his life to Dad An Luo, so he always showed some leniency toward their family.
The door was practically slammed open by Moya. Chunji, who was inside doing something, heard the commotion and shouted without even looking up, "What the hell are you doing? Get out of here! Don't cause trouble in my place!"
"Chunji, come quick! Save Lei Jin!" Moya laid Lei Jin down on a bamboo bed in the courtyard, trying to stem the blood flowing from his nose and mouth with his hands, but the blood seeped through his fingers.
"Lei Jin?" Chunji, sleeves rolled up, emerged from the house. Seeing Lei Jin's bloodied face, he was startled and hurried over. "What happened? It hasn't been that long since I last saw him. How did he end up like this?"
Xiya, who had arrived right behind, still managed to keep his composure. Hearing Chunji's question, he explained how Lei Jin had suddenly started bleeding from his nose and mouth.
Chunji had already begun examining Lei Jin. After a moment, he straightened up and said, "There are no wounds on his nose or mouth. Could the injury be internal?"
"We ran into saber-tooth beasts on our way back. Lei Jin was clawed," Moya explained. He helped Lei Jin sit up, and Xiya stepped in to assist, removing Lei Jin's shirt. The wound on his shoulder, which hadn't fully healed, had started bleeding again despite being treated with medicine just the night before.
"How could you still have intercourse with him? Look at the state he's in!" Without the shirt covering him, the marks on Lei Jin's body were unmistakable.
Neither Moya nor Xiya had anything to say. While Lei Jin had provoked them, it was true that they hadn't been able to restrain themselves.
Chunji snorted, went back inside, and returned with a crystal vial. He poured some brown powder onto the wound and bandaged it with fine white cotton. Lei Jin, likely feeling the pain, frowned and shifted uncomfortably in Moya's arms.
"Chunji, be gentle," Moya said softly, patting Lei Jin's back. Even though he knew Lei Jin couldn't hear him, he kept murmuring, "It's okay, it'll be over soon. Just hang in there a little longer."
"Is this the cause? Did the injury go deeper?" Xiya asked anxiously from the side.
Chunji shot them a glare. "Where were you two when this happened? Can't even protect the person you love."
"Brother Chunji, what's wrong with Lei Jin?" Mingya finally arrived, drenched in sweat.
"I must really owe this family," Chunji muttered, tying off the bandage. "When did you encounter the saber-toothed beasts?"
"Three days ago," Xiya replied.
"And you used falconweed on him?" Chunji sniffed some of the remaining powder near the wound.
Xiya nodded.
"That's strange. Falconweed is one of the best hemostatic herbs. Why is the wound still bleeding? And what's with the nosebleed?" Chunji frowned, examining the injury more closely. It didn't make sense. While it was understandable for Lei Jin to cough up some blood immediately after being clawed, bleeding three days later was unusual.
After all the commotion, the nosebleed had stopped on its own.
Chunji couldn't figure out the cause right away, but since Lei Jin still reacted when touched, he guessed there wouldn't be any immediate danger.
Xiya fetched a basin of water from the well in the courtyard and carefully wiped Lei Jin's face clean.
Roger, who had received the message from Mingya that Lei Jin was safe and that the three brothers had returned, finally felt a weight lift off his shoulders. An Luo, who had run into the crow delivering the message on its way home, had also returned, waiting for the family to reunite.
When someone came to their house to say they were back, Roger had rushed out to meet them halfway, only to hear that Lei Jin seemed to be in trouble. Only then did he hurry over.
"What happened to Lei Jin?" Roger asked, noticing how much darker and thinner Lei Jin looked after this trip, not to mention the injuries.
"Papa..." Mingya threw himself at Roger, his eyes red.
Roger patted his head a couple of times, too preoccupied to correct his form of address. He asked again, "What about Lei Jin?"
"Father, Chunji hasn't figured out the cause yet," Xiya explained, briefly recounting the situation to Roger. He pulled over a small stool for Roger to sit on.
"Did anything else happen on your way back?" Chunji, seeing that Moya wasn't going to be much help, turned to Xiya instead.
"After we ran into the saber-toothed beasts, the rest of the journey was smooth," Xiya replied, thinking for a moment before shaking his head.
"Did Lei Jin go anywhere alone? Or eat anything by himself?" Chunji tried to prompt him.
Xiya shook his head again. With Lei Jin injured, there was no way they would have let him go off on his own.
Chunji asked a few more questions, and Xiya answered them carefully after thinking them over, but Chunji dismissed each one.
In the end, Chunji almost ran out of patience. He sat down and poured himself a cup of water.
"Mingya fed Lei Jin some red berries," Mingya chimed in, raising a paw.
"What red berries?" Chunji asked absentmindedly, not really paying attention to Mingya's words.
Xiya, however, remembered the incident. He had tasted the berries himself and didn't think they were poisonous, but he still described the tree and the berries in detail to Chunji.
Before Xiya could finish, Chunji kicked over his stool and stood up. He pressed his hand against Lei Jin's stomach for a while, then let out a cold laugh. "You guys really outdid yourselves this time."