Werebeast Gongs CH 079 The Matter Of Babies
"Moya is here. Still not seeing him?" Chunji stood by the window, glancing at the figure entering the courtyard, then turned to ask Lei Jin, who was still lying on the bed.
"No." Lei Jin didn't know what to say if they met. It was better not to see him. He didn't want to hear any explanations now. All he wanted was for his arms to heal quickly and to escape all of this.
"How many days has it been?" Chunji picked up a bamboo pole from the corner and propped the window open.
The sudden burst of sunlight made Lei Jin squint. How many days had it been? Today was the seventeenth day, right? He frowned in frustration, annoyed that he remembered it so clearly.
He had been staying at Chunji's place these days. Roger, Moya, Mingya, and even Berg had come once. Only Xiya was missing. Everyone probably wanted to know what he was thinking, but Lei Jin himself didn't know, so how could he explain it to others? Relying on others to survive—despite forcing himself to accept this reality many times, he found it increasingly difficult. The incident with the drug had shattered the rare trust he had given, but he knew it was just a catalyst, bringing to light the underlying conflicts that had always existed. What he couldn't adapt to was the role he was forced to play in this world. In modern society, he wasn't exactly a powerhouse, but he had his own domain where he was the undisputed leader, with many people depending on him to survive. But here? He was just a weak female, constantly being overpowered, and now even expected to bear children. What a joke. How had he fallen to this point? Was he supposed to cheer and be happy about it?
Regardless of their ultimate goal in drugging him—whether it was to keep him here or simply to have a child—he had no intention of cooperating. There was no need for him to play along.
"He stood in the courtyard for a while, left some things, and then left. I'll go see what it is today." Chunji was always eager to check the daily offerings, which were never the same. He was curious, but Lei Jin never even glanced at them.
Lei Jin watched as Chunji hurried out the door. Despite feeling stiff, he didn't dare move because his body was still covered in bone needles.
When Chunji first mentioned acupuncture, Lei Jin had been startled and secretly wondered if Chunji was also from the modern world. Given Chunji's mysterious background—no one in the tribe knew where he came from—Lei Jin had his suspicions. But after several tests, he realized he was probably overthinking it.
Chunji's medical skills, however, were even better than rumored. Even in modern society, with such severe injuries and a delay of over two months, treatment would have been difficult. But with Chunji's daily acupuncture and herbal remedies, Lei Jin's arms had started to regain some sensation after just ten days. It was a faint, tingling feeling, but it was hope nonetheless.
"Lei Jin, today it's wild ducks. I'll cook them for lunch. Let me know if you hear me," Chunji called into the room, picking up the three wild ducks on the table and weighing them in his hand. They were quite heavy.
"Got it." Lei Jin hadn't realized before how chatty Chunji was. He always demanded a response, but as Lei Jin was living under his roof he had no choice but to comply.
"I knew you hadn't left," Chunji said, pulling open the courtyard gate and leaning against the doorframe with a smile, deliberately lowering his voice.
"How is he today?" Moya was still standing outside the wall, unable to resist glancing toward the window of the room where Lei Jin was staying, though he couldn't see anything.
"Which part are you asking about? If it's his body, with me here, of course, he's fine. You heard him just now."
Moya nodded. Indeed, Lei Jin's voice had sounded strong.
"As for his mood, that's beyond my ability to fix. But since you've already done what you did, you should be prepared to face the consequences." Chunji had initially wanted nothing to do with this mess, but seeing Moya and the others moping around was ruining his appetite. Lately, he could only eat one wild chicken and two and a half flatbreads per meal, a full half-flatbread less than before.
Meanwhile, Lei Jin, with nothing to do all day, had been eating more and more. He'd start yelling about being hungry before mealtime even arrived. After the acupuncture sessions, Chunji had to brew medicine and then cook, leaving him no time to relax. He was practically suffocating. So, when Moya and the others brought gifts, Chunji accepted them without hesitation, considering them compensation for his efforts. After all, Lei Jin was eating more than he was.
"There's a misunderstanding. We didn't give him the jade mugwort. We'll explain it to him later," Moya said hesitantly.
"You may not have done it, but that doesn't mean you didn't think about it. Lei Jin probably knows that too." But judging by Lei Jin's current state, it was clear he was hesitating, wavering. If he were truly angry and wanted to cut ties, he would have said so outright. Why all this avoidance instead?
Moya understood that things could be worse. At least Lei Jin hadn't explicitly ended their relationship. He wanted to see Lei Jin, but he was also afraid of facing him.
"He doesn't like eating meat every day. There are some vegetables and wild fruits in the other bag. Try to get him to eat more. He loves mushrooms..." Moya changed the subject to something safer.
"Stop. What do you think this place is? I'm treating him and giving him food to keep him from starving. That's enough. I don't have time for all these details," Chunji snapped, his blond eyebrows furrowing.
"Thank you for taking care of him. We appreciate it," Moya said sincerely, his calm eyes showing no offense at Chunji's words.
"I hate your eyes—they're just like Roger's. But they also remind me of him," Chunji muttered, staring at Moya's dark green eyes.
Though Chunji's voice was low, Moya heard him clearly. He frowned slightly but said nothing.
For lunch, Chunji prepared two wild ducks, coating them in honey and stuffing them with wild fruits, mushrooms, and vegetables before roasting them. The two of them each ate a whole duck, leaving nothing behind. By the end, their stomachs were round and full.
"If only we had some shredded scallions, thin pancakes, and sweet bean sauce," Lei Jin said, lying back comfortably on the bamboo chair. Chunji really knew how to live well—even his bamboo chairs were like modern rocking chairs.
"What's sweet bean sauce?" Chunji asked, intrigued by the mention of food.
"You wouldn't understand even if I told you," Lei Jin replied. In truth, he didn't know much about it either. He only knew how to eat it, not how to make it.
"How would I know if you don't tell me?" Chunji was stubborn.
Actually, making sweet bean sauce only required wheat flour and fermentation. Coincidentally, the Leopard Tribe grew wheat, and while most households didn't have much to spare, they all had some. Chunji's home was no exception. After Lei Jin explained the basic method, Chunji got to work. Lei Jin didn't have high hopes for the result.
Lately, Lei Jin had noticed his appetite had increased dramatically. He could eat and sleep like never before. He had intended to carefully consider the messy relationships between them, but now he was just too tired. His eyelids grew heavy, and he slowly closed his eyes.
Chunji called out a few times from the kitchen but got no response. When he came over, he found Lei Jin asleep.
"Hey, it's cold out here. If you're going to sleep, go inside," Chunji said, shaking the chair. He couldn't carry Lei Jin himself.
"Mmm..." Lei Jin responded instinctively but made no move to get up.
"Eat and sleep—what is this, raising a pig?" Chunji muttered, resigned to fetching a blanket from the house. Lei Jin's body was already battered enough. Catching a cold would only make things worse.
"I'll carry him in."
The deep male voice startled Chunji.
"Why do you walk so quietly?" Chunji turned to see Xiya approaching. It had only been a dozen or so days, but Xiya looked haggard, with dark circles under his eyes. How long had it been since he'd slept properly?
Xiya had been visiting various tribes, desperate to find a way to counteract the effects of the banyan fruit. He now knew that while the fruit was harmless to werebeasts—even beneficial for circulation—it was toxic to females, causing infertility and long-term damage to the body. But every healer he consulted had told him the same thing: there was no cure.
Seeing Lei Jin sleeping peacefully, Xiya didn't dare disturb him. He carried Lei Jin inside and quickly left.
"Is there really no way to counteract the banyan fruit?" Xiya asked, though he already knew the answer.
"No," Chunji said without hesitation. If Lei Jin hadn't had the nosebleed, it would have been more complicated. But because it happened early, Chunji had been able to gradually draw the toxins out during the acupuncture sessions. However, doing something and saying it were two different things. For one, Chunji disliked Roger and, by extension, anyone connected to him. For another, he wanted to see how these werebeasts would react when they learned their mate couldn't bear children in a tribe that placed such importance on lineage.
The expected answer still dimmed Xiya's eyes. Children no longer mattered—Lei Jin didn't want them anyway. But what about his health?
Chunji watched coldly, saying nothing. The final choice hadn't been made yet after all. He was waiting to see how things would play out.