Werebeast Gongs CH 085 Daddy And Baby
Lei Jin didn’t understand what Berg meant. Seeing his strange expression, he just assumed the fruit was rare and that Berg didn’t want to share it. He thought to himself, “Berg’s really getting stingier. Won’t even let me have two tiny berries.” But then again, since the other was the pregnant one, he figured he should let it slide. Suppressing the desire to eat a few more, Lei Jin noticed the tightness in his chest had eased quite a bit after eating the fruit. He glanced at the bowl of white berries that was still more than half full but ultimately decided not to take any more.
He patted Berg’s shoulder, intending to resume their deeper conversation from earlier. He used to think mermaids were only myths, and was surprised to find they actually existed. Back when he and Berg couldn’t stand each other, he had to suppress his curiosity. But now that they were living under the same roof, he figured it was okay to ask, right?
Berg choked on Lei Jin’s question, wanting to retort with, “I’m the one curious whether you’ll give birth to a female baby or a little leopard.” But thankfully he remembered in time that Lei Jin could no longer have children. Even if Lei Jin didn’t mind, it wasn’t something to joke about—especially in a werebeast tribe where babies were incredibly important.
He shoved down the strange feeling that had flared up when he saw Lei Jin eating the fruit. He’d been having little appetite lately, and since merfolk naturally prefer seafood, eating meat and wild vegetables every day was making the baby in his belly kick up a storm. No matter what he ate, it made him throw up. Roger had picked the fruit specially for him.
According to Roger, this fruit was meant for pregnant females. Most people couldn’t stand the sourness. When Berg first tried it, it made his teeth hurt so badly he couldn’t even chew soft boiled vegetables.
Lei Jin really was a weird exception.
“What exactly do you want to say?” he asked. Did all pregnant men act this strange? Talking and zoning out at the same time?
“I’m saying I don’t want to tell you. You can keep guessing,” Berg said leisurely.
“Tch. You really think you can keep it secret for long? I’ll find out in a month anyway,” Lei Jin huffed in mild annoyance. Secretive as always, that Berg. But judging by how his arms were healing, it would probably take four or five more months for a full recovery—he’d definitely get to see what Berg gave birth to.
“Then let’s talk again in a month.” Berg shrugged nonchalantly, sneaking a glance at his own rounded belly under his clothes. He was frustrated too—he wanted to know what he was having just as much.
As they were chatting, Moya came in. After greeting them, he placed a bowl on the table.
Guessing they had things to talk about, Berg waved his hand, grabbed his own bowl, and hopped away.
Watching Berg bounce off with his big belly, Lei Jin broke into a cold sweat and couldn't help wondering, “He’s not going to bounce that baby right out of him, is he?”
“What are you staring at?” Moya asked as he hugged Lei Jin from behind, his chin rubbing affectionately at his neck.
Lei Jin squirmed and laughed. “Cut it out. That tickles.”
Moya caressed his belly and sighed. “Why is it you don’t gain weight at home, but two months at Chunji’s place and you’ve plumped up quite a bit?”
“Don’t touch,” Lei Jin said, catching Moya’s restless hand and giving him a side-eye. “We just did it last night…”
Before he could finish, Moya shut him up with a kiss.
“Your skin’s gotten smoother too,” Moya murmured with a chuckle, nibbling on his earlobe. He had noticed it last night—Lei Jin’s skin, always nice, now felt silky like the rare silk they produced annually in the tribe.
Lei Jin had noticed too. Not that it was something a man could really boast about. He chalked it up to good food, good sleep, and no exercise. Secretly, he promised himself that once his arms healed, he’d start training again—restore his dazzling masculine glory.
“Let’s eat.” Lei Jin reminded him. If Moya kept this up, they’d both be burning up soon—and he’d be the one putting out the fire again.
“Alright, let’s eat.” Moya scooped Lei Jin up by the waist.
Lei Jin struggled briefly but gave up when he realized no one was around.
Moya had wanted to set him on his lap but, knowing Lei Jin wouldn’t allow it—and that the porridge would get cold if he insisted—he settled him on the bed and began feeding him spoon by spoon.
“Fish porridge? You made it?” Lei Jin asked. At first glance, he thought it was just plain rice porridge.
“En. Eat more. I simmered it all morning.” They had caught some wild fish yesterday—two were still alive in a water barrel. Moya had deboned one and slow-cooked it with rice in a clay pot. The white fish meat had melted into the porridge, and he finished it with a little salt—the resulting texture soft and smooth.
“What about Xiya and the others?” Lei Jin asked between bites.
“Elder Brother came to apply your medicine this morning. Everyone else went to help at Qi Luo’s place.” Moya said as he fed another spoonful over.
Lei Jin didn’t ask how Xiya knew to apply the medicine—probably Chunji told him last night before they left without saying goodbye.
Seeing Lei Jin’s expression, Moya added, “Once things settle down at Qi Luo's place, I’ll hunt some prey and gather some herbs, and we’ll visit Chunji together.”
Lei Jin nodded. That was all they could do for now. Chunji had done him a huge favor this time. A few gifts wouldn’t be enough to repay it, but it was a start.
Moya was relieved that Lei Jin hadn’t suggested moving back to Chunji’s.
After feeding him, Moya had to leave and help too. Lei Jin said he wanted to go as well.
Moya disagreed. After helping Lei Jin change, he said, “They’re building houses there—too many people. You might get hurt. Just stay home with Berg.”
“You think I’m made of clay? That I’ll fall apart if someone bumps into me?” Lei Jin grumbled. Sure, he was injured, but not that fragile. Besides, he felt his arms were improving—he could face people now.
Moya smiled helplessly. He could never win against Lei Jin.
The new house was being built on a slope near the stream. Lei Jin had passed by before—it used to be wild grass and low trees, just a few steps from their home. So calling it “next door” wasn’t wrong, though there was a large open field between.
“I’ll have Mingya go with you,” Moya said, and afraid that Lei Jin wouldn’t agree he added, “He’s not much help with the building anyway.”
Lei Jin reluctantly agreed.
The outer structure was already up. The house looked like it had three or four rooms. There were two side rooms to the east, probably a kitchen and storage. The walls were made of polished blue stone—very sturdy.
Qi Luo was mixing straw with mud when he saw Lei Jin and Moya approaching. He dropped his tools and greeted them with a smile. “Lei Jin, are you better now? You fainted the other day—we were all worried.”
Talk about hitting a sore spot.
Lei Jin’s eye twitched. Facing someone as thick-headed as Qi Luo, he forced a smile. “I was just sleepy and dozed off.” Surely Moya wouldn’t dare expose the truth.
He heard a suppressed laugh nearby and turned to see Moya looking composed as ever, though the amusement in his eyes gave him away.
Lei Jin, being the bigger man, decided not to start a fight.
Qi Luo pointed to a room with large south-facing windows. “Lei Jin, you think this window’s big enough? Plenty of sunlight. Babies love bright rooms, right?”
After that conversation with Jia He, Qi Luo kept hoping Lei Jin would have a lot of babies and he and Jia He would help raise them. So when they built the new house, they reserved the largest room for the baby.
Lei Jin glanced at Moya, puzzled. Qi Luo and Jia He were both werebeasts—how could they have kids? Could the jade mugwort let werebeasts get pregnant too? But that couldn’t be right. If they could, why would they keep claiming females were so rare and precious?
Moya understood immediately. Though he had accepted Lei Jin’s infertility, it still stung a little. Werebeasts valued children highly—and of course, he wanted a child with Lei Jin. But Lei Jin was what mattered most.
Qi Luo had grown up with them. If Lei Jin could have children, he and his brothers wouldn’t mind him raising their children together. But now it wasn’t possible.
Since Moya said nothing, Lei Jin replied, “Looks good. Kids love bright rooms.” Just because they couldn’t have kids didn’t mean they couldn’t have a nursery. He thought Qi Luo and Jia He were just baby-crazy and didn’t realize they had their sights set on his belly.
Qi Luo grinned, thrilled by the response. “Jia He said the same thing!” He thought Lei Jin’s answer meant agreement—after all, helping raise a child usually meant involving close family and friends. Everyone in the tribe knew how close Qi Luo was to Xiya’s family. If Qi Luo wanted to help raise a child, the three brothers’ children would naturally be his first pick.
But Lei Jin didn’t realize any of that and remained confused by Qi Luo’s excitement.
Moya knew that Qi Luo had misunderstood. After all, no one in the tribe knew that Lei Jin was infertile, including Qi Luo himself. He thought he would talk to Qi Luo privately later to dispel the idea.
Today, some strong werebeasts were working on the house’s roof beams, standing shirtless on top of the house, using ropes to pull up wood from below.
Even with so many people, Lei Jin spotted Xiya at a glance—his blond hair was hard to miss.
Obviously, Xiya had seen them too. Though his hands were busy, he still flashed a big, bright smile.
On the flat ground near the creek, many dry reeds were laid out in the sun. Downstream at the river’s mouth was a large reed marsh. It’s said that if someone walked in, wild ducks would scatter in fright. Lei Jin had gone there once with Moya.
“Papa is over there.” Werebeasts had excellent eyesight. Moya easily recognized Roger, who was squatting by a pot feeding the firewood.
As they got closer, they saw that many females were sitting under the shade of trees weaving reed mats. They split the reeds with small knives, flattened them with stone rings, and then began weaving. Since every bed Lei Jin had slept in used these mats, he immediately recognized them. But the ones they were weaving now were huge. Were there really beds that big?
“These are for the roofs. Woven tightly so they don’t let water in during the rainy season,” Moya explained.
Lei Jin looked carefully. Indeed, these were denser than the ones used on beds.
Everyone who knew Lei Jin came over to greet him, especially the young females, who loved gathering around him. They found him knowledgeable and funny, often laughing uncontrollably at his stories.
Lei Jin preferred women to men and liked females more than werebeasts—at least females were softer. Most importantly, among the females here, he could find some confidence. Considering his height barely reached a werebeast’s shoulder, he hated being around werebeasts and feeling inadequate.
So Lei Jin didn’t shy away from the affectionate and adorable young females. He pinched one’s cheek, hugged another—looking every bit like an incorrigible playboy.
The werebeasts watching from a distance were filled with envy, their eyes practically glowing red. They looked like they wanted to rush over and take his place.
Outwardly, Lei Jin smiled charmingly, but inside he was frustrated. He had once thought that if he couldn’t return, maybe he could just settle with a female. When he’d been with Chunji, the passion had been there. But with these females—some of whom were quite pretty—he felt nothing. He’d tried several times, even with their bodies pressed together, and still, nothing. His recently healed arms were already starting to ache from all the hugging.
Thankfully, Moya was observant. Noticing the slight frown on Lei Jin’s face, he quickly came over, put an arm around his shoulder, and led him out of the crowd.
Just then, Xiya also strode over. Shirtless, beads of sweat rolled down his muscular chest and disappeared into the waistband of his pants.
Lei Jin unexpectedly felt something. He wanted to smack himself—was he going crazy?
“Were you thinking about me?” Xiya chuckled and cupped Lei Jin’s face, planting two loud kisses on his lips.
The nearby werebeasts burst into cheers.
What is happening? Lei Jin rolled his eyes and signaled for Xiya to tone it down.
“They’re all jealous of me,” Xiya said thick-skinned, clearly not caring at all.
Lei Jin suddenly felt something against his leg. Looking down, he saw the little guy squatting at his feet, looking up at him with wide, expectant eyes.
“One, teo, three… I should just strangle you all,” Lei Jin muttered through gritted teeth.
After finally sending the two eldest away, Lei Jin had a chance to sit and talk with Roger.
They found shade under a tree. The little guy lay between them, pawing at each in turn to show his presence.
Roger occasionally got up to add herbs and leaves into the pot.
Lei Jin tried several times to ask Roger about giving birth, but when he opened his mouth, it came out as: “Roger, what are those threads in the pot for?”
Roger used long wooden chopsticks to lift some of the threads out and hung them on a bamboo fence to dry. He replied, “These are for weaving rugs. The ones in that pot are for making cloth for clothes.”
“Why are there so many pots?” Lei Jin roughly counted six or seven.
“Each pot has a different dye. That’s how we get different colors.”
“Oh.” Lei Jin wasn’t really paying attention, so he replied absentmindedly. To him, everything just looked black and soggy—he couldn’t tell the difference.
“You have to wait until they dry to see the colors. The woven rugs are beautiful. Not many in the tribe know how to make them,” Roger said, motioning for Lei Jin to look further away. Sure enough, he saw some elderly females stepping on a wooden frame, pulling threads with one hand, and cutting them neatly with a shell knife. The exposed edge of a rug was a dazzling red.
Just then, some blue threads on the fence dried, and Roger asked Mingya to bring them over. Lei Jin took the opportunity to touch them. They felt a bit coarse, even prickly, so he asked, “What are these made of?”
“Wool, hemp, and a little cotton. The wool comes from hunted animals. The hemp grows wild in the mountains. The cotton is bought from the Wolf Tribe,” Roger explained clearly.
No wonder last time, the chubby little wolf’s family had gifted them a huge piece of cotton fabric—they produced it!
“Lei Jin, you’ve been dancing around the topic. What do you really want to ask me? I’ve already sent Mingya away,” Roger chuckled knowingly. He knew Lei Jin wasn’t truly interested in all this—it was hard watching him stall for so long.
Since he’d been seen through, Lei Jin gave up hiding it. Still, he was a little anxious—he didn’t know how Roger felt about his past. Would asking bring up painful memories?
He cleared his throat a few times, trying to phrase it casually.
“Alright, stop beating around the bush. You’ve figured out Xiya and the others were born from me, haven’t you?” Roger gave him a side-eye. “I’m not shy about it—why are you being weird?”
Lei Jin chuckled awkwardly.
Just then, someone brought over a basket of washed hawthorn fruit. At this time of year, the wild hawthorn on the mountain turned red—sour and sweet. The females in the tribe loved picking them to eat.
“I came here twenty years ago…” Roger held the hawthorn but didn’t eat it. His voice took on a heaviness of memory.
Lei Jin paused mid-bite. Something about “twenty years ago” struck him—something he almost missed.
Twenty years? Twenty years?! Lei Jin suddenly realized—if Xiya and the others were Roger’s kids, how old were they exactly? No wonder when he asked Xiya once, he’d dodged the question.
Lei Jin was just about to ask Roger when Qing Qiao, the healer, arrived. Ever since someone had been bitten by venomous bugs here, he had taken to checking in often. Though he specialized in caring for pregnant females, he was good in other areas too.
Because of Xiya’s previous injury and Lei Jin using alcohol to disinfect the wound, Qing Qiao had visited their home a few times, so he and Lei Jin were acquainted. Upon seeing Lei Jin, he came over to greet him. But once beside him, his eyes scanned Lei Jin’s body, and he snatched the half-eaten hawthorn from his hand, scolding angrily:
“You’re over two months pregnant and still dare to eat this stuff?!”