Translated by Hua Li ^_~
The weather quickly transitioned from warm to hot in just a few days.
The Red Moon season, second only to the White Moon season, was a long season. During this time, there was abundant sunshine, long days, and short nights. Plants thrived, started to bear fruit, and matured.
It was undoubtedly the favorite season of the Beastmen, but also the most active season for the mystical beasts.
The Beastmen didn’t slack off due to the plentiful food; on the contrary, this was the busiest season of the year for them.
For generations, their wisdom taught them to be prepared for the long White Moon season and to not waste a single day.
Every year during this time, the adult male Beastmen would split into two groups.
One group would go out hunting, often staying away for more than thirty days before returning with a load of mystical beast hides and meat. The other group would stay behind to protect the tribe from mystical beast attacks and also to guard against other tribes trying to steal females, cubs, or food—especially cunning clans like the Swamp Tribe and the aggressive Brule Tribe, who had a history of conflicts with the Wolf Tribe.
But most importantly, they were there to protect the females on the harvest team.
The Red Moon season, the season of harvest, was not just a busy time only for the male Beastmen.
Before the females could start harvesting the bountiful fruits, they needed to undergo pregnancy stone tests one by one.
Sighing, Gou Liang rested his head on the windowsill and watched the slow-moving line.
—These days without Meng Hao, he felt quite lonely.
This was the fourth day of Meng Hao leaving the tribe to harvest Red Salt Fruits.
In this world, there were no salt deposits, so the Beastmen initially supplemented their salt intake by drinking the fresh blood of mythical beasts. It wasn’t until they discovered the Red Salt Fruits that this situation improved. The shells of the Red Salt Fruits could keep the pulp inside from leaking, and the pulp itself could be used to preserve food for a long time, which was a significant help for surviving the harsh winter.
So, every time the Red Moon season came, the most important task for the females was to harvest Red Salt Fruits.
Besides their private use at home, each family had to hand over a hundred Red Salt Fruits to the tribe as a reserve. After all, once Beastmen reached adulthood, they were on their own, which meant Meng Hao and Meng Hui had to contribute two hundred.
Initially, the tribe considered exempting Meng Hui from this responsibility and providing him with food supplies for disabled Beastmen during the White Moon season. But the Meng brothers not only declined but insisted on handing over a year’s worth of five hundred stones of mythical beast meat.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Before he set out to hunt alone, he decided to complete the Red Salt Fruits mission.
Gou Liang watched as Meng Hao’s figure moved swiftly through the Red Salt Fruit forest, leaving behind a barren path of trees. It seemed he was determined to clear the entire fruit grove before moving on.
Gou Liang couldn’t see Meng Hao’s majestic appearance in person, and he regretted it once again. He shifted his gaze back to the long line of females.
The Wolf Tribe had a vast territory, and as the first tribe on the Wolf Plains, their population had already exceeded a hundred thousand, which was quite impressive in the low birthrate world of the Beastmen. Even though the birthrate of females to males was as low as one to ten, there were still nearly ten thousand young females eligible for pregnancy. The teams had to be divided into groups and tested in batches; hence the process was quite lengthy.
At the front of the line, females who had completed the test were either joyous, receiving a small package from Sang Mi, or crestfallen.
Gou Liang, who understood from the original owner’s memories, knew that the pregnancy stones held some incredible properties.
Placed on the pulse of a female, if the test subject still possessed fertility, the stone would emit a sound similar to a heartbeat. The louder the sound, the higher the chances of conceiving.
Females who still had fertility received a special plant called the White Child Leaf. It was a rare herb that grew during the White Moon season and was dangerous to harvest. This plant had a contraceptive effect lasting one day and night, without harming the female’s body, and it even had a nourishing effect.
The Beastmen’s pregnancy cycle lasted for three hundred days, which was fifty days longer than the Red Moon season and slightly shorter than the White Moon season by twenty days.
Therefore, getting pregnant during the Red Moon season meant giving birth during the White Moon season.
The White Child Leaf’s existence was meant to prevent such situations.
Gou Liang idled away, looking at the line until he saw a female collapse on the ground. He couldn’t help but ask, “Who is that person? She looks quite young; how come she can’t conceive?”
The conversation attracted Ga’er, who had completed her test early. She peered over and sighed sympathetically.
“She’s from the Moon Fox Tribe; you haven’t seen her before. She and her Beastman partner don’t have any children yet… I heard she was injured during the earthquake in the Moon Fox Tribe a couple of years ago, and her pregnancy stone responses have been weak these past two years. We didn’t expect it to be completely gone now.
Gou Liang’s eyes were full of sympathy.
“Don’t look at her anymore; come, drink this Gray Moon Vine Milk.”
— Truly the tears of the legendary Beast God. It’s so bitter and sour, it’s making me want to cry!
But, it had to be admitted, it was very effective.
Gou Liang had been injured for only six days, and with the use of Red Moon Flower concocted hemostatic and wound healing potions, along with Gray Moon Vine, his body had almost completely recovered. The same was true for Meng Hui. Under the nourishing effects of Gray Moon Vine Milk, his fur had become glossy, and now he could take a few steps and handle his daily needs without any problem.
Gou Liang reluctantly took it, while the Black Wolf perked up its ears and regarded him with a sympathetic expression.
Seeing him finish it, Ga’er, feeling pleased, patted his head and said, “Xier, be a good boy, drink a couple more times, and you’ll be healthy.”
The Black Wolf howled in agreement from the side.
Although Gou Liang didn’t avoid his touch, he looked somewhat uncomfortable. Fortunately, Ga’er didn’t linger. As the tribe’s female chieftain, he also had many things to prepare and arrange before the busy harvest season started.
After he left, Gou Liang remained in a daze for a while. Then, for the nth time today, he asked, “When is Meng Hao coming back?”
As he spoke, he let out a big yawn.
Several days of poor sleep had left dark circles under his eyes, a sight that worried the others.
However, the medication brewed by the High Priest didn’t seem to have much effect. The diagnosis couldn’t find any issues, so they attributed it to “head injuries of uncertain severity,” which only added to the worry of Ga’er and the others.
But just as you can never wake up someone pretending to sleep, you can’t make someone who has forcefully sobered up go to sleep.
…In order to be able to sleep with a big tail every day, Gou Liang was willing to do his best.
“Awu.”
Gou Liang obviously didn’t possess the ability to communicate in the beast language. So Meng Hui simply transformed back into his human form and walked slowly to his side.
“The moonlight turned completely red last night, and the Red Salt Fruits have ripened. If everything goes smoothly, my brother will be back in no more than two days.” Pausing for a moment, Meng Hui asked, “Xier, do you miss my brother a lot?”
He wasn’t jealous or suspicious, in fact, he had long become accustomed to the fact that Gou Liang preferred Meng Hao over himself.
—During their childhood, when they were close as brothers and still close to the original host, the original host liked to stick to Meng Hao, the older one who was good at taking care of people. Later, when he distanced himself from Meng Hao, he often bossed Meng Hui around, enjoying his efforts but never giving a clear response, completely treating him as a backup. Except for a period of time after their engagement when he said a few soft words to him, he rarely got close.
Meng Hui was just a little surprised. Lang Xi lost his memory but still liked to rely on Meng Hao more than anyone else.
Gou Liang pinched his earlobe and said somewhat hesitantly, “N- No! I just don’t want to eat the food made by the High Priest!”
Although he said so, he blushed.
Meng Hui was a bit puzzled, scratching his head, and asked, “Xier, why is your face so red, is it too hot?”
Gou Liang glared, “Who’s blushing!”
He got up and walked outside, and Meng Hui didn’t dare to stop him, just standing there in frustration.
Gou Liang watched his clumsy movements through the system’s monitoring, secretly shaking his head: he used to think this guy was either a masochist or liked the original host to an extreme degree. But after getting to know him, he found that Meng Hao’s younger brother was just lacking in emotional intelligence.
His emotions toward the previous owner weren’t the impulsive, fiery love of youth but rather a profound sense of duty.
Indeed, it was all about responsibility.
During their youth, they were inseparable, and during that time, he made numerous promises. He swore that once he became the tribe’s most courageous warrior, he would devote himself to looking after and safeguarding his brother and the original owner for the rest of their lives.
Young Lang Xi might have forgotten those words, but Meng Hui had always kept them close to his heart.
Growing up without parents, Meng Hui saw the original owner in the same light as his brother and the old priest. He held deep familial affection and an innate sense of responsibility toward him.
Consequently, when the original owner found himself surrounded by impressive orcs, Meng Hui didn’t feel anxious or jealous. Instead, he fulfilled his commitment to protect him conscientiously. His way of taking care of the original owner was by sharing his best possessions. Initially, Meng Hao did the same, but eventually, he ceased.
Even when the original owner was isolated, Meng Hui steadfastly stood by him without any hesitation. He believed that despite the original owner’s mistakes, he had an obligation to shield him from any mistreatment.
Gou Liang was relieved that Meng Hui’s love was unwavering, but it also gave him a headache because Meng Hui was just as stubborn as Meng Hao.
Most of the male Beastmen in this world were very pure-hearted, and after accepting his proposal, Meng Hui’s perception of the original host had changed from a delicate and fragile younger brother to a partner.
Once a two-way loyal relationship was established, the meaning was completely different.
Even though Meng Hui didn’t have romantic love for the original host, if he wanted him to actively give up his partner or accept his partner going to someone else, it would inevitably hurt his feelings. Moreover, with Meng Hui’s stubbornness, if he didn’t meet someone who could open up his emotions, he was afraid he would remain single for the rest of his life.
And the “someone else” that Gou Liang was prepared to invest in was Meng Hao, his beloved older brother.
Meng Hui would probably accept and bless his feelings for the two, but no matter how you look at it, Meng Hao wouldn’t allow such a situation to happen.
This is too cruel to the og host, the Mc shamelessly and ruthlessly severed the og host ovaries.. Tsk.. While other “females” held importance to their fertility, but then again, the og host can’t be sympathize that much