Chapter 52: When People Leave the Cave Empty

Yun Li could also see that Gong Mei seemed to be touching her belly with a very reverent attitude.

And after a touch, she withdrew her hand as if shocked by electricity.

"It—it's moving!"

It was still Gong Mei's first time facing this, and her face instantly flushed red.

Yun Li smiled, as if saying offhand, "Maybe they like you; Leng Xiao puts his hand on my belly, and only twice out of ten do they bother to pay attention to him."

That statement was obviously false, because Leng Xiao has a wildly imaginative mind; when he first sensed fetal movement, he even thought the offspring would burst out of Yun Li's belly on its own.

He scared himself half to death, muttering late at night that you shouldn't be so eager to emerge, it would hurt your mother, and you must wait for the Witch Doctor to bring medicine so your mother can, like pulling a stool, pull you out.

Therefore he never expected fetal movement at first; each time he saw it, he was terrified, fearing the offspring would burst the belly.

In the end, Yun Li herself once woke up suddenly at night and realized she actually had such a wildly imaginative thought, almost laughing herself into a cramp.

Leng Xiao, that father, is truly kind to the offspring; he'd rather have them pulled out like poop than cut open Yun Li's belly to let them out more cleanly.

And because of that, Leng Xiao learned some terrifying birth stories, almost losing the fledgling fatherly love he had just begun to feel.

No wonder it hurts so much for a female to give birth; it turns out the offspring aren't pulled out like a female's poop.

"Really?"

Gong Mei, excited and a bit incoherent, said, "Will the offspring like me? That's great, that's really great!"

If Yun Li's offspring would like her, that shows she is also qualified to be a mother, right?

Could there be a day when a few offspring appear in her belly?

Perhaps she's grateful for the "pregnancy aura" Yun Li gave her, or Gong Mei feels she's about to become a mother like Yun Li.

When Asheng and the others brought back game, wild fruit, and vegetables, Gong Mei suddenly rushed to take over their tasks.

There was grilled meat and stewed soup; to make Yun Li eat well and comfortably, Gong Mei even cut the wild fruit into bite‑size pieces for her.

Leng Xiao now had no time to watch those four potentially successful male rivals; instead he kept his eyes fixed on Gong Mei.

She fed meat to Yun Li, and he gave A Li soup.

She grilled meat, and he stir‑fried meat for A Li.

In short, no matter what Leng Xiao says, he cannot be outdone by a female!

Because she is his female!

The meal before Yun Li left the cave was the most satisfying; to compete with Gong Mei, Leng Xiao supposedly gave his full effort—eleven points of skill—to serve Yun Li a comfortable feast.

His usual flirtatious banter vanished, replaced by gentle questions like Gong Mei's, asking if she ate well, what she wanted to eat, what she wanted to drink.

Yun Li almost died laughing at this Leng Xiao.

It was truly hard on him, a beastman whose mind was full of junk…

Gong Mei was also disdainful of Leng Xiao's affected imitation; she herself is a female, so she knows exactly what females like.

She must be gentle and considerate, thorough and meticulous, eat well, look good, and be touched well.

Ahem, the two Gong Meis behind couldn't do that, and Leng Xiao clearly lacked that awareness either!

So, males!

Heh!

……

Just as Yun Li and the others finished packing and were on the road to the Silver Eagle Tribe, elsewhere, Leng Xiu and Mu Qing led a group of tribe beastmen toward the cave.

Normally, when Leng Xiu returned to the tribe, he found Mu Qing still alive and well, staying with the tribe beastmen; the two Qing Rank Beastmen together tried to persuade the chieftain and the Witch Doctor.

They couldn't convince them to abandon the tribal lands, but getting the chieftain to agree to relocate the tribe elsewhere for temporary refuge wasn't difficult.

As a result, the tribe's beastmen did relocate, but some died, including females and offspring.

This sparked many beastmen to criticize the two for insisting on leaving the cave, especially since the relocation party lacked Yun Li, the female of Leng Xiu and Mu Qing.

Thinking that their females were fine and about to give birth to healthy offspring, the beastmen who had lost mates and young were unwilling to comply.

Thus a commotion broke out.

If the Witch Doctor hadn't spoken up, it would have been just a few enraged beastmen throwing stones at Leng Xiu and his group, rather than a crowd denouncing Leng Xiu and Mu Qing.

However, that was not yet the worst moment; some beastmen were stirred up against Leng Xiu, and although the Witch Doctor's defense had suppressed it then, such resentment can become a bomb during a hunting outing.

A male beastman ignored Leng Xiu's warning, insisted on disturbing a hard‑found beehive, and was painfully stung, attracting wild beasts that broke out from the beast tide.

Now another beastman was injured.

The tribe's beastmen looked at Leng Xiu and his group with increasing hostility, so during the next relocation, Leng Xiu and Mu Qing could only take a portion of the willing beastmen with them first.

The Witch Doctor was also exhausted this time, following Leng Xiu to another safe location.

Who would have thought that less than a day later, the tribe beastmen who originally refused to relocate panicked and rushed before Leng Xiu, claiming the beast tide had returned.

This time came a swarm of fire‑red, fire‑spitting ant insects; they do little harm to plants but are a disaster for beastmen.

If they get bitten even once, the skin swells red, and soon the entire beastman will faint, foaming at the mouth.

And the surviving beastmen carried such fire ants on them; at midnight they crawled out, biting the protected females and offspring at the center.

To save those few females and offspring, Leng Xiu and his group had to delay their return.

Now they finally arrived at a clearing not far from the cave.

Facing the empty, evidently uninhabited cave, Leng Xiu crushed the wild rabbit he was holding.

"Calm down, there are no signs of fighting in the cave, nor any signs of forced intrusion.

It must have been that Leng Xiao and A Li thought the place unsafe, so they left on their own."

Mu Qing said, his face solemn as he placed a hand on Leng Xiu's shoulder, but Leng Xiu turned and threw a punch at Mu Qing.

"Since you were still alive back then, why didn't you hurry back! Do you know A Li misses you!"

"Why did you have to go to Heifeng Ya to see what the ground movement was? If you hadn't been gone, A Li, pregnant, wouldn't have had to run with Leng Xiao?"

Mu Qing was also badly hurt by Leng Xiu's punch, his vertical pupils involuntarily flashed.

One could hear Leng Xiu's final words; he instantly turned as pale as earth, offering no resistance to Leng Xiu's attack.

It was his fault; if he hadn't been startled by that suddenly appearing black fissure, he would have tried to get closer to clarify what the earthquake A Li mentioned was.

He wouldn't have returned so late, causing A Li to become pregnant; he couldn't even rush to her side at the first moment to care for her.

It was only Leng Xiu who blamed Mu Qing for not returning in time; how could he himself claim to have "left early and returned early"?

For a group of orcs who had helped the two brothers in their youth, Leng Xiu lost his own female.

Thinking of that, he gave himself several heavy slaps on his own face.

If A Li truly suffered any mishap during the time he was away, even his death could not offset the harm A Li endured.