Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Twins

“Someone from the Yuan family poisoned you? What about Yuanhou?”

Su Ye’s face changed dramatically as she glared at Chen Rong, insisting he explain. Back then, Yuanhou had promised both her and the Sky Wolf Tribe that he would take good care of Chen Rong.

It’s only been a little over twenty years, and yet Yuan Hou has already broken his promise.

Did he really think Su Ye and the Sirius Tribe would be easy to bully?!

“Father disappeared half a year ago,” Chen Rong said quietly. His investigation revealed that the last place Yuan Hou was seen was Nanyue, apparently looking into a murder case.

The murder case was far-reaching, implicating countless nobles.

Through secret channels, Chen Rong had learned more: the murder was connected to the succession of the Tianyuan Tribe’s leadership thirty years ago. And it was the current leader of the Tianyuan Tribe who issued the order to wipe out the Nanyue barbarians.

But just as Chen Rong uncovered these secrets, trouble struck.

He wanted to escape his prison-like life, and also to get away from the swirling chaos. So, using an injury and poisoning as an excuse, Chen Rong seized the chance to leave the Yuan family.

“Enough, as long as you’re safe.” Su Ye’s face was calm as she pondered, realizing that something big might be brewing in the Western Lands. She looked Chen Rong over and instructed, “First, take your medicine and focus on recovery. Gu poison comes in countless forms—I’ll need to identify exactly what kind you’ve been afflicted with before I can treat it properly.”

Su Ye had traveled the continent and seen much; she was even known as the strongest shaman of the beast tribes.

Anyone else faced with gu poison would be helpless, left to await death. But for Su Ye, gu poison was nothing she couldn’t handle.

“Yes,” Chen Rong replied, quietly letting out a sigh of relief.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Chang Xia.

Once the poison was cured, he’d be able to protect Chang Xia better.

Chang Xia, on the other hand, wasn’t thinking about all that.

She listened with great interest. The Western Lands seemed very different from the East—almost like a feudal society with slavery, rigid class divisions, and strict hierarchies.

By contrast, the tribes of the East were much freer and more peaceful.

Everyone was shocked to learn why Chen Rong had come to the Twilight Forest, and even more so to hear about the terrifying gu poison. For a moment, the atmosphere grew tense.

“Nuan Chun is pregnant with twins—that’s wonderful news! Why are you all looking so grim? My troubles are all in the past. Besides, I’m just glad I made it out of the Western Lands alive and back to the Twilight Forest,” Chen Rong said with a smile.

Before leaving the Yuan family and returning to the East, he’d gone to Nanyue to look for Yuan Hou, but found no leads. Still, he had a feeling Yuan Hou wasn’t dead—if he had died in Nanyue, Chen Rong’s escape from the Yuan family wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.

And with his abilities, there was no way he could have uncovered so many secrets unless someone wanted him to.

But these were things best left unsaid.

Chen Rong didn’t want to bring the chaos of the Western Lands to the Heluo Tribe.

“Chen Rong is my mate—surely you’re not thinking of sending him back to the Western Lands? Hurry up and get the bowls and chopsticks, tidy up the tables and chairs—it’s time for fish noodles!” Chang Xia clapped her hands and called out.

Schemes and plots and all that…

They weren’t as satisfying as a bowl of bone broth and a few bites of roast meat.

With Chang Xia’s cheerful shout, the tense atmosphere quickly eased.

Nuan Chun, cradling her heavy belly, said, “Chang Xia, I want three bowls of fish noodles! After all, I have to feed two beast cubs now—it’s hard work.”

“I’ll get the noodles for you, Nuan Chun!” Shan Kun rushed forward, grinning.

Now that the shaman had confirmed Nuan Chun was healthy, his worries finally eased. And learning she was having twins—Shan Kun felt like he was on top of the world.

“I’ll help too!” Ya Dong chimed in, mimicking Shan Kun’s tone.

Everyone burst out laughing.

“Grandma Su Ye, please try the fish noodles and tell us what you think!” Chang Xia served up a bowl and handed it to Chen Rong to bring over. Smiling, she said, “I let the dough ferment overnight, so we can have fresh rice noodles for lunch. Grandma Su Ye, you’re not in a hurry to get back to the Shaman’s Hall, are you?”

Chang Xia was frail and took medicine year-round.

Su Ye often worried she wouldn’t survive, so every so often she’d come from Mount Kana to the Heluo Tribe to check on her. Among all the beast tribes, the Heluo Tribe had the closest relationship with the Shaman’s Hall.

“I’ve been away from Mount Kana with Bai Qing for over ten days, so I do need to return to the Shaman’s Hall soon. But I can stay for lunch,” Su Ye replied. Her gaze fell on Nuan Chun as she continued, “I’ll rest at Mount Kana for a day, then come back. With twins, we can’t be careless—I’ll wait here at the Heluo Tribe until she gives birth. In the meantime, make sure someone is always with her; don’t let her be alone.”

With twins, Nuan Chun could go into labor at any time.

If no one was with her, it could be dangerous.

“Don’t worry, Grandma Su Ye. While Chen Rong and the others are building the kiln, Nan Feng and I will stay with Nuan Chun,” Chang Xia promised.

Now that Su Ye had explained everything, Chang Xia didn’t try to persuade her to stay longer.

She started thinking about what to prepare for Su Ye to take back to Mount Kana. Whether or not Su Ye could carry it all, Chang Xia didn’t worry about that.

The tribe would arrange for totem warriors to escort Su Ye and Bai Qing back to Mount Kana.

“Of course,” Su Ye nodded, reminding her, “Chang Xia, make sure to prepare snacks for Nuan Chun so she can eat whenever she’s hungry. Don’t worry about how much—just let her eat when she wants. The cubs need energy to grow, and her drowsiness is normal for someone about to give birth.”

It was the warm season, so the tribe had plenty of food.

If it were the cold season, Nuan Chun would have had a much harder time.

Everyone understood what Su Ye meant.

Beastfolk were strong, and their cubs had big appetites. Lately, Chang Xia had been experimenting with different foods—without realizing it, she’d pretty much saved Nuan Chun’s life.

Nuan Chun grinned at Chang Xia.

Chang Xia really was the tribe’s lucky star.

Little cubs—

You must remember to thank Auntie Chang Xia in the future!

“Alright, I’ll steam some yams and make snacks, so Nuan Chun can eat whenever she’s hungry,” Chang Xia replied.

Nuan Chun shouldn’t eat fried foods.

They tasted good, but were too heating.

Pregnant women were already prone to overheating, and too much fried food would be hard on Nuan Chun.

“Chang Xia, can you make fried yam cakes?” Nan Feng asked excitedly.

From across the way, Ya Dong, who was squatting and eating fish noodles, jumped up and said, “Chang Xia, make extra fried yam cakes—I want some too!”

“Changxia—”

Immediately, Kongshan and the others began speaking up one after another.

At the same time, they brought over several baskets of meat, all hoping Changxia could help them make it into fried meat. They didn’t carry the meat into the beast den, but instead left it in the shade by White Lake, planning to ask Changxia for help once she was done with her current tasks.

“This time, we won’t pan-fry the yam and fruit flour cakes—we’ll steam them instead. Pan-frying can cause internal heat, and eating too much in early spring isn’t good for the body. But if you really want them pan-fried, I can make a few more that way,” Changxia relented, promising them.

Even if the other tribe members hadn’t come over, with Muqin and Nanfeng helping, she could handle it.

Making a few yam and fruit flour cakes wasn’t tiring at all.

She was always happy to help her tribe with things within her ability. Besides, once everyone got used to eating a variety of delicious foods, they’d naturally start wanting even better things to eat.

This would be very helpful in changing the tribe’s mindset about hunting in the future.

After all, how could hunting ever compare to farming and raising livestock?