Chapter 77: Chapter 77: The Twins Are Born

“When I came over, he’d been called away by the tribe to help,” Suye said.

Since Nuanchun was about to give birth, Shankun would probably be back soon.

He was at Bai Lake, so it wouldn’t take him long to return.

Baiqing added, “I think they ran into some trouble with the cave construction and called Shankun over to help.” He’d been there earlier and overheard their conversation.

“Alright,” Changxia nodded, getting up to start the fire and boil water.

She was worried Nuanchun might look for Shankun during her contractions, which was why she’d asked where he was. Knowing he was at Bai Lake, Changxia didn’t ask further.

Finding someone was just a matter of shouting.

Nuanchun’s cave dwelling had three chambers.

The leftmost chamber was the kitchen.

Inside, there was a built-up stove, with two stone pots and a clay pot on top. In the corner, there was a clay jar filled with fruit flour and another jar with fried meat. Wild vegetables and bird eggs were stored in vine baskets. Everything was neatly arranged and very clean.

It was clear that Nuanchun and Shankun cherished their cave dwelling.

They couldn’t bear to let it get dirty—inside or out, everything was kept especially tidy.

They’d also left some open space near the cave.

Changxia guessed it was for a vegetable garden. Nuanchun had mentioned that after giving birth, she wanted to learn gardening from Changxia. In the past, Nuanchun liked to dig up flowers and plants to bring home, and then have Shankun help plant them.

Unfortunately, most of the flowers and plants didn’t survive.

Before, when Nuanchun saw Changxia easily grow ginger, onions, and garlic, she found it amazing.

The tribe had tried transplanting and growing things before, but the survival rate was too low. Over time, people just stopped bothering.

The Twilight Forest was rich in resources.

Except during the cold season, the beast tribe never lacked food.

So transplanting and growing crops wasn’t really necessary.

“Nuanchun, is there anything you want to eat?” Changxia asked.

Maybe the contractions had eased a bit, because Nuanchun, holding onto the shaman’s arm, slowly walked out of the cave and started pacing back and forth in the yard.

The shaman had said that walking before labor could help with the birth.

Nuanchun took small steps, stopping when the pain was too much. She didn’t mind the trouble, but she did feel a bit embarrassed about bothering the shaman.

She hoped some tribe members would come soon—having the shaman wait on her was something she’d never even dared imagine, and she felt she was being too presumptuous.

“Fresh-pressed rice noodles,” Nuanchun said after thinking for a moment, licking her lips.

Changxia covered her face and spread her hands. “Nuanchun, you need to ferment the rice dough in advance to make fresh-pressed rice noodles. How am I supposed to make that for you now? How about rice noodle sheets? I can make them into a soup like fresh-pressed rice noodles.”

“That’s fine!” Nuanchun nodded quickly. She’d never heard of soup noodles before, but they sounded delicious. Just thinking about it, she started to feel hungry again.

Even though she’d just had breakfast when the shaman arrived.

Thinking about food, even her labor pains seemed to ease a bit.

The shaman couldn’t help but laugh at Nuanchun’s greedy expression. Ever since Changxia had recovered and come of age, the atmosphere in the Heluo tribe had gotten much better.

Everything was moving in a good direction.

The shaman was pleased.

“Shaman.” Yami arrived with Muqin and Heyun, first greeting the shaman, then turning to Nuanchun and asking softly, “Nuanchun, how are you feeling?”

“I can still manage,” Nuan Chun said.

“Chang Xia, what are you—” Mu Qin looked at Chang Xia and the bowl of pink paste, her face full of confusion. If she remembered correctly, Chang Xia had already eaten breakfast. So what were Chang Xia and the pink paste planning to do now?

Chang Xia gestured toward Nuan Chun and explained, “The shaman asked me to prepare some food for Nuan Chun, but I haven’t started yet… Nuan Chun says she’s hungry again.”

“I’m just craving something, not really hungry,” Nuan Chun said, embarrassed, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Shaman, let me help.” Mu Qin stepped forward, taking over from the shaman to support Nuan Chun as she walked slowly around the courtyard. He Yun helped Chang Xia and the pink paste. Since Nuan Chun’s house didn’t have a bone broth pot, they had to use a clay pot to steam the rice noodles. Chang Xia was worried they would stick, so before pouring in the fruit paste, she brushed a layer of oil inside.

Luckily, she only needed to make enough noodle soup for Nuan Chun alone.

Otherwise, just steaming the rice noodles would have left Chang Xia’s hands aching.

The kitchenware wasn’t ideal, but there was no helping it.

During this time, Nuan Chun’s pain became intense, and she couldn’t keep walking. Mu Qin supported her and helped her back into the cave dwelling.

Chang Xia brought in the finished noodle soup and fed Nuan Chun a big bowl.

Once she was full again, Nuan Chun lay down, planning to rest for a bit.

Suddenly, she cried out in pain, looking up at the shaman and Elder Yami.

She saw the two of them nodding at the same time. Nearby, Mu Qin pushed Chang Xia out of the cave, and together with He Yun, they helped the shaman and Elder Yami get to work.

“Chang Xia, why is Nuan Chun screaming so miserably?” Nan Feng came hurrying over, still out of breath. Before she could even catch her breath, she was startled by Nuan Chun’s sharp cries.

Chang Xia said, “She’s about to give birth.”

“Give—give birth?” Nan Feng’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“Not given birth yet, but she’s about to,” Chang Xia repeated, explaining.

“Should I go get Shan Kun? I just saw him down below—he seemed to be heading toward Ya Dong’s cave,” Nan Feng said. She had just delivered the shaman’s and Bai Qing’s animal skin bedding and household items to Chang Xia’s cave.

On her way to Nuan Chun’s house, she happened to run into Shan Kun.

It looked like Shan Kun was instructing the tribe members on how to dig caves.

“Yes, go quickly,” Chang Xia nodded, urging her on.

Nan Feng sighed inwardly—her busy life really never gave her a moment’s rest.

She turned and ran straight toward Ya Dong’s house, shouting Shan Kun’s name as she went.

Her call startled the entire Bai Lake tribe.

“Shan Kun—!”

Hearing his name, Shan Kun looked up toward his own cave.

Why was Nan Feng calling him?

“Shan Kun, hurry home!”

Nearby, another tribe member quickly caught on and reminded Shan Kun to go home.

Shan Kun froze, suddenly remembering something.

Without another word, he dropped the wooden tool he was using to carve out the cave and sprinted madly toward his own home.

“Ah!”

“Shaman, Elder Yami, it hurts! It hurts so much!”

Inside the cave, Nuan Chun screamed in agony. Beads of sweat as big as beans rolled down her forehead, soaking the animal skin bedding beneath her, and even the dry straw under the bed was starting to get damp.

“Nuan Chun, breathe deeply with me,” Su Ye said gently.

She placed one hand on Nuan Chun’s belly, gently massaging to help with the birth. At the same time, an invisible force flowed from Su Ye’s hand into Nuan Chun’s body, easing her pain.

Listening to Su Ye’s soothing voice, Nuan Chun’s cries gradually softened.

Elder Yami used a green cloth to carefully wipe the sweat from Nuan Chun’s face.

Mu Qin and He Yun sterilized the supplies Su Ye had brought with boiling water, placing them within easy reach.

Chang Xia bit her finger, pacing anxiously in the courtyard.

Nuan Chun’s screams made her heart race with worry.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Shan Kun and Nan Feng returned. Soon, the three of them were pacing back and forth in the courtyard, silent and tense.

Time ticked by.

Inside the cave, Nuan Chun’s screams faded in and out. Shan Kun’s legs felt weak—he nearly collapsed to the ground several times.

In the end, Chang Xia and Nan Feng couldn’t stand it anymore.

They dragged Shan Kun to the side and forced him to sit down on a chair.

At noon, two sharp, childish roars suddenly broke the silence, drowning out Nuan Chun’s cries.

In an instant, the entire Bai Lake tribe froze.

Awooo—

Soft, milky roars—the first cries of leopard cubs—announced the arrival of the newborns.

Shan Kun jumped up, letting out a loud beastly roar, “Roar—Roar—”

The high and low roars echoed above Chang Xia and the others. Soon, similar roars came from the tribe as well.

One after another.

The tribe was celebrating the birth of the new beast cubs, welcoming them into the world.