Chapter 367 – Extra 1: Life in Hei Yao

Qi Bai felt a flutter of nervousness—this was, after all, his first time carrying offspring.

But he quickly noticed someone else in his household was even more on edge.

After they returned from the cave, Lang Ze vividly demonstrated what it meant to “be too fragile to touch.” Qi Bai woke in the morning to find Lang Ze trailing him like an overgrown pup. When Qi Bai sat up, Lang Ze handed him clothes. When Qi Bai brushed his teeth, Lang Ze stood guard outside the door. When Qi Bai cooked… well, Lang Ze took over the household’s three daily meals entirely. Even Su Jian and the others were politely “rejected” when they offered to help.

In short: aside from eating—Qi Bai had to chew himself—Lang Ze would’ve done everything for him if he could.

At first, Qi Bai simply thought Lang Ze was nervous about becoming a father too. But after three or four days of this, things began to seem off.

Watching Lang Ze’s calm expression—which seemed utterly unchanged—a phrase suddenly popped up in Qi Bai’s mind:

Could it be prenatal depression?

“No.”

Qi Bai was stunned by this self-diagnosis of prenatal depression, but Lang Ze shook his head firmly.

His partner was about to give birth. It was a time when he shouldn’t be bumping into things or catching colds. Giving birth was dangerous enough—how could he be ill at such a crucial time?

…Diagnosis confirmed: it was prenatal depression.

Qi Bai’s mind raced. Why was Lang Ze so anxious?

He thought it through: Hei Yao now had an obstetric ward, something never seen in the beast world before. Not only were there healers, but priests took turns blessing the newborns. As Hei Yao’s Great Priest, Qi Bai naturally helped at the temple.

From Qi Bai’s perspective, even with medical resources lower than on Lan Xing, giving birth among beastmen was already much safer now. Most half-beastwomen could deliver on their own; the real challenge was raising the offspring. That said, danger remained: dystocia (difficult birth) could still occur—even though rare, among immobilized populations over time it became a frightening statistic. Lang Ze had seen such cases firsthand—he understood how difficult birth could be and how high the stakes.

No matter what the medical label was—prenatal depression or not—the bottom line was that Lang Ze was in no condition to handle stress, and needed something to shift his focus.

Qi Bai curled up on the sofa and tried to reason with him:

“You see? Everyone else gave birth so casually. When Shu Lin had her cub, she transformed back into human right after and went to work!”

Lang Ze expertly seized on the wrong point:

“You can’t work before or after giving birth.”

To make sure Qi Bai took it seriously, Lang Ze added:

“That was your policy.”

…Yes. That policy was indeed from Qi Bai himself.

“No—what I’m saying is not can you work before giving birth. The point is giving birth is easy.” Qi Bai said indignantly.

“I’m a half-beastman. Birth is natural for me.”

Lang Ze chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re the best.”

Qi Bai raised his chin.

“So stop watching over me every day! What about affairs in the city—are you going to manage those or not?”

Lang Ze answered coolly:

“Nothing major happened in the city recently. City defense and the martial bureau’s daily tasks are handled by Ma Ling and Lang Ji; the rest are managed by Monkey Yan and Deer Yan. They can handle everything themselves.”

Qi Bai raised an eyebrow—until he glanced at the fur rug and slapped his thigh:

“You’re fine, but I have work to do!”

“We accepted so many orders from Beast God City, but haven’t started any production. If we don’t get moving, we’ll miss the delivery date.”

Qi Bai grabbed Lang Ze’s hand and whined:

“It takes three months before the cub is born. I can’t just stay at home three months, I’ll go stir-crazy.”

“All right,” Lang Ze acquiesced.

“I’ll go with you.”

That was exactly Qi Bai’s plan. He sprang up, rummaged through the study, and found the bookkeeping ledgers he’d used at the Sacred Mountain Market.

Just as he reached out, he inadvertently transformed into his beast form again.

Lang Ze rescued the little snow leopard from the fur coat, frowning at the squirming cub:

“It’s inconvenient to keep switching forms. Keep the beast form for the trip to Yi Si—when we arrive, you’ll change back.”

Temperatures changed throughout the week following the autumn festival, and soon everyone switched to winter clothing.

Outside the Sacrificial Hall timer sat a small table, beside a brazier of boiling water. Passing beastmen greeted respectfully:

“Yang Luo Jisi.”

Yang Luo’s ears poked through his fur, reddened, but his expression was unusually upbeat:

“On your way to work?”

The Sacrificial Hall sat at the center of the plaza. People walking to workshops—east and west—passed by regularly.

A half-beastman chuckled:

“Yes.”

Yang Luo nodded:

“Thanks to the Great Priest, you still have work this winter. Don’t let him worry about you.”

“That’s right,” another said quickly, “especially since the Great Priest is still carrying a cub. We mustn’t let him overthink things.”

At last, Yang Luo said slowly:

“You fools. It’s been seven years—these two couple only now have a cub. Everyone thought you couldn’t have kids. So naturally, everyone must know—and celebrate. Only then can the cub grow strong.”

He threw a look at Lang Ze, half in teasing, half in respect.

Indeed, Yang Luo had set up tea out front today just to spread word. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been out there freezing.

“Meow! Meow!” the cub complained—not a fan of public praise.

Though it couldn’t understand beast tongue, Yang Luo understood Qi Bai’s meaning instantly:

Qi Bai may be educated, but clueless about pregnancy. And in the beast world, not conceiving meant being devoid of divine blessing.

Qi Bai, losing in the cultural clash, turned and stuck his backside out in protest.

“Those two are a pair,” Qi Bai thought; “no wonder Wolf Ze said it’s inconvenient to go out in beast form.”

Lang Ze scratched his nose. He wasn’t in cahoots with Yang Luo—though who could resist subtle bragging about their mate and cub?

But Lang Ze did understand Yang Luo’s intention: on this continent where fertility was glory, a childless couple could be seen as unblessed. He didn’t care, but better avoid that misconception.

At that moment, several beastmen strolled past, and Yang Luo turned his attention to them—and the cub’s wagging tail distracted Lang Ze enough that he didn’t continue teasing.

Lang Ze led the cub to the Yi Si (administrative house). There, Qi Bai hurried to the next room and changed into his robes. He nudged Lang Ze with his nose—“No tricks. This is my civil form.”

Yun An and Sun Qing were there too. After a brief discussion, they decided to start work tomorrow. Yun An and Sun Qing grabbed some paper and quickly posted recruitment notices.

Just as Qi Bai and Lang Ze got ready to head home, Zhu Ya and Bao Yue pulled up two carts loaded with bamboo.

Qi Bai approached:

“Do you have trade goods?”

“Yes,” Yun An joked. “They’ve been busy earning supplies. I’m guessing they’re close to coming of age—hoping to find a partner soon.”

Bao Yue ignored Yun An. She shifted to human form, tapped the cart, and said matter-of-factly:

“We’re picking up the bamboo ordered by the weaver’s workshop. They’ll come to collect soon. If you want some, Bao Bai-gege, we can chop more tomorrow.”

Qi Bai grinned:

“Sure. But I don’t need much—just half a cart is enough.”

Author’s Note:

Bad news: Someone has prenatal depression.

Good news: It’s not the pregnant husband.