Kaelen carefully looked at his reflection in the water, trying to use his ability to erase the unusual redness and swelling on his lips.
He didn't know what suddenly drove that stinking snake crazy yesterday; he had already left but came back, pinning Kaelen down and kissing Kaelen ravenously. But in the end, he only stopped at kissing and fondling a few places on Kaelen's body, after which he left with a gloomy expression. Looking at the thing propping up the animal-skin skirt into a tent between the man's legs, Kaelen was genuinely worried that this guy would be choked to the point of breaking.
Stop thinking about that stinking snake!
Kaelen told himself, then splashed cold water on his face, patting it to reduce the burning sensation on his cheeks, before sitting silently to wait for Cael's group to arrive. Today was the day he officially treated Icarus's leg; hopefully, everything would go smoothly.
"Kaelen, are you done? Let's go!"
Cael ran in nimbly, still holding a wooden crutch in hand. This crutch belonged to Cael's Daddy, brought today for Kaelen to use first.
Although his leg had healed itself long ago, in front of outsiders Kaelen still had to pretend to be a patient; he could only accept the crutch, pulling one leg up and hopping on the other. Tsk, should he say later that the Priest's healing arts were so profound that it only took two days to cure his leg?
Treating Icarus's leg went more smoothly than Kaelen had imagined. The Priest had experimented on large animals many times, proficiently controlling the amount of anesthetic sufficient for a beastman, then breaking Icarus's leg once more before proceeding to reattach it. Breaking this leg required technique. Kaelen chased everyone out of the medicine room; only the High Priest and Tribe Leader Jaxon remained inside.
He used a piece of animal-skin cloth to blindfold Icarus, and only then began to use his ability to probe the shin bone. Finding the exact location of the original fracture, he controlled his ability to grind away the superficial connection from before, then applied force with a single push. The consecutive cracking sounds echoing within the enclosed cave made the Priest and Tribe Leader Jaxon shudder upon hearing them.
Breaking it and then reattaching it, Kaelen had experimented with this many times, so he now performed it extremely fluently. After applying the medicine and conveniently transferring a bit of healing ability, Kaelen's entire body went limp, nearly causing him to collapse. Tribe Leader Jaxon's figure suddenly flashed, and a massive white tiger quickly appeared behind Kaelen, acting as a cushion to support Kaelen.
The task of bandaging and immobilizing Icarus's leg fell to Nyx. Nyx quickly finished it, then checked Icarus's health. Except for a slightly sluggish expression due to the anesthetic, the complexion was still quite rosy, the heartbeat was stable, and the breathing was even.
Basically, this treatment session was an initial success; all that remained was waiting for recovery. During this process, Icarus had to stay in Nyx's medicine room for 24/7 monitoring.
"Are you still okay?"
Nyx reached out intending to check Kaelen's pulse, but Kaelen waved his hands, signaling: [Is there anything to eat? I'm about to starve to death.]
"Yes, yes!" Jaxon said in a booming voice, craning his neck outside to let out a roar. Wofu, who was on guard outside, immediately brought in a basin of pre-cut grilled meat. Kaelen ate ravenously, eating two or three times his usual amount, almost catching up to a warrior beastman.
Looking at Kaelen's bulging belly from eating, Nyx was still not at ease. He sat down and carefully checked Kaelen's pulse.
Nyx: "..."
He must have felt it wrong, he felt it again.
Kaelen wiped his mouth while watching the Priest's expression change back and forth, just like a color palette. He checked the pulse on one hand and then the other, not even skipping the pulses on the ankle and neck. Kaelen asked worriedly:
[Priest, I'm not sick, am I? Could it be that there is something wrong with my body?]
Nyx looked at Kaelen with an extremely complex expression, then said to Jaxon:
"You go out first, I have something to discuss with the child."
Worry appeared on Jaxon's tiger face, his whiskers twitching slightly. Confirming that Kaelen was sitting steadily, he then slowly walked outside. Nyx carefully helped Kaelen to his resting area, far away from Icarus, ensuring that Icarus could not hear their conversation. He held Kaelen's hands, his mouth opening and closing several times, but finally, he could only let out a sigh and say in a low voice:
"You're pregnant..."
"Crash! Bang!"
A loud noise suddenly erupted outside the door, accompanied by Wofu's shout:
"Daddy, are you okay? Why did you suddenly roll down the steps?"
Nyx was speechless, guessing for sure that the old tiger was worried about Kaelen's health and had eavesdropped, not expecting to hear such earth-shattering news.
Kaelen didn't know that; his head was still buzzing, haven't yet digested the "heavy bomb" Nyx had just dropped. Pregnant? How could that be? His constitution in this life was destined to have no affinity with children, how could he be pregnant? Could it be that Sane was too potent, hitting the mark in one shot?
Before Kaelen could recover from the shock, Jaxon outside had kicked Wofu flying and rushed into the cave like a tornado; a white light flashed, and he transformed back into human form. Although he was furious, Jaxon still restrained himself, trying to suppress his voice to the lowest possible volume:
"Who is it? Which bastard harmed you? I must chop him up and feed him to the dogs!"
Nyx patted Jaxon's arm: "Calm down, don't scare the child." Then he attentively held Kaelen's hands, saying gently: "Don't be afraid, just say it, we will seek justice for you."
With a highly complicated mood, Kaelen touched his stomach, not knowing whether he should be happy or sad. Living two lives, he always thought he would never have a child of his own; he didn't expect the heavens to bring one to him in such an ironic situation. Kaelen lowered his head and thought for a long time. Finally, he shook his head and gestured a long sentence:
[No one harmed me. I took advantage of someone when they were defenseless to do something improper; if I tell, I'm the one at fault. Besides, I don't want to find a mate, I just want the baby.]
The complexions of the two elders turned from green to pale, and finally, they let out a helpless sigh. Jaxon asked:
"That won't do. You must know that a sub-beast who doesn't keep their chastity will be expelled from the tribe; you are forced to have a mate. Tell me, which bastard is it? I will make him take responsibility."
Kaelen still shook his head: [I originally planned to leave the tribe in about two years to find a place of seclusion. Right now, it's just happening sooner; I don't need a beastman mate.]
Jaxon still hadn't given up: "Is this your idea? Or does that brat simply not want to take responsibility?"
[It's my idea.]
Jaxon frustratedly rubbed his head, still trying to persuade Kaelen to marry that beastman and stay in the tribe. Kaelen had also mentioned the matter of leaving the tribe a few years ago, which showed that the child's heart had grown cold toward this tribe. The reason he still remained here was out of attachment to the people who truly loved him.
Jaxon knew that as soon as their old group returned to the Beast God, Kaelen would immediately turn away and never look back. He truly considered Kaelen as a son. His mate had even wanted to propose several times for Kaelen to become their daughter-in-law. Or perhaps he should tell that brat Wofu to suffer a little loss and marry Kaelen?
"Alright, you already know the child's temperament, stop trying to ask. Now you go out first, I need to instruct him on a few things." Nyx didn't remind Jaxon to keep it a secret; having been the tribe leader for so long, Jaxon clearly understood what should and shouldn't be said.
Jaxon had to suppress his frustration and go outside. At the door, seeing his youngest son standing behind Draven, staring fixedly at the back of Draven's neck, scaring that timid sub-beast into shrinking into a ball and trembling like a sieve, Jaxon immediately stepped forward and kicked his son in the butt:
"Wofu, summon all the beastmen in the tribe to the training ground; today, I will personally train them!"
That day, all the young beastmen in the tribe received the tribe leader's "fists of love"; even Sane and Zale, who were both at level 3, could not escape.