The Wilds’ Returning Swan (Farming)

After an earthquake, Bian Hong inexplicably woke up in another world. With war and famine all around, he had nothing to his name, but now he had two pitiful little brothers to look after. He had no choice but to take the children and desperately search for somewhere to live. To keep from starving to death, he traded himself for fifty jin of millet and became someone else's bride. They said the person he was marrying was the offspring of a wild beast from the mountains, with hooked claws and saw-like fangs, vicious and terrifying. He was even rumored to have a taste for human flesh. Everyone was frightened of him. Bian Hong didn't care. It was better than starving to death, and at least this way would be quick. But when the bridal sedan's curtain was lifted, the man before him was tall and handsome, with blue-and-brown heterochromatic eyes, deep as the sea. The man looked at Bian Hong, whom he'd met once before, and seemed unable to speak. He could hardly believe someone had switched the bride on him. Seeing that the mix-up was exposed, the man asked only one question: “Those two children you brought, where are they?” Bian Hong looked at the man and felt his worries ease. Before fainting from hunger, he silently grumbled to himself: What, you want to eat the kids along with me? The man's name was Rong Feng. He was a Mountain Guard, an office that had been passed down through countless dynasties but had long since fallen into decline. His duty was to oversee dangerous, rugged mountain regions and maintain communication between the mountains and people. But because his eyes were an unusual color, people feared him. He gradually withdrew from society and lived alone with his elderly mother at the foot of Mount Mie Meng, which he was tasked with guarding. His mother was old and seriously ill, and wanted her son to have a companion before she died. So, against her son's objections, she offered an exorbitant bride price to take a wife. But the bride who arrived wasn't a woman. He was a man. That very day, Rong Feng carried a groom in wedding clothes up the mountain, with two children thrown in as a “buy one, get two free” deal. Two men who'd never met before had suddenly become husband and husband in name, so life was bound to be awkward. Bian Hong thought the whole thing was absurd. But in the end, he came around. Bian Hong cuddled all the adorable creatures from Mount Mie Meng in the courtyard, nestled in Rong Feng's arms as they gazed out at the layered mountain ranges. Beautiful things are often misunderstood by the world. After drifting through two lifetimes, he'd finally found a true home amid these magnificent mountains and waters. At last, the wild goose had returned to its nest. The whole story in two sentences: A farming and mountain-guarding story with a few twists and turns. A brave journey of self-redemption for an orphan suffering from postwar trauma. A little note: There is no childbirth in the main story; Bian Hong is a man through and through. There is childbirth in the extras, but no one is intersex. Coming soon: 《Knowing the Green Mountain Through You》 Five years ago, Tian Qing, a man, gave birth at home to a little beast that was neither quite a tiger nor quite a leopard. The child didn't take human form until he was two, and only then could Tian Qing take him outside. His brother-in-law fell ill, so Tian Qing had to take his place in Qingzhou, working as a bodyguard. But unexpectedly, his employer was that young master. When they met again, Tian Qing kept his head down and did his work, pretending not to know him. The young master clearly hadn't recognized him either, and Tian Qing breathed a sigh of relief. He'd just pretend that one night years ago had been like getting bitten by a dog. But there was no escaping. Like a ghost, the man suddenly appeared behind him and lowered his head to sniff his neck. The usually reserved, taciturn young master of a prominent family suddenly blurted out, “Who are you? You smell so good.” Tian Qing heard him and clenched his sturdy backside, remembering how that dark night had brought him to the brink and back. So he closed his eyes and lied: “Smell good? I'm the guy who hauls manure in my village.” “...” Wen Ren Ziyan ranked first among Qingzhou's most distinguished young masters. He was the youngest son of the Wen Ren family, handsome enough to rival Pan An, and a model of propriety. But people said that while he was perfect in every other way, he had no interest in women and no sense of romance. Unlike his other brothers in the Wen Ren family, who frequented pleasure gardens and were born to flirt. The umpteenth time he turned down the concubines his father and brothers had sent him, he asked his eldest brother with a faint smile, “You'd debase yourself just to have a child?” His eldest brother waved a hand. “That's how our ancestors did it. Otherwise, where would you and I have come from?” The Wen Ren family's bloodline was unusual, and passing it on was exceedingly difficult, so they kept many concubines. Wen Ren Ziyan thought it was beneath him. Until a bodyguard he'd never seen before suddenly appeared in the household. The man was strong and sturdy, with a roundness both in front and behind that made Wen Ren Ziyan keep sneaking glances at him. That familiar fragrance made his body restless, and he could barely stand it. The young master didn't understand, but he wanted him. Years later, his brothers still had no children, while Wen Ren Ziyan had one after another until he'd fathered enough to fill a mahjong table. Tian Qing's honey-colored chest and the back of his neck were covered in sweat and bite marks. He pushed away the man clinging to him again. “Keep away from me! At this rate, everyone within ten li will end up taking your surname...” Wen Ren Ziyan chuckled. “Excellent.” Theme: Live in harmony with nature.