Meng Huaize had a particular fondness for plants. Aside from the patch of bare ground in the center of his courtyard, reserved for drying medicinal herbs, the rest of the courtyard was filled with greenery. The plants spread out in layers along the eastern and western walls, creating a lush, living tapestry. It was late spring, and the bamboo stalks along the walls were a vibrant green, dripping with fresh dew. Near the window, a delicate crabapple tree stood elegantly, its branches swaying softly in the breeze. Beneath it, various herbs thrived, with wildflowers of different hues scattered among them. Some of these plants were ones Meng Huaize had transplanted from the mountains during his trips to gather herbs, simply because he found them beautiful. Others were wildflowers, springing up on their own without names.
Under the moonlight, the plants in the courtyard swayed gently, filling the air with a faint sweet fragrance.
Meng Huaize squatted by the courtyard wall, staring silently at the creature in the bushes.
After a long while, he turned his head, and with a hint of disbelief, whispered to Wu Yue, “Is this… also a spirit?”
His skepticism wasn’t unfounded—this creature was truly ugly.
Earlier, Meng Huaize had seen an entire procession of graceful, ethereal spirits, and Wu Yue, even in his wolf form, was strikingly majestic. Even as a cub, Wu Yue was adorably clean and sturdy. This led Meng Huaize to mistakenly believe that all spirits and mystical creatures must be aesthetically pleasing. When Wu Yue mentioned there was a spirit in the courtyard, Meng Huaize eagerly rushed to find it. After searching for a while, he finally came across this thing and was so shocked by its ugliness that he was left speechless.
The creature before him had a lower body resembling that of a small, hairless piglet. Its brownish skin was wrinkled and loose, appearing both plump and saggy. Its upper body was vaguely feline, covered in sparse, discolored fur. Two floppy ears drooped over its head, giving it an odd, almost pitiful appearance.
Wu Yue stretched lazily, glancing down at the creature with casual disinterest. “It’s a spirit, but I couldn’t tell you exactly what kind.”
As they spoke, the creature remained utterly still, keeping its eyes tightly shut. It had frozen in place the moment Meng Huaize pulled back the grass and revealed it, lying on its back with its belly exposed. One of its dry, skinny paws trembled as it reached forward.
Meng Huaize’s expression grew more complicated as he looked at the pitiful creature. He whispered again to Wu Yue, “Is it… asleep?”
Wu Yue approached, and the creature’s outstretched paw twitched. Its floppy ears gave a quick, nervous flick, and its belly quivered.
Wu Yue crouched down beside it. The creature, maintaining its pose for what felt like ages, suddenly collapsed with a thud, lying flat on the ground. It cautiously cracked open one of its tiny eyes, just a sliver.
Meng Huaize’s expression grew even more bewildered. The creature looked even uglier with its eyes open…
Shivering, the little spirit climbed to its feet, fearfully eyeing Wu Yue. It seemed utterly terrified.
Meng Huaize glanced at Wu Yue and said softly, “It seems really scared…”
Wu Yue chuckled. “Scared? This little spirit has quite the nerve. It stayed here even after sensing my presence, so it’s not as timid as it seems.”
“I was wrong,” the spirit stammered, its voice surprisingly clear and youthful, a stark contrast to its appearance. “I’ll leave now. Please spare my life, great one.”
Tears started streaming from the spirit’s narrow eyes, turning the situation pitiful beyond words.
Meng Huaize swallowed nervously, taking a half-step back and gripping Wu Yue’s robe tightly.
“No need to be afraid,” Meng Huaize said with an awkward chuckle, trying to keep his voice steady. “No one’s going to take your life. Have you been staying here all this time?”
The spirit wiped its tears with its paw, casting a cautious glance at Wu Yue. When it saw that Wu Yue remained indifferent, it shook its head. “No, I was just passing through a few days ago.”
The spirit pointed a bony paw to the side, and Meng Huaize followed its gesture, exclaiming, “From the Chuqi Mountains? There are spirits living on the mountain?”
The spirit sniffled and nodded.
Meng Huaize turned to look at Wu Yue, but he seemed uninterested, busy fiddling with a half-bloomed flower bud.
Turning back to the spirit, Meng Huaize asked, “Then why didn’t you leave? Why stay here?”
The spirit hesitated, stealing another glance at Wu Yue, before muttering quietly, “I was waiting for a flower to bloom.”
“What?” Meng Huaize blinked in confusion.
“I saw a beautiful flower here that I had never seen before. It had already wilted, but there was still one bud next to it. I wanted to stay and wait for it to bloom before I left…”
Meng Huaize stared in silence for a moment, his expression softening. “Which flower?”
The spirit, still trembling, pointed at the flower bud Wu Yue had just been toying with.
Wu Yue froze, quickly releasing the flower stem, which quivered violently as it sprang back. The spirit immediately burst into tears again.
Hurriedly, Meng Huaize cradled the flower, inspecting it closely. Thankfully, Wu Yue had only plucked a few leaves, leaving the bud itself unharmed.
“No, no, it’s alright,” Meng Huaize reassured the spirit. “It didn’t fall off, see?”
The spirit, still teary-eyed, peered at the flower and, seeing that it was indeed intact, began to calm down, sniffling as it wiped away its tears.
Wu Yue scoffed disdainfully. “It’s just a flower. What’s the big deal if it gets plucked?”
Meanwhile, his guilty hand was discreetly hiding the evidence of the plucked leaves behind his back.
The spirit, having shed its fair share of tears, looked even more pitiful with its wet, matted fur.
Unperturbed, Meng Huaize spoke kindly, “Do you have a name?”
The spirit nodded. “Xuezhao.”
“Xuezhao,” Meng Huaize repeated, smiling. “You don’t need to be afraid, and you don’t need to rush off either. Once the flower blooms, I’ll give it to you. You can take it with you when you leave.” Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping dot com.
The spirit’s small eyes seemed to widen, though it was hard to tell. Meng Huaize could only guess that tears were once again threatening to spill from its eyes. Panicking, he quickly added, “It’s really not a big deal, so please don’t cry again…”
Xuezhao sniffled once more and bowed gratefully, over and over again.
Meng Huaize, who had never been bowed to by a spirit, was at a loss. He wanted to reach out and comfort the spirit, but hesitated, unsure where to touch. His hands fumbled awkwardly.
With a snort, Wu Yue stood up and walked away, the hem of his robe brushing against Meng Huaize’s head as he passed. “Let’s go. Time for bed,” Wu Yue called coldly.
Later, in their room, Meng Huaize was still buzzing with excitement. Despite the chaotic events of the day, the strange and wondrous experiences of the night lingered in his mind. In his more than twenty years of life, he had never experienced anything like this, and he found himself too thrilled to sleep.
Wu Yue got into bed and arrogantly patted the spot beside him, indicating that his inner core should lie down next to him. After waiting for a while without any movement, Wu Yue opened his eyes to see Meng Huaize still sitting at the table, lost in thought with a faint smile, clearly absorbed in something.
Feeling impatient, Wu Yue let out a growl and transformed back into his original form. Before Meng Huaize could even react, a paw scooped him up and slammed him onto the bed, pinning him down firmly.
Meng Huaize winced in pain, gritting his teeth as he groaned, “Can’t you be a little gentler…”
Wu Yue shifted back to human form, his strong arms and legs wrapping tightly around Meng Huaize, then comfortably buried his face into Meng Huaize’s neck, closing his eyes as if settling in for a peaceful sleep.
Having been taught proper etiquette since childhood, Meng Huaize felt incredibly awkward about the idea of two men sleeping so closely together. But unable to resist the powerful wolf beside him, he could only murmur, feeling wronged, “Your powers are almost fully restored now. Before, it was because you needed your inner core, but why are you still sleeping like this?”
“Shut up,” Wu Yue commanded gruffly, “I want to.”
“You do not have any reason at all?” Meng Huaize frowned.
“Reason?” Wu Yue scoffed, his golden eyes flashing as he stared at Meng Huaize. “The reason is that you ate my inner core.”
Meng Huaize: …Fine.
In this matter, Meng Huaize indeed had no rebuttal—he had done wrong at first, after all.
Sighing, Meng Huaize closed his eyes, though his mind remained wide awake. His thoughts drifted first to the little spirit named Xuezhao outside the room, and then to the memory of that glowing river of spirits in the silent night. He recalled how those spirits had floated so delicately in the darkness.
When Meng Huaize was young, his grandmother used to tell him fantastical stories, but only now did he realize that the true wonder of the world couldn’t be fully captured in those tales.
As he lay there, it felt as if the faint glow of the spirits was still flickering before his eyes. But through that glow, one image stood out more clearly: Wu Yue, standing amidst the spirits, with the distant silhouette of Chuqi Mountain and the moonlight behind him. Closer, the spirits fluttered around, and beside him was Wu Yue.
Meng Huaize couldn’t help but smile. Deep inside, he felt an overwhelming sense of joy. Tonight, he realized, had been one of the happiest nights of his life in over twenty years. And what made it all the more clear to him was that the source of his happiness didn’t come from the dreamlike spirits or the strange little creature waiting for the flower to bloom in his courtyard. It came from the simple fact that Wu Yue had walked with him under the moonlight.
It had been so long since anyone had companied him like that.