Meng Huaize lay awake until dawn, thinking about the hundreds of ways he could die. Whether it was the weight of Wu Yue on his chest or his own fear, he felt suffocated and numb all over.
His fear of Wu Yue had reached new heights, and no matter what, he didn’t dare disturb the spirit resting on him and drawing energy from the inner core. He stayed still, wide-eyed, until the sky began to brighten, and only then did he drift into a hazy sleep.
He slept until noon, eventually waking up from hunger.
Perhaps due to the loss of his spirit power, Wu Yue had been sleeping a lot. Over the course of the night, he had only changed positions a few times. At that moment, his head rested in Meng Huaize’s armpit, his tail wrapped around Meng Huaize’s waist, and he continued to snore softly.
Meng Huaize waited for a while, feeling that if he didn’t wake Wu Yue, the wolf cub might sleep forever.
His stomach growled loudly, and he hesitantly called, “Wu Yue?”
No response.
Meng Huaize waited a little longer but, growing desperate from hunger, reached out with two fingers and gently poked Wu Yue’s paw. “Um… I want to go eat…”
Still no response, but as soon as he uttered the words “eat,” Wu Yue’s ears twitched, and his eyes suddenly opened.
Meng Huaize’s heart skipped a beat. The wolf’s pupils were not just golden; they emitted a faint glow, much like the golden light from the night before, but sharper.
Wu Yue yawned lazily, squinted for a moment, and when he opened his eyes again, the glow was gone, leaving only his usual golden gaze.
“Food?” Wu Yue asked.
After a night of imagining all sorts of gruesome ways to die, Meng Huaize’s fear of the spirit had deepened. He nodded cautiously.
Meng Huaize tried to sit up, but after being crushed under Wu Yue all night, his body felt stiff and sore. He managed to sit halfway up before collapsing back onto the bed, accidentally pinning Wu Yue’s tail underneath him.
Nothing could have jolted him awake faster. Meng Huaize shot up from the bed as if stung, all the pain and stiffness forgotten. He quickly jumped out of bed and frantically apologized, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…”
Fortunately, Wu Yue was more focused on food and didn’t take offense.
Meng Huaize carefully crept back to the bed, put on his outer robe, and tiptoed out of the room, softly closing the door behind him. Only when he stepped into the sunlight outside did he finally let out a relieved breath.
After tidying up the courtyard, Meng Huaize headed to the kitchen. He wasn’t too fussy about food, and given his meager means, his meals were usually simple—just steamed buns and vegetables.
After preparing his own meal, Meng Huaize sat by the stove for a while, then stood up again. He grabbed the last three eggs from the cupboard and made scrambled eggs for Wu Yue.
A while later, he returned to the house with two plates. He placed the scrambled eggs at one end of the table and sat at the opposite end, quietly eating his greens.
Wu Yue walked over, glanced at the eggs, and wasn’t interested. “Where’s the meat?”
“You finished all the meat yesterday,” Meng Huaize replied in a low voice. He peeked nervously at Wu Yue over the rim of his bowl and immediately flinched when he met those piercing golden eyes. He quickly lowered his head, wishing he could disappear into the bowl.
After a moment of silence, Meng Huaize grew more uneasy. He glanced up again to check, only to find Wu Yue still standing in front of him, coldly staring.
“W-what is it?” Meng Huaize stammered, his face turning pale.
“Meat,” Wu Yue said.
Meng Huaize held Wu Yue’s gaze for a few seconds before quickly giving in. He lowered his head and muttered, “Alright, I’ll go buy some at the market.”
“The market?” Wu Yue asked.
“Oh,” Wu Yue said, intrigued by the concept. “Then I’ll go with you.”
No! Meng Huaize screamed internally, but one look at Wu Yue’s eyes silenced any protest before it could leave his lips.
Thankfully, after growing overnight, Wu Yue had outgrown Meng Huaize’s medicine chest. He tried to fit inside but couldn’t.
Meng Huaize was secretly overjoyed but outwardly feigned disappointment. “It’s a shame the chest is too small… otherwise, you could just wait here…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a flash of golden light appeared before his eyes. Meng Huaize instinctively shielded his face, and when he dared to look again, the wolf cub was gone, replaced by a little boy sitting at the table.
The boy looked about seven or eight years old, dressed in black clothes embroidered with intricate gold patterns that appeared both luxurious and exquisite. His delicate, handsome face was striking, and although he was young, he carried an air of arrogance far beyond his years. His golden eyes shimmered like glass—clearly not human.
Meng Huaize’s gaze traveled upward, landing on two furry wolf ears perched atop the boy’s head.
The boy jumped down from the table, and Meng Huaize noticed a wolf tail trailing behind him.
Wu Yue looked down at his hands and clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. Although he had regained enough spirit power to transform into a human form, his inner core was still incomplete, and the best he could manage was the appearance of a young child.
He touched his head and found that his ears were still there, so he quickly retracted them, along with his tail. After scrutinizing Meng Huaize for a moment, Wu Yue seemed to ponder something, then changed his golden eyes to the same black color as Meng Huaize’s.
Satisfied, Wu Yue turned toward the door. “Let’s go.”
Meng Huaize, however, remained frozen in place, too shocked to move.
The entire journey, Meng Huaize felt as though his mind was drifting, his thoughts flashing between all the strange events of the past few days. First, he had witnessed a giant snake and a massive wolf battling it out. Then, the snake had died, the wolf had turned out to be a talking spirit, and he had accidentally swallowed the spirit’s inner core. Now, the wolf spirit, who had turned into a cub, had transformed again—into a little boy…
Meng Huaize was usually mild-mannered and gentle, rarely uttering any coarse language. But right now, he couldn’t help wanting to curse.
All he did was go up the mountain to gather some herbs, and now he was caught in this absurd mess… what in the world was happening to him?