However, no matter how much the white wolf acted like a dog, it remained a wolf at its core. I had not forgotten that it had nearly torn me to shreds only moments ago. The two horses were still wandering in the forest in the distance, and I could not simply leave them out in the wild. Horses on the grasslands, no matter how fast they could run, were no match for the beasts of the Holy Mountain. These two horses were precious; I could not afford to lose them like this.
I plucked up my courage, reached out, and gently patted the white wolf’s head. “Thank you. I’m home now. You… all of you, go back.”
The white wolf whimpered, appearing quite reluctant to leave. The three grassland wolves were much smarter; they stepped forward one after another to tug at it. Seeing the big white wolf still staring longingly at me, the smallest grassland wolf suddenly jumped in front of it, widening its eyes and baring its fangs. After the two wolves locked gazes for a moment, the fur on the white wolf’s back bristled, its ears drooped, and it backed away repeatedly.
After retreating a few steps, the white wolf let out a couple of howls toward me before following the three grassland wolves away.
Only after their figures completely disappeared into the depths of the birch forest did I whistle, signaling for the horses to return. The “Night-Shining White” hesitated for a moment before galloping over, but the roan horse, catching the scent of the wolves, hesitated and dared not enter the courtyard. My shoulder and forearm were injured, so I lacked the strength to pull it; eventually, it was the white horse that turned back and chased it inside.
After settling the two horses into their stall and rewarding the “Night-Shining White” with a small bundle of purple alfalfa, I locked the doors and windows tightly, collected the iron basin, and returned to the main room.
The organs in the basin had been eaten clean by the wolves; they had even licked it spotless, not leaving a single shred of meat behind.
…Well, that made things easier. No cleaning required.
I shook my head with a smile and entered the room. The fur around the shoulder of my felt cloak had been shredded by wolf claws; it seemed I would need to find a new piece of leather tomorrow to patch it up. The shoulder of the jade-green robe I wore underneath had also been dyed crimson by the seeping blood.
Because the wound was on my shoulder and the weather outside was bitterly cold, the torn fabric had fused firmly to the wound along with the dried blood. I tried several times to take the robe off, but failed. Helpless, I had to harden my heart and use my hunting knife to slice off the entire sleeve.
Sigh, and to think I was quite fond of this garment.
Just as I tore off the fabric to throw it on the floor, I suddenly remembered the white wolf’s reaction earlier it seemed that after sniffing a certain scent on me, it had stopped in shock, no longer viewing me as prey. In an instant, it had transformed from a fierce, terrifying beast into a docile “little white dog.”
The scent on me?
I picked up the cloth to sniff it. Beyond the rusty smell of blood, there was only the medicinal fragrance that had lingered on me for years. This… didn’t seem particularly special, did it? After thinking for a moment, I raised my uninjured arm and sniffed myself thoroughly, but found nothing unusual.
I shook my head and lowered my arm in confusion. I walked to the chest, took out the bronze mirror Tie Zhu had brought from the Royal Court, and sat by the stove with the medicinal powder and the mirror.
Without the obstructive sleeve, I quickly stripped off my shirt, bared my upper body, and cleaned the wound in the mirror. Just as I was using a damp towel to press against the wound to dissolve the congealed blood, I caught a glimpse of my neck in the mirror—
The tooth marks left by the youth had turned a deep red. I didn’t know if it was just my imagination, but as I tilted my head, it felt as though the bruising beneath the bite marks had expanded: it used to be just a small, round circle, but now it looked as wide as the mouth of a bowl, and scattered, spotty marks had appeared around the edges.
As if I had been bitten by a circle of mosquitoes around the tooth marks.
Mosquitoes on the grasslands are very toxic; not only do they leave a welt with every bite, but the resulting purple-red bruising takes two or three days to fade. But…
I reached out to touch it, and a thought flashed like lightning: Could it be that the white wolf… stopped because of these bite marks?
I stared at the mirror for a long time before finally shaking my head and dismissing the notion: How absurd. How could a bite mark from two or three days ago scare off a giant wolf? However, other than that, I could think of no other explanation. Perhaps it was a scent that wolves could smell but humans could not.
I evenly applied the medicinal powder to my shoulder, added as much charcoal as I could to the stove, and waited for the medicine to air-dry. I didn’t have many bandages left, as I had used most of them to treat the youth, and what remained was not enough to wrap my entire shoulder. Regardless, it was an area I moved frequently, and it would be difficult to bandage anyway. I simply sat and waited for the powder to dry before washing up and going to bed.
The events of today were not particularly many, but given my injury, I was indeed somewhat tired. I lay on my side, head against the pillow, and drifted into a deep sleep before long.
By the time the moon hung high in the center of the sky, the charcoal in the stove gradually burned out, and the temperature in the room began to drop. I frowned, subconsciously trying to turn over, but winced in pain as I aggravated my wound. In a semi-conscious state, I thought I heard the sound of a door, but after waiting for a moment and hearing nothing else, I assumed I was dreaming.
I muttered to myself, reached out with my uninjured right hand to tuck the corner of the quilt under my chin, and curled up into a chrysalis, sighing contentedly as I continued to sleep. In this state, as my breathing leveled out, I did not notice that a person had already stood silently in the pitch-black room.
The youth brushed back his long, curly hair, shook the snow off his head, and walked straight toward the bed. He had intended to hold me to sleep, but after taking only a single step, he abruptly caught the scent of something that didn’t belong to me.
The youth’s face darkened instantly. His blue eyes flashed with a cold, murderous light as he glared in the direction of the strange smell it seemed to be… a piece of fur? He walked over, picked up the felt cloak to sniff it, and sure enough, he smelled the stench of another male wolf.
Tsk.
The youth puffed out his cheeks, suppressing his anger as he leaned in to distinguish the scent carefully: he wanted to see who was bold enough to try and steal his companion. He had set his sights on this beautiful member of his species from the very first day it arrived in the Far North. Furthermore, he had already marked it visiting its nest every day, holding it, hugging it, and staining it thoroughly with his own scent.
He had just led his pack to victory over the snow-mountain wolf tribe, and that howl, which had rung throughout the valley, should have been heard by every wolf in the vicinity. He hadn’t expected there to be someone so unafraid of death as to challenge his authority.
The youth sniffed and quickly identified the culprit it was actually a wolf from his own pack. They had a good relationship; in times of war, he often sent it out for reconnaissance. Just as the youth was wondering why his brother would suddenly try to snatch his companion, he keenly caught the smell of iron-like blood. He looked down and saw the severed sleeve.
After clearly seeing the crimson stains on it, the youth flew into a rage and shredded the felt cloak into pieces.
Fine, so it wasn’t trying to covet my companion at all. That idiot Ota clearly mistook Gu Chengyan for prey!
Taking two deep breaths, the youth tried his best to move softly as he left the room. Afterward, I drowsy and half-asleep dimly heard several wolf howls, followed by a series of ao-wu, ao-wu responses.
…So noisy.
I burrowed deeper into the quilt, hiding my ears in an attempt to escape. But even through the blankets, that series of piercing, miserable wails made me shiver. Just as I was about to be startled awake, a warmth suddenly touched the top of my head, and a large, thick palm gently stroked my hair.
The warmth of the palm allowed me to relax instantly; I shifted closer and instinctively rubbed against it. In the next instant, the quilt covering my shoulder was lifted, and the influx of cold air made me groan in dissatisfaction. Before I could even open my eyes, I was pulled into a scorching embrace. The bit of cold that had seeped in was soon driven away, and my head rested on something soft and springy.
I loved this sensation; I couldn’t help but lean in and bury my entire head into it, falling into a deep sleep before long.
The youth listened to my rhythmic breathing and the corners of his lips curved into a faint smile. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to the top of my forehead, his blue eyes churning with various emotions. Finally, he simply tightened his arm around my waist:
So narrow and slender, yet it was able to consume that entire sheep.
He had seen it when he came in just half a day, that entire gazelle was gone. The youth touched my soft belly and couldn’t help but laugh gently: Luckily, he is quite capable; he can keep his beautiful companion well-fed.
Besides, the ability to eat meant he was robust in all aspects. The youth’s eyes darkened, and he couldn’t help but rub my lower abdomen.
Will this place give birth to a beautiful little wolf for me next spring?
Unfortunately, the wind and snow were not yet strong enough, and midwinter had yet to arrive. As the Wolf King, he was still responsible for the safety of the entire pack and could not enter the mating season just yet. Moreover, if a little wolf were born too early, before the weather warmed up, it would inevitably suffer from hunger and cold and not grow up healthy. Everyone knew that congenital deficiencies were dangerous in a pack; they were equivalent to losing the qualification to compete for the Wolf King from the moment one was born.
…Forget it. He would restrain himself.
He looked down at me buried against his chest, moved closer to my neck, and began to lick and suck deeply at the bite marks.
The next day,
I woke up still feeling a bit lethargic. I had several dreams last night: at one moment, I was being chased and bitten by wolves; the next, I was forced to listen to their miserable wails. At the end of the dream, I was even carried back to a wolf den, wrapped in the arms of a giant wolf, and slept while resting on its warm, furry hide.
…I didn’t know whether to call it a good dream or a nightmare.
I yawned, rubbed my brow, and sat up, only to be surprised to see a brown bear skin draped over the quilt it was actually the one from the wooden cabin on the northern slope of the Holy Mountain. I woke up instantly, grabbed the bear skin, and got out of bed. I ran to the door and pushed it open, but I didn’t see the curly-haired, blue-eyed youth I had hoped for.
“Ao-wu”
Guarding outside the door was indeed the white wolf that had attacked me yesterday. However, the majestic wolf of last night looked somewhat wilted today—it was lying on the ground with an aggrieved expression. Half of one ear was missing, it had several patches of fur missing, and its fluffy tail had been plucked bald.
In front of it, on the empty ground at the entrance of the main room, was a neatly arranged collection: a small yellow gazelle lamb, a large, beautiful-tailed pheasant, four marmots, five gray rabbits, and a large snake that I couldn’t tell was venomous or not.
I: “…?”
The white wolf whimpered, carefully pushing these prey items toward me, then laid back down, not daring to spare me even a glance. Looking at the ground full of things, I was just about to open my mouth when I caught sight of the shredded felt cloak outside.
…Ah, this.
I couldn’t help but reach up and gently touch my brow. I seemed… I seemed to need to have a talk with that youth.