With my shoulder injured, it took quite some effort to get dressed. However, the bear-skin coat the youth had left behind was incredibly warm—thicker even than the felt cloak—and I felt cozy the moment I put it on. Furthermore, the layer of fluffy, soft fur on the outside made me reluctant to go and confront him about tearing up my felt cloak…
The white wolf had brought far too much prey. I could only be grateful that my right hand wasn’t injured, allowing me to still grip a knife and prepare the food: skinning and deboning, roasting the lamb whole, plucking the pheasant, stewing half, and salting the rest into dried meat. The marmot meat was fatty and could be fried to render oil; the rabbit meat was tender, perfect for thinly slicing and eating in a hot pot. As for the snake… I truly couldn’t distinguish if it was venomous or not, so I could only mash it up for fish bait.
While I worked, the large, bald-tailed white wolf stayed by my side. Sometimes, when I couldn’t muster enough strength, it would obediently help by tugging on the carcass. Finding it amusing, I tossed the discarded organs toward it.
Unexpectedly, the white wolf lowered its head, sniffed, and then suddenly stuck its butt in the air, twisted its legs, and backed away repeatedly. Even though it was drooling so much that the saliva had frozen into icicles on its chin, it still turned its head away, looking as if it would rather die than touch them.
I found this funny and leaned down, intending to nudge the iron basin closer to it. But as soon as I reached out, the white wolf jumped up in alarm, frantically knocking over the iron basin with its paw.
Clang. The innards spilled everywhere.
The white wolf: “…” I: “…”
It looked at the iron basin, then at me, and suddenly turned and ran away—
Eh?
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Am I really that terrifying?
A short while later, just as I was flipping the roasting meat, the white wolf returned, bringing with it the smaller grassland wolf from yesterday. The moment the little wolf saw me from afar, its eyes lit up. It abandoned the white wolf and trotted over, nuzzling against my calf. Seeing how clingy the little one was, with a clump of white snow—gathered from goodness knows where—stuck to the top of its head, I couldn’t help but ruffle its fur. The little wolf squinted, purring comfortably.
The white wolf watched us, its eyes wide.
The little wolf nuzzled me for a while before turning to business: it picked up the scattered innards, piled them neatly back into the basin, but did not take a bite itself.
“What?” I tugged its ear. “You’re not eating either?”
The little wolf blinked, bowed its head, pushed the iron basin to my feet, and tapped the frozen, hard organs with its paw: “Ao!”
I tilted my head: “?”
The little wolf mimicked my tilt, then snatched a piece of organ from the basin and placed it individually at my feet: “Ao-ao!”
“Is it…” I finally understood. “You want me to eat first?”
“Ao-wu!” The little wolf grinned and hopped in place.
I:
I looked troubledly at the ball of frozen red ice that no longer resembled any internal organ. After a moment of hesitation, I struck a bargain with the little wolf: “You eat these; I’ll eat this. How about that?”
With that, I sliced off a piece of crispy, golden-brown roasted meat, skewered it with my small knife, and dangled it in front of the little wolf. The little wolf remained silent, staring at me with burning intensity. I had no choice but to put the meat into my mouth and chew. Seeing this, the little wolf finally let out a cry and lowered its head, chewing enthusiastically.
The white wolf lay down at the courtyard gate, resting its head on its front paws. I had never seen such a spiritual animal before. I curled the corner of my mouth and couldn’t help but watch the little wolf a while longer.
After finishing four of the frozen lumps, the little wolf was full. It licked its mouth, glanced at me, and turned to howl at the white wolf. The white wolf twitched its ears, and seeing the little one run off to the side to wash its face and rub its paws in the snow, it finally dared to approach and devour its share.
Watching them, I remembered what Lawang had told me: wolf packs have a strict hierarchy. They cooperate during hunts, and there is a very particular order to who eats first.
So that’s it, I tapped my temple with a finger, amused. Had the white wolf mistaken me for a peer just now? And furthermore, a peer of higher rank? So… it hadn’t dared to eat until I did?
I couldn’t help but chuckle. After flipping the little lamb one last time, I tried chatting with the little wolf: “So, you can understand what I say?”
“And what about… those two who came with you yesterday? Why don’t you bring them, and everyone else in your pack, over?” I gestured to the food in the courtyard and spread my hands. “There’s too much…”
The little wolf stopped rubbing its paws and looked at me earnestly.
I thought for a moment and pointed to the bear-skin coat on my body. “And also… er, please bring him as well. I have things I want to say to him.”
The little wolf glanced at the bear-skin coat, a flash of craftiness in its black, bright eyes. With a howl, it turned and bolted back into the birch forest.
Not long after, it truly brought the entire pack back: counting the white wolf, I counted eleven of them in total. They arrived in the courtyard in an orderly fashion and sat down in rows.
But I remembered on the day we fought the Snow Mountain wolves, the youth had clearly brought fifteen wolves. Why were there fewer now? Moreover, the youth hadn’t appeared. I felt slightly disappointed and was about to turn to share the meat with the wolves when a shadow was cast on the snow in front of me.
The next instant a sturdy forearm hooked around my waist, and simultaneously, a soft chuckle sounded in my ear. The youth rested his head on my shoulder without the slightest hesitation.
I was stunned and instinctively tried to twist away. But as soon as I moved, the youth let out a dissatisfied hum and tightened his grip with both arms, refusing to let me move at all. The little wolf, having returned from its run, saw them embracing and curled its lip, hopping over to nuzzle the white wolf.
After the youth appeared, the white wolf didn’t dare move an inch. Its head drooped, its eyes shifted evasively. Even when the little one came over, it didn’t dodge, stoically enduring the little one stepping all over it. Finally, it laid on its side, letting the little wolf rest its head on its belly. The little wolf tucked its four paws into the white wolf’s long, thick fur; after stepping on it contentedly, it squinted its eyes, ready for a nap. The white wolf extended its tongue to lick the little wolf’s jaw and mouth, pulled it into its arms, and tucked its own head against the little one’s neck.
I: “…”
How… how is it that their movements… look so similar to me and the youth?
I cast a glance at the youth from the corner of my eye and saw him staring blankly at the lamb roasting on the fire, dripping with crispy, golden oil. Does he want to eat? I couldn’t break free, so I stopped trying. Instead, I nudged his head with my shoulder: “The lamb is just roasted. Want some?”
Grassland herdsmen rarely use chopsticks; they mostly use their hands to grab beef, mutton, flatbreads, and berries. I turned the knife in my palm, preparing to cut the lamb leg for the youth, but the youth suddenly frowned, twisted his wrist, and snatched the knife from me.
“Do you want to” Before I could finish, the youth threw the small knife away, driving it forcefully into the courtyard gate.
Clang.
I knit my brows: What kind of madness is this brat having now?
I turned my head and saw the youth pursing his lips tightly, his beautiful blue eyes brimming with grievance, and his throat emitting a continuous, low whimper.
“…” He’s the one throwing things around. Why was he the one feeling aggrieved?
I was about to have a serious talk with him, but the little wolf that had been dozing on the white wolf jumped down again. It ran up to me, looked up and let out an ao-wu, then tapped the youth’s leg with its front paw before turning and running toward the pack. The little wolf pounced and bit several wolves, finally returning to the white wolf and slamming its head into it.
I raised an eyebrow: ?
The little wolf climbed off the white wolf’s belly, shook the snow off its body like a dog, and let out an ao-wu toward me. I looked at it, thought back to the little wolf’s actions just now, and suddenly realized it had been picking on the Snow Mountain wolves.
“Are you saying…” I turned to look at the youth, “that he went to fight the Snow Mountain wolves?”
This time, without waiting for the little wolf to respond, the youth—who was still hanging off me nodded voluntarily, his furry head burrowing continuously into the crook of my neck.
Thinking of the white wolf’s terrified state earlier, I suddenly understood in a flash—
“I’m not blaming you,” I said with a laugh, patting the youth’s head. “That knife wasn’t meant for you… sigh…”
I couldn’t explain it clearly, so I simply tore off a piece of meat with my hand and stuffed it into the youth’s mouth. “Try it? I think I roasted it quite well.”
The youth frowned, chewed twice, and then his eyes suddenly widened: He… he had never eaten meat this delicious!
The youth’s gaze was scorching, and he didn’t even have time to wipe the oil from his lips. As expected of the partner he had chosen; even the food was cooked this well.
“Good, right?” I laughed. “If it’s good, then help yours—mm?”
The youth suddenly tightened his grip on my waist. As I winced in pain, he buried his face in my neck, just as he had done at the Holy Mountain. I felt a gust of hot, meat-scented air hit me. I shriveled my neck with a shiver, but a warm, sticky tongue wound around it.
“…Hey!” I tapped the youth on the head. What kind of dog-like temper is this? If he doesn’t like something, he bites or licks me.
The youth looked up, his eyes shining. I glared back, but almost got sucked into those starlit depths. I coughed, looked away, and patted the brat’s arm. “…Let go! Let’s talk.”
After being tapped in pain, he let go reluctantly, but his gaze remained glued to me, direct and scorching. I rubbed my nose and passed him a lamb leg; to hide my embarrassment, the movement was so rough it nearly poked him in the face. The youth didn’t mind at all; seeing the light red flush on my ears, a gentle dimple appeared on his face as he took the lamb leg.
Becoming more uncomfortable under his smile, I turned my back and tossed meat to the pack of wolves crouching in the distance. As I threw the pieces, I glanced at the youth. “Gu Chengyan. I still don’t know your name?”
The youth paused upon hearing this. A while later, he wiped his mouth and suddenly stood up, letting out a long, howling roar toward the sky.
I: ???
The wolves eating the meat were stirred, stopping to howl along. In an instant, the entire valley was filled with uneven roars. I stiffened, taking a long time to keep myself from covering my ears in front of the pack. When the wolves finally quieted down, I let out a long breath and repeated patiently: “I asked for your ‘name’, not for you to howl…”
The youth put down the lamb leg, looking utterly bewildered. He opened his mouth and tried twice, but only managed to emit some vague, single syllables. Seeing this, my heart tightened instantly. “You…”
Could it be that he’s mute?
Suddenly, the youth let out a tsk, scratched his head in frustration, looked up at me, and said two words very earnestly:
“Wuwu.”
His voice was low perhaps due to years of howling, it wasn’t clear, but rather possessed a low, raspy quality that didn’t match his age. These two words were the pronunciation in Rongdi, with no actual meaning, but I heard them clearly at least he could speak.
“Wuwu? Is that your name?”
Unexpectedly, the youth shook his head and pointed at me: “Wuwu!”
I: ?
The youth patted his chest and pointed at himself: “Chinna.”
I:
If I remembered correctly, the word Chinna in Rongdi meant: “Wolf.”
I couldn’t help but rub my forehead. This ability to speak turned out to be worse than not being able to.