The white wolf let out a low howl.
“Thank you, little one.”
Su Muyao froze. “Was that… you talking to me?”
Now it was the wolf’s turn to be stunned. “You can understand me?”
“I… think so.”
The white wolf immediately became excited, jumping around happily.
From the hunter’s perspective, all he saw was the wolf howling while the little girl babbled back and forth as if they were having a conversation.
Wait… this child could communicate with wolves?
For the first time, the hunter felt a glimmer of hope. He quickly said, “Little one, can you ask Brother Wolf if he’ll let us go?”
Su Muyao nodded and turned to the white wolf.
“You’ve already drunk my water, so you can’t eat us now, okay?”
The white wolf drooped its head slightly. “I don’t eat humans—they smell awful. But you… you smell nice.
As for these two fools, I’ll have my pack carry them back for you.”
Su Muyao nodded. “Thank you! I’ll bring you more water next time I come up the mountain.”
At the mention of more water, the wolf eagerly nodded its large head.
It then picked a few strong wolves from the pack and ordered them to carry the prey.
Lowering itself slowly to the ground, the white wolf said, “Climb on, little one. I’ll take you back to the village.”
This was Su Muyao’s first time being so close to a wolf. As she touched its soft fur, she felt an unexpected sense of comfort.
But with her short little legs, she simply couldn’t climb up.
Turning her head, she remembered the hunter who was still standing there in shock.
“Uncle, can you help me up?”
Still dazed, the hunter lifted her onto the wolf’s back. The moment she was seated, the white wolf dashed downhill like the wind.
Behind them, several gray wolves carried the two wild boars, racing down the mountain as well.
The rest of the pack turned back toward the deeper forest, leaving the hunter standing alone, stunned and unmoving.
Suddenly snapping out of it, he hurriedly ran after them.
“Oh no, oh no…”
Meanwhile, Su Muyao felt the sheer speed of riding the wolf. What had taken her ages to walk was covered in less than two minutes.
When they reached the village entrance, the elders sitting there were nearly frightened out of their wits. Some almost fainted on the spot.
Those who remained composed immediately shouted for others to come out and drive the wolves away.
As they ran into the village, they yelled, “Wolves are here!”
Su Muyao, however, sat calmly on the wolf’s back, already thinking about how to divide up the two large boars.
At that moment, Old Master Su spotted the white wolf—and then saw his granddaughter.
Grabbing an axe, he charged forward. “You beast! Let go of my granddaughter!”
His eyesight wasn’t great, and from a distance, it looked like the wolf was carrying her in its jaws.
Seeing the situation turning bad, Su Muyao quickly shouted, “Grandpa, don’t hit it! It’s friendly—it brought me back!”
She slid down from the wolf’s back and ran straight toward him.
She didn’t want this kind old man to accidentally hurt the wolf—and if the wolf got provoked and bit him, that would be even worse.
Only after holding his granddaughter safely in his arms did Old Master Su’s racing heart finally settle.
“Were you trying to scare your grandpa to death?”
Su Muyao then explained everything—her strange encounter, and how the white wolf had come down the mountain mainly to help bring back the wild boars.
This incident gave everyone in the village an even deeper appreciation of just how extraordinary their “Little Fu Bao” was.
Afraid that the wolves might scare the villagers too much, Su Muyao quickly stepped forward and spoke to the white wolf.
“You should go back now. I’ll come visit you in the mountains next time.”
The white wolf nodded, then led the gray wolves back toward the mountains.
By the time the hunter finally arrived at the village entrance, he was completely out of breath. Seeing that everyone was safe, he let out a long sigh of relief.
“Little Fu Bao… what are you planning to do with these two wild boars?”
A sharp-minded woman asked. In truth, she was hoping the meat might be shared among the villagers, but she phrased it as a question to avoid offending anyone.
Su Muyao turned to the hunter. “Uncle Hunter, since we all witnessed this together, everyone should get a share. What do you think?”
The hunter shook his head immediately. “No, no, I can’t take any. The wolves brought this for you. Besides, if it weren’t for you, I might not have made it back alive today. I can’t accept your things.”
Not one to argue, Su Muyao handed the final decision over to her grandfather.
“Grandpa, why don’t we keep some for my first birthday celebration, and you can decide what to do with the rest?”
Old Master Su was shrewd. He knew that keeping it all would only cause trouble.
“Everyone,” he said, “my granddaughter’s first birthday is tomorrow, so we’ll keep half a boar for the celebration. The rest will be handed to the village head to distribute among all of you. What do you think?”
The crowd erupted with excitement.
In a year of famine, when most families survived on coarse food, getting to eat meat—without any festival or special occasion—felt like a rare blessing.
Looking at the size of the two boars, each weighing at least 300 kilograms, and with only fifty or sixty households in the village, everyone would get a generous portion.
Meanwhile, Su Muyao quietly slipped away. She had no interest in listening to the adults’ flattery.
The villagers gathered around Old Master Su, praising his good fortune for having such a blessed granddaughter.
And how could he not be pleased? Naturally, he beamed with pride.
Soon, the village head finished dividing the meat, and each household happily carried home a large portion of wild boar.
…
When Su Muyao returned home, however, she was immediately put on trial.
“How dare you go up the mountain all by yourself?!”
Old Madam Su slammed the table with a feather duster, her voice sharp with anger.
Su Sanlang stood nervously to the side, worried that the duster might land on his precious daughter.
Su Muyao knew she was in the wrong. Sneaking off to the mountain without telling anyone had indeed frightened them. But if they forbade her from going out in the future, that would be a problem.
After all, if she wanted to build a better life, the mountains were her greatest resource.
With so many supplies hidden in her space, she still needed a reasonable explanation before she could bring them out freely.
Just as she was struggling to think of one, the tense atmosphere was suddenly broken.
From outside came Old Master Su’s cheerful laughter.
“Hahaha! Old woman, you should’ve seen it—those old folks were praising our precious granddaughter to the skies!”
“No matter how much they praise her, she’s still ours, haha!”
But as soon as he pushed the door open, he froze.
His wife sat there holding a feather duster, while their granddaughter stood below her, eyes brimming with tears—looking so pitiful it melted his heart instantly.
“Old woman, what are you doing? Our little one hasn’t even had breakfast yet—it’s almost noon. Why don’t we let her eat first?”
Old Madam Su, worried about starving her granddaughter, finally relented a little.
“Don’t think having your grandpa backing you up means you’re off the hook,” she said sternly. “After lunch, you’d better give me a proper explanation. Otherwise, you won’t escape a beating today.”
With that, she turned and headed toward the kitchen.