Ch 2: My Wolf Husband

Lin Shuishi was awakened by the warm tongues of two wolves.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he was greeted by two enormous wolf heads. The two green wolves, each standing taller than a person, had fluffy fur and were crowding their faces close to his, their mouths open, revealing sharp, interlocking teeth as they eagerly licked his face with a “slurp, slurp” sound.

Startled, Lin Shuishi instinctively jerked back in fear, his heart pounding wildly—he thought he was about to be eaten!

The two green wolves, surprised to see that he could move, jumped back cautiously and quickly retreated outside the house, watching Lin Shuishi closely. They squinted and licked their lips before finally running off together, the sound of their paws on a wooden ladder echoing as they left.

Only then did Lin Shuishi dare to relax a little and begin to take stock of his surroundings. He found himself lying in a wooden house, covered in dust but otherwise well-preserved. Nearby on the ground were remnants of the large red silk cloth that had been used to bind him, now torn to shreds.

The rest of the house was filled with miscellaneous items: stone tables and stools, bone knives, wooden bowls, furs, and coarse fabrics. However, except for the bone and stone objects, everything else was old and weathered. A thick layer of dust covered everything, suggesting that the place had been abandoned for a long time.

Lin Shuishi, still groggy from the cold, vaguely remembered being carried after fainting in the snow. It seemed someone had brought him to this wooden house, though they probably didn’t live here, given the abandoned state of the place.

His movements had stirred up a large cloud of dust, which now made him cough uncontrollably. As he raised a hand to wave away the dust, he noticed that his severely frostbitten hands, feet, cheeks, and ears were covered in a thick green paste. The paste felt numb on his skin and had a faint sweet scent.

He brought his fingers to his nose and sniffed carefully, detecting the fresh fragrance of herbs. It seemed that whoever had saved him had also applied this green medicinal paste to prevent frostbite.

Now it dawned on him that the two large green wolves had been licking his face because of the sweet-smelling frostbite ointment. They had scared him half to death!

Thinking of this, Lin Shuishi shivered with a mix of fear and cold. The house was chilly, but it was still better than the bone-chilling cold outside in the snow-covered mountains. Even so, the wolf saliva on his face was freezing in the cold air, making his skin sting, so he quickly wiped it off with his hand.

Lin Shuishi thought to himself that he was probably somewhere midway up the mountain. He had at least some understanding of the natural world and had read poems like “In April when all blossoms have faded on Earth, the peach flowers begin to bloom in the mountain temple.”

Although he had been too disabled to attend school normally, his parents had hired tutors to teach him to read and study. Just the day before the car accident, he had received his admission ticket for the national college entrance exam for disabled students. He had planned to take the exam after a medical check-up.

It wasn’t that he had any particular desire to go to university; he just wanted to reassure his parents and give them some hope. But in the end, who could have predicted how fate would play out?

“Sigh,” he sighed as he touched his now perfectly healthy legs. He made up his mind—since he had been given this second chance, he would live well and not waste the life he had been given.

But right now, he was both cold and hungry, and waiting was not an option. He didn’t know who had brought him here, but his immediate priority was to find warmth and food.

So, he wobbled to his feet and began to look around the house. The place was bare, with nothing much to see. The air was thick with the smell of mildew and dust, but thankfully, it was winter, so there were no snakes, insects, or rodents to worry about.

With no other choice, he decided to step outside and see if he could find any water or wild fruits to stave off his hunger.

But as soon as he reached the doorway, Lin Shuishi was stunned. This wasn’t just a wooden house—it was a treehouse!

This square little house, about fifty square meters in size, was built on a massive ancient tree that would take five people joining hands to encircle it. The house was suspended roughly fifteen or sixteen meters above the ground. Lush branches hung thickly over the roof, and the wooden pillars supporting the structure gleamed with a glossy finish, showing no signs of rot or insect damage.

There was a platform outside the door, enclosed by a sparse wooden railing. On the right side of the platform was a stairway leading down, formed from tree vines that had been trimmed and shaped into steps. The staircase spiraled down the tree’s trunk, and it was surely from this path that the two wolves had fled. The vine ladder was sturdy and wide enough that even wolves, not accustomed to climbing trees, could move up and down freely.

What surprised Lin Shuishi even more was that after coming from the snow-covered winter landscape below, he expected to see bare trees around him due to the temperature difference. Yet, as he looked out, he saw that the trees here still had leaves clinging to their branches, with many green leaves still visible.

As he marveled at the wonders of nature, a piercing cold wind suddenly blew straight through his thin clothing, making him shiver.

“Achoo!” He tightened the collar of his drafty clothes. For the sake of survival, he needed to start a fire immediately. It would provide warmth and also keep the beasts at bay.

A fire couldn’t be lit inside the treehouse. Lin Shuishi knew he had no experience with wilderness survival; he had only read books and seen movies about it. He was afraid that a small mistake might set the finely crafted house on fire!

Reluctantly, he shivered his way down from the treehouse. His legs were becoming more and more accustomed to movement. He even jumped down the last step with a little hop!

He gathered some dry branches and bits of grass, and then, somewhat clumsily, squatted under the tree, feeling a bit frustrated. How was he supposed to start a fire? In the memories of the young ger, the villagers used flint and steel, but he had nothing in his hands, and there was no sign of these life-saving tools in the wooden house.

Never mind, the most primitive methods are often the most useful! He took the bone knife he had brought from the treehouse and carved a small hole in a piece of rotten wood. He filled it with fine, fluffy grass and began to rub a smooth branch vigorously between his hands.

He rubbed until his palms were red and blistered, but eventually, in that cold and desolate place, he felt the warmth of fire…

Fearing that a gust of wind might blow the flame into the forest, Lin Shuishi carefully placed a few stones around the fire to contain it. The warm glow of the fire illuminated him, and he felt a deep sense of peace.

But before he could fully warm up, the mountain echoed with wolf howls and the sound of wild animals in a frenzy. Lin Shuishi cautiously glanced around, feeling a chill of fear. He added more wood to the fire, building it up higher.

It was as if this blazing fire was his only refuge in the eerie, silent forest.

After a long time, his tense muscles had grown stiff, and the howling of wolves gradually subsided, as if they had finally secured their prize and were now contentedly feasting.

He relaxed his grip on the torch he held, but suddenly, two familiar wolf heads emerged from the bushes ahead! The sky was darkening, and the wolves’ eyes glowed eerily from behind the foliage. They lingered, watching the fire, but did not approach.

Lin Shuishi felt a cold fear creeping over him as he raised the torch defensively. When had they gotten so close? He hadn’t noticed at all!

The man and the two wolves stared at each other for a while, neither side making a move. The wolves only made low growling sounds to communicate with each other, then their ears twitched, and they both lowered their heads, bowing toward the dark forest behind them.

Lin Shuishi focused intently, his hunger and tension making his vision blur. He could just make out a strange figure rapidly approaching the treehouse from the shadowy forest, making his hair stand on end!

As the figure emerged from the forest, illuminated by the firelight and the last rays of the setting sun, Lin Shuishi felt a little relieved. The figure was actually a burly man draped in animal skins, carrying a large stag with sharp antlers over his shoulder.

Though he couldn’t see the man’s face clearly, it didn’t matter—at least it was a human being!

Just as Lin Shuishi was about to cautiously speak to the man, he saw the burly figure suddenly fling the bloodstained deer off his shoulder onto the ground. The man then raised a wooden spear and, in a few swift steps, lunged toward him!

Lin Shuishi only had a torch in hand, but he reacted too slowly. The man moved with the speed of a nimble predator, like a panther, and in an instant, he was right in front of Lin Shuishi. His muscular arm gripped the wooden spear, which he drove straight into the tree trunk behind Lin Shuishi.

The torch in Lin Shuishi’s hand clattered to the ground, his heart pounding wildly. He stiffly raised his head and found himself staring into a pair of deep golden wolf eyes. The narrow pupils of the man before him contracted and expanded with the changing light, giving Lin Shuishi a solemn look.

That look was something Lin Shuishi would never forget. It was filled with the raw power and coldness of a wild beast, as if he didn’t even register Lin Shuishi’s presence—only the unceasing flow of wild blood in his veins.

“You, you, you’re…” Before Lin Shuishi could finish his stammered question, the man suddenly stood up and pulled the wooden spear out of the tree. A dull gray snake, impaled on the spear, hung there with a vibrant green belly, clearly venomous.

With a flick, the man tossed the snake, pierced through its vital spot, into the fire. He then stood up, his dark golden eyes glancing at Lin Shuishi—the weak creature abandoned by its tribe and left in his territory.

Without waiting for Lin Shuishi to finish speaking, the man turned, kicked the dead deer towards the fire Lin Shuishi had started, and then strode back into the forest without a backward glance.

Lin Shuishi was left speechless, staring as the towering, muscular figure was swallowed by the darkness. He felt both a deep fear and an overwhelming admiration. In his short twenty years of life, he had never seen anyone like this—a man so fierce and wild, exuding danger and strength.

This man was powerful, agile, and full of confidence and pride, as if all the creatures of the forest should bow before him…

Lin Shuishi took several deep breaths, the scent of the snake roasting in the fire snapping him back to reality. Hunger gnawed at his stomach, leaving him no time for idle thoughts. The man, it seemed, had no ill intentions and had even saved him, albeit seemingly as an afterthought.

But at least the man had remembered him and even brought along a fat, strong stag!

However, as Lin Shuishi touched the still-warm deer, he realized its hide was tough and thick. Where should he even start? He had only ever handled chickens and ducks in the kitchen before.

But reality was forcing him to adapt. If he wanted to survive here, he would have to think and learn quickly. He believed that with practice, he would improve!

Lin Shuishi assessed the situation: it would be best to carefully skin the deer to use the hide for warmth. The meat, which he couldn’t eat all at once, needed to be preserved somehow, and the scent of blood needed to be masked to avoid attracting other predators. Thankfully, the treehouse could provide some shelter.

Just as he was about to start working, he looked up and noticed that the two green wolves had not followed the man into the forest. They were still lying in the nearby bushes, watching the fat deer by the fire, licking their lips…