Ch 17: My Wolf Husband

In the middle of a snowy night, inside the wolf’s den, Lin Shuishi leaned against the warm wall, drenched in cold sweat. It took him a while to recover, biting his lip as he sat there, feeling a mix of fear and frustration. He had never experienced such a helpless situation, completely overpowered.

The “beast” behind him seemed intent on devouring him, its rough and scorching breath brushing against the back of his neck, making him tremble uncontrollably.

Lin Shuishi took a deep breath, raised a hand to touch his neck, and felt a sharp pain. When he brought his hand in front of his face, he saw blood. However, instead of tending to the bite wound on his neck, he curled up in the pile of furs, hugging himself in a futile attempt to find some comfort.

As he shifted backward, something hard poked him. He reached out and discovered a few brightly colored, hard eggs—something Fuli had brought back, thinking Lin Shuishi would like them, venturing out into the storm to find them. They had originally been placed in a fox fur, but must have rolled out during his earlier struggle.

Staring at these items, Lin Shuishi found himself lost in thought. Eventually, he sighed and began tidying up the den. He decided not to ever go to the wolf king’s den again after picking up the pile of fur he’d collected and then hesitantly made his way back to Fuli’s den.

As the storm gradually subsided, Lin Shuishi lay awake, listening to the wind howling through the mountains. Unable to sleep, he got up in a huff and began spinning the wolf fur into yarn. The soft fur slowly formed into a small ball of yarn in his hands. He was careful not to bow his head too much, fearing it would aggravate the small wound on the back of his neck, which, though not large, was certainly painful.

He stayed up most of the night, and before he finally fell asleep from exhaustion, Fuli had not returned.

The next morning, the weather was beautiful. The sky outside the wolf den was a bright blue, and the sunlight felt warm on the skin. Wolves from various dens stretched and came out to the red rock area around the hot springs, finding comfortable spots to bask in the sun. A group of wolf pups, white or gray, bounced out, following their mothers around, competing for milk. Once they were full, they sprawled out on the rocks, soaking in the warmth.

Lin Shuishi’s previously troubled heart was soothed by this scene. As he stepped out of Fuli’s den, the wolves no longer viewed him with the same wariness as before. Instead, they approached him with curiosity and even affection.

The mottled wolf that had once carried him back to the treehouse and fought the leopard now, upon smelling Fuli’s strong scent on Lin Shuishi, folded its ears back and lay belly-up at his feet, a gesture of submission.

Unaware of the wolves’ intentions, Lin Shuishi simply found them adorable and happily rubbed their bellies. The wolf curled its legs, not daring to move, until Lin Shuishi, using a roughly carved wooden comb, began grooming them.

The wolves relaxed under his touch, even kicking their legs slightly in a reflexive scratch when he hit a particularly itchy spot.

Lin Shuishi seamlessly blended into the wolf pack, earning their affection with his unique methods. Eventually, the wolves would lie at his feet, lazily waiting for him to scratch their itches whenever they saw him.

Finally, after a short while, Lin Shuishi had gathered enough wolf fur, including the rough fur from adult wolves and the soft fur from the pups. He planned to sort them and make different types of yarn.

As he played with the wolves, he suddenly noticed that the adult wolves around him had all stopped what they were doing. Even the one lounging at his feet immediately sat up straight, ears perked, staring intently toward the west.

Before long, Lin Shuishi heard the howls of wolves echoing through the mountains, accompanied by a rolling, thunderous rumble. Startled, he feared another beast tide and quickly ran to the ridge to look out over the distance. After a while, he saw the wolf king and his mate racing down from the distant mountains.

They stood still for a moment, howling rhythmically toward the wolf den. Lin Shuishi then noticed the young and strong white wolves around him forming groups and rushing down the mountain.

The mottled wolf, familiar with Lin Shuishi’s gaze toward the west, instinctively nudged him onto its back. Before Shuishi could react, the wolf took off, dashing down the ridge to join the pack.

Lin Shuishi could only feel the incredible speed of the wolf beneath him as the snow sprayed up from its hooves, whipping into his face and making it hard to keep his eyes open. If he didn’t hold on tightly, he would surely tumble off the wolf and down the mountainside!

The wolf only stopped when it reached the wolf king, but by then, they were already far from the den. The snow-covered steep slope looked impossible for Shuishi to climb on his own. Weighing his options and driven by curiosity, he decided to follow the pack, crossing over the peak and speeding westward.

The wolves had a set path for crossing the mountains, with the wolf king leading the way. The pack, along with the human riding on one of the wolves’ backs, cautiously followed the narrow trail, crossing the mountains with barely a sound. Their steps were so light and well-practiced that they didn’t even disturb the small animals foraging in the woods.

As they emerged from the forest, Lin Shuishi heard the rumbling sound again. He brushed the frost and snow from his eyelashes and looked ahead.

“Boom!” A massive avalanche cascaded down the mountain, filling the sky with snow clouds. A tremendous amount of ice and snow tumbled down the ridge, burying several valleys beneath it and trapping animals that hadn’t managed to escape in time.

It was a breathtaking and terrifying display of nature’s unpredictable power.

The wolves’ path perfectly avoided the avalanche while giving them a full view of the unfolding disaster. Besides the animals buried beneath the snow, there were also survivors—swift runners desperately trying to outrun the avalanche.

The most striking of these were a group of sleek, black horses. Led by a mare, they stretched their legs and raced to escape the disaster. But even the speed of the horses was no match for the falling snow and ice, and several of the slower ones were swallowed by the avalanche.

The lead mare made a quick decision, changing direction to face the avalanche head-on. With a final, powerful leap, they managed to reach the other side of the ridge just before being buried.

It was a long time before the avalanche finally ceased. Only then did the wolf pack descend the mountain to investigate. The wolf king led a portion of the larger members to trace the origin of the avalanche, while the rest, including Lin Shuishi, began searching the buried valley, sniffing out any signs of life and digging.

Lin Shuishi couldn’t understand the white wolf pack’s behavior. They weren’t hunting or fleeing; instead, they seemed determined to understand the disaster and even find a way to deal with it. Each white wolf seemed intelligent, and when Lin Shuishi looked into the wolf king’s eyes, it felt like he was gazing into the eyes of a mute human.

They might even have their own language system, as Fuli was able to communicate with the pack using unique sounds.

Lin Shuishi dismounted from the wolf’s back and saw that the pack had already dug out many animals from the snow. Once these animals were freed and could breathe fresh air again, they bolted away as fast as they could.

He looked around and saw that the herd of black horses was still lingering on the ridge.

The lead mare had overlooked her youngest foal in her effort to protect the herd. The newborn colt had been struck by a chunk of ice and couldn’t stand on its injured hind leg. The herd hesitated, unsure whether to abandon the leader’s offspring.

In the end, under the harsh rule of natural selection, the herd left. Only the lead mare remained, anxiously pacing around her injured foal.

Lin Shuishi hesitated for a long while but finally decided to cautiously approach the pair, who were now trapped in a dire situation. The mountain was freezing cold, and even if they stayed still, the foal would likely freeze to death due to poor circulation by nightfall.

At first, the tall mare was wary of Lin Shuishi, but as he slowly touched the foal and cradled its drooping head in his arms, the mare hesitated. Finally, she locked eyes with Lin Shuishi, who appeared harmless and gentle.

Finally, the mare stomped her hoof and followed the herd, leaving the injured foal behind with Lin Shuishi.

The wolf king returned from its distant journey, and along with it came a familiar figure—the “beast” who had bitten Lin Shuishi before disappearing.

Lin Shuishi originally planned to have the mottled wolf carrying him take the foal back to the treehouse, but seeing that powerful figure hidden in the snow, he felt a wave of relief. Despite the events of the previous night, Lin Shuishi found himself instinctively relying on the person, even without realizing it.

Fuli, who had accompanied the wolf king to inspect the source of the avalanche, had been feeling increasingly unsettled since last night. The blood in his veins seemed to surge restlessly, his body temperature rising, and his fangs refusing to retract, protruding from his lips with a cold gleam.

The wolf king had noticed Fuli’s unusual state for a while, sniffing him carefully. The keen leader sensed something was wrong but couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.

When Fuli saw Lin Shuishi cradling the foal on the ridge, he hesitated. The wolf king turned back to look at him, signaling his brother to keep up with the pack.

But Fuli, recalling the taste of blood from the previous night, decided to turn away. He knew he was not in the right state and might harm the fragile “female.” Just then, his ears twitched as he heard that voice calling his human name again.

Lin Shuishi, seeing the distant, shadowy figure, put down the foal and stood up, calling out a few times, “Fuli, Fuli, come here.” His voice was low, cautious of triggering another avalanche, though there was no real danger.

When Fuli reached him, Lin Shuishi sensed that something was off but couldn’t quite figure out what. It was as if the wild aura around Fuli had intensified. Despite his unease, Lin Shuishi still voiced his concern, “This foal is injured. Can we take it back to the treehouse?”

Fuli exhaled, his breath steaming in the cold air. He looked at the foal, a black-haired, beautifully built young horse with excellent genetics, recognizing it as the horse king’s offspring. Without saying much, he effortlessly picked up the foal and began heading back along the path the wolves had come from.

The foal, startled by Fuli’s presence, struggled in fear but quickly froze at the sound of Fuli’s sharp, animalistic snarl.

The wolf king led the pack back to their territory, but the mottled wolf carrying Lin Shuishi seemed to receive some command, veering off alone to take him back to the treehouse.

When they arrived, the treehouse was unchanged after the heavy snow. Lin Shuishi, after mentally preparing himself, stepped inside. There, he saw the little black foal lying nervously on the ground and the pile of eggs wrapped in pelts and wolf fur on the wooden bed.

But the strong figure was nowhere to be seen.