Ch 20: My Wolf Husband

Lin Shuishi fell into the icy river, gulping down several mouthfuls of freezing water. His struggling arms fell limp as he quickly lost consciousness.

In the silent and vast, ink-blue world beneath the ice, a small figure sank slowly, descending deeper into the cold depths.

Suddenly! A sharp claw grasped him, pulling him out of the icy water.

His clothes, soaked through, clung to his skin, revealing the delicate and rounded form beneath. His pale and tender face, emerging slowly above the water’s surface, seemed to glow faintly in the dying light of the moon, as if waiting in peaceful slumber for someone to wake him…

Meanwhile, Old Man Zheng and his group had been waiting in the forest from morning until afternoon, but there was still no sign of Dongsheng. According to his description the previous night, he should have returned with Shui Ge’er by midday. But now, as the day turned into night, there was still no trace of them.

Growing anxious, the group could no longer sit idly by, so they decided to follow the trail left by the dog that Dongsheng had brought with him, venturing into the mountains to search.

Night had fallen when Lin Shuishi awoke from his faint. His entire body felt numb and tingly, yet strangely warm. He could faintly hear the murmuring of voices around him. When he sat up and looked around, he saw a bonfire in front of him, surrounded by a group of plainly dressed men. Dongsheng was among them, with his head wrapped in a cloth bandage, drinking water and patting the head of a dog.

Seeing Lin Shuishi sit up, a slightly stocky middle-aged man immediately turned his head, exclaiming in surprise, “Oh, Shui ge’er is awake!” The others quickly put down what they were doing and gathered around him.

They all seemed deeply moved, but none of them reached out to touch him. Despite being elders, they were still men, and Lin Shuishi was a marriageable ge’er, so they maintained a respectful distance.

“Shui Ge’er, you’re awake? Do you still remember your Uncle Zheng?” The old man, seated beside him, spoke with a mix of emotion and sorrow. “Ah, it’s okay if you don’t remember. Your father’s been gone for many years now, and it’s our fault we didn’t take better care of you.”

Lin Shuishi looked at the people around him, unable to recognize them all. His memories as Shui Ge’er were already vague, especially those from his early childhood. He could only vaguely recall a few faces. But he figured they were likely his father’s old friends.

Lin Shuishi felt a deep respect and gratitude for them. It was said that friendships fade when a person dies, but these men had braved the dangers and unknowns of Dongshan to search for the unlikely surviving son of their old friend. Their loyalty and deep bonds were clear.

As Lin Shuishi tried to stand, his body felt weak. At Old Man Zheng’s signal, Dongsheng knelt beside him and helped him up.

Lin Shuishi then spoke softly, “I vaguely remember you all, uncles. In my childhood, you all showed me much kindness, and now you’ve braved such dangers to come to Dongshan to rescue me. I am deeply grateful and will always remember this in my heart.”

Hearing this, the group felt a warm satisfaction. Their efforts hadn’t been in vain! They were reassured that Lin Shuishi not only remembered them but also seemed to be in sound mind, with no signs of mental distress from his time on the mountain.

Old Man Zheng was especially pleased. Though Lin Shuishi’s birthmark was faint, his character was what mattered most. With many sons of his own, he wasn’t worried about passing on the family line—he could always arrange for one of them to carry on the lineage!

Dongsheng gave Lin Shuishi some hot water to drink. Lin Shuishi was helped up but felt nothing unusual. If he were a person of the current era, he might have understood the subtlety, but he considered it perfectly normal and didn’t think much of it.

Once he was steady on his hands and knees, he suddenly recognized the familiar sensation beneath him. By the bright moonlight, he could see it was the thick sheepskin he had tanned initially!

His heart skipped a beat. He quickly turned to Dongsheng, asking, “Where did this sheepskin come from?”

Before Dongsheng could answer, Lin Shuishi saw a group of well-groomed little horses trotting out of the forest. He was surprised to see the cute black horse with braided mane.

“How did it get here?”

Dongsheng was puzzled, “Isn’t this the sheepskin you prepared yourself?”

Lin Shuishi paused, “Uh, I was in a daze. What happened?” Dongsheng then explained the situation.

Dongsheng had been knocked unconscious by an unidentified wild beast and lay unconscious under a tree for a while. It was Old Man Zheng and his hunting dog who found them.

The reason “them” was mentioned was because, at that time, Lin Shuishi had been lying quietly in a soft bed of hay, dressed in a set of high-quality fur, with a majestic little black horse standing nearby. The horse had a basket of items on its back.

The little horse was skittish around people and had kept its distance. After they carried Lin Shuishi away, the little horse followed them at a trot. The group assumed these were Lin Shuishi’s belongings and did not investigate further.

Lin Shuishi’s heart raced, but his expression remained calm, “I didn’t plan to bring it after I packed it up. I didn’t expect the little horse to follow me. I rescued it in the wild.”

Dongsheng, believing this, laughed and said, “Haha, it knows you’ve been kind to it.”

At this moment, Lin Shuishi was not in the mood to talk, and seeing him conversing with Dongsheng, the others took it upon themselves to gather around the fire.

Lin Shuishi then stood up with the support of the ground and called the little horse over. The black horse, upon hearing Lin Shuishi, came over without hesitation, wagging its tail gracefully and nuzzling him with its head.

Lin Shuishi hurriedly opened the two bamboo baskets he used most frequently. One contained a large quantity of well-tanned sheepskins from the day he worked at the wolf spring. They were dried and soft, stacked together. Among them were over thirty beautiful eggs he had always cherished.

The other basket held dried nuts, hazelnuts, and several large lingzhi mushrooms that he hadn’t finished eating, along with a thick pile of wolf fur at the bottom. His hand-knitted wolf fur sweater was crumpled up and stuffed inside.

Lin Shuishi’s eyes grew misty, and his nose felt sore. After a while, he silently cursed, “Fool! This is for you.”

But there was no turning back. Soon, they arrived at the boundary river, leaving the territory of the Dongshen Mountain wolf pack, took a shortcut over the hills, and reached Rehe Village.

From the ridge, Rehe Village appeared to be quite sizable, although the terrain was uneven. Each earthen house was built in a staggered manner, not very orderly. At this hour, everyone was busy preparing dinner, and smoke was rising from every chimney, mingling with the slightly rising steam from the river nearby, creating a lively atmosphere.

The village was situated in a well-thought-out location, with the winter wind blowing Rehe’s mist to the other side, keeping the village clean and warm. However, the forest on the opposite side of the river was covered with a thick layer of frost and ice from the mist, making it look beautiful from afar.

The temperature here was noticeably warmer than in the Western Mountains. Lin Shuishi removed the fox fur from his head and placed it in the basket on the little horse’s back. The men were also very pleased. Despite the hardships they faced, it was not in vain, and they considered themselves very fortunate.

Old Man Zheng whistled, quickly leading his brothers and Lin Shuishi down the mountain ridge towards the east slope of the village.

As they walked through the village, they passed many homes. Occasionally, a group of children with runny noses played with ice spinning tops, still excited despite the cold. Some adults would call them back for dinner, and upon seeing Old Man Zheng and his group, one of the older women, holding a bowl of boiled potatoes, asked, “Zheng Tou, it’s so cold! Did you go hunting in the mountains?”

Old Zheng smiled back, “Sister Qi, we’re here for dinner. We didn’t hunt; we went to pick up the child. Lin Dage’s son called us to bring him back.”

Sister Qi was surprised. The news of the commotion in the distant mountain village had long spread from her niece, but the villagers of Rehe, self-sufficient and united, were more grateful for Lin Shuishi’s father, who had helped many villagers in the past during harsh years. This family was among those who had benefited. In the household, only Sister Qi and her son were present.

After the sister-in-law and many villagers learned about the situation, they originally planned to go to Dongshan as well, but Old Man Zheng stopped them. Now, seeing that Shui Ge’er had returned in such good condition, her eyes became misty, and she hurried over.

“My poor Ge’er, do you still remember Seventh Aunt?” Without saying much, she was about to shed tears. After much persuasion from the crowd, she finally said she would first take Shui Ge’er and his family and then left.

Before parting, Seventh Aunt insisted on giving Lin Shuishi a bowl of hot potatoes, saying that even if he didn’t eat them, it would warm his hands.

Lin Shuishi, used to the concrete jungle of the city, where apart from his own room, he was accustomed to ordinary supermarkets and hospitals, had never experienced such heartfelt kindness. He felt a bit at a loss and shy but still thanked her with a polite demeanor. He even took a big bite of the potato in front of Seventh Aunt, making her smile.

As the group walked up the slope, a round-faced young woman, standing in a large courtyard, brightened up when she saw them. She immediately ran into the house, calling out, “Mother! Father and San’er are back, and it looks like they’ve brought Shui Ge’er!”

Inside the house, there was a clatter of bowls, and soon a bunch of people came rushing out to greet them.

At this, Lin Shuishi, leading the little black horse and holding the hot potatoes, was taken into the lively human world.

xxx

In the vast and desolate Dongshan, the full moon had passed, and a slightly waning silver disk hung high in the night sky.

Fuli, like a wolf, lay with his limbs on the ground, facing the wind on a mountain ridge, watching a group of people disappear into the mountains. His hair was blown about, revealing his deeply etched features. His golden beast eyes emitted a ghostly glow in the night.

He had his arms exposed, and the animal skins around him were stained with blood. Behind him, a group of white wolves quietly guarded him, but they kept a considerable distance. No wolf dared to approach Fuli at this moment.

Only an elderly female wolf, though walking somewhat slowly, showed the wisdom and compassion that time had imparted on her.

Fuli turned his head in caution, showing his beastly teeth, but seeing it was “Mother,” he forcefully restrained the raging beastly instincts still within him.

The mother wolf’s gaze was both pitying and loving. Ignoring Fuli’s fierceness, she approached and gently rubbed her head against his face, communicating with him in simple wolf language.

“Follow, you, same, human.”

Fuli’s breath became rapid, but as he looked up at the moon in the sky and then down at the dried blood on his body and his still sharp claws, he dove down the mountain ridge, disappearing into the vast and boundless forest.

The mother wolf watched the retreating figure with a sorrowful expression, and the words Fuli had calmly spoken echoed in her ears.

He said, “No, I am a beast.”