Ch 23: My Wolf Husband

Lin Shuishi woke up abruptly from the dream, drenched in sweat, with his heart racing and breath short.

He sat up, gasping for air, with his throat feeling extremely dry. No matter how much he swallowed, it didn’t help. He should have gotten up to fetch some water to soothe his throat, but his legs were numb, as if the running in his dream had affected his real body.

This made him even more anxious, and while the details of the dream were fading from his mind, he could still vividly remember those beastly eyes that left him feeling cold with fear.

To keep warm, the wooden boards on the windows were tightly shut, not a single beam of moonlight could enter. The oil lamp on the kang cupboard had gone out, making the room both warm and dark.

Lin Shuishi restrained himself from coughing, and the little black horse in the side room poked its head out, sensing the atmosphere around. After hesitating for a moment, it walked over to the kang, stretching its small face to touch Lin Shuishi.

Feeling the warm little horse, Lin Shuishi held its head close and snuggled against it.

After such a strange and haunting dream, he needed comfort, even if it came from an immature little horse…

In the following days, since he started living alone, every night he would follow a glowing white wolf into the pond, as if experiencing another world. Intermittently, he witnessed the rise and fall of a tribe.

Until last night, where swords, spears, and flying stones shattered bloodied bodies, and the civilization collapsed in an instant, being destroyed and buried.

When Lin Shuishi woke up, he realized his eyes were filled with tears, wetting his pillow. But he didn’t know who he was crying for.

He inexplicably thought of Fuli, wondering if the grand and tragic tribe in his dream was just a figment of his imagination or if it was related to the mysterious past of the person with golden eyes far away.

He couldn’t distinguish between the two.

As dawn approached, Lin Shuishi got up to prepare. Yesterday, Old Man Zheng had told him that today they would go down for a meal, and his fourth son, Cheng’an, who was studying in the county, would be coming home for a few days.

Lin Shuishi had never met a scholar from this era and was curious. He also wanted to inquire about things in the town, preferably sell some hides and other useful items.

He called the little horse and went to push the wooden door at the entrance of the house. Despite pushing several times, the door wouldn’t open! It only opened a small gap, as if something heavy was blocking it from the outside.

The little horse, seeing this, got irritable! It backed up a few steps, kicked the door a few times, and then with a “whoosh,” it slammed into the door.

Lin Shuishi, unable to stop it in time, stared in amazement at the half-open door that had been knocked off its hinges. He turned stiffly to see the little horse still standing proudly in the cold wind outside.

The look of wanting to hit a horse was unmistakable.

Before he could get angry, he noticed something in the morning light at the door. Upon closer inspection, it was a strong ram with its spine bitten through!

It was placed neatly at Lin Shuishi’s doorstep in the early morning light without disturbing anyone.

Lin Shuishi immediately ran outside, his heart pounding with anticipation. He quickly glanced around but found no one. The only thing he saw were a few scattered wolf tracks on the dusty hillside behind the house. The tracks led back into the forest, their destination unknown.

He had to return and inspect the ram carefully. He wondered how the wolves knew he liked the tender meat of the ram and its thick hide. They had even gone through such a long journey to deliver it right to his doorstep.

Feeling a bit upset and emotional, he took several deep breaths to steady himself.

At that moment, Old Man Zheng’s booming voice came from below the slope, “Shuishi, come down quickly, we have meat to eat!”

Lin Shuishi was startled and glanced at the huge ram, realizing he couldn’t hide it. He decided to cut open the bite marks on the ram’s back with a knife to alter its shape and then called out to the mountain below, “Uncle! Come see, a ram fell from the slope and broke its neck!”

Old Man Zheng thought it was just the boy’s joke. When Shuishi was young, he was shy and timid, but now he had grown up, lively and bold, even surviving in the harsh environment of Dongshan. He thought it was amusing that Shuishi was now joking around with him. But he also appreciated that Shuishi had become spirited and wasn’t worried about future hardships!

Old Man Zheng, who was quite indulgent, had never been this lenient even with his youngest son. Regardless of whether the story was true or not, he decided to go up the slope to get his meal. However, when he reached the gate and saw the scene, he was dumbfounded.

A huge, snow-white ram lay in front of the house. The stiff neck of the ram was thicker than the waist of the boy standing there in a daze!

As an experienced hunter, Old Man Zheng was astonished by the sight. He quickly ran to Lin Shuishi and carefully checked him over, finding that he was indeed unharmed. He then turned his attention back to the ram.

He touched the ram and realized that it had died from a broken spine, although it seemed as if it had been killed by a large beast. However, there were no signs of such a beast in the vicinity, especially not on the slope behind Shuishi’s house. Not even a rabbit was around, let alone a giant beast.

While Old Man Zheng was pondering, Lin Shuishi quickly suggested, “Uncle, let’s not worry about where it came from. It fell down from the back mountain, so let’s just eat it!”

Old Man Zheng agreed, thinking it made sense. Since the ram was unclaimed, whoever found it could keep it! Moreover, if they handled it well, not only would they have plenty of meat, but even a good ram skin sold in the county could ensure a good winter for Shuishi.

After thinking it over, Old Man Zheng decided not to worry about anything else. He quietly called his son and wife down the slope, telling them to stop their work and skip their meal. They needed to take care of this windfall first.

Seeing them busy around his house, Lin Shuishi said, “Uncle, just take it to your place. Just bring me a leg of lamb.”

Before Old Man Zheng could respond, Lin Shuishi’s older brother and sister-in-law chimed in with a laugh, “Are you kidding, Shuishi? This is a free prize! If we take it down there, everyone will see it and get jealous. If it stays up here, no one will notice. It’s perfect!”

Aunt Zheng nodded in agreement, “That’s right. It’s also your find, so it’s a blessing for our family to get some of it. Even just having some meat is a stroke of luck!”

Dongsheng also commented while setting up a stove and boiling water, “Forget hunting! I’ve never even seen such a big ram before!”

Old Man Zheng laughed heartily, “I’d say, one way or another, no one can match Shuishi’s hunting skills! Born hunter, and he gets all kinds of game delivered right to his doorstep.”

Seeing the lively and cheerful scene, Lin Shuishi relaxed and helped Aunt Zheng clean the ram’s organs and intestines. Listening to Old Man Zheng’s praise, he smiled and said, “I call this waiting for rabbits by the stump!”

Dongsheng, while stoking the fire and looking at the energetic and blushing Shuishi, couldn’t help but grin foolishly, his own face reddening.

They quickly processed the ram. There was too much meat, and Lin Shuishi felt it would go to waste if they tried to eat it all. He kept only two legs and the hide, and asked them to take the rest back down the slope. The Zheng family reluctantly agreed, though Lin Shuishi insisted on eating some with every meal.

Even so, they ended up hauling several large baskets of meat, organs, and intestines up and down the slope multiple times.

“Uncle, since Fourth Brother is coming back tonight, why not invite the uncles and aunts who went up the mountain before to come and taste the lamb, and take some back with them?” Old Man Zheng had this idea but hesitated since Lin Shuishi hadn’t said anything. It’s not just winter that’s less favorable for hunting; even in summer, no one has managed to catch anything. This ram is a rare find.

Lin Shuishi’s good nature made Old Man Zheng like him even more. Under the sunlight, Shuishi’s face looked radiant, with two cute dimples when he smiled. Old Man Zheng suddenly felt his foolish son wasn’t worthy of such a good person and had wasted the chance.

At dinner, they invited the uncles and aunts, but someone sent word that Fourth Brother’s teacher was ill and he would return a day later. Old Man Zheng didn’t mind; after all, respecting teachers and education was important, and he wasn’t not coming back. So, he happily continued drinking and toasting with his brothers.

On the table, the lamb soup, roasted lamb, and lamb heart and liver stew with potatoes all smelled wonderful. The quality of the lamb was so good that no matter how it was cooked, it was deliciously fragrant.

Uncle Li, who had been drinking, began to share recent news, “It’s not just this lamb that’s unusual; the other day, some brothers from the mountains said they saw ghosts at the boundary river between the West Mountain and the Dongshan Mountain!”

Dongsheng’s eyes widened in surprise, “What? Where did they see ghosts?”

“They said they vaguely saw some strange figures, walking heavily and in formation, wearing thick clothing like armor. They crossed the boundary river and disappeared in the blink of an eye!”

Uncle Li chuckled and, in a lowered voice, added, “They say it’s ghost soldiers passing through!” The others shushed him, dismissing it as mere gossip.

For some reason, Lin Shuishi suddenly felt a chill, not out of fear but a sense of unease, as if he had caught a whiff of the bloodshed from the falling tower in his dream. He became choked up and couldn’t eat any more.

Once the gathering ended, Lin Shuishi and Old Man Zheng had already divided the lamb meat and handed it out to everyone. They didn’t take much for themselves—just seven or eight pounds per person—enough that no one had to push back too hard, and it would last long enough for their families to enjoy a bit of freshness.

Because the lamb was so aromatic, the men, thinking of their own families, accepted it with some embarrassment.

Lin Shuishi then bade farewell to the Zheng family and returned up the slope. He lit the stove and sat on it, feeling restless and with his eyes twitching incessantly. Instead of sleeping, he took out a tightly packed bundle of wolf fur, which he had previously degreased and turned into yarn that wouldn’t itch.

As he handled the bundle, he realized that the fur was soft and pliable, different from the stiff adult wolf fur he had processed before. It was actually the soft, baby fur of small wolves. Some of it was in large patches and some in small curls. Lin Shuishi recognized that this must be from the young wolves next to the wolf king’s den—those little wolves had naturally curly, fluffy fur, and were not very sociable, so he hadn’t gone into that den.

He was troubled, unable to imagine the scene of Fuli pulling at the baby wolf’s fur. He couldn’t help but smile, thinking that if anyone dared to offend him, they’d certainly end up with a stiff face and would just have to take it.

With a small oil lamp as his company, Lin Shuishi spun the yarn for a while until he began to feel sleepy. He turned off the oil lamp and lay down in the semi-warm bedding.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard a noise at the door.

Lin Shuishi looked at the small horse lying on the floor; it was still in the room! Confused, he listened carefully and heard what sounded like claws scraping at the door.

He immediately thought it might be wolves! He quickly got up, unlatched the small lock, and lifted the small wooden panel on the door to look outside. The half-pages that had been damaged by the little horse’s careless kicking were reinstalled by Old Man Zheng, and an extra small latch was added for extra security.

Looking outside, he saw many wolves standing silently. The two gray wolves were among them, scratching at his wooden door, while the remaining dozen or so large white wolves were cautiously looking around, appearing somewhat anxious and restless.

Lin Shuishi hurriedly put on his clothes and opened the door latch. He wasn’t afraid of the familiar wolves.

However, as soon as he opened the door, the most imposing white wolves leaped at him instantly! They knocked him down, grabbed the collar of his coat, and tossed him onto their backs.

Without saying a word, the strongest alpha wolf, carrying the still bewildered Lin Shuishi, galloped towards the back of the house. With such a high leap, it soared up the mountain slope with ease, not swaying Lin Shuishi at all.

Lin Shuishi didn’t dare to scream; anyone who startled the wolves would be doomed!

In no time, they had taken Lin Shuishi away, disappearing from sight. The little black horse didn’t dare to intervene; it blinked its large eyes, said nothing, and followed after lifting its legs. The place was left with only an empty house.

Carried and guarded by the wolf pack, Lin Shuishi traversed the hard-to-reach mountain ranges, taking the shortest route into the Dongshan Mountain. The wolves were more cautious than ever, continuously monitoring the surroundings. Any sign of disturbance prompted groups of wolves to investigate immediately.

Lin Shuishi felt something was off but sensed no malice from the wolves. They had always treated him as part of their pack, caring for and protecting him.

As the moon reached its zenith, the wolves’ breaths became heavy, and they appeared exhausted. The familiar landscape gradually came into view, and they reached the wolf den on the ridge!

Lin Shuishi dismounted from the wolf’s back with a heart full of excitement, as if reuniting with an old friend. But his smile abruptly froze.

The wolves formed a circle around something in the center, their bodies smeared with dark blood and a purple substance. The wolf king, with a chunk missing from one ear, was still diligently sniffing at the ground.

Lin Shuishi’s face turned ashen, and his mind was filled with a “buzzing” sound.