Ch 31: My Wolf Husband

Dongshan Mountain stretched vast and ever-changing, with snow swirling on one side while the other basked in sunlight, revealing a hazy setting sun. Lin Shuishi stood in the falling snow, the sun barely visible on the horizon, its dim rays filtering through the ancient banyan tree atop the mountain peak, casting slanted shadows over the cliffside.

Snowflakes, lifted by the gentle wind and tinged with the twilight’s yellow hue, drifted down onto Fuli. Standing against the light, Lin Shuishi could only make out Fuli’s vague silhouette, his head bowed, standing silently beneath the tree, as if he were merging with the light.

Suddenly, Fuli tilted his head back and let out a long, mournful howl. The wolves in the mountains echoed back, their haunting cries reverberating through the valley.

The little white wolf clumsily mimicked the pack’s howling, already showing some promise. Its mother approached and gently licked the little one’s head.

Dusk welcomes dawn; decay nurtures new life. Life and death are part of a cycle.

Lin Shuishi stood among them, feeling a deep sense of connection. He was a soul from another world, reborn from near death, both lost and striving to live.

As the sun set and the bright moon hung high, the wolf pack gradually dispersed, but Fuli remained, quietly gazing at the mother nestled beside the wolf’s skeleton under the tree. A lifetime companion, now resting together even in death.

Fuli turned his head, looking through the moonlit haze at the figure not far away—a “person” cradling a wolf cub, patiently waiting.

Could he ever be so fortunate? Even though they were so different, even though he was a beast…

By the time the last rays of sunlight vanished, Lin Shuishi was already very cold. He had left in a hurry and hadn’t brought a thick fur coat. Now, he could only huddle with the wolf cub for warmth, sitting and waiting for Fuli. He didn’t know how to comfort such a melancholic and lonely figure, so he just waited in silence.

Lin Shuishi was burying his face in the cub’s soft belly to warm his nose when he heard footsteps approaching. Looking up, he saw Fuli standing before him, his handsome features illuminated by the moonlight.

Fuli simply gazed at Lin Shuishi, his eyes holding a gentle warmth, but he hesitated to come closer.

Lin Shuishi quickly stood up, holding the wolf cub. He barely reached Fuli’s chest, needing to tilt his head up to see his face. “Let’s go,” he said, shuffling his feet awkwardly. Then, he added, “Don’t be sad. Look, you still have this little guy with you!”

Smiling, Lin Shuishi bared his teeth in a grin and lifted the chubby little cub up for Fuli to see. Finally, Fuli took a step forward, bending down to gather both Lin Shuishi and the wolf cub into his arms, and then he began to run down the mountain.

His own injuries had not yet healed, and traveling with the female and the cub in the dark mountain forest was unsafe. This time, Fuli didn’t hesitate at all and took Lin Shuishi directly back to his secret wolf den. Once again, Lin Shuishi found himself staying in that warm, strategically located den on the mountain ridge.

The wolf pack was very attentive to Fuli’s return. Every white wolf came forward to gently press against Fuli. The wolf king, in particular, was especially excited. He had led the pack across mountains and valleys to bring his brother to the “human” territory, hoping he would recover from his injuries. Now, seeing Fuli healthy again, the wolf king eagerly approached, sniffing him all over and speaking in low and high tones of wolf language.

While the two brothers “talked,” Lin Shuishi and the little wolf cub lay at the entrance of the den, both peeking out. Seeing so many wolves on the ridge, Lin Shuishi felt that it was absolutely the right decision to have called the little black horse back halfway. If it had followed, there would have been no place to settle it, and who knows if the mare was nearby.

Perhaps because today was special, the green wolves and gray wolves were also on the ridge, including the two that Lin Shuishi was familiar with.

Those two green wolves noticed Lin Shuishi had returned to the den with the leader, but they glanced around sneakily and saw that the wolf king and Fuli were just outside the entrance, so they didn’t dare approach Lin Shuishi. It wasn’t until Lin Shuishi beckoned to them, and Fuli gave them a glance, that the two green wolves cautiously slinked over to Lin Shuishi.

The green wolves didn’t dare enter Fuli’s den. They stood outside, sniffing Lin Shuishi’s nose as a way of greeting, then squinted their eyes and stuck out their tongues as if smiling.

Lin Shuishi didn’t understand wolf language, but that didn’t stop them from greeting each other like old friends. So, when Fuli turned around, he saw Lin Shuishi happily lying in the wolf den, swinging his little feet and grinning at the sentinel wolves. Though they couldn’t communicate or understand each other, they smiled at each other, finding it amusing.

Not long after, the two green wolves left the den along with the other mixed-colored wolves, returning to the mountains. The white wolf pack, led by the wolf king, went out hunting and returned with their catch. Fuli sat among the wolf pack, tearing apart a wild boar to share with the pups. The little white wolf was especially dominant, climbing onto Fuli and biting down on a piece of meat, refusing to let go.

Lin Shuishi was enjoying the lively scene when he noticed an exceptionally tall white wolf approaching from the wolf king’s side. It seemed to have received some sort of command as it carried a leg of lamb over to Lin Shuishi. But the wolf had a wooden expression, and it almost seemed a bit reluctant and hesitant.

Lin Shuishi looked closely and thought, “…,” “!”

This was the same wolf that had come down the mountain to bring him things, keeping him up all night!

Seeing that Lin Shuishi wasn’t reaching out to take it, the white wolf, knowing this was a tricky task, took another step forward, its expression clearly saying, “Just take it already!” But Lin Shuishi waved his hand, “You eat it, I’m not hungry. I’ll eat when I go back home tomorrow.”

He didn’t eat raw meat, and it wasn’t convenient to start a fire in the wolf pack. The white wolf, still holding the leg of lamb in its mouth, let out a deep sigh through its nose. Lin Shuishi chuckled as he watched it turn and carry the meat to Fuli, before swiftly retreating back into its den, not coming out again.

Fuli looked at the leg of lamb, glanced at Lin Shuishi, and then handed the meat over to a nearby female wolf before disappearing somewhere.

So, when the wolf pack settled down and became quiet, Lin Shuishi noticed that Fuli was nowhere to be seen, but he wasn’t too worried. The wolves were very concentrated now, and Fuli wouldn’t easily get into trouble. So, when Fuli returned in the middle of the night, Lin Shuishi was already half-asleep.

When Fuli saw this, he put down the things he was carrying and silently leaned against the rock wall, quietly watching Lin Shuishi sleep in the moonlit cave, gazing at him for a long time.

In the morning, when Lin Shuishi woke up, he felt a bit embarrassed—he had snuggled up close to Fuli again! Fuli’s broad shoulders and back were right in front of him, and his forehead was resting against Fuli’s spine, his body curled up next to him.

Holding his breath, Lin Shuishi carefully and quietly inched away. Just as he managed to sneak out, his leg kicked something. Looking up, he was surprised to see the small rattan basket from the treehouse.

The basket was filled with various things he often gathered in the mountains, and Lin Shuishi was a bit curious. He glanced at Fuli, who seemed to still be asleep, then crawled over to the basket and began to carefully count its contents. There were several bird eggs, but mostly, there were items from the forest near the treehouse, like the nuts from the tree that the fat squirrel had shown him.

Fuli had woken up as soon as Lin Shuishi had pressed against his back, but he waited until now to sit up, watching as Lin Shuishi rummaged through the basket. He remembered the squirrel he had caught by the tail last night, trembling in fear—turned out it had been useful after all.

See, little beasts tend to like the same kinds of things.

As Lin Shuishi continued to sort through the items, he thought about how far away some of them had been, and how prickly and difficult to gather they were. Fuli must have gone out overnight to collect them for him, despite still being injured!

He hurriedly turned to check Fuli’s back for any injuries, but was surprised to see that Fuli was already up. Looking into Fuli’s deep, calm eyes, Lin Shuishi suddenly didn’t know what to say. Finally, he awkwardly blurted out, “So, you’re awake.”

As soon as he said it, Lin Shuishi regretted it. Of course, he was awake—what a silly thing to say. Surely, Fuli wouldn’t even respond. But when he looked up, he saw Fuli nodding at him, and from deep within his chest, Fuli rumbled a single word, “Yes.”

Lin Shuishi was a bit taken aback, feeling that Fuli was behaving somewhat unusually. Fuli rarely spoke human language, let alone responding to a casual greeting like that. After sneaking a few glances and not coming to any conclusions, he decided not to dwell on it.

Thinking about the wound on Fuli’s back, Lin Shuishi didn’t hesitate any longer. In fact, he spoke with an unusual firmness, “Well, let’s go back now. You need to take your medicine.”

Fuli nodded, his dark golden eyes fixed on him. “Yes.”

Receiving two responses in a row left Lin Shuishi a bit flustered. “So, let’s go?”

And so, from across the way, the wolf king’s family, still resting in their den, watched as Fuli briskly picked up the “human” without a word and prepared to head down the mountainside.

The little white wolf, still lazily dozing next to its mother, was nudged awake by its father’s foot. Just as it was smacking its lips, it noticed its “protector” getting ready to leave. Instantly, it scrambled to its feet, wiggling its little backside as it dashed over, with several tufts of fur still sticking up on its head.

The little cub was quick, darting into the rattan basket that Fuli was carrying. However, its legs were still a bit wobbly from just waking up, and it slipped, landing on a few prickly chestnuts, letting out several pitiful whines.

The wolf king stretched lazily at the entrance of the cave, seeing the state of its little cub, and felt a sense of resignation. There was no hope of entrusting the pack to this one in the future. Turning back to glance meaningfully at its handsome mate resting in the den, the wolf king thought, well, perhaps it’s time to have another one.

On the way back, Fuli chose a relatively flat path. For the first time, Lin Shuishi felt calm and unhurried, able to take in the scenery of other parts of Dongshan Mountain while they traveled.

Dongshan Mountain was so vast that it didn’t seem right to call it just a mountain; it was more accurate to call it Dongshan Mountain Range. The unique geographical environment created an incredibly diverse range of life, with landscapes that seemed to encompass all four seasons within a single mountain.

Fuli led him from spring to winter, from the mountain’s peak to its base, from the wilderness to civilization.

Lin Shuishi noticed that Fuli had changed their route, no longer descending the slope behind the house. Instead, they went down through the Hot River, entering the village from the entrance, with Fuli carrying him all the way home.

Since it was daytime and not yet lunchtime, there were a few children playing outside, undeterred by the cold. When they saw the towering figure of Fuli, they giggled in surprise.

“Wow, look at how tall he is!”

“He’s carrying his wife! How embarrassing!”