Ch 37: My Wolf Husband

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As soon as Lin Shuishi finished speaking, the room fell into a sudden silence.

His face gradually turned red, the blush spreading all the way to his ears. Aunt Gao and the others were left speechless. “He, who?”

Seeing the situation, Lin Shuishi quietly added, “Um, my husband.”

The women, who usually forgot their fear when it came to matters like this, even in front of the intimidating Fuli, began questioning him fluently, “When did this happen?” “You’ve been hiding this from us, haven’t you? If you already had someone, you should’ve told us earlier! Now, what are we supposed to think?”

Their chatter filled the room, buzzing so much that Fuli frowned.

Lin Shuishi had come up with this idea on the spot, thinking that since Fuli didn’t understand much of what people said, he likely wouldn’t know what was being discussed. This way, there wouldn’t be any awkwardness later, he could refuse the kind-hearted matchmaking efforts, and he wouldn’t have to “find someone”—a win-win situation, even if it meant sacrificing some dignity.

Clearing his throat, Lin Shuishi boldly lied, “Well, we fell in love on the mountain, but since we’re both without parents or relatives, it was, uh, an unmediated union! How could we dare to announce it to the village? I didn’t want to waste everyone’s time, so we kept it quiet.”

The women were still suspicious, but when they heard it was someone from the mountain, they figured the customs might not have been followed properly and let it go. After all, no one would joke about their own marriage! So, they believed him.

Aunt Gao, being so enthusiastic, was also driven by her fondness for Lin Shuishi’s late mother. They had been like sisters back in the day, so hearing that Lin Shuishi had to hide his marriage made her feel even more determined to help.

“Don’t worry, Shuishi, I’ll take care of it for you! Forget this unmediated union nonsense. I, Gao Shanhong, will be your matchmaker. Since you two got together in a rush, I’m sure the proper rites weren’t performed. That won’t do; we need to pick a day and make it official!”

Lin Shuishi was immediately at a loss for words. He had completely underestimated the enthusiasm of these middle-aged women. Did this mean he’d have to go through with a wedding ceremony just to maintain the lie? He couldn’t possibly manage that! The thought alone terrified him. “We’ve already performed the rites, really, there’s no need for any more trouble!”

Not giving them a chance to say more, he quickly took charge, “It’s getting late, so you should all head home and rest. I’ll prepare the New Year’s gifts and visit you soon!”

The women, a bit bewildered, were ushered out by Lin Shuishi. Fuli didn’t block the doorway; he simply dropped the deer, wiped the blood from his mouth, shook his hair, and stepped back into the house. His eyes, however, remained fixed on Lin Shuishi, eyebrows raised, as if deep in thought.

As Aunt Gao reached the door, she couldn’t resist turning back to whisper to Lin Shuishi, “You know, your husband is indeed handsome, but he’s quite intimidating. You should teach him some manners in the coming days. During the New Year, he’ll need to visit people, and we don’t want him scaring anyone.”

Lin Shuishi knew he couldn’t say much more, so he quickly agreed and politely saw off the group of women.

He exhaled deeply, closing the door behind him, only to find that imposing figure leaning against the doorframe, staring at him with deep, penetrating eyes. The moonlight streaming through the window accentuated Fuli’s already striking features, making his tanned skin seem to glow.

Lin Shuishi nervously fidgeted with his hands, his gaze wandering away from the muscular form standing so close to him. Despite the distance between them, he could almost feel the powerful, masculine aura emanating from Fuli.

His throat moved as he swallowed, still blushing, his heart pounding a little too fast. Lin Shuishi chalked it up to the anxiety of lying and didn’t dare think more of it.

Trying to act casual, he let out a dry laugh, “Ha, haha, it’s late. Let’s go to bed.”

He tried to walk into the room, but his path was blocked. He moved to the right, but Fuli blocked him again. The intense heat radiating from Fuli’s body made him even more flustered, and his throat felt even drier.

Lin Shuishi quickly backed away, retreating several steps. “Uh, I was just saying that to get them to leave. You probably don’t even understand what it meant, so don’t be mad, okay? Let’s just go to sleep.”

Fuli tilted his head slightly, then guided the smaller figure into the main room, closing the door behind them with his arm.

The little white wolf, seeing that the noisy “two-legged” creatures had left, finally returned. It had been following Lin Shuishi and was about to squeeze onto the warm bed, but the door slammed shut in its face. Furious, it scratched at the wooden door a few times in frustration before sighing in defeat. It then turned and pounced on the still-warm deer carcass outside, angrily tearing into it.

Lin Shuishi saw that the little wolf had been shut out and moved to open the door, but Fuli stopped him. Fuli lowered his head, his gaze fixed intently on Lin Shuishi. His once neatly tied hair was now disheveled, with stray strands falling across his face, partially obscuring his piercing golden eyes.

Sensing something different in Fuli’s demeanor, Lin Shuishi became even more nervous, backing away instinctively. But Fuli closed the distance, pressing forward as Lin Shuishi found himself against a wooden cabinet, with nowhere left to retreat. Fuli loomed over him, leaning in close, brushing and rubbing against him, then buried his prominent nose in the crook of Lin Shuishi’s neck, inhaling deeply as he nuzzled him, his hot breath fanning over the sensitive skin there.

Like a wolf trying to be close to someone, but not knowing how.

Lin Shuishi’s face flushed red, and his limbs softened from the rubbing. He leaned against the cabinet, his breathing uneven, and his heart tingled. He didn’t want to move away, seemingly craving this closeness.

The two of them acted out a silent play, neither speaking, just nuzzling each other in silence. But as Fuli’s actions grew more urgent, Lin Shuishi panicked. With weakened legs, he crawled into the bed and wrapped himself tightly in the covers, refusing to come out.

He couldn’t come out, embarrassed and confused by the state of his body.

Lin Shuishi, curled up under the blanket, eventually fell asleep, missing the sight of Fuli, who stretched his bones with audible cracks under the moonlight, his golden eyes glowing with a faint green hue. His fangs, unable to retract, pressed against his lips as he panted heavily, struggling to control himself.

The next morning, when Lin Shuishi woke up, Fuli had already gone back to the mountains, leaving no trace behind. Seeing the neatly untouched bedding across from him, Lin Shuishi breathed a sigh of relief but also felt a bit lost. As he got up, he realized something was amiss! So early in the morning, he found himself in the courtyard, hanging up his freshly washed undergarments to dry.

At that moment, Dongsheng was coming up the slope to deliver some New Year’s goods to Lin Shuishi. Seeing him hanging up his intimate clothing, Dongsheng felt a bit embarrassed, scratching his head as he placed the fried dough he brought on the ground. “Shuishi, my mom made these with the mutton fat you gave us. We wouldn’t usually get to eat these, so she asked me to bring some for you to try.”

After speaking, he was about to head back down the slope, but Lin Shuishi, unaware of Dongsheng’s discomfort, didn’t think much of it and called out to him, “Brother Dongsheng, wait a moment!”

Lin Shuishi had cleaned up the deer that Fuli hunted the day before. Aside from the part that the little white wolf had torn into, there was still quite a bit left. Recently, there was an abundance of meat at home, and without the means to preserve it through salting, he decided to tie it up with ropes and give it all to Dongsheng. Dongsheng’s family had many mouths to feed, especially growing children who needed the nourishment.

“We have plenty of hunted meat at home, and we can’t preserve it all. I really can’t eat it all myself, so it’s perfect for you to take it back!” A few days ago, Lin Shuishi had thought about preserving the meat that Fuli brought home by salting it and then giving it away. But when he looked at the salt sack, he remembered that this wasn’t Dongshan Mountain, and salt, being government-regulated, was expensive and couldn’t be wasted.

Sometimes, Lin Shuishi wondered how fortunate it was that no one dared to enter Dongshan Mountain, and how lucky the wolf pack was to guard it so well. If not, the natural resources alone, not to mention the salt and other minerals, would have been enough to attract a lot of attention.

Dongsheng looked at the pile of meat in front of him, knowing where it came from, but still amazed. “Huh? So much!” He bent down to examine it closely. There was deer meat, beef, and some cuts of meat he couldn’t even identify, but all appeared to be from strong, healthy animals, with rich fat and firm muscle fibers.

Dongsheng glanced around, and seeing that Fuli wasn’t around, he finally dared to bring him up. “He’s the one who hunted all this! Goodness, it’s more than what a group of us could catch in an entire winter, and there are some big animals too. Shuishi, you should…”

He hesitated, then said, “You should talk to him. Hunting isn’t safe, no matter how skilled he is. His wounds have just healed; if he gets hurt again, especially his bones, that could be serious.”

Lin Shuishi’s mind suddenly flashed to the thought of Fuli’s burning body and strong arms, making his heart skip a beat. He took several breaths before replying, then hurriedly handed the meat to Dongsheng, telling him to hurry home—there might still be time to get the meat cooking for lunch.

After sending Dongsheng off, Lin Shuishi rubbed his cold hands together and started to head back inside. But he suddenly felt a rustling in the woods behind the slope. Ever since the bandits’ attack, he had become more alert, so he immediately grabbed a knife and shouted, “Who’s there? Come out!”

Lin Shuishi was about to call for help when he saw something rustling in the forest. Suddenly, a wolf’s head popped out. Wolves don’t bark like dogs, so when the wolf saw Lin Shuishi tense up, it opened its mouth and let out a few low grunts, keeping the noise down so that no one nearby would hear.

Seeing that it was just a large white wolf and that it seemed calm and relaxed, Lin Shuishi let out a sigh of relief, figuring there was no immediate danger.

This was his first time noticing the wolf, unaware that ever since Fuli had recovered and started leaving the village intermittently, he had instructed the most alert and strong white wolves in the pack to take turns watching over Lin Shuishi. At the first sign of trouble, they would alert him immediately.

The little white wolf, seeing that its pack had finally been caught, stopped pretending not to notice and climbed up the slope to playfully nip at the larger white wolf’s neck and face, showing affection. This larger wolf was its mother’s brother. Watching the two white wolves rolling around together, Lin Shuishi laughed and went inside to get some food to treat this “sentry.”

From then on, the white wolves realized that coming down the mountain to “stand guard” meant they’d get treats that weren’t available up in the mountains! So the wolves became more enthusiastic. What was once a dull task became highly sought after!

Later, when Fuli occasionally called a wolf to guard, a whole group of wolves would eagerly crowd around, each one trying to outdo the others in enthusiasm.

Fuli was puzzled for a long time, until one day he caught the wolf king—his own brother and leader of the pack—standing guard at the foot of the mountain, looking mighty and dignified…with a roasted goose egg in his mouth.