Ch 39: My Wolf Husband

Early in the morning, Lin Shuishi got up with messy hair, swollen lips, and a small piece of skin bitten off the corner of his mouth. He looked dazed and decided that he would never do such a thing again! In the end, he was the one who suffered, while the other person had already disappeared without a trace.

At that moment, Fuli was leaping through the mountains, his blood surging after such an entanglement. His entire body ached to transform, with his bones calling out for change. He had known that the full moon was approaching and that on this night, when the moon would fill the sky, he shouldn’t return to the human by his side. But despite this, he couldn’t resist going down the mountain and entering the house.

This only hastened the primal beast within him, compelling him to flee in disarray under the cover of night.

His moon was still in the water; if he reached out to grasp it, it would scatter. Even the fiercest and most cunning beast in the mountains harbored fear in its heart, feeling both humiliated and terrified, so in the end, it retreated.

In the morning, frost still lingered on the ground, blanketing everything in a white layer. The little wolf and the black horse slept soundly by the stove, their furry bellies rising and falling with soft snores.

Lin Shuishi was in the courtyard, preparing the game that Fuli had brought back the previous night, dividing it into portions to give to the households he hadn’t yet reciprocated with gifts. It was a roe deer, and skinning it took some time. By the time he was nearly done, it was already afternoon.

The day was somewhat overcast, with the sky a leaden gray, casting a dull shadow over the surroundings. The horse and wolf cub had long since woken up, and being wild animals, they disliked being confined to one place for too long, so they went up the mountain to frolic.

After dumping a basin of dirty water, Lin Shuishi stood at the gate and heard a commotion coming from the village entrance. It was winter, and such gatherings were rare in the village. As he looked closely, he was shocked to see that the group was heading toward his house. He soon realized that the people from Yuanshan Village were among them.

Some villagers surrounded the old village chief of Rehe, insisting on what the shaman had decreed about sacrificing to the wolf god. The group was now approaching Lin Shuishi’s residence. The situation was so serious that the people of Rehe Village came out in force. The old village chief, full of vigor, stepped out of his warm house and blocked the group, demanding to know their intentions.

Lin Shuishi saw the group stop near the village entrance, arguing with the villagers of Rehe. Aunt Qi saw an opening and hurried up the slope, pulling Lin Shuishi into the house. “Quick, hide somewhere, those heartless people brought a shaman with them, saying that the wolf god was angered and the sacrifice cannot be lost. You need to hide.”

The people of Zheng’s family also came out, and with both villages gathered in one place, things quickly grew tense.

The shaman, seeing how united the people of Rehe Village were and how stubborn the old village chief was, insisted that they should not allow the group to search for and take anyone away.

The shaman’s eyes shifted cunningly. “Hmph, you ignorant commoners, do you know the consequences of offending the Wolf God? How dare you harbor the sacrifice!”

Some people hesitated upon hearing this, but the members of the Zheng family, nearly bursting with anger, were ready to fight. However, they were held back by their neighbors. The old village chief of Rehe Village laughed heartily, “Ridiculous! Our village of Rehe has always enjoyed the blessings of the Wolf God, coexisting peacefully with the creatures of Dongshan Mountain. This has allowed us to thrive and multiply. It is your greed that leads you to demand the living sacrifice of someone from our village.”

The old village chief struck the ground with his cane, thumping his chest. “That is not going to happen!”

Old Man Zheng added, “Shuishi is the only surviving bloodline of Brother Lin. Back in the day, Brother Lin helped so many people in Rehe and saved many families from disaster. Now, we absolutely cannot allow his child to be bullied. I’m telling you right now, if you want to take him, you’ll have to deal with me first!”

Everyone knew that if Shuishi were taken away again, it would surely be a death sentence. Some recalled the boy’s kindness, how he always smiled and had even made rice cakes to give as New Year’s gifts to the neighbors.

Others, however, thought of the Wolf God’s wrath. The people of Rehe had grown up hearing stories of how the Wolf God saved villagers, filling them with both reverence and fear for Dongshan Mountain.

The situation became tense, with the two villages on the brink of a confrontation. But the shaman didn’t care if things turned violent; he raised his voice and shouted, “Hurry up and bring him to me! If you delay, and the Wolf God becomes angry, none of you will escape!”

Hearing this, the people of Yuanshan Village, recalling the fear and suffering they had endured, gritted their teeth, grabbed their weapons, and prepared to storm the village.

At that moment, someone shouted, “Stop!”

A young man emerged from the crowd of Rehe villagers. He was delicate-looking, with fair skin and a faint pregnancy mark on his brow.

Old Man Zheng was alarmed, “Shuishi, why are you here? Go back inside!” But the wife of the Sun family glared at him and demanded, “Tell us, where did you take your uncle?”

Ignoring her, Lin Shuishi walked straight up to the village chief of Yuanshan. He recognized the man from the day he was taken; he had been respectfully following behind that “old rat of a shaman,” orchestrating the whole sacrificial ceremony.

Lin Shuishi wasn’t afraid of returning to Dongshan Mountain to be sacrificed; after all, the wolf pack there was part of Fuli’s lineage, and they were a group of dear friends. But he needed to ensure a way out for himself.

“I went to Dongshan Mountain to be sacrificed, but I was so cold and delirious that I encountered the Wolf God. He told me that the Wolf God cherishes life and protects Dongshan Mountain, but the people of Yuanshan have come here to kill indiscriminately. This is a grudge he will not forget! He ordered me, an innocent person, to return, because with a body as weak as mine, how else could I have survived the beasts of Dongshan Mountain and come back alive?”

Upon hearing this, the crowd grew even more agitated, especially the villagers from Yuanshan, who immediately became anxious. However, the shaman knew that Lin Shuishi was spouting nonsense—there was no Wolf God, just a fabricated story to deceive the ignorant villagers. But this little boy had managed to exploit that lie!

“Hmph! Nonsense from a mere child! The Wolf God is clearly furious that you escaped and is ready to bring calamity upon both villages. Seize him at once and take him away!”

The priest wouldn’t allow Lin Shuishi to speak any further and immediately incited the two villages to clash. Lin Shuishi grew anxious; he didn’t care much about the people of Yuanshan, but the villagers of REHE, especially the Zheng family, had treated him well. If a fight broke out, it would end badly for everyone. He decided it was better to return to Dongshan Mountain.

So, without hesitation, Lin Shuishi urged the villagers not to act rashly and then followed the people from Yuanshan Village.

The Zheng family and several villagers from Rehe, unwilling to let things go, secretly followed behind, hoping to find an opportunity to intervene.

As the group moved along, the shaman ordered that Lin Shuishi be tied up, intending to take him back and present this “anomaly” to his superiors. They weren’t heading towards Dongshan Mountain at all, instead claiming they needed to perform another ritual at the temple.

Lin Shuishi immediately sensed something was wrong. He had already hidden a sharp bone shard in his palm, planning to cut through the ropes binding his hands and escape into the dense forest, where he could easily disappear.

But before he could act, the situation took a sudden turn.

The howls of wolves, growing closer and closer, echoed through the forest as if a pack was swiftly approaching from afar. Nearby, the rustling of the forest revealed a group of wolves, their coats varying in color, emerging from the underbrush. They bared their teeth menacingly, surrounding the group and blocking all paths.

Panic set in immediately! Except for the shaman, the rest of the group was composed of villagers from Yuanshan, who, upon seeing the wolves, felt their legs go weak, their minds flashing back to the bloody scenes in their livestock pens and the memories of wolves attacking their village.

Lin Shuishi quickly scanned the area but didn’t see Fuli, only a wolf that appeared to be from the white wolf pack guarding the area. While the people were in disarray, the wolf quietly approached Lin Shuishi and bit through the ropes on his hands, which he had partially cut earlier.

However, the commotion caused by the wolves also attracted the attention of another predator lurking in the mountain. As the two sides were at a standoff, an ear-splitting roar echoed from the depths of the forest, followed by the sound of snapping branches and leaves as the beast made its presence known.

Not far behind, Old Zheng suddenly caught his breath. Most of the villagers from Rehe had quickly retreated after seeing the wolf pack, but those who remained were determined to rescue Lin Shuishi. They had deep ties with Lin Shuishi’s father and knew the cause of his death. This was the same giant bear that had killed Lin Shuishi’s parents!

The bear ahead was massive and ferocious! When it stood up, it was over two meters tall, and one of its ears had been chopped off by a human hunter it had killed, making it look even more savage. Its mouth snarled, revealing that it was a beast that had grown accustomed to the taste of human flesh.

The wolf pack carefully defended themselves, and the white wolf silently positioned itself in front of Lin Shuishi. The shaman, realizing the situation was dire, immediately turned to flee. The wolves could not let him escape and immediately pounced on him. The grizzly bear, smelling blood, was driven into a frenzy and, with a single swipe, broke a thick tree before charging straight at the group of people.

The white wolf protected Lin Shuishi and began to run, but the shaman, who had managed to break free from a few of the wolves, picked up the severed arm of a villager that the bear had torn off and threw it toward Lin Shuishi.

In no time, the villagers were either dead or gravely injured by the bear’s attacks, all lying on the ground. With no more moving targets in sight, the bear’s attention was instantly drawn to the bloodied arm thrown before it, and it turned its gaze to the white wolf and Lin Shuishi fleeing into the forest.

The bear roared, its mouth dripping with fresh blood, and lunged toward Lin Shuishi.

The few people from Rehe Village who witnessed this scene were filled with dread. They knew they couldn’t stop the giant bear in time, and even if they could, none dared to try. Even Old Zheng held back Dongsheng, who was ready to charge forward, gritting his teeth as he shook his head. Rushing to certain death would be foolish!

The shaman, after throwing the severed arm and drawing the bear away, tried to escape but was quickly caught by the wolves, who tore him apart, leaving him a bloody mess. The white wolf tried to block the bear, but it was still young and was knocked aside with a single swipe of the bear’s paw, crashing into a tree and unable to rise.

The grizzly bear lunged, its claws about to tear open Lin Shuishi’s back!

Just then, a blur shot out from the forest, leaping over Lin Shuishi, and with a loud “thud,” collided with the massive bear. In the powerful impact of the collision, there seemed to be the sound of bones breaking.

The bear howled as it was sent flying. The blur also came to a stop, finally allowing Lin Shuishi to see it clearly.

All the fierce roars of the beasts and the pitiful cries of the humans around him slowly faded from Lin Shuishi’s ears. At this moment, it was as if he were watching a slow, silent film.

Standing—no, crouching—before him was Fuli, yet it wasn’t Fuli.

In an instant, its bones had shifted, transforming from the tall and robust human form into a fierce beast.

Just like in his dreams…