Ch 47: My Wolf Husband

As Fuli’s transformation intensified, his muscles and bones contorting, he began to retreat, stepping away from the rushing herd, turning to head deeper into the forest.

“Fuli!” Lin Shuishi shouted, his voice swallowed by the roaring ice river and the overwhelming cries of the beasts. But Fuli abruptly stopped, panting heavily, dropping to all fours as he looked back at the small figure running toward him.

Under the vast sky, the sun and moon hung at opposite ends, both visible above the mountain peaks. Behind Fuli, the sun was sinking, casting a murky, dusky light, while behind Lin Shuishi, a bright, full moon illuminated the scene. In Fuli’s eyes, the stampeding beasts, surging toward life, were mere background. The only color in his world was Lin Shuishi, running against the wind, toward him without hesitation, bathed in the moon’s radiant glow.

Small as he was, Lin Shuishi seemed to have emerged from the great moon itself, here to tame and soothe this wandering remnant of an ancient bloodline.

With courage, Lin Shuishi leaped across the streams, throwing himself into the arms of the now beastly “man.” Fuli, fearing that his sharp claws might hurt his mate, didn’t dare hold him tightly.

But Lin Shuishi wrapped his arms around Fuli’s neck, kissing him several times on the lips. When Fuli still didn’t embrace him, Lin Shuishi slid down from his broad, solid chest, standing on the ground.

Still, he clung tightly to Fuli’s waist, his heart pounding as he felt the unsettling sound of Fuli’s bones and muscles cracking and shifting.

“Fuli, take a deep breath, calm yourself. Come on! Breathe with me!”

Lin Shuishi looked up at Fuli, who was now halfway between man and beast. Fuli, in turn, looked into Lin Shuishi’s eyes and instinctively began to follow his breathing. Gradually, their chests rose and fell in unison.

The frightening beastly features slowly receded; Fuli’s limbs returned to their human form. Finally, he could hold his mate, hold his moon.

The herd, aided by the massive logs across the river, had mostly crossed. They raised their heads, bellowing as they regrouped, surrounding the damp and exhausted young ones in the center, before heading toward their respective territories.

Spring had arrived. The herds needed to prepare for the season when the grass was lush and green, ensuring the birth and survival of their offspring.

Fuli brought Lin Shuishi back to the wolf den. He curled up in his mate’s embrace, wrapped in the familiar scent, fighting against the savage beast within his blood and bones.

The wild and solitary beast revealed his most vulnerable and chaotic moments to his mate. At this moment, he was the one being protected.

Lin Shuishi held the constantly shifting and transforming Fuli throughout the night. He positioned his back against the moonlight seeping into the cave, using his body as a shield to keep Fuli safe in his embrace.

The arduous yet tender ordeal between the two didn’t last long. It gradually came to a close in the secluded heights of the wolf den, unnoticed by the rest of the pack, which continued to patrol and return under the lead of the wolf king.

As the weather warmed and the vast snowy plains began to transform, spring quickly passed, and with the underground heat from the magma, Dongshan seemed to skip straight into summer. Amidst the flourishing greenery, the other members of the wolf pack started to stay in the den more often, preparing to welcome new life. Last year’s white wolf cubs had grown into a group of mischievous adolescents, ready to venture out and explore the world beyond the mountain ridge in teams.

The little white wolf held considerable influence among the young wolves, leading a bunch of playful pups who constantly stayed around Lin Shuishi. They couldn’t help with anything and even caused trouble by sneaking food.

Finally, on a bright and sunny day, they disrupted Fuli’s springtime afternoon, incurring the wrath of the late-maturing, still childless descendant of the wolf god. As Lin Shuishi lay exhausted and overwhelmed, the tyrannical leader swiftly grabbed each of them, tossing them off the ridge one by one. The pups tumbled down the slope, rolling all the way to the grasslands.

But, true to their nature, they decided to stay and play where they had fallen, officially “settling” on the grasslands.

Everything was a novelty to the young wolves! Be it the colorful butterflies fluttering near their noses, the timid moles peeking out of their burrows, the small wild boar wandering in the sunshine, or the bees waking up in the warmth, busily gathering nectar.

So, when Lin Shuishi finally managed to leave the fragrant wolf den, legs weak and belly swollen, just to get a drink of water and catch his breath, he saw a row of dejected little ones being carried back by a few patrolling white wolves and unceremoniously dropped on the ground. They even got a couple of huffing kicks for good measure.

Lin Shuishi looked closer and couldn’t help but laugh hoarsely.

Each of them was swollen—swollen faces, swollen paws. The little white wolf was particularly pitiful, its mouth puffed up like a balloon from trying to steal honey from a beehive, so swollen that even its eyelids couldn’t open!

Upon seeing Lin Shuishi, it struggled to hide its swollen mouth in embarrassment, but it was so puffed up that there was no way to conceal it.

Despite his amusement, Lin Shuishi felt a bit sorry for them. He pulled out some withered vine roots he had brought back from the ancestral land, crushed them into a sweet herbal paste, and applied it to the mischief-makers.

Seeing the others get this treatment, the little white wolf, after having its swollen paw treated, eagerly nudged its swollen mouth against Lin Shuishi’s face, rubbing and cuddling for more attention. Its little whiskers twitched, tickling Lin Shuishi and making him laugh.At that moment, Fuli was still in the den, panting heavily as he struggled to control himself, but when he noticed that his mate had been out for a long time without returning, he got up and left the den bare-chested. He saw Lin Shuishi surrounded by that bunch of little ones again, standing there helplessly, grinding his teeth.

The man was wild and passionate. Lin Shuishi couldn’t bear it and insisted on escaping outside. He grabbed a bag of seeds and started working to cultivate patches of land in the open area of the forest in front of the hot spring, intending to plant crops.

Worried that the rain might come back at any moment, he pleaded with Fuli, who was full of energy, to take up the hoe and start digging. What seemed like a difficult task for Lin Shuishi, Fuli handled with just a few swings of his arm, effortlessly clearing the area.

There was a patch of thorny bushes on that open ground, which troubled Lin Shuishi. But Fuli, unconcerned, walked into the thicket and pulled out the thorny roots, tossing them far away. Lin Shuishi hurriedly went over to check and saw that Fuli’s skin was completely unscathed, as if he were made of steel.

Jealous, Lin Shuishi rolled his eyes and threw the hoe back into Fuli’s hands.

“Dig, keep digging holes for me!”

Fuli was in the middle of being taught how to create furrows when the other white wolves, who had been watching, came over to help dig. Most of them were older wolves, retired from active duties, who had just come back from soaking in the hot spring and decided to lend a hand. These old wolves were quite intelligent; the depth and spacing of the holes they dug were nearly identical to Lin Shuishi’s demonstration, which greatly surprised him.

He didn’t realize that some of these elderly wolves had lived for over thirty years and had practically watched Fuli grow up.

Thus, in just a few days, the limited seeds were all planted. Lin Shuishi planted one row of chili peppers, one row of green onions, three rows of beans, five rows of potatoes and sweet potatoes, and two rows of cabbage, which a vegetable vendor had sold to him. When he saw the finished product, it turned out to be small-sized cabbage, a variety that hadn’t been well cultivated.

He had some leftover rice seeds, but they needed to be planted near water. The hot spring wasn’t suitable, so Lin Shuishi needed to find a better spot.

After being busy for several days, his skin had tanned a bit, and by nighttime, he felt confident enough to show off his slightly muscular arms and waist, thinking he could finally take control. But the next day, he found himself unable to get out of bed again…

Without him even realizing it, the wolf pack had welcomed several litters of fluffy, still-blind wolf pups. Even the belly of the mother wolf queen had started to swell. The wolf king, visibly gaining confidence in front of his older brother’s absolute authority, now walked with a noticeable swagger.

Everywhere on the grasslands, mothers could be seen with their newborns. One day, Lin Shuishi witnessed a doe giving birth to twins. The moment the fawns hit the ground, they were already struggling to stand, even stumbling as they tried to run. This ability to walk immediately after birth was crucial for their survival on the grasslands.

Amid this vibrant atmosphere, Lin Shuishi went to the wolf spring near the treehouse to wash pelts and collect salt. He was already familiar with the path, and most animals wouldn’t attack him. There was something about him—herbivores found him peaceful, while carnivores found him approachable.

He brought along a few messy, spotted, and soft pelts, feeling a bit self-conscious as he sat by the spring to wash them. His skin was delicate, so he always liked to sit on these soft sheepskins. However, after days of getting wet and drying out repeatedly, even after Fuli had hung them out to dry, Lin Shuishi couldn’t bear it any longer—he had to clean them properly.

At that moment, he heard a commotion from the monkeys up ahead. They were making a racket. Lin Shuishi wasn’t particularly fond of these wild monkeys and didn’t want to pay attention to them until he heard a wolf’s growl and the sound of a scuffle. He stood up and looked in that direction.

The monkeys had already climbed into the forest, but Lin Shuishi, worried that a wolf from the pack might be in trouble, grabbed a sickle and followed them into the woods.

Ahead, beneath the roots of a dead tree, a weak gray wolf was fiercely guarding the entrance to a den, baring its teeth at the advancing monkeys. But the monkeys were agile and used diversion tactics. The lone wolf was overwhelmed and had already been struck several times, with bloodstains appearing on its body.

Lin Shuishi had never seen such a frail wolf in the territory of Dongshan! In this homeland of wolves, their pack was large, making them the top predators and the guardians of the forest.

He was puzzled until he saw a small head tremblingly poke out from the hollow of the dead tree. A litter of newborn pups, with their eyes still closed, was searching for their mother’s milk, whimpering in hunger. It was clear that the monkeys’ target was the wolf pups—tender flesh that would be a perfect meal for the omnivorous monkeys.

Lin Shuishi hesitated no longer and raised his sickle, shouting at the monkeys. He was quite confident that the monkey troop recognized him and had been taught a lesson by Fuli; they were afraid of Lin Shuishi. Reluctantly, the monkeys left.

The mother wolf, still on guard, eyed Lin Shuishi warily as he held the weapon. It wasn’t until he put the sickle away and relaxed, squatting in place, that the wolf began to calm down. The frail, scruffy mother wolf sniffed the air and suddenly froze.

The scent on the “human” was full of the white wolf pack’s smell, which instinctively made her submit. However, the mother wolf had experienced the cruelty and power of “humans” before. She observed him for a long time before making a decision—she needed to survive.

As Lin Shuishi, seeing that the mother wolf was still on guard and feeling that he had already resolved the danger, started to leave, he suddenly saw the wolf, without hesitation, dive into the tree hollow. She grabbed her pups and limped toward Lin Shuishi, only stopping after she had placed all the pups by his side. Then, panting heavily, she struggled back into the forest.

The mother wolf had traveled from a distant mountain range, her homeland burned, and her pack slaughtered to near extinction. As the former leader, she was the sole survivor, carrying the last offspring of her pack. Guided by her bloodline, she had endured a harrowing journey to reach Dongshan.

In a time of peril, surrounded by enemies, she had crawled into a tree hollow on a snowy night and given birth to a litter of pups, losing one to the cold that very night.

Her entire pack was gone, and there were no other females to entrust with the care of the newborns. To protect the blind and helpless pups, the mother wolf had gone three weeks without eating, surviving only by gnawing on the sparse grass and earthworms around the tree hollow.

Exhausted and starving, she was on the brink of death.

As the former leader of her pack, she quickly assessed the situation in the face of imminent danger. The mother wolf caught the strong scent of a powerful male wolf on Lin Shuishi and decided to take a gamble, entrusting her pups to him before using her last strength to hunt.

Lin Shuishi looked down at the small, trembling pups at his feet, unsure of what to do. Just then, the grass in the forest rustled, revealing a lynx.

The large cat had a fierce gaze and a powerful build. It had been watching the lone wolf for days, waiting for the mother to leave her den in desperation, so it could feast on the pups. The lynx was also a mother to three cubs, needing a constant supply of meat to feed them.

Lin Shuishi, having learned some tricks for dealing with wild animals, imitated Fuli’s snarling and growling to intimidate the lynx, locking eyes with it in a direct confrontation.

The lynx hesitated, then slowly retreated into the forest without making a sound.

Relieved, Lin Shuishi knew he couldn’t stay there any longer—the area was too full of predators. Unsure of the mother wolf’s intentions, he bent down and carefully gathered the frail, squirming pups into his arms. After checking the surroundings to ensure no animals were following him, he abandoned the pelts and headed straight for the wolf den.

The gray wolf pups looked different from the white wolves—smaller, shorter-legged, with broader snouts, resembling the puppies his grandmother used to raise, which made Lin Shuishi feel an unexpected fondness. He endured their ticklish behavior as they squirmed around, searching for milk after sensing his warmth.

Lin Shuishi ran as fast as he could, even catching a ride with a white wolf halfway up the mountain. Upon reaching the ridge, he hurried to Fuli, who was busy tearing into the heart of a wild buffalo.

Fuli looked puzzled at his breathless partner, watching as Lin Shuishi nervously yet excitedly glanced around before leaning close and carefully pulling open the front of his robe—something he never allowed during the day—revealing the tiny, squirming gray wolf pups nestled against his chest. Then, he looked up with bright, eager eyes.

“Fuli, look! What are these?”

Fuli raised an eyebrow—gray and weak. He was sure these weren’t his offspring…