Ch 53: My Wolf Husband

At the break of dawn, Fuli reverted to his human form and returned to the den. As soon as he entered, he saw his little companion, Lin Shuishi, nestled among the soft wolf fur that had been sheared from his belly. In his hand, Lin Shuishi still clutched a half-finished spool of silver-white yarn.

Fuli sighed, gently extracting Lin Shuishi from the pile of fur and cradling him in his arms.

Still deep in sleep, Lin Shuishi was lost in his dreams. His restless night was filled with unease after hearing the commotion from the group of people down the mountain the previous evening. But as he suddenly felt warm and secure, he finally drifted into a deep sleep.

It wasn’t until the midday sun streamed into the cave-turned-room that Lin Shuishi stretched and opened his eyes. However, he found his arm unable to fully extend. Looking up, he saw that Fuli had already reverted to his human form and was now lying behind him, holding him close—completely naked.

Basking in the warmth of the sunlight, Lin Shuishi gazed at him for a while before freeing his arm from under Fuli’s. With a playful grin, he reached up to pinch Fuli’s prominent nose, twisting it as he giggled.

Since they were in the safety of their den and by his mate’s side, Fuli had been sleeping soundly. But the nose-pinching rudely woke him up. As soon as his golden eyes opened, Lin Shuishi pounced on him, showering his handsome face with kisses.

Any hint of grogginess was quickly dispelled as Fuli caught hold of his slippery little companion, his chest rumbling with a deep, beastly growl. He lowered his head and began to playfully nibble on the back of Lin Shuishi’s neck.

Just as the two of them were getting lost in their playful exchange, the loud, high-pitched howl of the wolf king echoed from outside. Fuli immediately paused, but Lin Shuishi, wiping the drool from his body, handed Fuli the sweater to put on.

However, as he glanced downward at the man’s lower body, something made him do a double-take. Lin Shuishi rubbed his eyes, feeling confused, and looked again.

“?” “!”

Fuli, hearing the sound of the call, was about to leave the den but noticed his little companion standing there in a daze, holding the sweater and some fur, eyes fixed in a bewildered stare at his lower body. With a smirk, Fuli clicked his tongue, stepped forward, and playfully pinched Lin Shuishi’s cheeks before swiftly taking the clothes and heading out.

This left Lin Shuishi alone in the den, silently staring at the basket of silver-soft wolf fur he had treasured so much. The night before, he had been so happy, pressing his face into that pile of fur, thinking it was wonderful…

(T/N: our ML is now bald down there 🤡)

While Lin Shuishi was lost in his thoughts inside the den, outside, the wolf king was going wild on the mountain ridge! The reason? His mate had just given birth. The wolf queen had conceived in early winter and had given birth during the warmth of spring.

Although the white wolf clan was powerful and wise, nature is always fair. Their kind could live up to forty to fifty years, but they matured very late, and their prime reproductive years were only a few. The adolescent white wolf pups were the first litter of the wolf king and his mate.

But the wolf king was firmly convinced that this litter of pups was utterly hopeless! The little white wolf who showed promise as a leader turned out to be a pampered little fool, so the wolf king was eager to have another litter as soon as possible, hoping for a suitable heir to lead the pack.

A white wolf king typically requires over a decade of training and nurturing, so there’s no time to waste!

Fuli watched his excitedly bouncing “brother” without saying a word and casually tossed a stone…

The stone wasn’t thrown with much force—it was a childhood prank they often played—but the wolf king, being overly excited, slipped and failed to dodge it, even tumbling off the large stone platform.

Fuli let out a light snort, “Pathetic!”

Still, the continuation of the pure white wolf bloodline pleased Fuli. He walked over to the wolf king’s den, took a glance inside from the entrance, and then left. No matter how close they were, a newly birthed mother wolf was always cautious and prone to a bad temper. Look at those half-grown wolves that got chased out—that was proof enough.

With his mother giving birth again, the little white wolf was officially homeless, so it had to find a cozy spot on the warm mountainside and start digging its own den. This marked its transition out of childhood, meaning it could gradually join the patrols, though it was still too early to start hunting.

Finally recovering from his morning shock, Lin Shuishi awkwardly started a fire outside the den to cook breakfast. Noticing something unusual about the wolf king, he asked and learned that the pups had been born! So, he specially prepared a pot of light broth to help the mother wolf produce milk.

As he busied himself, Fuli stood nearby watching, occasionally glancing discreetly at Lin Shuishi’s belly. Meanwhile, due to certain unmentionable morning events, Lin Shuishi kept glancing at Fuli’s lower half! This went on all morning before things finally settled down.

Besides making the meat broth, Lin Shuishi also wanted to try making fish soup. The fish that the little white wolf had brought him as a bribe the other day was plump and full of roe, resembling herring, and it tasted delicious!

Taking advantage of the warm midday sun, Lin Shuishi used some fine vines from behind the mountain to weave a net and called Fuli to go with him to the river near the wolf pack’s territory, where the little black bear was hanging out.

For some reason, the mother bear hadn’t taken the little black bear away, but with the abundant food by the river and its voracious appetite, the little bear had become quite adept at fishing. Not only had it not lost weight, but it had also grown even rounder.

From a distance, Lin Shuishi could already see the little bear diving headfirst into the water, kicking its tiny black legs at the surface. Before long, the little bear resurfaced with a sizeable fish in its mouth, chomping down on it with loud crunches.

Recently, the little white wolf had been busy digging its den and hadn’t had time to play with the young bear. Now, seeing Lin Shuishi, the bear immediately dropped the fish it was chewing on and waddled over to him, shaking off water as it ran, splashing it everywhere.

Lin Shuishi patted the little bear that had splashed water all the way to his face. He couldn’t help but think, “This little guy is definitely a natural swimmer!” In no time, its fur was almost dry again.

The midday sun was scorching, so Lin Shuishi rolled up his sleeves and approached the now fully thawed riverbank. This river, unlike the warm springs fed by underground hot springs, was formed from the melting snow of the high-altitude peaks of the Dongshan Mountain range. By the time it flowed here, it had become quite a spectacle.

In the spring, the herds also needed to cross this wide and fast-flowing river. However, the part of the river where Lin Shuishi stood was a branch of the main river. The water here was much calmer and shallower, and with the sunlight, it warmed up quickly. This made it an ideal spot for many fish to spawn and reproduce.

On the western bank, there was a small island in the middle of the river, a rocky shoal that protruded from the lake. Beneath the shoal were crevices where fish eggs were stored, attracting a large number of fish to compete for space.

Lin Shuishi found it difficult to catch anything from the riverbank. So, standing in Fuli’s shadow, he looked up at him, blinking playfully, and then tilted his head toward the rocky shoal in the river.

Fuli wasn’t too fond of getting wet in the cold water and was worried that Lin Shuishi might catch a chill, despite the pleasant sunshine. The recently thawed river still carried a chill.

To Lin Shuishi’s surprise, Fuli, who usually indulged his every request, didn’t comply this time. Instead, he picked up a long tree branch and stood motionless by the riverbank. Just as Lin Shuishi was about to give up and try his luck with another attempt at catching fish, Fuli suddenly raised his arm, hurling the branch with a swift motion into the water.

Lin Shuishi watched as the branch stood upright in the water, unwavering. Fuli nudged the little black bear with his foot, and without hesitation, the bear plunged into the river, paddling toward the branch.

In no time, the little bear was dragging itself and the branch back to the shore. Lin Shuishi saw that a large salmon had been speared on the end of the branch, perfectly impaled through the head without damaging the body.

Turning back, Lin Shuishi saw Fuli’s face illuminated by the shimmering reflections of the river, and he couldn’t help but give him a thumbs up in admiration!

But when Fuli tilted his head and noticed the little fist Lin Shuishi had raised in front of him, he smiled knowingly and leaned in to give it a kiss. Lin Shuishi, a bit embarrassed, explained, “I wasn’t asking for a kiss—I was just saying you’re amazing.”

Understanding now, Fuli nodded and made a mental note of the gesture. Then he bent down, picked up the meter-long salmon, and placed it in Lin Shuishi’s vine net before heading back to the mountain. Lin Shuishi was thrilled the entire way! The river not only had fish, but there were likely mussels, snails, and small shrimp too. He decided that in the summer, he would catch more to pickle and store for winter.

It’s the perfect season for sturgeon, with its belly full of high-quality, nutritious, and delicious roe. Lin Shuishi scooped out a small bowl of roe, shared some with the wolf cubs in the pack, and brought a bowl of it along with fish soup to the wolf king’s den.

Surprisingly, Lin Shuishi was allowed by the mother wolf to take a look inside. In the warm, cozy, and snug wolf den, he saw a litter of newborn wolf pups. Even though these were newly born white wolf pups, they were already significantly larger than the gray wolf pups—a clear example of the vast genetic differences between species.

When Lin Shuishi carefully exited the den, Fuli asked, “How many?”

Lin Shuishi slapped his forehead, realizing he hadn’t counted, but estimated there were around ten. Hearing this, Fuli seemed to have a clear understanding, though his eyes remained deep and contemplative, as if pondering something.

As night fell, Fuli seemed eager to bring his companion back to their den. However, seeing the wolf king, who had just sired a litter and was still patrolling the mountains, Lin Shuishi felt a pang of sympathy. He tugged at Fuli.

“How about you take over for him? The mother wolf might need him, right?”

Fuli frowned, sighed, then scooped up Lin Shuishi and strode purposefully toward their den.

“The mother wolf doesn’t need him. You need me more.”

…

On the sixteenth night, the moon was even fuller than on the fifteenth, casting a brighter light across the landscape. It was well past midnight, and Lin Shuishi was breathing heavily, feeling a bit drowsy. But as he looked out at the sky from the cave, he remembered the dream he had the previous night and felt a wave of anxiety.

Lin Shuishi turned over several times, unable to sleep as he burrowed in Fuli’s embrace. Noticing this, Fuli opened his golden eyes and looked at him intently.

“Fuli, let’s go down to the mountain where we were last time!”

Lin Shuishi continued, “Last time, you were in your beast form, and I wasn’t stable either. Now that you’ve returned to human form, it’s the right time to investigate and see if those people were just passing through or if they had other intentions. We should be prepared and not caught off guard.”

Fuli, looking at the small creature clutching his arm, thought for a moment. Then he got up, dressed Lin Shuishi, and carried him as they headed down the mountain, following the same path as the night before.

In his human form, Fuli was slower than in his beast form, but it had the advantage of being less conspicuous. Before they left, Lin Shuishi made sure they both looked like hunters, even going so far as to have Fuli carry the heavy bow that had been left behind by Shui Ge’er’s father, to better blend in.

So, when the two of them appeared on the small path at the foot of Dongshan, they looked like a hunter and his husband returning home after a successful hunt. To make it more convincing, Lin Shuishi even had Fuli catch a rabbit to hang at his waist.

They walked for a while without seeing a single person, and just as Lin Shuishi was beginning to relax and thinking about heading back to the mountain, they suddenly saw a line of torches approaching from a distance, illuminating the forest brightly.

Before Lin Shuishi could say anything, someone from the group shouted at them, “Halt! Who goes there?”

Seeing the other party initiate contact, Lin Shuishi led Fuli out of the forest.

Their appearance reassured the group somewhat. “Where did you hunters come from? The government has banned hunting in the mountains at night! Come out with your husband!”

Seeing that these people were just ordinary soldiers, Lin Shuishi felt a bit more at ease, but still cautiously kept himself and Fuli in the shadows.

“Officer, we’re from a nearby mountain village. My man and I went hunting, but we got lost in the dark. Could you please point us in the right direction so we can head back?”

The sky was quite dark, and the soldiers, with their limited night vision, didn’t notice Fuli’s unusual eyes, assuming him to be just a burly hunter.

After checking their story for a while, the soldiers finally let them go, but added, “Don’t take any mountain paths for now. The area is being sealed off, and all side paths are closed. You don’t want to be mistaken for barbarian spies and end up losing your head!”

Reading between the lines, Lin Shuishi understood that the current situation wasn’t very stable. However, asking too many questions might raise suspicion, so after confirming that these people were there to seal off the roads, he and Fuli quickly made their way back.

On the way back up the mountain, Lin Shuishi frowned in thought. It might be a good idea to visit the county town soon, first to assess the current situation—because when a nest is overturned, no egg is left unbroken. And if everything is fine, they could also stock up on grains and spices.

The next day, Lin Shuishi rummaged through their things and pulled out the few pieces of silver they had earned from selling animal pelts. Fuli, seeing his companion holding the silver with such fondness, even playfully bit one with his small teeth, raised an eyebrow.

To his formidable companion who could “eat iron,” Fuli gave a big thumbs up…