Ch 66: My Wolf Husband

In the end, the little harpy eagle was taken away by that high-quality male who was eager to adopt an offspring.

Eagles aren’t mammals, so there’s no need for milk—as long as they have meat, they’re fine! Lin Shuishi observed the powerful talons of the giant eagle and thought, “Heh! Raising ten or eight chicks wouldn’t be a problem for it!”

So, the only ones left on the grass were the human babies nestled among the white wolves for warmth.

This was what troubled Lin Shuishi. He had no idea where these children came from—were they forcibly taken, or were they the result of a village massacre? The difference between these scenarios was enormous.

Humans were far more complex than animals.

Maybe you’re not my offspring, but you’re part of our group, so off you go.

Maybe you’re not my child, but I have a natural instinct to care for the young, so off you go.

But with human children, how could you know if they were sold by their parents, abandoned, or if their parents fought to the death to protect them but still had them taken away?

And in ancient times, identifying a child was difficult—there were no birth certificates or DNA tests.

As Lin Shuishi was struggling with this dilemma, Fuli looked at the children and said, “Follow the scent and return them.”

Lin Shuishi was taken aback and looked up at Fuli, clearly hesitant. “But, what if the parents were the ones who abandoned them? Sending them back would be like throwing them into the fire again. What then?”

Though Fuli didn’t fully grasp the complexities of human emotions, he had lived in Rehe Village long enough to somewhat understand Lin Shuishi’s concerns. However, from a broader perspective of life, he didn’t quite get Lin Shuishi’s worry.

“I made sure the young ones avoided unnecessary disaster and returned to their natural paths,” Fuli explained. He meant that he had helped these young animals and babies evade the calamities that weren’t part of their fates, allowing them to return to the course of their lives. Maybe the young animals would be preyed upon after returning to their groups, or perish in natural disasters like wildfires or floods, but that was the way of nature, and to Fuli, it wasn’t something to be mourned.

In Fuli’s eyes, humans and animals were the same—neither was higher nor lower in value. The babies in front of him were no different from the fawns that had been taken away.

Lin Shuishi suddenly felt enlightened, as if a burden had been lifted. He looked at Fuli with a sense of reverence, recognizing the unique wisdom of this being who was so closely connected to nature.

“Alright, then have them take the babies back. But if any of them can’t find their homes because they’ve been destroyed, send them to the military camp. I’ll write a letter to Dr. Sun and ask them to find families for these children. It doesn’t matter if the families are rich or poor; in these troubled times, as long as they can provide a bit of milk and a meal, that’s enough.”

Fuli nodded, pleased to see his partner’s spirits lifted. Feeling a bit happy, he instinctively moved closer, wanting to embrace and kiss him.

But before he could get close, the chubby baby in the red bellyband began to cry, causing the broad-shouldered man to freeze in place and quickly back away.

Although Fuli considered all beings as equals, he had already learned during the journey that human infants were indeed more difficult to handle. Their bodies were soft, fragile, and weak, but their cries were truly piercing, reverberating through the ears…

So, after the snowfall eased, the dozen or so large white wolves each carried a baby in their jaws, following the scent on the children to return them to their respective homes in the mountains and villages. After delivering one, they would pick up another, working tirelessly through the night until dawn.

The last to be sent off was the chubby baby in the red bellyband who had been cradled by Lin Shuishi. The baby was a bit heavier than the others, making it difficult for the wolves to carry, and on top of that, he was quite fussy, which made the wolves’ sensitive ears suffer!

With no other choice, the unlucky “uncle” of the little white wolf took on the responsibility, hesitantly lowering its head to pick up the chubby child.

The moment the baby left Lin Shuishi’s embrace, he began to cry loudly, making the “uncle” wolf want to shake its ears in frustration. Finally, the wolf let out a sigh, tucked the child against its fluffy, warm chest fur, and began to run. Only then did the baby calm down a bit.

The large white wolf ran across two mountain peaks before finally picking up the baby’s scent, which made it quite happy! At last, it could get rid of this “little tyrant”—this bald little human and its troublesome nephew were quite the handful!

The giant wolf stopped by the well-kept wall of a house, which looked quite prosperous. No wonder the baby was so plump—despite all the trouble, he hadn’t lost any weight.

Inside the house, there was the sound of weeping. “Husband, where do you think our Dun’er was taken? Why would they conscript a child for war? Aren’t there enough men for them to take? What could the county officials be thinking?” Little did they know that their precious child had been taken by the old county magistrate as a bribe to join the barbarians. But instead, they encountered the ruthless vine-armored soldiers, who killed the magistrate and took the child.

“Stop crying! What good does it do? Why did you hand over the child before I got back? Now the county magistrate has disappeared, and how am I supposed to find my child?”

The whole family was in distress when suddenly, the iron bell outside, meant to alert them of intruders, rang out loudly. The man of the house immediately protected his wife and elderly mother, grabbing a wooden staff as he went to check outside.

To his shock, when he opened the door, he found a strong white wolf, bigger than a calf, standing there. Under the moonlight, its bright blue eyes glowed, and the fresh snow around it made its fur shimmer even more beautifully.

The white wolf raised its paw, curiously batting at the burglar alarm bell hanging by the door. Each time the paw moved, the bell rang, and the baby in the wolf’s mouth let out a delighted “hee-hee-hee” laugh.

“My son!” The chubby child’s round figure and bright red bellyband were unmistakable. The white wolf, seeing the family emerge, hesitated. The previous deliveries had been done quietly, leaving the children inside the houses. But here, this contraption at the door was making such a “ring-ring-ring” noise! But… it was quite a pleasant sound…

The wolf quickly set the child down and was about to leave, but the child’s mother called out to it.

The family, now holding their beloved child, looked at the giant white wolf, whose fur was as pure as snow, appearing like a divine beast. They assumed it was a sacred creature, a spirit returning their child to them. Fear turned to gratitude, and they hurriedly knelt in thanks.

The child’s mother, being observant, stepped forward, unhooked a string of wind chimes from the door, and respectfully raised them above her head. “This… if the sacred beast likes it, please accept it as a token of our gratitude for saving our Chen family’s bloodline!” With that, the whole family knelt down.

The white wolf didn’t fully understand human customs, but as it hesitated, its blue eyes fixed on the ringing chimes. It felt a tickle of desire—were they offering this to it? Well, if that’s the case, why not take it? And who knows, maybe, just maybe, its mischievous nephew might like it!

In the blink of an eye, the family saw a white blur pass before them. When they looked up, the wind chimes were gone from the wife’s hands, and so was the white wolf. All that remained was their chubby child, still clutching a tuft of white fur, giggling happily…

That night, it wasn’t just this family that witnessed a white wolf returning a child. However, out of a desire to protect their children, everyone kept the sightings to themselves. But in secret, they began to worship the wolf spirit, burning incense continuously. Over the years, tales of the white wolf saving and returning children became widespread, turning into folklore.

Some wolves tracked their way to warm, candlelit farmhouses filled with the sounds of crying children, while others arrived at desolate, storm-battered villages with crumbling wells and collapsed walls.

But the life of a human is full of unpredictability. Who knows if the now-homeless babies, once taken in by the military camp, might grow up to become great generals? Or if the children who returned to their families might, after these experiences, rise to become brilliant statesmen?

At this moment, Lin Shuishi lay by the fire, surrounded by the wolf pack, sleeping peacefully in Fuli’s embrace.

They had decided that after resting, they would follow the tracks of the vine-armored soldiers and confront the so-called “Shaman.” Someone who used vine poison to create armor, robbing people of their consciousness and turning them into fearless war machines, could not be allowed to continue. Moreover, this person seemed to be targeting the wolf pack and committing heinous acts of slaughtering small, sacred animals for their blood. There had to be some deeper plot behind this.

After sending off all the young creatures, the wolf pack cautiously moved to another mountain ridge to rest. When Lin Shuishi woke up, he carefully inspected the wolves, checking for any wounds. If he found any, he would apply Dr. Sun’s medicine, as they needed to avoid contact with the purple liquid to prevent poisoning. These wolves were Fuli’s pack, and not a single one of them could be lost!

Lin Shuishi was watching when he noticed that the usually grumpy “uncle,” who often seemed annoyed from taking care of the little white wolf, was in a particularly good mood today. Curious, he moved closer and saw that the large wolf had found a wind chime, like the kind people hang to ward off thieves, and was happily playing with it.

The wolf would gleefully bat at the chime, making it ring, then cover its big ears, rolling on the ground as if nothing had happened—pure joy!

Lin Shuishi looked up at Fuli, who was gnawing on raw meat near the stone wall, and asked, “Where did that come from?”

Fuli just gave a slight smile and didn’t bother explaining. He knew his brother always found the little white wolf a bit foolish, and now it seemed the uncle had finally found the root of the problem—like uncle, like nephew.

Lin Shuishi, on the other hand, was speechless as he watched the strong white wolf repeatedly act out the idiom “covering one’s ears while stealing a bell.”

The wolf would tap the bell with its paw, then quickly run away, only to sneak back with a playful pounce when the bell “wasn’t looking”…

Meanwhile, the little white wolf in the distance, watching intently, was eager to join in. Lin Shuishi, hands on his hips, marched over, picked up the little cub, and pinned it down to apply some medicine.

The little white wolf had been hidden in the tree hollow during the fight and didn’t participate, but it still had a small injury. Lin Shuishi, with a resigned expression, applied the medicine.

That day, the little wolf had tried to nurse a human baby, and though Lin Shuishi had stopped it, he had too many other things on his mind to keep watching. So, in the end, the wolf had done it anyway…

As Lin Shuishi treated the little cub’s swollen “private area,” he couldn’t help but laugh and complain internally.

“If the kid remembers this when he grows up, imagine the trauma! What a mess we’ve made!”

After finishing the treatment, Lin Shuishi gave the cub a light flick. “Let’s see if you try feeding anyone again!”

The little wolf shivered, squeezing its legs together tightly, then turned to look at Fuli with newfound admiration.

Never mind the baby—just the other day, the wolf had seen Fuli endure being wrapped up by Lin Shuishi, who was much stronger than he looked, for a long time without a word of complaint!

Ah, Fuli really is something else!