Chapter 123 Confrontation and Scalding Heat—Who Knows?
As dawn broke, a few stars disappeared into a hazy white expanse, and the mountain scenery was tranquil and indistinct.
The entire forest was still shrouded in a hazy gray shadow when a cry of surprise suddenly rang out. With the crisp sound of a dry branch breaking and the dull thud of it falling to the ground, the wild sparrows perched on the branches suddenly fluttered and scattered to the edge of the forest.
In the dense, secluded thicket, a pair of cold, emerald-green eyes, their corners lowered, stared intently at the prey lying on the ground.
His fingertips dug into the pebbles on the ground, scratching and digging until they left white marks.
He hadn't done anything before she collapsed.
His gaze remained unwavering as he looked down at the small bloodstain on her knee, without moving.
For him, ambushing his prey without eating or drinking or moving an inch was commonplace.
This is the perfect time to hunt; he should pounce and, while she is still in shock and disorientation, bite through her throat.
—Just like every hunt he had ever done before, this was the wolf's instinct to attack.
But he just squatted there, staring at her with suspicion in his eyes, as if he wanted to tear her flesh apart and dissect her body carefully.
What else is there besides flesh and bones?
He himself did not understand what he was looking for.
All he knew was that it was a warm feeling similar to nestling under a mother wolf's belly, but still very different. The wolf pack had nurtured him, but he was 'different'.
He could find no answers or responses, and only when he chewed on flesh and gnawed at his own limbs would he briefly and bewilderedly experience a moment of intense heat.
He learned early on to respond to that nameless emptiness with blood and pain.
They took this for granted, like a wolf that will die if it stops eating.
But.
His eyelashes drooped slightly, subtly glancing at her left hand that was clutching the hem of her skirt.
That softness seemed to press down on the top of his head again, and his ears started to itch slightly.
This was the first time he had encountered 'scalding heat' that transcended flesh and blood and suffering.
It's very unfamiliar.
It's not strong, but it's like a fragrant bait exposed in the wilderness.
He had a gut feeling that the answer he had been searching for all along was inside. It was this intuition that drove him back here once again.
I really want to—
He didn't know what he wanted to do; no one had ever taught him.
Anxiety, doubt, and hesitation weighed on his heart. He was as anxious as a human, trying to understand the source of his unease and unease, yet unable to shake off his wolfish nature and wariness. The wolf's aggression lay hidden beneath his human skin, flowing in his blood.
He is not human and cannot go any further.
He is not a wolf, and cannot retreat any further.
So they could only hunch their backs, sharpen their claws, and hide in the twisted branches, enveloped by the dark green of the surrounding trees, with only a sliver of eerie blue light showing through.
What seemed like a lurking venomous snake turned out to be nothing more than a brutal, flesh-and-blood struggle within the wolf boy's inescapable wildness.
Qi Tang was a beat slow to sense the faint spiritual energy that was so close at hand. Her heart, which had been pounding violently, finally calmed down, and her furrowed brows relaxed.
She quickly realized that this was not a real deep mountain forest, but rather Leng Lingqi's nightmare realm, where no demons or ghosts would cause trouble.
When she saw that familiar green light again, she wasn't particularly surprised. She just belatedly realized: It's not even dawn yet, what is he doing hiding here?
—Could it be that they're lying in ambush here, waiting to bite her?
The thought flashed through her mind, but she silently rejected it. If that were true, he would have pounced on her long ago. Just now, when she was washing things on the shore, she clearly showed many flaws.
...It's still not dawn, could it be that he hid inside all night?
She placed her wrists behind her waist for support, but did not get up. Instead, she gently raised her head, her gaze shifting slightly as she carefully searched for his expression through the tangled thorns and branches, as if trying to grasp a loose thread and pull him out completely, meticulously, and cautiously.
The branches and leaves were too dense, and it was too dark inside, so you could not see anything at all. He was hiding very well, which was probably as simple as eating and drinking for him.
She thought for a moment, then took out the bird eggs hidden in her sleeve, cracked off the brittle shells, and gathered them one by one into her palm. Afraid of startling him, she squatted on the ground without getting up and slowly moved forward.
She lowered her body as she tried to get closer to him, little by little. "Are you hungry?"
"You can have it all."
She had already stretched out her arm even though there was still some distance to go.
The smooth egg white coated the yolk, resembling little snow-white dumplings swaying in her palm.
She stopped in her tracks.
The wolf boy, hiding deep within the thicket, neither moved nor made a sound.
In this silent, stalemate, Qi Tang faintly heard a 'hissing' sound, extremely sharp and fine.
It was somewhat jarring, but the source could not be found.
Without thinking much, she took a light breath, as if to encourage herself, and moved forward a few more steps, her hand trembling as she reached into the tangled, dense bushes.
In the manner of a timid and cowardly intruder.
That's strange.
He still remembered the sweet, fishy taste on his tongue when he drank raw deer blood, and the toughness of the muscles when he tore into the deer's neck. But faced with the attack of the deer in front of him, he was helpless and could only stand there, waiting for it to charge at him.
In the blink of an eye, the hand tore through the thick twigs and leaves and suddenly appeared before them.
It's scalding hot.
A faint fishy or gamey smell wafted into my nostrils—it was food.
For some reason, he was suddenly startled as if pricked by a needle, his body weight shifted backward, his hair stood on end, and he roared in agitation.
Qi Tang abruptly withdrew her hand, instinctively clenching the finger bone that had been bitten so hard.
Seeing that he was still breathing heavily and roaring, Qi Tang hesitated for a moment, then picked a soft leaf, placed it on a few bird eggs, and put it on the open ground not far from the bushes.
Then, knowing better than to retreat, he hid behind a tree.
—A safe distance from which he cannot be harmed.
He didn't eat, his gaze fixed on her, pacing back and forth in the green shadows, as if trying to alleviate the anxiety that wouldn't go away from his heart.
Qi Tang had no choice but to turn around, sit cross-legged against the tree trunk, and angrily rubbed her face. How could someone as beautiful as her be a bad person?
The Cloud-Riding Dog likes her so much, how could this kid not like her?
She had read through her junior sister's beast-taming manual.
I don't believe in superstitions, I really don't believe in superstitions.
How could she not have a talent for animal taming?
A rustling sound came from behind. Qi Tang pricked up her ears, climbed up the tree trunk and secretly peeked out half of her head to observe.
Just in time!
The wolf cub's hair was covered in grass clippings, and its messy, fluffy hair made it look like a little lion. It was crouching on the ground, holding boiled bird eggs and stuffing them into its mouth, one after another, like a squirrel with its cheeks bulging out.
Surprisingly... kind of cute.
I want to tap it.
She instinctively gripped the tree bark, suddenly remembering his stern, grown-up appearance. She hadn't realized he was quite... well, you know.
As if sensing her gaze, the wolf cub, which was eating, turned around warily and bared its teeth fiercely at her.
It's quite... fierce.
Qi Tang turned around unwillingly and angrily tugged at the hem of her crumpled skirt.
Bad kid.
A moment later, the faint sounds subsided, and the wolf cub hid in the bushes on the other side, turned its back, and stared intently at the other end of the lake.
Okay, I'll ignore her after I finish eating.
Qi Tang withdrew her gaze, put all the blame on Leng Lingqi, and quickly composed herself before tiptoeing towards the cave.
The sound of falling leaves grew fainter and fainter, and deep within the dark foliage, the blood-stained earlobe twitched twice.
After a brief pause, the sound of scraping suddenly resumed from within the wood, one after another, dull and slow.
......
After the wolf cubs returned to the mountain yesterday, Qitang went up and down the mountain to find a lot of food, mostly wild fruits and vegetables. It wasn't until sunset that he finally caught a wild rabbit.
—Such an adorable bunny, yet only one was caught.
With tears in her eyes, Qi Tang finished processing the rabbit meat, marinated it with wild vegetables as a substitute for seasoning, and then placed it in a cool, shady spot in the cave.
Having found such good bait for the first time, for the sake of the greater cause, of course it should be used to feed the wolf cubs.
Now is the perfect time to feed them.
After tying the prepared rabbit meat to the bamboo, Qi Tang quickly ran to a sheltered spot far from the cave to pile up stones and build firewood.
After marinating, the rabbit meat is hung over the fire. Before long, the oil slowly seeps out, congeals, and drips down.
As it sizzled and crackled, tiny sparks flew, and the aroma of meat mixed with the smell of smoke suddenly filled the air, while the rabbit leg gradually curled up...
With her fingertips slightly warm, Qi Tang carefully turned the bamboo stick over, watching the heat intently.
The firewood crackled incessantly, and by the time my wrists started to ache, the sky was still not bright enough; instead, raindrops suddenly began to fall.
A chill ran down the back of her neck, and Qi Tang suddenly stood up.
Dark clouds thickened on the horizon, and a torrential downpour suddenly began. This rain was so unreasonable; luckily, Qitang acted quickly enough to prevent the rain from wetting the crispy skin of the roasted rabbit.
Rainwater pattered down through the gaps in the leaves. Qi Tang bent down to protect the rabbit meat with her body, picked up the soft leaves that had been prepared on the ground, and hurriedly wrapped it in three layers, inside and out.
The amber-colored charred shell was hidden inside the green coat, while Qi Tang was soaked to the bone. She hurriedly tiptoed and picked a handful of large, round leaves from the roadside to barely cover herself, then hurriedly ran uphill with the roasted rabbit in her arms. Rainwater streamed down her clothes, heavy and wet, and the moisture and raindrops drifted into her eyes, making them well up with tears.
She tightened her grip on the leaf stem, trying her best to keep the round leaf above her head from tilting backward. Before the swaying umbrella collapsed, she finally saw the cave wall covered with vines.
She was about to quicken her pace when she suddenly stopped.
She then remembered that a wolf cub was hiding in the bushes, ambushing its prey.
Muddy water splashed and landed on her ankles, and the sound of rain pattering in her ears filled her ears. She looked up at the sky and could only see dense raindrops falling in lines.
With such heavy rain, he should have run back to the wolf pack's den long ago.
She had long noticed that although he had been raised by wolves and had never received any formal education, he was more precocious than ordinary children.
Even though he was unfamiliar with human language and customs, and did not understand poetry and books, the wilderness and the wolf pack taught him a different kind of cognition and wisdom than humans.
He undoubtedly knew better than anyone how to survive in the wilderness.
He would have died long ago if he hadn't exerted himself so much.
However, for no apparent reason, Qi Tang couldn't lift her leg. She inexplicably recalled his stubborn gaze—the way he stared at the lakeside as if he had nails in his eyes and his feet were rooted to the ground.
With a snap, the leaf stem was broken in half by the strong wind, and the round leaf suddenly drifted away, falling down like an endless rain.
Qi Tang hurriedly raised her hand to shield her head, and the moist air rushed into her nostrils. With each breath, the coolness seeped into her lungs.
Only the roasted rabbit, wrapped in soft leaves, remained warm in her arms.
She stopped in her tracks, and as if struck by a thought, she bit her lip and stomped her foot in frustration.
Mud splattered all over her, making her wet and muddy. She exhaled, suddenly turned around, and ran into the rain.
Little did she know, she hated rain the most.
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