Chapter 56
Inside the room, after Yomi and Gousheng finished eating dried meat, their little game of house came to an end.
It was at that moment that Anxius opened the door and walked in.
Caught completely off guard, Yomi’s face instantly turned red. “Y-you… when did you get back?”
“…Just now.” He set down the medicine box and the snacks, his gaze circling between Yomi and the little wolf cub.
If Yomi was playing the mother, then it did not really seem impossible for the little wolf cub to be the son.
Yomi did not even dare think about whether Anxius had overheard that part of the act. It was way too socially humiliating… But Anxius’s expression looked perfectly normal, so probably not? Yomi immediately pretended nothing had happened, patted the nonexistent dust off his hands, and went over to inspect the snacks Anxius had brought back.
Anxius looked at him. “Want to eat some?”
Yomi shook his head. “I’m already full. I’ll eat them tomorrow.” After going through the tasty things, he suddenly remembered something important and quickly ran over to pick up Gousheng. “Gousheng knows how to use the toilet by himself! Before, whenever no one was in the bedroom, he was using the bathroom. It wasn’t that he didn’t know how to go!”
That really was unexpected news. Anxius gave the little wolf cub a few glances. Though it still was not exactly lively and vigorous, the little head it was holding up had already lost the wilted look it had before. It looked much better than in the beginning. And perhaps because of playing house with Yomi, even its eyes seemed to have more spirit than before.
Yomi truly had brought this little wolf cub back to life.
Judging from the situation, the medicine he had bought would not be needed after all.
That was a good thing. If the little wolf cub was healthy, Yomi would be happy. And if Yomi was happy, then Anxius no longer had to worry.
That night, Yomi was especially excited. Actually, this was not his first time caring for a weak, sickly animal. When he was little and went to his grandmother’s house, he once found a baby bird that had fallen from a tree. He picked it up and took care of it together with the adults, but it still died after only a few days.
His grandmother had said that since the little bird had fallen from such a high nest, it was already badly injured to begin with. Saving it would have been the miracle. There were not that many miracles in the world. Doing your best was enough.
Back at the market, Yomi had not bought the little wolf cub the moment he saw it. In truth, he had hesitated. He was not stupid. At a glance, he could tell the cub was in bad shape. If he brought it home, he would very likely grow attached to it only to face bad news right after.
But in the end, Yomi still decided to bring the little wolf cub home.
The life of a single little wolf cub here could be treated as insignificant. But Yomi had seen it. He could hold it in his arms like a child. It was a real, warm little life. Yomi felt tenderness for it, so even if history repeated itself, he still wanted to take it away.
Once he was lying in bed, Yomi could not fall asleep for quite a while. He was deeply moved by how much Gousheng had improved, and every so often he would poke his head out to check whether Gousheng, who was “hospitalized” over there, had gone to sleep yet.
Gousheng had not fallen asleep either. It also kept its little head raised, always watching him. Every time Yomi looked over, it would sway its head in response.
“So nice,” Yomi shrank back into the blankets, his eyelashes trembling slightly. “Looks like Gousheng won’t die after all.”
Anxius froze, clearly not expecting him to say that. He had thought Yomi did not understand Gousheng’s condition.
But the truth was the complete opposite.
Yomi knew everything.
A moment of silence followed.
“He’ll grow up properly,” Anxius promised softly. Even if Gousheng really died young, he would think of a way to find another identical Gousheng to replace him.
In his eyes, there was only Yomi.
“Mm! Good night, Anxius. Good night, Gousheng!” Yomi grinned, turned off the light, and happily shut his eyes tight.
In the darkness, Anxius turned on his side and looked at Yomi, his thoughts still immersed in the little domestic game Yomi had been playing earlier.
Spring had arrived, and Yomi’s hair had grown thick and soft and fluffy. Anxius quietly buried his face in that soft hair and inhaled deeply. Before sleep overtook him, he lifted his eyes and glanced once at the little wolf cub not far away.
The little wolf cub had fallen asleep too, making tiny snoring sounds.
The little dog bed looked like a baby’s cradle. For one brief instant, Anxius really thought Gousheng was the child he and Yomi had together…
Holding Yomi tightly, kissing his cheek, Anxius slept especially well that night.
From that day onward, Gousheng seemed to have completely escaped the gates of death. Its condition improved day by day.
A week later, though its leg still had not fully healed, the stubborn little wolf cub insisted on checking itself out of the hospital.
At first Yomi was still a little worried, but seeing that it could basically take care of itself in daily life, he stopped interfering.
Not just animals—even for people, walking around a little during recovery was good for both body and mind. However, the farm was now full of chicks, and Yomi was worried Gousheng might eat them. So every time Gousheng went outside, Yomi followed behind the little wolf cub as though he were walking a dog, taking the opportunity to flip the dried meat and dried fruit in the yard over as well.
Yomi had now started making fruit leather too. Besides the wild fruit gathered during hunting, most of the fruit came from the market. In short, there were more and more homemade snacks on the farm. Life was getting better and better. Prison-break incidents among the prisoners had almost completely disappeared, and those who came back for a “second round” were basically nonexistent too. They had all learned useful skills now and could count as talent. Who would still have the energy to go causing trouble?
That day, Anxius went to town to exchange for a new truck. Supposedly the last truck had been destroyed in the explosion in town. After hearing that, Yomi had been worried sick, and only after the town calmed down again did he allow Anxius to go out—Yomi now believed he was Anxius’s military adviser, which was why the Crown Prince always listened to him!
Karl: Quite true. The Empire’s little treasure had only been found after three visits to the sheep cottage!
While Gousheng was out sunning itself, Yomi was busy fussing with his fruit leather. After messing with it for a while, he turned around and was immediately startled by what he saw over there.
At some point, Gousheng had run over to the chicks, and at this very moment it was accelerating straight toward them… Yomi’s heart jumped into his throat. Just as he was about to rush over and stop it, the next sight left him bewildered.
Gousheng had already reached the chicks, but instead of opening its mouth to bite, it herded the chick that had fallen behind back into the flock, then turned and drove away another chick that had been trying to edge toward the vegetable patch…
Yomi: This…
Was Gousheng herding chickens?
And that really was exactly what it was doing. For quite a while afterward, the little wolf cub showed absolutely no intention of attacking the chicks. Instead, it conscientiously “managed” the flock, promptly stopping law-breaking chicks from approaching the vegetable plot, and even running into the chicken coop to drive lazy weak little chicks outside to get sunshine and exercise…
“So amazing…” Yomi murmured.
Since Gousheng was so clever and sensible, Yomi finally relaxed. Right there on the spot, he gave it the official title of Captain of the Chick Squad, with jerky as its daily wage!
After paying Gousheng its wages, Yomi took some fruit leather and went for a walk near the farm gate. After only a few steps, he saw the familiar dance ant as expected.
His old dance-ant friend had come carrying fresh flowers. These days the dance ant came to play with him every day. It had been watching Yomi hold the little wolf cub and sunbathe every day, and so it assumed the cub had been born by Yomi. The flowers today were a congratulatory gift.
Yomi naturally had no idea what was going on in the dance ant’s mind. Happily, he accepted the flowers. “Thank you.” Then he fed it fruit leather.
This dance ant absolutely loved fruit leather. It ate one bite, set it down, and then shyly performed a little dance.
The prisoners jogging nearby: “Yo, so dance ants can perform for a living too?”
Yomi / Dance Ant: “…”
At six in the evening, everyone who had gone out came back.
Anxius drove back a brand-new gigantic truck. While in town, the top had already been remodeled into the same shape as Yomi’s old secret base, so at first glance it barely even looked like a different vehicle.
Just like before, he brought back several boxes. But the moment he stepped out of the truck carrying them, he saw Gousheng driving some wandering chicks back into the chicken coop. One of the chicks was not doing well and could not walk, so Gousheng simply picked it up in its mouth and trotted it into the chicken infirmary inside the coop…
Anxius’s footsteps paused. Meikai and the others were also dumbfounded.
Immediately afterward, after hearing Yomi say the number of chicks was wrong, Gousheng even turned around to look for the missing one, and before long it really did find one behind a tree!
Everyone: “…”
Anxius’s attention did not stay on the little wolf cub for long. He went over, shut the coop door, and took Yomi inside to eat strawberry cake.
In the yard, the whole group was stunned speechless. Karl carefully asked Yexi, “Do these mountain wolves also have the skill of herding chickens?”
Yexi laughed awkwardly. “Wolves differ from wolf to wolf, I suppose. Yomi is a Snar native too, but there aren’t many Snar natives who are only one meter seventy…”
Lynn, however, did not think it was strange at all. “It’s perfectly normal for Yomi to raise a little wolf cub like this.”
The kind of child you raised naturally reflected the kind of parent you were. Gousheng being so enthusiastic and fond of taking charge clearly came from its mother—ah, no, from its owner Yomi’s personality!
A few more days passed, and the little wolf cub, which could now eat, drink, run, and herd chickens, grew stronger and stronger. There was no trace left of the half-dead, badly injured creature it had once been.
Today was hunting day, and Yomi decided to bring Gousheng along.
Their prey list did not include mountain wolves, so there was no need to worry about leaving psychological trauma on the little wolf. It could simply go and watch with Yomi. This would be a good chance for it to learn how to hunt. After all, most of the others hunted in original forms that were also animals, so Gousheng could study their tactics! Then, when it recovered and returned home, it would not lose its ability to survive.
No one else objected. After all, Yomi had not joined a hunt in a long time. Without Yomi cheering them on, hunting just was not as fun.
Yomi held quite a high status within the hunting team!
This time, just like at the market before, Anxius put Yomi inside a cloth pouch and hung him in front of himself. Favored by association with its owner, the little wolf cub was also allowed to huddle inside the pouch, poking its head out to watch the hunt.
Holding the little wolf cub in his arms, Yomi used the monster’s elevated line of sight to watch the intense hunting process. From time to time, he pointed out his friends’ handsome movements like a teacher and told Gousheng to remember them. Sometimes, afraid the little wolf cub would not understand, he even explained things out loud… He truly worried himself sick over Gousheng.
Yet contrary to his hopes, as the little wolf cub watched the thrilling hunting scene, its emotions did not fluctuate much at all.
Yomi: …It must be because the little wolf had already followed the big wolves around for months and long since grown used to hunting scenes!
After everyone finished hunting, Yomi finally had his chance to make an appearance. Anxius first gently placed him on the ground, then casually set down the pouch with only the little wolf cub left in it.
Yomi pulled out his gun and, without blinking, walked over to give each prey item a final shot: “Super chili water! Spray you!”
After finishing, Yomi turned around, only to see the little wolf cub trembling as it crawled out of the pouch, staring at him with eyes full of worship. Those little eyes blinked and blinked, brimming with excitement.
Yomi frowned, then looked down at his water gun. …Does it like the water gun? But your little paws can’t shoot a gun either.
Gousheng: “Awoo?”
Bringing Gousheng along on the hunt really had some use. After this hunt, Yomi could clearly sense that Gousheng had become a little wilder than before. If a bird came trying to steal jerky and threaten the chicks, Gousheng would fling itself through the air like it was flying, looking as if it wanted to tear the intruder to pieces! Though soon afterward it would limp back again… after all, its leg still had not fully healed.
Yomi was deeply gratified. It finally had some wolf in it! Keep it up, Gousheng!
During this period, Yomi had been accompanying Gousheng during recovery, and gradually also learned more from Yexi about mountain wolf habits… As it turned out, many of Gousheng’s behaviors were things mountain wolves did not normally do at all.
Helping manage chicks, for example, simply did not exist!
Yexi said, “I think that boy Lynn may be right. It’s probably been influenced by you.”
Everyone knew just how much Yomi cared about the chicks he raised, so Gousheng worked hard to help him look after them.
But Yomi understood that to mean something else entirely.
In the world of wild beasts, very few disabled creatures of the same kind ever recover fully, and when a cub gets injured, it almost means death. Could it be that Gousheng felt it was living under someone else’s roof, and was afraid that if it did not work hard enough, it would be abandoned? That was why, even while limping, it still insisted on walking all around the farm every day, and even threatening birds that came near the vegetable plot…
Because during its “hospitalization,” Gousheng had seen Yomi and the others doing things like this every single day.
Even learning to use the toilet was probably for the same reason!
…What a pitiful little wolf cub, living under someone else’s roof.
At first, because Yomi himself had once experienced that kind of life, he truly believed this.
Until the next day, when something happened.
Early in the morning, Anxius went out again. Recently, the town had started selling a new kind of camper truck, and he was planning to buy one back to take Yomi out traveling for a few days.
Yomi watched Anxius leave. But when he returned to the room, he suddenly discovered that Gousheng, who had originally been asleep, was somehow already up. It seemed to know that Anxius had gone. Limping over to Anxius’s cabinet, it started dragging out all the things that looked valuable—watches, gemstone-studded pendants and accessories, and even a thick stack of cash—and carrying them to the cloth bag where Yomi usually sat.
Yomi: “?”
Anxius’s cabinet was never locked. As for those watches, pendants, and accessories, Yomi had worn nearly all of them before when he matched outfits. The little wolf cub did not know it, but the person who used that cabinet most often was actually Yomi himself.
When it saw Yomi come in, it did not look flustered at being caught at all. Instead, it whined urgently, telling him to hurry and hide the things, as if the two of them were accomplices in crime.
“…”
While Yomi was still frozen in bewilderment, Gousheng set its sights on the key to the basement.
To be more exact, it had set its sights on Anxius’s boxes. During this period, the little wolf cub had often seen Anxius return from town with mysterious boxes and put them in the basement. Its way of thinking was extremely simple—there had to be a lot, a lot of money in those boxes.
Yomi was the smallest among all these people. Making money was really hard for him!
To successfully go to the basement and steal those boxes for its owner, Gousheng even stole one of Anxius’s clothes and draped it over itself, innocently believing that this way no one would recognize it. Then it snatched up the key and nudged Yomi toward the basement in a sneaky, dog-like manner.
Perhaps because the scene before his eyes was simply too shocking, Yomi, in a daze, actually let himself be pushed along by it.
Naturally, this attracted quite a lot of attention along the way.
Whether it was Karl or the prisoners, everyone was left thunderstruck by the sight of this little wolf cub, draped in Anxius’s clothes.
What in the world?!
Karl even thought he was dreaming and rubbed his eyes hard.
Then he watched as the little wolf cub pulled Yomi all the way to the basement door, dropped the key, then ran back to the bedroom, grabbed Anxius’s wallet, and came charging back toward Yomi without even glancing aside, completely giving the impression that it was planning to take its owner and flee with the money.
Karl’s mouth twitched. “…”
It felt all too familiar.
Yomi: “…”
…So it really was exactly what he thought. Yomi did not know whether to laugh or cry.
What in the world was going on inside Gousheng’s little head all day long?
Could it be that the day he played house, he had accidentally led Gousheng astray?
Yomi: guilty!
While Gousheng was urgently urging him onward, Karl walked over and asked the little wolf cub with a polite smile, “May I ask—are you attempting a coup?” Taking the Crown Prince’s precious treasure and eloping with all the wealth—what an ambitious thought!
The little wolf cub: ?!
Realizing it could no longer hide things, Gousheng shook off Anxius’s clothing, planted itself in front of Yomi, puffed up all its fur, and began howling furiously:
“Awooo!!!”
Translation:
If a son won’t fight for his mom, heaven itself will strike him down!
