And so I remained with the Snow Wolf Tribe in the identity of a dog.

Xie Zhuo began going outside again, though each day he ventured out only to find water and food for me.

I would try to extend his time outside the tent, encouraging him to play a little longer, then a little longer still. Since no one in the Snow Wolf Tribe would accompany him, I would be his companion. Despite my disability with only three legs, it did not hamper my movement.

As time passed, Xie Zhuo developed a misunderstanding—he thought I was the one who enjoyed being outside.

Thus, when feeding me, he would intentionally or unintentionally extend our time outdoors, though he would try to keep me away from where tribespeople gathered.

I thought I was making him happy, while perhaps he thought he was accommodating me.

But none of that mattered. What was important was that I saw those expressions of past happiness appearing more and more frequently on Xie Zhuo’s face.

It seemed he had rediscovered hope for the future.

Moreover, with his awakened mind, he even began planning for his future…

After each daily soul power offering ritual, Xie Zhuo started secretly giving me a tiny portion of soul power, keeping me energetic.

Because of this bit of soul power, not only did I no longer feel hungry, but soul power began accumulating in my body.

I even believed that, given enough time, I might directly transform into an earth dog spirit! That way, I could accompany Xie Zhuo for a long, long time!

When he did this, he did not explain, and I couldn’t ask, so I don’t know if he deliberately planned to help me become a dog spirit or if he simply didn’t want me to go hungry.

But regardless of his motive, I would still pretend to be hungry every day, then take him outside for a walk… or perhaps what he considered taking me for a walk.

Giving me soul power was one thing, but he also showed other behaviors different from before.

When taking me out, he would occasionally pass by where the tribespeople lived. Some Snow Wolf Tribe members would teach their children outside their tents—some teaching them to read, others teaching them to make everyday necessities, and some teaching them cultivation. After all, no one was offering soul power to the other Snow Wolf children.

In the past, Xie Zhuo tried to avoid disturbing these people, and they wouldn’t pay attention to him either.

But now, Xie Zhuo would stop and linger behind them.

Today, watching one family teaching reading, tomorrow watching another family teaching archery.

The adults of the Snow Wolf Tribe reacted differently to Xie Zhuo. Some saw him but pretended not to, continuing to teach their children. Others would take their children elsewhere to continue teaching.

And Xie Zhuo’s reactions to these people were quite different as well.

When some people didn’t avoid him, he wouldn’t watch. When others avoided him, he would quietly follow to watch more.

Over time, I discovered that those he followed were the ones who taught well. Those he chose not to watch, even when they allowed his presence, were those who taught poorly.

I was amazed to realize that Xie Zhuo, at such a young age, already had his discerning standards!

At the same time, I recognized what an intelligent child he was. And simultaneously, how regrettable it was—if only he had parents willing to teach him properly…

I felt sorry for him again.

So, I began… becoming a thief…

At night, I secretly ran to a tribesman’s tent and found a book that Xie Zhuo had wanted to look at earlier that day, but which the owner had closed and taken away.

Then, without anyone noticing, I carried the book away in my mouth.

I had become an out-and-out book-stealing dog!

Leaving the tent, I ran quickly back to Xie Zhuo’s tent, jumped onto his blanket, and began pawing at him:

“Xie Zhuo, you have soul power, you can sleep less, get up and learn to read, I can teach you!”

“Woof…” Afraid of waking others, I only made a soft sound.

“Little wolf, it’s time to sleep…”

Xie Zhuo was drowsy and unwilling to get up. I couldn’t call loudly, and I was afraid that constantly pawing at him would make him uncomfortable, so I went to his cheek and licked it repeatedly until I finally licked him awake.

Without giving him a chance to speak, I pushed the book directly onto his face.

Xie Zhuo blinked, looking at me in confusion.

Why are you looking at me?

Look at the book!

“Woof!”

I picked up the book in my mouth and shoved it into his arms.

Xie Zhuo finally looked down at the book in his arms. After one glance, his face froze, then showed an expression between crying and laughing.

“Where did you steal this from?”

How can a scholar’s pursuit be considered stealing? Can a book thief be called a thief?

I nudged the book with my nose, urging him to read it properly.

Xie Zhuo looked at the book. He very much wanted to open it, but still restrained himself: “It must be returned.”

He said, “Earlier, when passing by a tent, I saw Mu Mu’s mother beating Mu Mu, saying he shouldn’t take things without permission. Little wolf, this is not allowed.”

“Woof…” I’ll return it before dawn, you read it first.

Xie Zhuo lifted the blanket to get out of bed, making a motion to go outside.

“Woof!” I called a bit louder, thinking: After all you’ve been through, you still care about this!

Feeling indignant on Xie Zhuo’s behalf, I blocked his way.

Xie Zhuo stopped in his tracks. He locked eyes with me for a moment. Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the tent flap, spilling onto the ground. Xie Zhuo looked at me silently and calmly, then crouched down. He neither cried nor smiled, his face seemingly expressionless, but he stroked my head, his palm warm, like his heart.

“I will find my way to learn these things.”

He returned the book without disturbing anyone.

The soul power in his body already made him more formidable than many Snow Wolf Tribe adults, and he was still just entering his growth period.

He came back, gently held me, and continued sleeping, as if nothing had happened.

Looking at Xie Zhuo’s sleeping face, I thought of an old saying—that a child’s character at three predicts their nature at seventy—there seemed to be some truth to it.

So Xie Zhuo had been this kind of person from childhood—quiet, enduring, hiding his gentleness and tenacity deep in his soul.

After that, I never played the dog thief again.

I respected Xie Zhuo’s chosen way of life. He could have gone stealing at night, but he didn’t. In the daytime, amidst others’ tacit permission or disdainful glares, he learned all the knowledge necessary for his growth.

He learned to read and would practice writing on the ground.

He learned some combat techniques and would practice alone where no one was around.

He even made me a “false leg,” using a knife he made himself to carve wood, fit it with joints, and added cotton thread and leather, fitting it onto my deformed leg.

As time passed, he learned many, many things. And gradually grew into a true young man, his appearance almost identical to the person in my memory.

And I, having long since changed from a little puppy into…

A big dog…

Yes, although Xie Zhuo gave me a little soul power every day, this was still an inherently defective puppy with a weak body.

Perhaps its life was meant to end at the moment its mother abandoned it. That Xie Zhuo and I, through cultivation methods, forcibly extended this little dog’s life and kept its body healthy until today, was already an act of defying heaven’s decree.

Becoming a long-lived dog spirit seemed unlikely now. I only wondered what form I would take to meet Xie Zhuo again in two or three years when this dog completely perished, or how I would console his grief over losing his little dog…

As I began to worry about the future, changes gradually began in the Snow Wolf Tribe as well.

Xie Zhuo’s growth period had already lasted seven years. As he grew, the Evil God commanded tribe members to offer him more and more soul power, causing many people to develop illnesses due to their soul power depletion.

Discontent toward Xie Zhuo and the Evil God grew throughout the Snow Wolf Tribe, but still no one dared to be the first to challenge the Evil God’s authority.

The situation was even worse for Xie Ling. She had to leave the Snow Wolf Tribe to search for soul power in more distant places. Sometimes, she couldn’t return for a day or two.

Because of this, Zhu Lian had to learn to take care of himself.

Zhu Lian began leaving his tent occasionally. When Xie Ling was present, she would teach Zhu Lian archery outside the tent, enabling him to hunt small animals beyond the ice-snow forest.

When Xie Ling was absent, Zhu Lian would boil food for himself outside the tent. Having little soul power, he needed to consume food daily.

Throughout these years, the only thing Xie Zhuo hadn’t learned in the entire Snow Wolf Tribe was Xie Ling’s archery.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t encountered it; he deliberately avoided it. Similarly, when occasionally meeting Zhu Lian in the forest, he deliberately avoided him, too.

To outsiders, it seemed Xie Zhuo had no thoughts about this mother and son.

But only I knew that he still very much wanted to be close to Xie Ling, still very much envied Zhu Lian.

Because… I saw him occasionally stop at a distance, his gaze fixed on Xie Ling’s tent.

Sometimes he could see Xie Ling, sometimes not, with only Zhu Lian there.

Compared to Xie Zhuo, Zhu Lian appeared shorter and thinner, with a pale complexion. If they were brothers, he would look more like a constantly bullied younger brother.

When Xie Ling was absent, Snow Wolf Tribe members would show concern for Zhu Lian, either giving him food or offering verbal comfort.

These were things Xie Zhuo had never received.

Whenever this happened, I could see disappointment in Xie Zhuo’s eyes.

In the past, I would joke around and distract Xie Zhuo, but later on, I became more respectful of his moments of sadness.

I knew these situations were unavoidable. If the little dog’s physical body disappeared and I couldn’t find another body for a while, Xie Zhuo would have to face these things on his own.

He would need to manage his emotions himself.

He handled them very well.

He would feel envy and disappointment, but soon turn his head and continue on his own path, or bend down to stroke my head.

I couldn’t guarantee that I would always comfort him, but I could guarantee that when he turned his gaze to me, I would always be looking at him, always watching him.

He was always in my eyes.

Then I would see the expression in Xie Zhuo’s obsidian-like eyes change from confusion to gentleness.

“Little wolf,” Xie Zhuo stroked my head.

My tail instinctively wagged behind me.

“Let’s go walk by the ice lake,” he said.

“Woof,” I responded calmly.

Just like that, without more words, his mood seemed to find peace.

We walked on the ice lake, and Xie Zhuo’s emotions had already become quite calm.

I watched him at his side, often wondering, if I were Xie Zhuo, what would I become?

I probably… would hate this world thoroughly.

But amazingly, Xie Zhuo went in another direction.

He received so little attention that even the tiny bit I gave him, even just from a dog, satisfied him. He took that warmth and placed it deep in his heart, forging an inner self that was both resilient and gentle.

Whereas I, in the past, had almost destroyed that heart…

“Little wolf,” Xie Zhuo called me.

I looked up at him. He seemed to have just regulated his breathing, and soul power had gathered in his palm.

Every day was like this—he would gather soul power himself and give it to me.

I looked up, ready to receive it quietly.

Just then, from a distance came the sound of an arrow cutting through the air. I turned to look and saw the arrow coming straight at me. Xie Zhuo, with one hand giving me soul power, used his other hand to grab the arrow shaft in mid-air.

The arrowhead had already touched my dog’s nose; I was so frightened I couldn’t