I nuzzled in Xie Zhuo’s arms for a long time, and he finally stroked my head.

His palm was warm, his movements gentle. His hand wasn’t as large as I remembered, but the light caress was so familiar.

Almost instantly, I became so excited that tears welled up in my eyes.

I buried my head in his embrace, nuzzling continuously, until he placed both hands under my front legs and picked me up.

“Whose little wolf are you?” he asked me.

I let out a soft “woof,” my voice puppy-like, telling him: “I’m a dog…”

But he didn’t understand at all: “You can’t stay here.”

He said, “Your father and mother will worry.”

He spoke these words calmly, making me feel even more heartache. I struggled in his hands, wanting to throw myself back into his arms.

He also seemed afraid of hurting me while holding me, and quickly set me on his lap. Then I used one leg to support my body, with my two front legs on his chest, stretched my neck, raised my head, and stuck out my tongue to lick his chin.

Apart from acting like a dog, I couldn’t think of anything else this body could do to comfort him.

Xie Zhuo couldn’t handle my frantic licking, repeatedly tilting his head back, until he couldn’t stand the ticklish feeling anymore and laughed once, only then did I stop.

“Woof woof woof!”

I told him, “Smile!”

“Woof woof woof!”

Xie Zhuo, you should smile more!

He looked at me, and I gazed longingly at him. He stroked my head again, and I skillfully nuzzled against his palm.

He didn’t speak. After a moment, I saw his expression sink slightly again as he turned to look at the tent flap.

“You should go back now,” he said, picking me up.

I struggled, calling out: “I really am a dog! Not a wolf! I’m not from your tribe! I came here specifically for you, where are you sending me back to!”

Xie Zhuo, of course, didn’t understand. He carried me to the tent flap, crouched down, looked at me for a long time, then, with both hands cradling my belly, without lifting the tent flap, he sent me out through the gap between the flap and the ground.

Outside the tent flap, many Snow Wolf Tribe members were watching, seemingly curious about the little puppy’s “woof woof woof” from inside. Everyone seemed to be doing their tasks, but also seemed to be paying attention to what was happening here.

“Mother…” a child whispered to his mother, “Xie Zhuo didn’t eat the little dog alive.”

His mother immediately covered his mouth.

I glanced at everyone, pawed at the ground, and rushed back inside through the tent flap.

Inside the tent, Xie Zhuo seemed about to return to sitting on his bed. Seeing me dash back in, he stared blankly for a moment.

“Go out,” he said. “You can’t stay here.”

Seeing him coming over to carry me away again, I used my three legs to jump onto his bed. He came after me, so I jumped back to the ground.

In that moment, I felt a sense of competitiveness—absolutely, I must not let him catch me!

So, to avoid Xie Zhuo, I used my three legs to maneuver frantically around the room, darting about.

Under the table, around the stools, on the bed, I even jumped up and clung to the tent itself. After all this commotion, we had turned the room upside down.

Finally, Xie Zhuo stopped chasing me, not because he was tired, but because I was exhausted. I curled up in his pile of bedding, my three paws firmly grasping the blanket, even clenching it tightly with my mouth, in a “if you dare throw me out, I’ll take your blanket down with me” stance.

After all that chasing, Xie Zhuo wasn’t even breathing hard. He just stood by the bed looking at me for quite a while…

“Very well,” he said. “When your father and mother come looking for you, you can go with them then.”

Xie Zhuo walked to the edge of the bed.

Afraid he might be tricking me, I still held tightly onto the blanket.

But Xie Zhuo seemed to understand my state of mind perfectly. He didn’t come near me, just crouched beside the bed, resting his head on the edge, quietly watching me.

After a while, I let go of the wariness from our chase and released his blanket.

He no longer intended to drive me away, so I crawled over to him again. I used my nose to nudge his face, and he raised his hand to gently stroke my head. My tail began to wag involuntarily behind me.

This is wonderful, Xie Zhuo.

At this moment, this is a joy I wouldn’t have dared to dream of since you left.

I slept in Xie Zhuo’s tent all night, until the next morning when tribe members came to offer him soul power. I lay quietly to the side, watching.

As a spirit, I had accompanied Xie Zhuo watching this scene many times, and I was very familiar with how he looked when receiving soul power. So I keenly noticed Xie Zhuo’s emotional changes today.

At the beginning, he often looked at me, seeming a bit reluctant, afraid the next person would speak up and tell him to return me.

But as time passed and almost all the people offering soul power had gone without anyone claiming me, he became anxious and worried.

He kept examining everyone’s expressions and constantly observing my demeanor.

I guessed he must be wondering if I, too, had been abandoned by my parents, which was why no one was willing to claim me.

To prevent him from worrying, I tried to appear calm and at ease, like a yawning, sleepy dog with no desires or demands from life.

Only after everyone had left and the soul power offering ritual was complete did Xie Zhuo come to my side and stroke my head: “Whose little wolf are you?”

“Woof,” I said: “I’m a dog…”

He was very confused. “Why did you come here?”

“Woof,” I nuzzled his palm, “To keep you company.”

After that day, I settled in Xie Zhuo’s tent.

The Snow Wolf Tribe people never bothered me. Regarding Xie Zhuo’s affairs, they always tried to remain indifferent—not having to deal with them was quite convenient.

But now, Xie Zhuo was causing me some worry.

At that time, by the ice lake, Xie Ling’s words seemed to have quite an impact on him.

It had taken me at least a year or two to find a body with a compatible spirit, and during those one or two years, Xie Zhuo hadn’t left his tent even once.

After staying with him in the tent for two days, I felt I couldn’t let him continue to wallow in self-neglect, so I tried every way possible to draw him outside to feel the breeze and sunshine again.

But as a crippled dog, I obviously couldn’t physically drag him out.

I tried to entice him out. First, I would play with him inside the tent, and when he was enjoying himself, I would run out through the tent flap, not going far, just staying outside the flap where he could see my fluffy feet. I would call from outside: “Woof!” inviting him to come out.

But Xie Zhuo wouldn’t come out.

I would wait a while, then run back inside.

He would stand by the tent flap, looking at me, as if under some prohibition, holding the flap but never lifting it.

“Woof…” I pawed at his foot.

“I won’t go out, little wolf. I’ll stay right here, not going out.”

Since play couldn’t move him, I grew more worried. But as I worried, another opportunity arose…

I was hungry…

Since entering this little puppy’s body, I had learned simple breathing techniques, sustaining myself for many days on the scattered soul power in the world. The principle was exactly like the basics of cultivation, but after all, I was still a dog, and over time, I couldn’t hold out.

My stomach growled, and my mouth felt dry.

I searched all over the room, wondering how to tell Xie Zhuo I was hungry so he would go outside to find me food.

Because Xie Zhuo also didn’t eat, the soul power offered to him daily by tribe members far exceeded the energy his body needed.

I had no mouth to speak with, no hands to gesture. Finally, I looked at the candlestick beneath the candle I had once entered.

I jumped onto the table, grabbed the candlestick with my mouth, and placed it on the table, knocking it around, like a beggar outside asking for food.

Xie Zhuo stood by the table watching me. After a long while, he said: “You like to play with this?”

“Woof?”

Why would you understand it that way?

Xie Zhuo laid the candlestick horizontally on the ground and pushed it away, making it roll far off.

I was annoyed, fetched the candlestick back, and placed it on the ground, clanging it. He seemed happy watching this and threw the candlestick away again.

I trotted over again, tail wagging, and brought the candlestick back.

After this happened a few times, I got angry.

Are you toying with a dog?

“Woof!”

I was very angry, barking with full strength, all three of my feet leaving the ground.

Hearing this, Xie Zhuo’s eyes curved with laughter.

“Little wolf, you’re so cute.”

But you’re treating me like a dog for your amusement!

I was tired and gave up on the candlestick, just lying down without moving.

The tent grew quiet. Xie Zhuo crouched beside me, watching: “Little wolf?”

I whimpered once.

“You don’t want to play anymore?”

“Whimper…” No energy left.

He finally seemed to notice I had no spirit and became somewhat anxious. He picked me up, and my stomach cooperatively growled.

“Whimper…” The master is hungry…

Xie Zhuo held me, looking for a good while.

“Are you… hungry?”

Thank heavens! You finally understand!

Fortunately, he used to like wandering outside, so while he never felt hunger himself, he knew what hunger was.

I immediately responded with a “Woof!”

He looked around the room. Of course, there was nothing to eat here, so he finally turned his gaze toward the tent flap.

I thought he would hesitate for a long time, since no matter how I tried to entice him before, he had never stepped outside.

But to my surprise, after only a brief pause, he picked me up, lifted the tent flap, and walked out.

The wind and sunlight outside finally fell upon Xie Zhuo’s face once more.

The breeze was gentle, the sunlight warm. I looked up at Xie Zhuo.

Seeing the outside sunlight and tribespeople again, his expression momentarily became dazed.

The tribespeople outside didn’t ignore him as before. They looked at Xie Zhuo too, curious about someone who hadn’t come out for over a year.

Xie Zhuo was silent for only a moment, then carried me off to find food.

His steps were quick, not dwelling too much on his emotions. He directly took me to find water, as if, compared to his feelings, he cared more about my hunger and thirst.

“Water,” he set me down on the ground and scooped water from the jar with his palm.

The cold water was warmed by his palm. My tongue lapped water from his palm. The touch of my tongue against his palm seemed to tickle him, making him slightly narrow his eyes.

“Drink slowly, mind the cold.”

Hearing these six words, a familiar feeling etched in my soul washed over me, and I couldn’t help but raise my head slightly to look at him.

In the gentle breeze, backlit by sunlight, I suddenly realized that with the Snow Wolf Tribe’s day after day offerings, he had already grown into a young man. Between his brows, in his bearing, he finally had the appearance I was familiar with…