Chapter 315 - 317: I Didn’t Touch It
An Xiaoming wasn’t a bad kid at heart. After realizing he’d grabbed a wolf cub, his first thought was to let An Ning run.
But when he saw the wolf pack surrounding them, his small body instinctively hid behind An Ning, grabbing the hem of her clothes.
An Ning held the wolf cub in one arm, reaching her other hand back to shield An Xiaoming.
"Don’t be afraid. I won’t let anything happen to you."
Regardless of An Ercheng or Du Guijuan’s behavior, the two families were still connected by blood.
No one wanted anything to happen to a child. If it did, the relationship between the two families would likely be beyond saving, even with their blood ties.
An Ning and the other younger members of the family might not feel it as deeply, but Uncle An and An Sancheng would definitely not be able to bear it.
Being protected by An Ning, An Xiaoming lowered his head in shame.
He had thought the An Family were all bad people who bullied his mom, so he wanted to do something to show them that his family wasn’t to be trifled with.
He hadn’t found any opportunities last night. Or rather, An Xiaoming had only thought of causing some destruction or making a mess; he wouldn’t dare do anything truly bad.
"AWOOOO—"
"Stop howling! Your kid is right here!"
An Ning held up the wolf cub. A noticeably larger wolf stepped out from the pack, its cold eyes locked onto An Ning, its teeth slightly bared.
"Your cub is perfectly fine, not a single hair is missing. How about I give it back to you?"
An Ning also used her spiritual power to soothe the pack and protect An Xiaoming behind her. She gently placed the wolf cub on the ground.
"Go on, get going."
An Ning gave it a gentle push. The wolf cub twitched its little nose, but instead of leaving, it lost its balance and tumbled right onto An Ning’s shoe.
"Don’t move!"
An Ning first waved her hands at the pack, which was clearly ready to attack, wiggling them innocently in the air.
"I didn’t touch it! It’s really fine, probably just born and can’t walk very well yet."
An Ning moved her foot slightly and said to the little cub, "You little ancestor, please hurry and go. Your mom and dad are here."
The little cub on her shoe not only refused to leave but also wrapped its two front paws around An Ning’s ankle, making the situation even harder to explain.
An Ning felt that even the Wolf King over there was rendered speechless for a moment.
Seeing the little cub that just wouldn’t be shooed away, An Ning had no choice but to look up at the Wolf King and say, "Why don’t you come over and carry it away?"
"It’s really not that I’m not letting it go. It won’t move on its own, and I don’t dare just toss it."
"How about you come get it yourself?"
An Ning’s words, accompanied by her spiritual power, seemed to be understood by the Wolf King.
The Wolf King tilted its head, and a she-wolf came forward. The rest of the pack surrounding An Ning grew more vigilant, ready to fight at a moment’s notice.
"Don’t be scared, and don’t move. If you move, you’ll get bitten."
An Ning said this to An Xiaoming, who obediently stood perfectly still, even slowing his breathing.
The she-wolf walked down from the hillside, approaching An Ning step by step.
An Ning kept her hands raised and moved one foot forward slightly. The wolf cub held onto her ankle securely, perfectly stable.
"Please, take your ancestor."
The she-wolf lowered her head and gently bit the scruff of the little cub’s neck, not daring to use much force.
But because of this, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The little cub’s front paws clung to An Ning’s ankle, while its body was lifted off her shoe, leaving it dangling in mid-air, whimpering.
It didn’t want to go.
The she-wolf used more force, and the little cub was lifted up.
"WHIMPER WHIMPER WHIMPER— WHIMPER WHIMPER—"
The tiny, milky whimpers were exceptionally clear in the silent forest, even carrying a faint echo.
Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought the she-wolf was the one trying to snatch the cub.
The little cub struggled continuously in the air, but the difference in strength was too great, and it was mercilessly carried away by the she-wolf.
The little cub was returned to the Wolf King’s side. An Ning stood up straight, her spiritual power enhancing her presence as she faced off against the Wolf King.
One human, one wolf. They faced off for a minute, then two. An Ning didn’t yield an inch; in fact, her aura was gradually growing stronger.
It wasn’t just An Ning. Da Huang, Wei Qi, and several other dogs that had followed them were all in a battle-ready stance, waiting for her command.
The law of nature is that might makes right.
The Wolf King was very smart. It made its judgment, realizing An Ning was not to be trifled with. With a howl, the pack retreated. They were gone.
Once the wolf pack had vanished, An Ning finally relaxed and glanced back at An Xiaoming.
"Don’t look at me!"
An Xiaoming clutched his crotch and lowered his head, embarrassed.
"It’s okay. It’s normal for a seven or eight-year-old to wet their pants."
An Ning took off her jacket and handed it to An Xiaoming. "When we pass the mountain stream, get your pants completely wet and just say you fell in the water. Then put my jacket on. No one will know you wet your pants."
An Xiaoming looked up in shame at An Ning and asked in confusion, "You’re not a bad person, so why do you bully my mom?"
"Bully your mom? How did I bully her? Did you see it?"
An Xiaoming shook his head.
"I didn’t see it, but my sister said you all bully my mom. That you’re all bad people."
As An Xiaoming spoke, it all came tumbling out, completely unaware that he was selling out his sister.
It turned out that after An Jing had gone home last time, she often bad-mouthed the An Family to An Xiaoming. As for An Ercheng and Du Guijuan, they hadn’t said anything of the sort.
An Ercheng genuinely didn’t think the An Family was bad, and Du Guijuan simply didn’t want the children repeating things.
She knew all too well that whatever adults said, children might let it slip.
Du Guijuan was thinking long-term. Having relatives like them was better than having none. What was the point of bad-mouthing them? What if she needed their help one day?
An Ning understood. She started leading An Xiaoming down the mountain.
"So, do you think we are good people or bad people?"
"I don’t know. Yesterday, your attitude toward my mom wasn’t good, but it wasn’t that bad either."
"You even cooked plain noodles for us, and there was meat sauce. It was so delicious."
An Xiaoming’s childish words gave An Ning a better impression of him.
"Don’t listen to what other people say. You need to see and feel things for yourself. Don’t let anyone lead you by the nose, understand?"
An Xiaoming nodded, though he didn’t fully understand, and hummed his assent.
"Now it’s my turn to ask. Why did you come up the mountain, and where did you get the wolf cub?"
"I wanted to stand up for my mom, but I didn’t know what to do. I heard the mountain belongs to your family, so I came up here."
"I just kept walking and ended up going too far. Then I saw the little wolf cub. I thought it was a puppy, so I picked it up to take it down the mountain, and then I fell into that hole."
An Ning understood. For the first time, she stopped walking and looked An Xiaoming in the eye. "Wanting to protect your mother is the right thing to do, but sometimes good intentions can lead to bad outcomes. When you get back, I want you to tell your mother everything you told me today, understand?"
An Xiaoming nodded.
"Let’s go. I’ll take you down the mountain."