Chapter 335 - 337: The Worship of the Wolves
An Ning took a large steamed bun from the table, placed it in her palm, and crouched down in front of the little wolf pup.
The little wolf pup’s nose twitched slightly. It opened its mouth, revealing a small row of sharp teeth.
The pup’s two front paws finally let go of An Ning’s ankle. It turned and hugged the big, white steamed bun.
The steamed bun was so large it completely hid the little pup’s face.
’If you ignored the fact that it was a wolf pup with a whole pack for backup, it was actually quite cute.’
After glancing at the little wolf pup, An Ning’s spiritual power spread out, leaving the An family’s courtyard and heading for the great mountain.
Her spreading spiritual power finally located the wolf pack searching for the pup on the mountainside.
While her spiritual power searched for the pack leader, An Ning, still at the An family home, picked up the little pup that was busy gnawing on the bun. She then quickly packed the remaining five steamed buns into a cloth bag and ran off.
"Mom, I’m heading out for a bit!"
"What are you doing?! Slow down, you’ll catch a chill!"
A worried Lin Cuihua stood at the door, watching An Ning’s receding figure. She anxiously patted her apron a couple of times.
"She never settles down for a moment. Even more of a handful than your second brother."
Having run a fair distance, An Ning held the little wolf pup and made a beeline for the pack leader.
The little pup in her arms had a pair of big, clear, round eyes that shimmered with moisture. Its two front paws clutched the large steamed bun tightly, refusing to let go. Not only that, but it would also take a bite from time to time.
As An Ning ran up the mountain, she happened to run into Wei Qi.
Upon seeing the little wolf pup in An Ning’s arms, the fur on Wei Qi’s neck immediately stood on end.
"It’s okay, Wei Qi. I’m just taking it back."
Wei Qi’s eyes remained fixed on the little pup as it followed alongside An Ning, completely ignoring her command to leave.
Not only did it ignore her, but it also started barking.
Within minutes, the few dogs that guarded the barren mountain all ran over and gathered around An Ning.
It wasn’t just the dogs; Jiang Xia had come over with Da Huang.
"What are you doing here?"
An Ning continued up the mountain with the wolf pup in her arms. Jiang Xia walked up to her and looked down.
"You picked it up?"
An Ning shook her head.
"I think it followed me on its own when I was coming down the mountain. It even followed me home."
"You have no idea how torn I was the moment I saw it."
Jiang Xia watched the pup gnawing on the big steamed bun and guessed, "It probably likes your family’s steamed buns more than it likes you."
"You’re underestimating me, aren’t you? This is its first time eating one. It didn’t know what they tasted like before."
The two of them chatted idly as they walked. After a moment, An Ning made a gesture to stop.
The dogs behind them and Jiang Xia beside her all stopped precisely, waiting for An Ning’s instructions.
An Ning was already tracking the wolf pack with her spiritual power, and she tentatively reached out to the pack leader.
The pack leader whipped its head around alertly, its ears twitching.
"I’ve come to return your child."
An Ning placed the little wolf pup on the ground and gave it a gentle nudge with the tip of her foot. "Go on, make some noise."
It was unclear if the little pup understood, but it began to whimper.
In the blink of an eye, the pack leader leaped down from a slope and bounded toward the sound.
’It was so fast that An Ning started to wonder, does the Wolf King have trouble reproducing? Is this its only cub?’
’This level of concern was a bit beyond what An Ning had imagined.’
In just a moment, the pack leader arrived.
A low, restrained growl rumbled in the pack leader’s throat. The only thing stopping it from charging forward was the fluffy little ball of fur gnawing on a steamed bun at An Ning’s feet.
Beside An Ning, Jiang Xia subtly shifted his body, preparing to shield her.
"Don’t."
An Ning blocked him, keeping Jiang Xia behind her.
"Brother Wolf King, we’ve had dealings before."
"Your little furball here secretly followed me down the mountain. I didn’t take him."
"Not a single hair on his head is harmed. In fact, he ate one of my family’s big steamed buns, and I even packed five more. For the sake of the buns, let’s not fight, alright?"
An Ning wasn’t afraid of a fight, but she didn’t want Jiang Xia and the dogs who were trying to protect her to get hurt.
’If I were alone, with no one watching, I could unleash my spiritual power and solve everything.’
After speaking, to show her sincerity, An Ning placed the bag with the five steamed buns on the ground. She then took a few steps back, making her unwillingness to fight perfectly clear.
But just as she took one step, the little wolf pup shuffled its butt backward.
She retreated again; the pup shuffled again.
An Ning backed away faster, and the little wolf pup simply did a somersault and ended up right beside her.
"What do you think you’re doing!"
An Ning was desperately trying to prove her innocence, but the little wolf pup wasn’t giving her the chance.
An Ning stood still, and the Wolf King across from her moved.
It strode forward majestically, stopping in front of the pup. It lowered its head and whimpered a few times, and the little pup whimpered back in response.
The two wolves began to communicate less than twenty centimeters away from An Ning.
’At a time like this, An Ning even had the presence of mind to think that humans really should invent an animal language translator.’
The atmosphere was strangely peaceful, but the hair on Jiang Xia’s head was standing on end. The dogs were all baring their fangs, their front paws slightly bent and the fur on their necks bristling, ready to attack at any moment.
Probably only An Ning and the little wolf pup were truly relaxed—one happily eating, the other lost in thought.
The communication between the Wolf King and the little pup must have ended, because the Wolf King took several steps back.
But it didn’t take the little pup with it.
"Hey, hey, hey! You’re not taking your furball?"
An Ning shouted at the Wolf King. She watched as it extended one of its front paws and nudged the little pup on the ground in her direction.
This action gave An Ning a bad feeling.
"Wait, what do you mean by that? I don’t want it!"
Unfortunately, the Wolf King continued to back away, and the little wolf pup once again climbed onto the top of An Ning’s foot, clinging to her ankle like a koala.
As the Wolf King retreated, the rest of the pack that had followed also fell back, eventually standing behind their king.
Just then, the Wolf King knelt in An Ning’s direction.
An Ning’s pupils contracted, her eyes reflecting the image of the entire wolf pack kneeling in worship.
"Just what in the world are you?"
At that moment, An Ning no longer believed the little pup was the Wolf King’s child.
An Ning lifted her foot. The little pup hanging from it held on comfortably, showing no intention of letting go.
After paying their respects, the pack vanished into the mountain forest at the Wolf King’s single AWOO.
An Ning turned her head to Jiang Xia and said, "I think I’ve brought something incredible back with me."
"WHINE—"
"Alright, alright, you’re not a ’thing’."
An Ning chuckled at her own words. Deciding to just go with the flow, she picked up the little wolf pup by the scruff, lifting it high to look it in the eye.
"Let me tell you, I don’t care how powerful your family is. Now that you’ve entered my house, you have to listen to me, got it?"