Author: 易修罗 / Yi Xiu Luo
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 86
Ling Xiao fumbled around with his eyes closed at the head of the bed. After some struggle, he finally found his terminal. It must be said that the large bed was incredibly comfortable, making one forget about time once they lay down.
“What time is it?” he mumbled, turning on the terminal.
Messages from Red Head flooded in, one after another, almost overflowing his inbox.
“Ling Xiao! Where did you guys go off to play without inviting me?”
“It’s almost curfew. Where are you?”
“The instructor is taking attendance! Get back quickly!”
“Shuang Feng slept all day in the dorm and was caught by the instructor. They’re going to deduct his credits, hahaha.”
“Even Ying Feng is not picking up. Did you two get taken by wolves? If you don’t come back soon, you’ll lose credits too!”
“It’s over! I can’t save you guys. Brace yourselves for the instructor’s wrath.”
The last one from this morning read, “It’s morning, and you’re still not picking up. Are you guys okay?”
Damn! Ling Xiao sat up abruptly. He drank too much last night and totally forgot about the off-campus internship!
But where was Ying Feng? He was alone, with only an evident indentation beside him.
Without considering where Ying Feng might be, he immediately called back Red Head. The latter laughed maliciously upon hearing Ling Xiao’s voice.
“How dare you stay out all night during an internship? Although it’s a free activity, did you guys take it as a vacation?”
“I forgot,” Ling Xiao said with a frustrated face. “What did the instructor say?”
“He just said to expect a deduction in credits.”
“Can I rush back now and plead with him?”
“He’s gone hiking. It’s no use coming back now. Wait until tonight!”
After hanging up, Ying Feng entered the room, holding something Ling Xiao couldn’t recognize.
Seeing Ling Xiao dejectedly sitting on the bed, Ying Feng asked, “What’s wrong?”
“We missed the roll call last night and are going to lose credits.”
“He mentioned losing credits but not failing, right? It’s okay if it’s just once.”
Ling Xiao was taken aback. He didn’t expect such words from a top student. Only then did he notice what Ying Feng held.
“What’s that?”
“It’s the juice from wattle grass, which can be used as pigment. I saw it in the garden yesterday and picked some.”
“You’re well-informed,” Ling Xiao said, surprised.
“I read about it in a book,” Ying Feng replied, sitting down next to him. Apart from the wattle grass juice, he also held a wolf’s-hair brush—made from the actual hairs of a black wolf.
Ying Feng’s extensive reading sometimes left Ling Xiao feeling out of depth. But the key point was, “What are you using this for?”
“For a photo later.”
“And after that?”
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” Ying Feng said, lifting the small dish filled with ink. “The Elder Wolf King said that on the second day of marriage here, one must personally leave a mark on their spouse. It’s their ritual.”
Recalling tattoos and piercings, Ling Xiao understood. The marriage ceremony he had missed out on would be revisited today in this manner.
“Are you going to tattoo my face?”
“It’s just for the photo. This ink washes off easily,” Ying Feng replied, dipping the brush into the ink and moving closer to Ling Xiao. “Stay still.”
Ling Xiao became still, not moving an inch, as Ying Feng painstakingly drew on his face, stroke by stroke. Ling Xiao had no idea what he was sketching, but he could clearly sense from his peripheral vision that Ying Feng’s gaze remained fixed on him the entire time. Such dedication and focus, as if the person he was looking at was the only one in the world.
When someone was indifferent to the whole world but chose to lay their eyes on you, even a mere glance could make one feel as if they’re soaring on top of the world. Right now, Ling Xiao felt like he was floating among the clouds, monopolizing all the sunshine. He had persevered through harsh cold and fierce storms more than anyone else to reach this pinnacle.
While time outside moved on, time inside seemed to stand still. The tip of the brush touched the skin, but it was the heart that itched. If time could feel, it would wish this moment never ended.
But reality often didn’t go as planned. After finishing the last pattern, Ying Feng put down his brush.
“It’s done.”
Ling Xiao, still lost in his daydream, was startled. “So fast?”
“Fast?” Ying Feng was puzzled. “I’ve been drawing for a while now.”
Ling Xiao felt awkward, admitting that it felt quick to him, and he tentatively reached out to touch his face. “What did you draw?”
Ying Feng grabbed his hand. “It’s still wet. Don’t touch.”
Ling Xiao, now even more uncertain, asked, “Is there a mirror?”
Ying Feng stretched out his hand, and a small circular mirror floated above his palm.
It was a basic reconnaissance soul crystal, used to see behind oneself when turning wasn’t convenient. Ling Xiao hadn’t expected Ying Feng to use it here. Examining his reflection, Ling Xiao observed intricate patterns, reminiscent of the Wolf Star’s style, spreading from the corner of his right eye. He had never known Ying Feng possessed such drawing skills.
“What does this pattern mean?”
“In the culture of the Wolf Star, it signifies eternity. Although it’s part of a bride’s makeup, it’s essentially a gender-neutral design. Many males have it too.”
Hearing that both genders would have it, Ling Xiao became enthusiastic. “Then let me draw one for you.”
Ying Feng had a feeling this might not end well. “Do you know how?”
“It’s just drawing.” Ling Xiao took the brush, trying to replicate the pattern on Ying Feng’s face.
Only when he started using the soft brush did he realize how unruly it was. How did Ying Feng manage to hold it so steady without shaking and control it so effortlessly? Why was it that when he tried, the brush seemed to have a mind of its own, frequently going off track?
By the time he finished, Ling Xiao was drenched in sweat. Looking at the result, even he felt embarrassed.
“Um… it doesn’t look great. Maybe you should wash it off.”
Ying Feng had already raised the mirror, and Ling Xiao hadn’t stopped him in time, so he saw it.
The drawing on Ling Xiao’s face was crooked and distorted, almost like the warping of light during a spaceship’s jump. The same pattern that appeared fierce and wild on Ling Xiao’s face looked like eels and tadpoles on Ying Feng’s face. If it weren’t explained beforehand, no one would recognize that they were meant to be symmetrical designs.
Ying Feng, who had mentally prepared himself, didn’t comment upon seeing it. He even pretended not to hear Ling Xiao’s suggestion to wash it off.
“Let’s leave it like this and take a photo.”
“Wait, are you serious?”
The Elder Wolf King was taken aback upon seeing them. “My Lord, are you sure you want to be photographed looking like this? Your photo will hang in the exhibition hall for our tribe to admire. This might undermine your dignity…”
Ying Feng replied, “Dignity is not established by appearances. Let it be.”
The Elder Wolf King had no choice but to instruct the photographer to avoid a certain angle as much as possible, capturing the first joint portrait of the Tianxiu Wolf King and his Queen in the tribe.
After comparing his photo with those of previous Wolf Kings, Ling Xiao finally deduced something.
“I know why the Black Wolf chose me.”
People around him became attentive.
“Didn’t you say they’ve known Jing Yu since they were kids, learned combat skills from him, and even idolized him?”
The Elder Wolf King nodded. “Yes.”
“The Wolf Tribe people are generally taller than us. Even the shorter ones have a more robust physique.”
“Jing Yu, being a Tianxiu, is considered petite both in height and build to the Wolf Tribe. Given that he’s a man, it’s no wonder the Black Wolf said he preferred smaller-built males. I’m the closest in resemblance to Jing Yu here. He simply saw me as his childhood idol.”
Realizing this, the Elder Wolf King had an epiphany.
“If he hadn’t chosen you, we wouldn’t have discovered the secret of the Lone Star. The reason he chose you is also because of the Lone Star.” Ying Feng mused. “Everything happens for a reason. Every event that seems random is actually inevitable.”
Ling Xiao sighed regretfully. “I thought it was because I’m handsome.”
Seeing Ying Feng’s stern look, he quickly added, “I’m kidding. Didn’t a lot of female wolves take a liking to you too?”
Ying Feng slowly moved his hand towards Ling Xiao’s neck, intending to teach him a lesson, when a commotion arose outside.
“What’s going on?”
A man reported, “There’s a thief caught outside.”
Ling Xiao quickly slipped away from Ying Feng’s grasp and went outside, only to find the thief was someone they knew. Luoluo looked even more disheveled than the day before, covered in dirt, grass, and leaves. He had been caught red-handed and was brought over, roughed up a bit in the process, with a swelling at the corner of his mouth.
Everyone made way as Ling Xiao approached, knowing well the Tianxiu Tribe’s protective stance towards children. “It’s you again?” Ling Xiao bent down, looking at Luoluo’s hand. “Did you steal food again?”
Luoluo tried hiding his hand behind him, but Ling Xiao caught it. He was clutching a few strands of grass in his small hands. This seemingly unimpressive plant seemed more precious to him than food, and he refused to let go.
The gardener stepped forward to explain. “He was caught in the garden of the palace. We just discovered a small hole in a concealed corner. Smaller wolves can crawl through that hole. He has been using it to sneak in and out of the garden. It’s not his first-time stealing things. This particular herb has been plucked several times before. I’ve been trying to find out who was doing it, and today I finally caught him.”
“But what use do you have for this herb?”
Luoluo still held hostility towards Ling Xiao and hesitated for a while before reluctantly saying, “To treat my mother’s illness.”
So that was the reason. “If you need herbs in the future, just come and pick them; no need to steal.”
Luoluo’s eyes widened, unsure if he heard correctly.
“This is our tribe’s Wolf Queen,” someone quickly explained to him.
Luoluo stared at the pattern on Ling Xiao’s face; it indeed made him look more like a local.
Ling Xiao leaned in and whispered, “I used to steal things when I was young too.”
The distance between them seemed to close instantly. Luoluo no longer found him intimidating. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Was it to treat your mother?”
“I don’t have a mother.”
“So you’re even more pitiable than me?”
“People from where I come from don’t have fathers or mothers…”
Ling Xiao took Luoluo’s hand and walked away, leaving the gardener looking helplessly towards Ying Feng.
“Just do as he says.”
Shachi Bo had gone through great effort to transport the damaged Thunder Wolf mech from a neighboring tribe and had even invited a well-known mech family from the area to advise him.
From afar, upon seeing Ling Xiao with a child, Shachi Bo waved him over.
“Entered the bridal chamber yesterday and already have such a big kid today? Tianxiu people’s pace is as fast as light!”
Ling Xiao kicked him. “What are you up to?”
Looking next to Shachi Bo, he saw another familiar face. “Didn’t you say you couldn’t stand him?” It was the man who had lent Ling Xiao the mech that day.
Shachi Bo quickly gestured for him to stop. “I paid a lot to get him here. Let’s not bring up old issues.”
The man inspected the Thunder Wolf mech from inside out and concluded, “The central intelligence of your mech is completely damaged. The repair cost would be equivalent to buying a new one.”
Shachi Bo had anticipated this outcome, but hearing it still made him sullen. “I’m willing to buy a new mech, but I’m attached to Thunder Wolf.”
“You have two options. Although its core is damaged, other parts are intact. They can be used in your new mech, greatly enhancing its performance.”
“And the second option?”
“Bind it remotely with the new mech so they share a central system. The old mech’s memories are stored in a chip and can be preserved. The new mech will act as the main control, enhancing its performance, but this option is more expensive.”
Shachi Bo caressed the wolf’s head. “Thunder Wolf has been with me for years. I consider it family. Even if it can’t fight anymore, having it as a pet by my side is enough. Let’s proceed with the second option.”
“I must mention in advance that supporting two mechs simultaneously will reduce the central system’s lifespan. If it was originally a hundred years, after the modification, it would be around seventy. Consider this carefully.”
“For Thunder Wolf, I’m willing.”
Shachi Bo reached an agreement with the mech family representative and noticed Ling Xiao lost in thought.
“What’s wrong?” he asked out of curiosity.
Ling Xiao jolted back. “Oh, nothing.”
Looking down, Luoluo gazed at him, equally puzzled.
To divert attention, Ling Xiao playfully pinched his face.
“Where were we? Taking you to see the Wolf King’s palace, right?”
Luoluo nodded excitedly. “Yes!”
For him, that place was full of mystery.
“Let’s go.” Ling Xiao led him away, occasionally glancing back.
If preserved this way, would the Thunder Wolf still truly be the Thunder Wolf?
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