Marrying the Soft-hearted Villain

Hearing Elder Xiong's words, Ruan Qiuqiu froze.

She subconsciously glanced at Mr. Big Bad Wolf's expression and found his face calm, his narrow eyes like two deep pools, showing no surprise. He seemed not at all taken aback by Elder Xiong's words.

With a trace of doubt in her heart, Ruan Qiuqiu quieted down and fixed her gaze on Elder Xiong's face.

Xiong Jiankang's gaze was distant, as if reminiscing. He spoke slowly, "I have two discoveries this time. A few days ago, I took the Soul Wood and entered the barrier. I found that the Soul Wood formed something like a protective shield around me."

"I didn't waste any time. Following the experience left by our ancestors, I went straight to the end along the damaged barrier."

"After crossing a large cave, I saw a special kind of purple jade used to repair the barrier. Fortunately, there was still enough." Xiong Jiankang continued, "Everything went smoothly at first, but on the morning of the third day, I was discovered by the special monsters inside the Forbidden Treasure Mountain."

Ruan Qiuqiu became nervous. She saw the elder rub his face and continue, "I had the Soul Wood's protection, so they couldn't attack me, or even see my appearance clearly. But they seemed very unwilling to see the barrier repaired and tried every way to stop me."

"I had to enlarge my demon form and use my body to block the part of the barrier that hadn't been repaired yet."

Hearing this, Ruan Qiuqiu understood why Elder Xiong was so exhausted he couldn't move. Enlarging one's demon form consumed a lot of physical strength.

"During the struggle, I saw the faces of those monsters." Xiong Jiankang looked at Ruan Qiuqiu seriously. "Many of them were only second or third-tier, but they weren't covered in scales like ordinary monsters, nor did they resemble beasts."

"Logically, their strength wasn't enough to transform into human form, but they all looked exactly like humans!"

Ruan Qiuqiu was startled. She frowned slightly, many thoughts flashing through her mind. She couldn't help but ask, "Elder, do you know of any human-led tribes on the Demon Continent?"

"…Yes."

Xiong Jiankang pondered for a moment and said, "The Underground Humans."

Ruan Qiuqiu asked, "Can they cultivate demonic energy?" Besides normal cultivation, humans might also be able to cultivate demonic attacks. Back in the base city, some people had special and strange abilities.

Therefore, Ruan Qiuqiu guessed that perhaps the human-shaped monsters Elder Xiong saw were humans who cultivated demonic arts.

Elder Xiong was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook his head. "As far as I know, there are no demonic cultivation techniques on the entire continent now."

Ruan Qiuqiu was taken aback, her mind a little confused.

"So I suspect that the Forbidden Treasure Mountain may lead to an unknown human tribe that cultivates demonic energy."

"A human tribe?" Ruan Qiuqiu murmured, her heart in turmoil.

Initially, when she learned that this world was dominated by demon races, she had been afraid and had thought about seeking refuge in a purely human-led tribe.

But later, she discovered that although this world was dangerous, with Mr. Big Bad Wolf by her side, it didn't really matter where they went.

Her hand was gently grasped by a certain wolf. Ruan Qiuqiu looked up at him and found a crack in Yuan Jue's previously calm expression.

He gripped her hand with more force than usual, his eyes filled with a hint of helplessness and madness, staring intently at her. "Wherever Madam goes, the wolf will follow."

Ruan Qiuqiu quickly realized what this wolf was worried about.

She felt a little helpless, yet amused, a warmth spreading in her heart. "I won't leave."

Currently, both the Underground Human tribe and this suddenly appearing mysterious human tribe were shrouded in mystery and weren't necessarily safe. She didn't know if they would allow her to bring a wolf, so there was no need to leave.

Xiong Jiankang looked at the person and wolf before him and smiled kindly. "Don't worry, didn't I say I had two discoveries this time while repairing the barrier?"

Elder Xiong's tone became lighter. "Besides the discovery I just mentioned, there's another one. I found that the Soul Wood I brought in before can still be used twice. And in the cave where the purple jade is stored, I found a newly formed Soul Wood, which can probably be used three or four times."

Ruan Qiuqiu was stunned, then pleasantly surprised. "Really?"

"Yes." Elder Xiong smiled first, then sighed. "I'm afraid the Soul Wood has been passed down like this for so many years. It's just that our Winter Bear Tribe lost the Soul Wood back then, so we couldn't go in and naturally couldn't obtain the new Soul Wood."

"If only back then…"

Xiong Jiankang's eyes were a little moist. He didn't continue, but took out the Soul Wood that could still be used twice and handed it to Yuan Jue. "Pup, I said before that I would let you go treasure hunting. Now, that still stands."

"I have a feeling that what happened with the Sand Tribe today was no accident. You should also know the benefits the beast tide brings to the monsters. Our demon race's flesh and blood is a great tonic for them." Xiong Jiankang said, "Perhaps the Abyss suffered heavy casualties in the fight for the Demon King's position, which is why they attacked through the temporary spatial passage this time."

"You must have guessed it already, right?" Xiong Jiankang looked at Yuan Jue's expression and then smiled. "It's good that you understand."

Yuan Jue didn't refuse. He took the Soul Wood, a glint flashing in his eyes.

Mr. Big Bad Wolf and Elder Xiong spoke in riddles, neither fully explaining themselves.

"Alright, you two go back and rest. I'll take care of things here. The Demon Market opens tomorrow, so let's discuss it further then." After Xiong Jiankang finished speaking, he didn't give the person and wolf time to respond, waving his hand to indicate he was tired and needed to rest.

Ruan Qiuqiu felt a little helpless. She placed the small wooden tubes containing healing water droplets, which she planned to sell tomorrow, on the stone table, and checked on Qing Ruyi and Mo Bugui's condition before leaving the cave with Yuan Jue.

It was completely dark outside, snowflakes fluttering down. The night pearl on Ruan Qiuqiu's wrist emitted a soft glow.

Sitting beside Mr. Big Bad Wolf, she couldn't see the road ahead clearly.

Along the way, she kept thinking about what Elder Xiong meant. Why did he say that Mr. Big Bad Wolf had already noticed something? What had he noticed?

The cold wind seeped into her body through her collar. Exhausted after more than a day, Ruan Qiuqiu was tired and cold, her lips trembling, almost unable to speak.

Her poor condition didn't escape Yuan Jue's notice. His night vision was excellent, and he could clearly see Ruan Qiuqiu's pale face.

Tightly holding her hand, Mr. Big Bad Wolf kissed her forehead with heartache, his voice hesitant. "Qiuqiu, do you want to soak in the hot spring?"

Ruan Qiuqiu buried her face in his warm embrace and nodded without hesitation. "Yes."

She felt dirty. She hadn't been able to wash properly at home.

But she paused and said, "Let's go back and get some clothes first."

"I have clothes." Yuan Jue tried to generate heat, controlling the wooden wheelchair as he moved quickly towards the small hot spring where he had bathed before.

Ruan Qiuqiu was exhausted and didn't have any romantic thoughts at the moment. Hearing his words, she nodded, not thinking too much about what he meant by "having clothes," her mind filled with worries about the future.

She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Husband, what did Elder mean?"

Yuan Jue paused noticeably. He controlled the pale butterfly wings at his fingertips, pursed his lips, and said concisely, "That eighth-tier monster is going to make a move."

Ruan Qiuqiu's mind was in a whirl. She thought of the demonic Gu near Ruyi's heart, the terrible wounds on Mo Bugui, the seriously injured red eagles from earlier in the day, and even more, the demon races that had died in the corners. An unbearable rage surged within her.

Many demon races only wanted to live a peaceful and ordinary life, yet it was as if they had committed some heinous crime. Just striving to survive was so difficult, danger lurking everywhere, with no respite.

Being ordinary and weak wasn't their fault.

Ruan Qiuqiu clenched her hands, once again feeling her own weakness and helplessness.

But she had already broken through to the third-tier and wasn't considered weak on the Demon Continent.

Yuan Jue's long eyelashes trembled. He thought for a moment, and a pair of pointed wolf ears appeared on his head.

Ruan Qiuqiu felt a furry sensation on her waist. Following the faint light of the night pearl, she saw Mr. Big Bad Wolf's gently swaying furry tail.

"…Touch?" A certain wolf was a little shy, but mostly worried. "Ears too."

He wasn't sure if this method would improve his little wife's mood, but his language was limited, and he wasn't good with words.

Ruan Qiuqiu couldn't help but smile, warmth flooding her heart.

She didn't disappoint Yuan Jue and reached out to slowly stroke his tail and wolf ears.

The spot where the fur had been missing had grown back. The fur wasn't particularly soft, but it felt good to the touch.

His ears seemed to be his sensitive spot. Ruan Qiuqiu only touched them lightly, and Yuan Jue's breathing became a little heavy.

But this wolf was trying to endure, obediently letting her touch him. Ruan Qiuqiu felt the indescribable emotions in her heart gradually dissipate like dust scattered by the wind, amidst the fluffiness.

Her mood improved considerably. The wolf, no longer restraining himself, wrapped his previously well-behaved tail tightly around her waist and said in a hoarse voice that he wanted to collect his interest.

Ruan Qiuqiu was a little confused. Before she could remove her hand from Yuan Jue's wolf ear, he stole all her breath.

The pale butterfly wings dutifully held the umbrella aloft. Gentle snowflakes swirled in the air, carried by the cold wind, yet they seemed to shimmer with a warm light.

Ruan Qiuqiu soon saw the place where Yuan Jue usually bathed –

It was truly a remote corner. Even though they had moved quickly, it still took them more than ten minutes to reach.

Surrounded by barren rocks, devoid of any vegetation, strangely, at the bottom of the rock wall, there was a unique, flowing small hot spring, about twice the size of their bed. The spiritual energy was thin, but mist curled around it, making it look warm.

Snowflakes didn't fall into the small hot spring, and the water inside looked very clean.

Ruan Qiuqiu probed with her spiritual power and found that the hot spring wasn't deep, only about 1.2 meters, and the water quality was excellent.

She was probably too tired today, her mind a little foggy, as if she had become silly. After looking at the hot spring twice, she actually tugged on the wolf's arm and asked, "Husband, will you soak with me?"

After she spoke, she didn't realize anything was amiss, after all, the hot spring was quite large.

It wasn't until she saw that Yuan Jue's handsome face was exceptionally red, even under the faint light of the night pearl, that she realized something and blushed furiously.

"…" Mr. Big Bad Wolf hesitated for a moment, trying hard to avert his gaze from Ruan Qiuqiu's flushed cheeks.

He took out a clean animal hide cloth and the white fur strip Ruan Qiuqiu hadn't seen for a long time from his backpack. He then magically produced a Fire Warm Grass. First, he moved the wooden wheelchair to the edge of the hot spring, then covered his eyes.

It was evident that he was very nervous, his fingertips trembling. It took him a good few dozen seconds to cover his eyes.

"Husband?" Ruan Qiuqiu called out to him, then saw Mr. Big Bad Wolf extend his long arm and begin to take off his moon-white robe.

Ruan Qiuqiu "…" Ac-actually, she wasn't ready.

But to Ruan Qiuqiu's surprise, underneath Yuan Jue's robe, there was another layer of clothing with wolf fur attached.

Yuan Jue, who usually dressed in under three seconds, took a full minute to remove this robe.

He tried his best to stuff the robe into Ruan Qiuqiu's hands, and, relying on his senses, bent down, close to her ear, his voice filled with barely contained, surging love. "Madam…wear wolf's clothes."

His warm breath brushed against her ear, sending a shiver straight to her heart. Ruan Qiuqiu subconsciously hugged the clothes in her arms, somewhat lost in thought.

By the time she came back to her senses, the wolf had already moved away from her. Numerous butterfly wings appeared beneath his incomplete feet, carrying him as he flew to the rock wall.

He seemed to be demonstrating to her through his actions that he was a proper wolf and wouldn't peek at her bathing.

Ruan Qiuqiu, her face flushed, placed the clean, moon-white robe on the chair. Still feeling embarrassed, she pushed the chair to a corner under the rock wall. Several times she raised her hand, but couldn't bring herself to take off her clothes.

Under the light of the Fire Warm Grass, she looked at her bloodstained animal skin skirt and finally steeled her resolve, quickly taking it off and stepping into the hot spring.

The splashing sound of water was ordinary, but at this moment, in the ears of a certain big-tailed wolf who had covered his eyes and was trying his best to control himself, it was like fatal, enchanting music.

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