Marrying the Soft-hearted Villain

The night sky was devoid of light. Snowflakes danced in the cold wind, rustling through the snow-laden branches.

The animal hide wrapped around the torch in Ruan Qiuqiu's hand was almost completely burned, leaving only a bare stick stubbornly ablaze.

The small, flickering flame provided a meager light for them as they neared exhaustion.

Ruan Qiuqiu was once again grateful for the special wood in Mr. Big Bad Wolf's cave, which hadn't been extinguished by the considerable wind and snow.

And finally, just as the torch was about to die out, she managed to support Mr. Food Reserve back to their cave.

Fortunately, although they heard occasional animal roars along the way, they encountered no dangers other than stones and the blizzard.

The burning wood in the stone stove hadn't gone out, and the snow water had just melted.

Ruan Qiuqiu struggled to help the wolf into the "master bedroom," lifted the animal hide on the stone bed, and with her last ounce of strength, managed to get Mr. Big Bad Wolf onto it.

Then, collapsing onto a stone stool beside the bed, Ruan Qiuqiu felt like her nose was about to freeze off.

She paused for a few seconds before slowly standing up.

Ruan Qiuqiu placed the extinguished torch, which had almost burned her hand, into the stone stove. She filled two wooden bowls with hot water to cool and poured the remaining hot water into a wooden basin, replacing it with another basin of snow to melt.

As she neared the warmth of the fire, Ruan Qiuqiu shivered uncontrollably. Her knees and palms began to burn and itch.

But she ignored this, drawing the curtain of the "master bedroom" and placing the stone stool against it to block the incoming wind.

Ruan Qiuqiu rubbed her hands and arms vigorously to stop them from trembling so much. Then, by the light of the cave, she began to examine Mr. Food Reserve's injuries.

Upon seeing them, Ruan Qiuqiu's eyes reddened.

She had known since she arrived that Mr. Big Bad Wolf was seriously injured.

But she always believed she could heal him.

Yet, in just two days, Mr. Big Bad Wolf's condition had worsened instead of improving.

After removing the black animal hide clothing, Mr. Big Bad Wolf's back, burned and corroded by venom, was exposed.

Scattered black spots, along with the bleeding wounds, marred the wolf's once smooth back.

Ruan Qiuqiu took a deep breath, glancing at the two scars on his cheek and his chipped ear, her heart aching.

Without delay, she treated his wounds with trembling hands. Then, circulating the water-based spiritual energy within her body, she condensed a drop of water into the slightly cooled wooden bowl and tried to feed it to him.

Perhaps due to the pain, Mr. Big Bad Wolf struggled even to drink, managing only a small portion of the bowl.

As he drank, his ears trembled continuously.

Ruan Qiuqiu bit her lip, not disgusted that he had soiled another animal hide. Silently, she wiped the face of the almost-frozen wolf.

For disinfection, she added another drop of healing water to the water.

With the dirt and snow wiped away, Mr. Big Bad Wolf's handsome face was revealed.

However, his once bewitchingly handsome face was now truly disfigured.

With the addition of two more scars and some black spots, he looked truly pitiful and ugly.

Ruan Qiuqiu carefully reached out, her warm fingertips touching the black spots on his cheek.

To her surprise, the black spots seemed to sense her presence. As she poked them, they moved aside.

Ruan Qiuqiu: "…………？?" What was going on?

Why were the black spots, suspected to be toxins, moving on Mr. Big Bad Wolf's face?

Ruan Qiuqiu found it strange. Recalling the terrifyingly rapid spread of these black spots in the snow and the slain monster lying there, she made a bold guess—

Could it be that Mr. Big Bad Wolf had fought a monster and been invaded by its toxins and demonic energy, resulting in these black spots?

Ruan Qiuqiu wasn't sure if her guess was correct, but if it were, and if the healing effect of her mutated water ability could counteract the demonic energy, then everything would make sense.

If that was the case, to help Mr. Big Bad Wolf recover quickly, she had to feed him more water drops.

After yesterday afternoon's cultivation, she could now produce more water drops, about seven or eight healing drops a day. However, she had used them all up.

Ruan Qiuqiu sighed. She felt a throbbing pain in her head. Her hands and feet were warm, but her body was cold, much like the onset of a cold.

But she knew she absolutely couldn't get sick.

Tianluo, Mr. Grey Wolf, was already so badly injured. If she were to fall ill with a fever, they would both be in dire straits.

Ruan Qiuqiu, fighting off fatigue, decided to cook something.

When hungry, one's resistance is weak. Even with limited food, now was not the time to conserve.

Ruan Qiuqiu shuddered, took out a palm-sized piece of dried meat, sliced most of it into thin strips, and put it into the pot to boil.

She added a small piece of salt stone and, pushing herself, condensed half a drop of water into the stone pot.

She would cook some meat for the wolf first.

According to her memory, most demons in this world were carnivorous. Although they could survive on a vegetarian diet, the nutrition it provided was far less than that of meat.

Previously, thinking the snow might last a while and needing to conserve food, she had been very stingy.

But now it seemed that food could be hunted and stored, but if the wolf was gone, he was truly gone.

She didn't know what her feelings were for Mr. Big Bad Wolf, but one thing was certain—

She didn't want to lose him.

…

While the meat cooked, Ruan Qiuqiu looked at the objects clutched in Mr. Big Bad Wolf's hands, trying to pry open his large paws.

He held trophies from his monster hunt in both hands. In one, a sharp, claw-like object attached to a small bone; in the other, a small tuft of red fluff of unknown purpose.

Ruan Qiuqiu tried to pry open Mr. Big Bad Wolf's pale hands with her own, which were as purple as frozen carrots, but despite several attempts, the wolf's grip remained tight.

She was both relieved that Mr. Big Bad Wolf was still so strong even while unconscious and worried at the same time.

These were likely trophies from his monster hunt. Perhaps he had maintained his human form in the snow to hold onto them.

Seeing the meat in the pot was almost cooked, Ruan Qiuqiu sat by the stone bed, looked at the dark circles under the wolf's eyes, and softly called, "Mr. Food Reserve."

As her voice fell, the fur on the tip of Mr. Big Bad Wolf's good ear twitched, as if he had heard her.

Ruan Qiuqiu's heart stirred. She called him again, "Mr. Food Reserve."

"Husband…"

"Can you let go?"

Ruan Qiuqiu didn't know if he heard, but the next time she tried to pry open his paws, the big wolf seemed to give up the struggle and released his grip.

Ruan Qiuqiu's heart softened a little more. She opened his much larger hand and saw Mr. Big Bad Wolf's hunting spoils.

A monster bone with a sharp claw, a small tuft of beautiful red fluff, and a light blue… magic core??

Ruan Qiuqiu thought she was mistaken. She looked again, more carefully, picking up the "magic core" and examining it several times. She confirmed that the light blue object, although resembling a "crystal core" from mutated beasts in the apocalypse, wasn't one. Instead, it was something with ten times more energy.

Considering the monster he had defeated, Ruan Qiuqiu concluded that it was likely a demon core.

And it was a water-type demon core of a much higher rank than her own.

Why hadn't he absorbed it?

Was it because he wasn't a water-type? Or because…

He wanted to give it to her?

Ruan Qiuqiu looked at the translucent demon core in her hand, stained with blood, unsure how to feel.

Before marrying him, she had often heard that the Flame Wolf Tribe's leader was a vicious, perverted tyrant. Demons said he was vengeful, unfeeling, and prone to violence.

But in her time with him, apart from their frightening first encounter, he had either been lying unconscious or fighting.

She hadn't seen any of his supposed cruelty or brutality.

Ruan Qiuqiu clutched the demon core, a plan forming in her mind.

--The meat cooked quickly. Ruan Qiuqiu scooped it out, shredded it, mixed it with the broth, and prepared Mr. Big Bad Wolf's meal.

This time, Mr. Food Reserve wasn't cooperative, and Ruan Qiuqiu spent a good while getting him to eat the fragrant meat.

Perhaps because of the food, his complexion improved slightly.

Ruan Qiuqiu then added some tuber flour, intending to eat it herself later.

As she drank the meat-flavored tuber soup, she felt a pang of sadness.

In the apocalypse, she had earned contribution points by selling water and exchanged them for artificial meat, which she had found tasteless and unpleasant.

Now, it seemed that being able to eat artificial meat was a blessing.

The snow outside was heavy. Ruan Qiuqiu was exhausted but didn't dare sleep as she had the previous night.

While keeping watch, she picked up the monster's claw that Mr. Big Bad Wolf had brought back, along with a sturdy wooden stick from the "storage room" that fit her hand perfectly. She planned to make a proper weapon.

Ruan Qiuqiu's decision not to sleep was wise. As she was halfway through making her weapon, just as dawn broke, Mr. Big Bad Wolf began to burn with fever.

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