Marrying the Soft-hearted Villain

Although her luck had improved somewhat, plump pigeons with spirit stones in their bellies were not a common occurrence.

The second trap was untouched. The third trap showed signs of activity, but it held no prey. Reaching inside, Ruan Qiuqiu only found an egg.

This egg was about the same size as the one she had found before, and it, too, held no life.

Ruan Qiuqiu was almost resigned to it. Previously, she often encountered lively little animals, but ever since she started living with a certain wolf, she had found many eggs, all lifeless.

Still, today's harvest was quite good. The small spirit stones alone were enough to sustain Mr. Big Gray Wolf for a while.

After wiping the egg clean and placing it in her backpack, she reset the trap and added new bait. Ruan Qiuqiu hesitated for a moment, then decided to return home first.

Yuan Jue was still lying exactly as she had left him, in a deep sleep. The wounds on his body showed no signs of reopening, and the medicinal herbs on his severed limb were still fresh.

After confirming her wolf husband's condition, Ruan Qiuqiu washed the spirit stones with water and placed them beside the untouched healing water droplet at his bedside.

She rubbed her red, frostbitten ears, drank some hot water to warm her stomach, and circulated her spiritual energy for a few cycles to recover before setting off again with her backpack.

Ruan Qiuqiu thought of Qing Ruyi, who had attacked her yesterday, and felt a faint worry in her heart.

She wondered how Grandpa Mo and the others were doing. Judging by Qing Ruyi's behavior, they shouldn't be in danger, but she couldn't understand why Qing Ruyi had suddenly appeared there.

As Ruan Qiuqiu hurried towards Grandpa Mo's cave, she speculated on the reason for Qing Ruyi's presence.

Could it be that Grandpa Mo had a romantic relationship with Qing Ruyi in his youth, but they separated due to the seemingly trivial reason that humans and demons couldn't live together?

However, although Qing Ruyi had demonic energy, she seemed more like a demon beast.

Moreover, she was powerful, while Grandpa Mo was just an ordinary-looking human. How did they fall in love?

And the "Grandma Ruyi" that Little Fish mentioned, could she be the same person as the young and gentle-looking Qing Ruyi?

Ruan Qiuqiu couldn't figure it out and simply quickened her pace.

When she reached the vicinity of Grandpa Mo's cave, she smelled a faint scent of blood in the air.

Her heart leaped into her throat. Ruan Qiuqiu ran quickly towards Grandpa Mo's home, but just as she neared the entrance, she heard Little Fish's voice, "Grandma, I really can't eat anymore."

The stone in her heart suddenly dropped, and Ruan Qiuqiu breathed a sigh of relief. She then heard Little Mint echoing, "Yeah, Grandma, I can't eat anymore either!"

Ruan Qiuqiu pressed her brow, wondering what Little Mint and Little Fish had experienced in just one night that made them change their address to "Grandma" so quickly.

As she walked forward, her eyes fell upon the carcass of a two-meter-tall elephant bird piled on the snowy ground in front of Grandpa Mo's cave. Her expression almost cracked.

So, when Qing Ruyi said she was going hunting yesterday, she really meant it.

"Oh, you're all so skinny, not even as tall as this elephant bird's thigh. How can you grow if you don't eat more? And you, Mo Mao, you're a cat demon hybrid, how can you not finish twenty pounds of meat in one meal?"

A slightly raspy female voice reached her ears, completely different from Qing Ruyi's voice yesterday.

Ruan Qiuqiu was surprised. For a second, she was stunned. Then she saw an old woman, still gentle-looking but clearly aged, leaning on a willow cane and squinting at her with a smile. "Qiuqiu, you're here?"

Ruan Qiuqiu was bewildered. "Who is this old woman?"

Perhaps her expression was too shocked, because Qing Ruyi's eyes crinkled with laughter. "It's only been one night, and you don't recognize me anymore?"

Ruan Qiuqiu tentatively asked, "…Grandma Ruyi?"

"Yes, it's me." Qing Ruyi tapped the elephant bird's sturdy thigh with her cane. "Come, Grandma will treat you to roasted elephant bird as an apology for yesterday."

Ruan Qiuqiu still hadn't recovered. She couldn't adapt to the change in Qing Ruyi, who had released killing intent towards her just yesterday.

She looked inquiringly at Mo Yu, who stood to the side. He returned a bright smile, holding up the half-eaten meat skewer in his hand, and said happily, "Sister Qiuqiu, you're here! There's still a lot of roasted meat inside, come and eat with us!"

Ruan Qiuqiu was speechless.

…

When Little Mint pulled her into the cave and stuffed a large skewer of elephant bird meat into her hand, Ruan Qiuqiu still hadn't fully processed the situation.

"Eat," Qing Ruyi said with a smile, looking at the bewildered Ruan Qiuqiu.

Ruan Qiuqiu cautiously tested the roasted meat with her spiritual energy. After confirming that there was no demonic energy in it, she took a small bite.

The roasted meat tasted delicious. It was sprinkled with chopped vegetables and salt, which masked the gamey smell. The elephant bird meat was fresh, and its taste was similar to chicken, but with a richer and chewier texture.

Ruan Qiuqiu had walked a long way and was indeed hungry. By the time she came to her senses, she had finished the entire skewer.

Because the skewer was huge, Ruan Qiuqiu was almost full after eating it.

She had only said half of "Thank you" when Grandma Ruyi conjured several more skewers of roasted meat, seemingly cooked at some unknown time, and handed them to her. "You've only eaten one skewer. Eat ten more, Grandma will grill them for you."

Ruan Qiuqiu was overwhelmed. In the end, she couldn't meet Grandma Ruyi's expectations and could only manage two skewers.

She noticed that while Qing Ruyi was feeding them, Grandpa Mo sat silently in the corner without speaking.

There were dark circles under Grandpa Mo's eyes, as if he hadn't slept well all night. He seemed to have become younger again. Although there were still many wrinkles on his face, one could see traces of his youthful handsomeness.

Ruan Qiuqiu felt that Grandpa Mo might not be as old as she had guessed, which was why he had become younger again in such a short time.

She glanced at the gentle Grandma Ruyi and guessed that perhaps it was for Grandpa Mo that Grandma Ruyi had made herself look so old. And she hadn't forced Grandpa Mo to eat the roasted meat…

It was unexpectedly…romantic.

"Mo Gege, don't you want to eat? Are you being coy, wanting me to feed you personally?" Qing Ruyi picked up a skewer of roasted meat with a grin and walked over to Grandpa Mo.

Ruan Qiuqiu watched as the romantic atmosphere shattered.

After making sure that everyone in the cave, human and demon alike, was full, Qing Ruyi finally nodded in satisfaction.

Looking at the fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, Ruan Qiuqiu, though still wary, no longer felt as afraid of her as she had yesterday.

She knew that there were many kinds of demons in this world. Those below Tier Three had only a sliver of sentience. Tiers Three to Five were intermediate demons, unable to fully control their appetite for humans and demon beasts. But demons above Tier Five belonged to the category of high-ranking demons and possessed human-like intelligence.

However, demons above Tier Five were even rarer than demon beasts above Tier Five and did not easily appear in the tribes.

Ruan Qiuqiu thought that perhaps Qing Ruyi was a high-ranking demon, so disguising herself as a demon beast and changing her appearance wasn't difficult for her.

Having confirmed that Little Fish and the others were safe, Ruan Qiuqiu felt relieved.

Moreover, with such a powerful demon protecting Grandpa Mo's family, which had been struggling, it was a good thing. At least they wouldn't have to suffer so much this winter.

Ruan Qiuqiu softened her gaze and stood up to say goodbye. She still wanted to see if she could hunt and gather vines near the forest, and she needed to hurry.

Little Fish held his bone club, wanting to go with her. "Sister Qiuqiu, I want to dig some wild vegetables. Let's go together."

Qing Ruyi held the child's hand and patted his head. "You stay home with Grandpa. Grandma will go."

She naturally picked up the stone axe that Grandpa Mo had been holding yesterday and adjusted the animal hide on her body, which clearly belonged to Mo Bugui. Finally, she bent down and kissed Mo Bugui, who looked conflicted, on the cheek before winking at Ruan Qiuqiu. "Let's go."

Ruan Qiuqiu felt like she had just swallowed a large mouthful of dog food.

…

Out of the cave, Qing Ruyi walked ahead of Ruan Qiuqiu. She didn't stop until Grandpa Mo's cave was almost out of sight.

Ruan Qiuqiu guessed that she had something to say and nervously tightened her grip on the spear in her hand.

Seeing her nervousness, Qing Ruyi softened her tone. "Don't be afraid. You helped my husband and the others. You're considered my junior. Grandma won't hurt you again."

Ruan Qiuqiu was a bit amused by Qing Ruyi's insistence on being her grandma.

But she did relax somewhat. After all, since Qing Ruyi met Grandpa Mo yesterday, she hadn't sensed any killing intent from the demon.

"I know you have a lot of questions you want to ask Grandma," Qing Ruyi said with a smile. "Let's go. I'll take you to the place I found last night where you can pick a lot of wild vegetables. We can talk while we walk."

"It just so happens that Grandma also has a lot of questions to ask you."

Ruan Qiuqiu was slightly startled. Qing Ruyi also had many questions for her? Did she really know her? Or was she truly Mr. Big Gray Wolf's enemy?

As Ruan Qiuqiu was speculating, she heard Qing Ruyi, walking in front of her, ask slowly, "What's your relationship with Yuan Jue? How far have you two progressed?"

Ruan Qiuqiu was speechless.

Before she could recover, she heard Qing Ruyi continue, "Nothing happened between you two, right? Do you like him? That wolf didn't do anything to you, did he?"

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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