Marrying the Soft-hearted Villain

Xiong Duoduo was speechless at his older brother, Xiong Yuan's words about their tribe's poverty. He vaguely remembered a time, when he was very young, when the Winter Bear Tribe wasn't poor at all. In fact, they were one of the wealthiest tribes in the area. Back then, the tribe's shaman and several elders were still alive. As a child, he never went hungry in winter, and they were never so destitute as to lack medicinal herbs. But later, as the shaman and elders passed away one by one, the Winter Bear Tribe gradually declined.

What remained unchanged was the elders' philosophy of "never abandoning a single bear." Other tribes' demons often called the Winter Bear Tribe foolish, saying they were struggling to feed their strong bears, yet still cared for the old, weak, sick, and disabled. Some, knowing the tribe's kindness, even deliberately abandoned their defective offspring within the Winter Bear Tribe's territory. Despite warnings to the bears not to bring back any more cubs, they never seemed to remember. Xiong Duoduo thought angrily, completely forgetting that he was the softest-hearted bear in the tribe, the one who picked up the most cubs, and had no right to say such things.

Worried about the injured bears in the tribe, Xiong Duoduo and Xiong Yuan didn't dare delay, ignoring the late hour. They shifted into their demon forms and hurried towards the Winter Bear Tribe.

…

Meanwhile, outside the Wind Lion Tribe…

Lu Ziran, demoted two major ranks by Mr. Big Grey Wolf and crippled by Grandma Ruyi, finally limped back to his tribe's vicinity. Fearing discovery of his severe injuries by other lions, he endured the bone-splitting pain and pretended to be fine, using the cover of night to return straight to the cave he shared with Rou Yuerao.

The thick hide curtain was lifted, startling Rou Yuerao, who was already preparing for bed. Her voice was timid, "Who is it?"

"…It's me," Lu Ziran replied, entering the cave and letting the curtain fall.

"Ziran?" Rou Yuerao was surprised and delighted. She quickly sat up from the thick fur-covered stone bed, draped a new, second-tier purple fox fur coat over herself, and joyfully flew into his arms. But then, remembering that Lu Ziran had gone to find Ruan Qiuqiu, her voice took on a resentful tone. "Why were you gone for so many days? Is Ruan Qiuqiu really that captivating? Didn't you say you'd bring back gifts? Where are they? Don't tell me you gave them to that woman?"

Already severely injured, Lu Ziran returned to find no comfort or warmth from Rou Yuerao, only questions about the whereabouts of gifts. He felt a surge of anger, pushed her away ungently, and his voice turned unusually cold. "Yuerao, I'm injured."

Rou Yuerao was shocked, seemingly unable to process this. "…How did you get injured?" He was a powerful warrior about to break through to the fourth rank; ordinary beasts couldn't possibly injure him.

Annoyed, Lu Ziran took off his pure black coat, revealing his scarred torso and bloodstained calf. This convinced Rou Yuerao. Anxiety welled within her as she instinctively asked, "Did your cultivation level drop?" If his cultivation dropped, he would no longer be the tribe's strongest warrior. What would she do then?

Lu Ziran's expression darkened. He stared at her beautiful face for a long moment before saying in a deep voice, "I encountered a high-rank magical beast. I dropped two ranks."

Rou Yuerao's face instantly paled. She stared at him in disbelief, stunned for a long while, and murmured, "Oh my god…" Looking at the blood dripping from Lu Ziran, a thought crossed her mind—she'd heard that demonic energy could harm people. Would the demonic energy on Ziran hurt her?

Seeing her pale face, Lu Ziran mistakenly thought she was worried about him. He sighed and softened his voice. "It's alright. Our cave is rich in spiritual energy. It'll be easy for me to cultivate back to my previous level. It's just that I won't be able to hunt as much as before this winter. I'm sorry you have to endure hardship with me."

Hearing this, Rou Yuerao was slightly relieved. She forced a smile and offered her first comforting words of the night. "Ziran, you just focus on recovering. We won't lack food." As long as she expressed her needs, plenty of demons would bring food to her door. She never worried about going hungry.

"Mm." Lu Ziran's mood improved slightly. He was exhausted from fleeing back and could barely hold on. He lay down directly on the stone bed. "I'll sleep for a bit." He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep, naturally missing Rou Yuerao's conflicted and slightly disgusted expression. Ziran had never been so forceful and cold before, and he'd never failed to clean himself up. His wounds were still bleeding; how could he just lie on her bed and stain the soft mattress the lion demons had just given her? He smelled so bad; she didn't even want to stay in the cave. Was she expected to treat his wounds and bandage him? She had been pampered by people and demons since childhood and had never done such dirty work. Even for love, wasn't this asking too much of her?

The more Rou Yuerao thought about it, the more upset she became. She didn't know much about medicinal herbs, so even if she wanted to help Ziran, she couldn't. She simply lay down in the corner of the stone bed, fully clothed and pinching her nose, to avoid any unnecessary physical contact with Lu Ziran.

…

…

Meanwhile, the startled Shadiao was carrying a wooden bucket of hot water and herbs, flying towards the Winter Bear Tribe on his wings.

Grandpa Mo's family, who had arrived at the Winter Bear Tribe three or four hours earlier, had almost finished moving their belongings. The barrier at the back of the mountain was some distance from the plains where most of the Winter Bear Tribe lived, but this distance wasn't far for Mo Mao, who had mostly recovered, and Little Mo Yu, who loved to run around.

"Little Mao, take your little brother and deliver the fish soup to the Chief," said Qing Ruyi, lighting the firewood in the cave and handing a burning piece to Mo Mao for illumination. "Do you remember the way?"

"Yes," Mo Mao replied. He glanced at Grandma Ruyi, who, along with Grandpa Mo, seemed to be growing younger. After hesitating for a moment, he decided not to voice the thought that had been on his mind: 'Grandpa and Grandma should actually be Father and Mother.'

Mo Mao held his brother's hand. "…Grandma, is this much fish soup enough for all the bear cubs?"

Qing Ruyi smiled. "It's enough. Don't let them drink too much, or they'll wet the bed at night."

Mo Mao: "…"

"Go on, now," Qing Ruyi urged. "Take Little Bohan with you. Your grandpa and I want to enjoy some alone time."

Mo Mao: "…………" He felt speechless but picked up Little Bohan, who was packing food, and the three half-grown children headed out with the herbs, fish soup, and other items.

The cave gradually quieted down. Qing Ruyi glanced at Mo Bugui, who was organizing things in the corner, and smiled. "Mo Gege, we can live together from now on."

Mo Bugui, who had returned to his middle-aged appearance, looked at her with a slightly helpless expression. Hadn't she been living with him ever since they reunited? Ruyi had been feeding him various things and regularly channeling spiritual energy into him. Although this had restored his clarity and his rapidly aging body to a normal state, Mo Bugui knew in his heart that this was just an illusion. In six months at most, he would still die from the exhaustion of his life force. Before, he hadn't wanted to be a burden to Qing Ruyi, but after she told him everything, he understood that perhaps his beloved wife wouldn't survive this winter either. Because of this, Mo Bugui no longer rejected Qing Ruyi's intimacy.

"Does this count as our honeymoon?" Qing Ruyi murmured, her eyes full of anticipation as she spread out the bedding on the stone bed.

…

Mo Mao held his brother's hand with his left and his sister's with his right, the heaviest bucket of fish soup strapped to his back. He relied on his excellent night vision to navigate the path. They were now within the Winter Bear Tribe's territory. At night, several uninjured large bears patrolled the tribe's edges, making it much safer than the Flame Wolf Tribe. So even with three children, Grandma Ruyi felt comfortable letting them go out.

Mo Yu held the torch and explained the situation to his sister, who had never met the Chief. "Chief Grandpa is a very big giant panda."

"He's very gentle, has very soft fur, and likes to transform into his demon form and let the cubs climb on him," Little Yu said.

"Wow," Little Bohan exclaimed, clearly excited. "I'm a big girl now. Can I play with Chief Grandpa too?"

Mo Mao: "…" He wanted to correct Little Bohan, as his sister was only five years old this year. How could she be considered a big girl?

But before Mo Mao could speak, Little Yu said, "Bohan, you're a human cub. I don't know if the Chief will let you play." Little Yu looked yearning. "I also want to climb a panda…"

Mo Mao: "…" He decided he would discuss it with the Chief later and ask him to let his younger siblings play with him once.

The three siblings soon reached their destination—a large cave.

Mo Mao politely knocked on the hide curtain. "Chief Grandpa, it's Mo Mao. Grandma asked us to bring fish soup."

Crunching sounds and "hoo hoo" shouts came from inside the cave. Soon, a snake tribe cub, about the same age as Little Bohan, lifted the hide curtain. Although he was in human form, he had many blue scales on his face, clearly a half-demon like Mo Mao. The little boy saw the fair-skinned Mo Bohan, and a hint of inferiority flashed in his eyes. His vertical pupils held a trace of hostility. Pretty cubs from other tribes only mocked him for being ugly.

Little Bohan, oblivious to this, smiled at the snake tribe boy and offered the wooden bucket of fish soup. "Fish soup, for you to drink."

She Qin, seeing her bright smile, felt a strange tightness in his chest. He didn't reach for the bucket, but instead pursed his lips tightly, covered his face with his hand, and ran to the side.

Little Bohan: "…?"

She was only puzzled for a moment before hearing a voice, "Wow, fish soup!"

Xiong Gun Gun took the fish soup from her, grinning. "Thank you! What's your name? I haven't seen you before. I'm Xiong Gun Gun, four and a half years old. You're so cute! Nice to meet you."

"I'm Mo Bohan. Mm, you're cute too," Little Bohan replied, her eyes shining. This was her first time talking to children her own age, and she was a little excited.

They chatted happily, their voices quickly attracting more cubs from inside the cave. In the blink of an eye, Little Bohan was surrounded by cubs.

She Qin clenched his small hands, his eyes flickering, standing silently in the corner.

Little Yu quickly found children his age to play with. Looking around the cave, he realized that only Mo Mao was still idle. He chatted with Panda Grandpa, who was struggling to get up from the ground, and learned that the demons his age were all helping to care for the sick bears. He decided not to stay in the cave any longer. He grabbed his younger brother by the collar and took him outside to help, leaving Little Bohan in the cave to help serve soup to the cubs.

Xiong Gun Gun was the first to receive fish soup from his new friend, but before he could drink it, he felt a terrifying gaze on his back. He turned sharply and met She Qin's threatening golden vertical pupils.

Xiong Gun Gun: "…" He felt like crying again. As a panda, he could never beat She Qin and always ended up getting beaten badly.

Xiong Gun Gun reluctantly handed the bowl of fish soup he had just received from Little Bohan to She Qin.

She Qin hadn't actually intended for him to give up his soup, but seeing Little Bohan's puzzled look behind Xiong Gun Gun, he took the bowl.

"Forget it, you're a year older than me. I should let you have it," Xiong Gun Gun said, not wanting to lose face even though he'd lost the battle. "I'll drink last. Bohan, I'll help you."

She Qin: "…………" He looked at the bowl of fish soup in his hand, then at Xiong Gun Gun standing beside Little Bohan, feeling inexplicably wronged for the first time.

…

Meanwhile, after a somewhat awkward dinner, the wolf and the human finally agreed on moving the next day and decided to take turns cleaning up before resting. Because a certain wolf insisted on bathing himself, Qiuqiu, already hesitant to help him clean up, finished her own bath and lay down on the bed first.

She was a little nervous. After all, she had promised Yuan Jue that she would let him bite her again. Since Mr. Big Grey Wolf generally didn't make unreasonable requests, Ruan Qiuqiu thought hard. The first bite transferred the vow on her wrist. What was the second bite for? She didn't have a second vow on her. It couldn't be that he just wanted to bite her, could it?

Ruan Qiuqiu could faintly hear the sound of water and grew even more nervous. She shook her head, took a few deep breaths, and forced herself into a meditative state. She had been consciously cultivating since she unexpectedly obtained the Spirit Gathering Pearl, but so much had happened tonight that her heart was truly unsettled. Their cave wasn't in a great location. While the spiritual energy was more abundant than in the apocalypse, it was still quite sparse compared to other places, so Ruan Qiuqiu's progress was slow. Now, with the Spirit Gathering Pearl, the speed at which Ruan Qiuqiu circulated her energy through her meridians had increased significantly.

Unconsciously, the distracting thoughts in her mind gradually faded.

By the time Mr. Big Grey Wolf returned to their "bridal chamber," sitting in the "wheelchair" his little wife had specially asked Qing Ruyi to make, his long hair still damp, Ruan Qiuqiu had completely entered a meditative state. Water elements, lively and glowing with a faint blue light, surrounded her, entering her body with each breath.

He had stumbled into this peaceful space, and the pale blue elements floating in the air, unlike other water spiritual energy, didn't reject him.

Ruan Qiuqiu sensed the wolf's return. Her current state was mystical. Although her eyes were closed in meditation, she could vaguely perceive Mr. Big Grey Wolf's presence through the pale blue light spots floating around. She couldn't "see" him, but she could "see" the dampness on him.

Ruan Qiuqiu smiled and directed two strands of mutated water-type spiritual energy with a gentle lift of her finger. One strand attached itself to his front and the fur covering his eyes, while the other wrapped around his long, dark hair.

Yuan Jue felt his hair and clothes drying quickly. He couldn't help but smile faintly.

Mr. Big Grey Wolf hesitated for a moment, then reached out his large, well-defined hand and caught a few mutated water elements that hadn't retreated. A faint black flame flickered from his fingertips, slowly enveloping the elements. His little wife's cultivation method was generally correct, but if she could find a more efficient circulation method, she could save a lot of time and energy. His pure demonic energy could guide her without harming her.

So when Ruan Qiuqiu recalled those elements, she felt a tingling sensation in her fingertips, like a weak electric current rapidly spreading through her limbs and meridians. The strange sensation from his bite resurfaced, and Ruan Qiuqiu, caught off guard, slumped onto the fur bedding with a soft gasp.

Mr. Big Grey Wolf: "…" He belatedly realized what had happened. A faint blush crept onto his handsome face. He tapped his fingers on the side of his chair, his voice husky with a barely suppressed possessiveness. "Ticklish?"

Ruan Qiuqiu: "…………" She didn't know how to answer him. Her hard-won calmed heart was stirred again. Her cheeks and ears flushed crimson. She simply closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. But she also understood now that whenever Mr. Big Grey Wolf's demonic energy entered her body, she couldn't handle it.

The burning sensation in her fingertips gradually faded.

Ruan Qiuqiu realized with some frustration that the elements tainted with the wolf's demonic energy, after a brief circulation, had generated ten times more mutated water-type spiritual energy than ordinary water elements. Was this a cultivation bonus buff? Although it was good news, why didn't she see any reaction from the wolf when she channeled her spiritual energy into him?

She had only endured a tiny bit of Mr. Big Grey Wolf's demonic energy and her limbs had already gone weak. If it were any more, then she…

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