Marrying the Soft-hearted Villain

The commotion caused by the shifting spiritual energy in the back mountain surprised the bears for a while, but then everyone returned to their caves to rest. Aside from a few demons and humans who knew some herbal medicine and were gently caring for the injured bear demons, the entire Winter Bear Tribe, under the softly falling snow, returned to its usual quietude.

Grandfather Patriarch also returned to the spacious cave, holding a pile of cubs. She Qin, Xiong Gun Gun, and other slightly older cubs were dutifully caring for the younger ones of various races. The cave held only one enormous stone bed, with enough burning wood to provide warmth.

Grandfather Patriarch put down the few mischievous cubs clinging to him, looked around at the mostly sleeping cubs, and rubbed his round head. Xiong Duo Duo’s brothers had returned from their two-day herb-gathering trip, and with Qing Ruyi and Tian Xiu still in the tribe to help, the cubs had all eaten their fill. Many of the elderly and weaker bear demons could finally put down their burdens and return to their caves to hibernate.

Grandfather Panda shrunk his demon form, sat cross-legged on the stone bed, and prepared to cultivate. His gaze fell on the small cub curled up beside She Qin in the corner, covered in green fur and scales. His heart ached. The half-snake, half-eagle cub was severely injured. Despite drinking a lot of Ruan Qiuqiu's healing water droplets, it hadn't woken up. Grandfather Panda recognized this cub as one of those kept captive in the old Black Python's courtyard.

"Sigh." Looking at the wounds on the little cub, a clear expression of anger and helplessness appeared on Grandfather Panda's furry face. His temper wasn't as good as Xiong Duo Duo and the others thought. In the past, he had been quite ferocious and formidable. If he'd encountered a shameless old thief like the Black Python Demon back then, he would have attacked him long ago.

But that was the past. The Winter Bear Tribe wasn't called the Winter Bear Tribe back then. It was called the Winter Bear Mountain Guard Clan. The mountain range they guarded was the back mountain, rich in spiritual energy. More precisely, it was the forbidden area of the back mountain, which connected to a strange land.

Legend had it that within the powerful barrier of the back mountain's forbidden area, there was a path leading to an abyssal treasure land. But this was just a rumor. Most of the Winter Bear Tribe hadn't even heard of it. Only bear demons above the fourth rank were told.

Back then, Xiong Jian Kang had just condensed his demon core when he was surrounded by many powerful pandas from the tribe, who wanted to tell him about the forbidden area's guardianship methods. But he had been too confident.

Faced with the old tribal shaman's seniority, Xiong Jian Kang shook his head and said, "Nothing has happened for hundreds of years. Besides, the forbidden area's barrier is much stronger than us. If something the barrier can't stop really appears, can we resist it?"

"So, Uncle, don't be so nervous."

Xiong Jian Kang smiled and patted the old shaman's shoulder. Several fifth-rank panda demons in the cave shook their large heads at him, speechless, but soon they all laughed. They packed the tribe's saved hides and some rare items for Xiong Jian Kang, who had just entered the fourth rank, to trade with the Jiao Clan. That day, the carefree Grandfather Panda set off.

But when he returned ten days later, what greeted him was a reality more painful than hell. Of the nearly three hundred demons in the tribe, more than half were dead, leaving only the old, the weak, and the young. Almost all of the panda demons above the fourth rank had perished. His father, elders, and the tribal shaman were all gone.

Near the forbidden area of the back mountain, there were mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Demonic energy overflowed from the damaged barrier, and the torn space resembled mocking mouths, jeering at his previous words.

If something happens, we can't stop it.

Indeed, we can't.

Even transforming into his largest demon form, stepping on the bodies of his tribe members, burning all his blood, and using all his fur to block it had been futile.

As if returning to that blood-soaked night, Xiong Jian Kang forcefully pulled his mind back. Since that near-extinction night, his state of mind had been affected, trapping him at the fourth rank for a long time. Because of his responsibilities, he couldn't even fight with his full strength when he saw the cubs being bullied by the Black Python. If something happened to him, the remaining demons of the Winter Bear Tribe would truly be doomed.

Therefore, even though he knew the cubs kept by the Black Python Demon were suffering, he couldn't help. He only hoped that the arrival of Qing Ruyi and Ruan Qiuqiu could improve the difficult situation of the Winter Bear Tribe.

Grandfather Panda took a deep look at the curled-up half-snake, half-eagle cub and then closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight. He secretly made up his mind that if Yuan Jue could break through this time and recover his fourth-rank strength, perhaps he could tell them some of the secrets of the forbidden area.

Although Yuan Jue had a bad reputation, he hadn't really taken the initiative to kill any demons. In fact, the Flame Wolf Tribe had been developing better and better over the years. If the secrets he knew could help that wolf cub break through, perhaps he would be willing to help the Winter Bear Tribe.

Although the wolf cub was crippled, with the treasure in his hand, he could still stand. Thus, in the upcoming winter beast tide, the Winter Bear Tribe's chances of survival would be greater.

Grandfather Panda secretly calculated, from the perspective of the Winter Bear Tribe, hoping that Yuan Jue and the others could help the struggling bear demons. He didn't know that Mr. Big Bad Wolf had already found his own cultivation method before moving in and that his strength was comparable to Ruyi Granny's at the early fifth rank.

…

The flow of spiritual energy in the back mountain continued for a day and a night. Late the next night, Qiuqiu and Mr. Big Bad Wolf, holding hands in the cave, slowly emerged from that strange sensation.

The moment the spiritual energy in her body stopped expanding, Ruan Qiuqiu's consciousness reached its limit. She had just cleansed herself, but now she felt sticky and uncomfortable, as if she had been soaked in water. The spiritual energy in her dantian had completely condensed into droplets. In just three days, her strength had increased by several small levels.

But Ruan Qiuqiu didn't have the energy to examine how much her strength had improved. She just felt tired, very tired. Even though she had just been lying on the stone bed cultivating, every inch of her skin felt as if it had been crushed, aching, leaving her no time to worry about whether she was a little dirty.

Ruan Qiuqiu didn't even have the strength to open her eyes. She moved her fingers with difficulty, but only felt a "boom" in her head, as if countless brilliant fireworks had exploded, followed by a blankness. Although she didn't faint, she couldn't move.

Tianluo Grey Wolf was in slightly better condition than his little wife. Before he was seriously injured, he had already cultivated to the fifth rank. Although cultivating with Qiuqiu had greatly stimulated him, it was still within his tolerance. After this cultivation session, his internal injuries had healed by seventy to eighty percent, and his shattered demon core had barely condensed.

The biggest gain was that he had regained his sight.

His furry tail twitched slightly, no longer wrapped around the "sleeping" Qiuqiu. Yuan Jue gently held Ruan Qiuqiu's hand. His long fingertips lightly traced the corner of his eye, and the fur that hadn't fully receded completely slid down. Under his dark brows, a pair of slightly gloomy, narrow eyes flickered.

Yuan Jue narrowed his eyes, still not quite used to the light in the cave. Droplets of water trembled on his eyelashes. His back straightened, but his palms trembled slightly. His pupils tried to focus again and again, following his slowly groping fingertips, wanting to accurately land on Ruan Qiuqiu.

Even though he had "seen" her many times with his demonic consciousness, he really, really wanted to see her with his own eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, perhaps just a second, but as long as the rising of a star, a clear outline gradually appeared in his blurry vision. Slightly messy black hair spread on the animal skin blanket, slightly flushed cheeks, and closed eyes.

His gaze greedily lingered on his long-awaited little wife. His gaze traveled unabashedly from her forehead and between her eyebrows, sliding over her curled eyelashes, and lingering slightly on her rosy lips. He had always known that his little wife was very beautiful.

But he didn't expect that after seeing her with his own eyes, he would be even more delighted. It seemed that all the blood in his body was clamoring to kiss her, to possess her.

His body leaned forward uncontrollably, his rough fingertips sliding across her soft cheeks. By the time his rationality returned, he had already involuntarily touched the corner of her lips.

"Wolf likes…" A teardrop slid down his eyelashes and landed on Ruan Qiuqiu's cheek, ice-cold, just like Mr. Grey Wolf's tears.

Yuan Jue's breath was hot and wet on her lips.

Ruan Qiuqiu's consciousness returned. His rare, candid voice reached her ears, and her cheeks, which had just begun to cool, flushed again. She hesitated whether to open her eyes and respond to her wolf husband or to continue listening quietly to see if the wolf would say anything else.

Ruan Qiuqiu even had a mischievous thought—when the wolf kissed her again, she would wake up and scare him. What kind of expression would that usually cold wolf show?

But when she heard Yuan Jue's gentle, husky voice, filled with the sorrow of a weeping wolf, saying "I like Qiuqiu" over and over again, and even begging her never to leave him, just like the little Mr. Grey Wolf in the memory world, her heart softened.

She had probably fallen for this big bad wolf who didn't even know the correct way to kiss and only knew how to gently touch the corner of her lips again and again. Even though he had just made her cultivate so painfully a few seconds ago, she couldn't expose his sneaky kissing now.

Yuan Jue usually looked very cold when he was awake, and he wasn't as hesitant and shy when he bit her. Now, wasn't it just that the place had changed from her wrist to the corner of her lips? Why didn't he dare to bite her?

Although she thought this in her heart, Ruan Qiuqiu knew that she was just theoretically knowledgeable. Even with such a chaste touch, she was already trembling and excited, just like the wolf.

Perhaps because she was too tired, her breathing became longer and deeper. Gradually getting used to the wolf's kisses, Ruan Qiuqiu relaxed. She had persisted for more than ten minutes, and the wolf only dared to kiss her forehead and cheeks again. Qiuqiu, already exhausted, simply fell asleep.

She guessed that Mr. Big Bad Wolf, who had never learned anything and didn't understand anything, probably didn't know what to do to her.

The facts proved that she was right. After kissing her many times, the honest wolf cub felt very satisfied. Although some parts of his body felt strange, as long as he suppressed them, it would be fine.

In the end, Yuan Jue just contentedly held his Qiuqiu and slept the entire night. He didn't even dare to sleep too deeply. Early the next morning, when Qiuqiu showed signs of waking up, he got up in advance.

So, when Ruan Qiuqiu woke up the next day, she was alone in the still-warm, cozy nest.

Ruan Qiuqiu smiled helplessly, her cheeks slightly flushed. She touched her lips, then quickly closed her eyes and shook her head, forcing herself not to think about Mr. Big Bad Wolf.

She looked inside her body and was surprised to find that the concentration of spiritual energy in her dantian had reached the peak of the second rank, and she was close to entering the third rank. At the same time, Ruan Qiuqiu also noticed that the spiritual energy in the cave was far less dense than when they first moved in, only about one-third of what it had been.

With her strength greatly improved, Ruan Qiuqiu's understanding of her own body naturally reached a new level. She silently sensed it, then let out a sigh of relief, mixed with a hint of disappointment.

Hmm.

Mr. Tianluo Grey Wolf really didn't do anything.

Even the clothes she was wearing were still the same as yesterday. He hadn't even taken off her thick outer animal skin coat.

"Awake?" A familiar, cold voice came from outside the animal skin curtain.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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