Marrying the Soft-hearted Villain

To avoid letting Mr. Big Bad Wolf discover that her face was even redder than his, Ruan Qiuqiu pretended to be unfazed and focused all her attention on the items left behind by the Black Python Demon.

As she sorted through the increasingly bizarre collection, she genuinely became engrossed in the spoils taken from the old Black Python Demon—a specially made hide pouch. The space inside was much larger than it appeared, about half the size of a small cave, and filled with a jumble of things.

Ruan Qiuqiu swept her spiritual power over the contents and discovered a variety of dried meats, tubers, and other food items, as well as some medicinal herbs, all piled together. This was likely the old Black Python's food storage.

The food looked fresh and contained spiritual energy. Even during regular hunts, it would be difficult to catch such prey.

Ruan Qiuqiu's eyes lit up. The Winter Bear Tribe was short of food and clothing. Raiding the old Black Python's stash could supplement the tribe's supplies.

In addition to the food, there were also quite a few spirit stones in the seemingly small storage pouch.

The old Black Python Demon had lived for one or two hundred years, after all, and his wealth was considerable. There were two fifth-grade spirit stones, three fourth-grade spirit stones, and a dozen or so third and second-grade stones scattered about. They had made a fortune.

Ruan Qiuqiu couldn't help but smile, her eyes excitedly landing on the remaining items: an egg, a charred, mirror-like object, and a small, black wooden block.

Yuan Jue observed his little wife, whose blush had now completely faded, replaced by joy and excitement in her beautiful almond-shaped eyes. She seemed to have forgotten him standing beside her.

A hint of helplessness flickered across his dark brows. Yuan Jue's ears were still pink, and his lips still tingled from Ruan Qiuqiu's kisses. Even the discovery of so many treasures couldn't immediately snap him out of it.

After Ruan Qiuqiu spent a long time examining the peculiar "mirror" and the black wooden block without any success, she finally remembered Mr. Big Bad Wolf, whom she had just kissed several times.

Ruan Qiuqiu looked up, meeting Yuan Jue's slightly aggrieved gaze, which had been fixed on her face the whole time. A flicker of embarrassment and guilt crossed her eyes.

It was this wolf who wouldn't bend down, which made her tired from kissing him! Why did his eyes now seem to accuse her of being a Qiuqiu who'd had her fun and then abandoned him?

Ruan Qiuqiu awkwardly changed the subject, "…Husband, do you know what these things are?"

She pointed to the dark green egg, about thirty centimeters tall, and the other two strange objects floating in mid-air.

This time, Mr. Yuan Wolf didn't playfully demand a kiss from his little wife before speaking. His crimson eyes fell on the three objects, and a pale white butterfly materialized at his fingertips.

This was the first time Ruan Qiuqiu had seen Mr. Big Bad Wolf use this technique. The butterfly enveloped the "mirror" and the "black wood."

Ruan Qiuqiu was surprised to find that as the butterfly wings fluttered, the stains and char that water droplets couldn't wash away disappeared from the two objects, revealing their original appearance.

The "mirror" truly became a mirror made of a special type of wood, about the size of a palm. Dragon-like patterns were carved on its surface, and the edges were seamlessly closed.

The char had obscured it before, but now she could see a faint golden light gathering around the wooden mirror. It was no ordinary object. Ruan Qiuqiu instinctively felt that this wooden mirror was much more precious than the Spirit Gathering Pearl Mr. Big Bad Wolf had given her before.

"Soul Reflection Mirror," Mr. Big Bad Wolf said, extending his palm. The small wooden mirror flew into his hand.

Hearing his words, a subtle feeling arose in Ruan Qiuqiu's heart. She instinctively felt that this wooden mirror was very important to her and Mr. Big Bad Wolf. Suppressing the strange feelings in her heart, she asked her wolf, "What is a Soul Reflection Mirror?"

Mr. Big Bad Wolf traced the dragon-like carvings with his fingertip, his expression complex. "…This wolf has only heard of it."

"The Soul Reflection Mirror can reflect the epitome of a soul's experiences from birth to the present. But it takes countless spirit stones and effort to create one, and it can only be used three times."

Yuan Jue's voice was calm, his long eyelashes fluttering slightly. "It should still be usable twice."

He had only heard of the Soul Reflection Mirror, never possessed one.

Although the Soul Reflection Mirror required a lot of resources and was very valuable, the price wasn't exorbitant.

After all, compared to weapons and precious spirit stones, not many humans or demons wanted to know about their birth.

However, as a wolf who had always been poor and unlucky, even when he was the leader of the Flame Wolf Tribe, Yuan Jue didn't have surplus spirit stones.

The spirit stones he occasionally obtained were usually used up after his cultivation.

Over the years, he had only saved a few treasures, and even the Spirit Gathering Pearl was given to him as a reward by the Merfolk Tribe for his help.

Due to his poverty, even though he had doubts about his origins, he didn't have the spirit stones to exchange for a Soul Reflection Mirror when his strength was only at the fifth grade, not particularly powerful.

He hadn't expected the Black Python Demon to have such a thing hidden on him. It saved him some expenses.

With two uses remaining, it was just enough for him and his wife.

Hearing the function of the Soul Reflection Mirror, the slightly agitated feeling in Ruan Qiuqiu's heart intensified, accompanied by thoughts she wasn't quite willing to explore.

She had a feeling that the couple who had arranged the marriage between her and Mr. Big Bad Wolf in her dreams were likely no longer in this world. And she was almost certain that she hadn't transmigrated into a book, but rather, her soul had returned to its body.

As for why she had memories of living in the modern world, why she knew the plot of the "book," why she and Yuan Jue had been separated since childhood, and other such questions, perhaps using this mirror would unravel all the mysteries.

But somehow, or perhaps from the bottom of her heart, Ruan Qiuqiu felt that the truth might be crueler than she imagined.

Both the human and the wolf fell silent. They seemed to have reached a tacit understanding, neither mentioning using the Soul Reflection Mirror.

Ruan Qiuqiu raised her head, saw Yuan Jue's handsome and quiet profile, and shook her head, trying to suppress the chaotic thoughts that were surfacing.

She tugged at her wolf husband's sleeve, and when he looked down at her, she softly said, "Let's put the Soul Reflection Mirror and the spirit stones away for now."

They could take it out when either of them wanted to use it.

Looking at his little wife's gentle expression, Yuan Jue's furrowed brows slowly relaxed. He seemed to have figured something out, the corners of his lips curving upwards. His gaze remained fixed on her, but a faint smile appeared, as if a vast, icy glacier had instantly melted.

Reflected in his eyes, Ruan Qiuqiu unconsciously revealed a warm smile. Although there were still items left unchecked, they seemed to have forgotten everything in this moment.

The human and the wolf gazed intently at each other until Ruan Qiuqiu suddenly realized what they were doing and snapped back to reality, her ears quickly turning red.

She couldn't help but avert her gaze and change the subject, her voice filled with dry shyness, "There's… still an egg and a piece of wood left to check…"

Her voice grew smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared.

A blush crept up Mr. Big Bad Wolf's cheeks again. He forced his gaze away and quickly examined the remaining two items.

To Ruan Qiuqiu's surprise, there was a faint life force within the egg.

"Eh?" Ruan Qiuqiu extended a wisp of spiritual power to investigate and discovered that there was indeed life inside, a young creature about to hatch.

"A half-snake, half-eagle hatchling," Mr. Big Bad Wolf said softly after a pause. "It should be the younger brother of the one in the tribe."

Ruan Qiuqiu glanced at the egg and asked doubtfully, "How do you know it's a younger brother?"

Yuan Jue fell strangely silent, his ears twitching unnaturally. "…This wolf… can see."

Ruan Qiuqiu "…?"

Although she still didn't know how Mr. Big Bad Wolf knew, her reason told her it was best not to ask further.

"Then, wolf, hold it." Ruan Qiuqiu took a piece of hide from her backpack, wrapped the egg, and placed it beside Mr. Big Bad Wolf. They had no other space to store the egg.

Mr. Big Bad Wolf's gaze fell on his little wife holding the egg. He seemed to have thought of something suggestive again, his handsome face growing redder and hotter. After a long while, under Ruan Qiuqiu's increasingly puzzled gaze, he reached out and held the egg in his arms.

Ruan Qiuqiu put the last wooden block, which didn't seem to have any special properties, into her backpack and turned around, putting away the supporting wooden stick.

A low, shy voice came from behind her, laced with anticipation and cautious, tentative confusion, "Can humans and wolves… have… eggs?"

Ruan Qiuqiu "……………"

She suddenly felt her face burning with embarrassment and an inexplicable shyness that even the wind and snow couldn't cool down. Unable to bear it, she raised her hand to cover her face.

Sometimes, she felt that Mr. Big Bad Wolf was aloof and unpredictable, sinister and frightening, but sometimes…

He was incredibly straightforward and innocent, like with this question. She felt that any demon with a bit of sense wouldn't ask it.

Fortunately, Mr. Yuan Wolf had some self-awareness. He flicked his fluffy tail and lowered his eyes slightly, seeing his little wife's completely red ears. He pursed his lips and raised his hand, conjuring a pair of pale black butterfly wings to hold up as an umbrella.

Ruan Qiuqiu didn't want to talk. She glanced at Yuan Jue, whose face was even redder than hers, and finally gently took his arm, saying awkwardly, "Let's go back."

Yuan Jue responded with a hum. He pursed his lips, carefully controlling the butterfly wings that formed the umbrella, his eyes flickering, lost in thought.

…

The return trip wasn't long. Despite carrying many things, it only took five or six minutes longer than their journey there. The human and wolf soon returned to the border of the Winter Bear Tribe.

Unlike when they left, this time, a giant black and white furball mountain stood waiting at the entrance of the tribe.

Ruan Qiuqiu's eyes lit up uncontrollably when she saw the four-to-five-meter-tall giant panda—this must be Grandpa Tribe Leader, a fourth-grade peak panda.

Perhaps due to poor conditions, Grandpa Tribe Leader had lost weight. Although still round, he wasn't as plump as he could be.

"Roar~ (Yuan Jue, Ruan Qiuqiu.)" Xiong Jiankang saw them returning from afar, worry and joy flickering across his furry panda face. He quickly shrunk his demon form, transforming into an uncle who was a head taller than Ruan Qiuqiu and didn't look very robust.

"Tribe Leader." Ruan Qiuqiu smiled at Grandpa Panda and greeted him.

"Are you injured?" Xiong Jiankang asked anxiously. "I just heard from Xiong Yuan that you went to fight that old Black Python. Why are you young demons so impulsive? Even if you absorbed a lot of spiritual energy from the back mountain and broke through a bit the other day, you're not necessarily a match for that cunning Black Python Demon…"

Xiong Jiankang was truly afraid and worried.

He had seen Xiong Duoduo and the others return wounded that morning and was furious, so angry that he coughed up fur.

But apart from immediately transforming into his demon form to replace the other weaker tribe demons in guarding the Winter Bear Tribe's border, he had no other better option.

The powerful Qing Ruyi had also come to him a day ago, saying that she needed to go into seclusion for a few days. The strongest in the tribe, Xiong Duoduo and Tian Xiu, couldn't defeat the old Black Python, so Xiong Jiankang couldn't even organize the tribe demons for revenge.

He guarded the tribe's border, but his range was limited. He hadn't even noticed Yuan Jue and Ruan Qiuqiu slipping out at first.

It wasn't until Xiong Yuan returned from hunting with Mo Mao and the others, visited Xiao Bo He and the others, and came back to tell him that Xiong Jiankang learned that the wolf cub was so bold as to take his weak human wife to seek revenge on the Black Python.

"You, you wolf cub, how could you take your wife on such a risky adventure?" Although it was his first time meeting Yuan Jue, Grandpa Panda had heard of him and knew that he had been injured in the beast tide at the beginning of winter and abandoned by those ingrates from the Flame Wolf Tribe.

Although he felt sorry for the wolf cub, the Winter Bear Tribe also had many bears who were seriously injured and dying at the time, so he hadn't chosen to lend a hand.

Now, although he was grateful to Yuan Jue for standing up for their tribe and felt guilty for not helping him before, he was more worried and couldn't help but admonish him.

Hearing Grandpa Panda call Mr. Big Bad Wolf a "wolf cub," Ruan Qiuqiu, for some reason, didn't feel angry but rather amused.

She glanced at Mr. Wolf's expression from the corner of her eye and found that he looked more bewildered than displeased.

Mr. Tianluo Grey Wolf was probably being lectured by an elder for the first time. He just looked down at her, at a loss.

A touch of sweetness welled up in Ruan Qiuqiu's heart. Although it was amusing, she didn't continue to embarrass Mr. Big Bad Wolf. She just smiled and said to Grandpa Panda, "Grandpa Tribe Leader, we're fine, not injured."

To protect Mr. Wolf's image, Ruan Qiuqiu thought for a moment and carefully added, "My husband… protected me very well."

Yuan Jue had indeed protected her very well, not even letting her hear the old Black Python's dying screams.

"Is that so?" Xiong Jiankang stroked his chin. "That makes sense. You were only out for half a morning, so you probably didn't encounter that Black Python Demon."

Grandpa Tribe Leader spoke as he beckoned Ruan Qiuqiu and Mr. Big Bad Wolf to follow him into the tribe. "You two go home and stay put for now. The tribe is dangerous recently, and Grandpa will protect you."

He continued speaking, his gaze falling on the strange little black wooden plaque in Yuan Jue's arms. "Hmm? Why did you bring back someone else's egg after going out?"

Ruan Qiuqiu "…"

She couldn't help but explain, "Grandpa Tribe Leader, we encountered that Black Python Demon and have already dealt with him."

"Oh, dealt with him, huh?" Xiong Jiankang nodded, then suddenly turned his head, his voice several pitches higher. "What? You dealt with that Black Python??"

Grandpa Panda's expression was astonished. The bear was completely stunned. After a few seconds, he stammered in disbelief, "Little Qiuqiu, are you telling the truth?"

Ruan Qiuqiu "…………"

Hearing Grandpa Tribe Leader call her "Little Qiuqiu" gave Ruan Qiuqiu goosebumps, but she understood. Grandpa Tribe Leader might be one or two hundred years older than her, so calling her "Little Qiuqiu" seemed normal.

So, she didn't dwell on it and readily took out the storage pouch containing a lot of food and handed it to Grandpa Panda. "These are the remains of the old Black Python Demon. Grandpa Tribe Leader, please take a look."

Grandpa Panda took the storage pouch and quickly confirmed that Ruan Qiuqiu was telling the truth. A joyful expression appeared on his face, and he couldn't help but laugh heartily.

That old Black Python Demon had been the Winter Bear Tribe's biggest threat for more than half a year, and now he was gone, just like that.

"Let's not talk outside anymore, come with me to the cave." Grandpa Panda said, leading the human and wolf into the tribe.

In front of the huge cave, the heavy hide curtain was pulled open. Xiong Jiankang picked up several cubs blocking the cave entrance and led Qiuqiu and Mr. Big Bad Wolf inside. He found a few stone stools in a secluded corner and gestured for them to sit.

What Ruan Qiuqiu found amusing was that the cubs, who were usually very boisterous when they saw Grandpa Tribe Leader, mostly showed happy and surprised smiles when they saw her enter.

Unfortunately, these smiles were short-lived. Almost all the cubs restrained their smiles after seeing Mr. Big Bad Wolf beside her.

Those who were noisily fighting and pulling each other's fur stopped. Those who were gnawing on hides and toes didn't dare to continue. Most of them shivered and huddled together quietly.

Seeing a group of cubs, some furry, some naked and only wrapped in hides, dirty and pitiful, Yuan Jue couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, his dark brows unconsciously furrowing again.

He had thought Xiong Gun Gun was already very sloppy, but these cubs were even worse.

If he and his wife had wolf cubs, they would definitely not be so unhygienic.

Ruan Qiuqiu noticed the hint of disgust in Mr. Yuan Wolf's narrow eyes, but she didn't see the thought hidden in his slightly gloomy eyes →→

Actually, she could understand. After all, Mr. Big Bad Wolf had loved cleanliness since he was young, even though he had to live in a leaky cave when he was a child due to circumstances.

"These cubs are well-behaved today." Grandpa Panda said with a smile. He looked down at the storage pouch in his hand, then looked up at Yuan Jue with guilt in his eyes, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes seeming to deepen.

He looked at Yuan Jue, his voice filled with guilt, "Cub, I apologize for misunderstanding your abilities earlier."

Mr. Big Bad Wolf "…"

Never having been addressed like this by an elder, Yuan Jue subconsciously glanced at Ruan Qiuqiu again.

His little wife was looking at him with gentle eyes and a smile, her expression encouraging.

Thinking he understood something, Mr. Yuan Wolf suppressed the strange feeling rising in his heart. His handsome face remained aloof as he slightly turned his head and slowly replied, "Mm."

Ruan Qiuqiu "…" She stared at Mr. Wolf's embarrassed, red ears, then at his icy expression, feeling both helpless and amused.

Fortunately, Grandpa Tribe Leader wasn't a petty bear. He just laughed heartily and didn't mind his taciturnity.

"Tell me, how did you deal with that Black Python Demon?" Xiong Jiankang asked with anticipation in his eyes.

Ruan Qiuqiu then recounted some of the details of the previous battle to Grandpa Panda.

She had already discussed it with Mr. Big Bad Wolf on the way back. Except for the Soul Reflection Mirror, they didn't intend to hide anything about the spoils.

Since moving to the Winter Bear Tribe, they hadn't contributed much to the tribe, but instead had absorbed two-thirds of the spiritual energy from the back mountain. Even if that spiritual energy could regenerate, its value far exceeded their gains this time.

But Grandpa Panda didn't intend to take their things.

"This is what you earned through your own battle. How can we take it?" Xiong Jiankang's smile deepened. He waved his hand. "Besides, you need these spirit stones for your cultivation, right?"

Grandpa Tribe Leader said, "The bear cubs of the Winter Bear Tribe can cultivate in the back mountain. Don't say the spiritual energy in the back mountain is thin, but it's enough to supply them."

Ruan Qiuqiu couldn't help but frown. "How can that be?" They hadn't contributed anything but had been taking advantage of the Winter Bear Tribe.

"Alright," Grandpa Panda decided. "I'll keep this storage pouch for now. You indeed can't finish all the food inside. Keep the spirit stones and such for yourselves."

"Don't say you haven't helped the tribe. Didn't Little Qiuqiu save many bear demons?" Xiong Jiankang said.

Ruan Qiuqiu "…" She really wasn't used to being called Little Qiuqiu by Grandpa Tribe Leader, but since he had said so, they didn't insist on giving him the spirit stones, as she and Mr. Big Bad Wolf indeed needed the spiritual energy.

"That's good." Xiong Jiankang said, his gaze falling on the peculiar small black wooden plaque on the stone table. As if remembering something, his eyes suddenly lit up, and his whole body trembled with excitement.

"This, this is…"

Seeing the usually calm Grandpa Panda suddenly stand up, trembling with excitement, Ruan Qiuqiu couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Grandpa Tribe Leader, what's wrong?"

Xiong Jiankang picked up the small black wooden plaque with trembling hands, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes. He repeatedly rubbed the almost irregular patterns on it, tears welling up in his eyes.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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