CH 98

January 28, 2022 by danmeiheaven

Xia Zuoyi can see that the white wolf is very vigilant—it is now protecting the two cubs of different breeds behind it, with sharp fangs bared and ears turned back nervously… 

Its whole body is in an attacking state and refuses his approach. 

Xia Zuoyi didn’t move anymore. For the time being, he asked the plushies to take a few steps back and asked 098 about the white wolf and the two cubs.

“098, how could you think of giving me three canines? And they…” Are not of the same breed.

098 scratched his bald head with his little matchstick hand: 【Didn’t the host say that there is no canine in the family?】

【This white wolf and two cubs are a family, both were adopted by the mother of the white wolf, but then the holy mountain collapsed. The white wolf’s mother was buried in the snow and lost her life in order to save them…】

【The white wolf wandered alone with the two cubs for a long time.】

【Because the white wolf descended from the holy mountain and has the blood of a king in his body, so most people have no good intentions towards him…】

If those people get him, the final result is that the white wolf is imprisoned, shackled, and domesticated… And the two cubs will be brutally killed…

098 whispered as if afraid of disturbing something:【Host, wolves are proud animals.】

【A grown and intelligent white wolf is even more vigilant towards humans. If the host wants to gain the trust of the white wolf, he has to be patient…】

Xia Zuoyi nodded.

A half-sized white wolf is really not easy to abduct compared to a cub.

His eyes fell on the two cubs behind the white wolf—the white fox looked at him with ignorant curiosity and subtle vigilance, obediently hiding behind without moving.

And the husky pup…has a strong curiosity about his surroundings and has been trying to crawl around without giving up, humming and hawing. Maybe if he gives him a piece of meat, he’ll follow him…

Xia Zuoyi stared at the white wolf’s icy blue eyes again and stepped back to a safer distance.

He patted Snowball’s head and softly said the word food to him. Immediately understanding it, Snowball flicked his tail and turned to leave. The rest of the fluffy beasts were either lying down or lying not far away under Xia Zuoyi’s signal.

Seeing this, the white wolf relaxed a little, but still maintained his previous posture without his ears shaking this time.

In the confrontation between them, Snowball soon dragged a deer back. He threw the male deer whose neck had been bitten in front of the white wolf—

With a “bang”, the dust rose a little.

The white wolf’s ears trembled slightly. His eyes stopped on the stag for a few seconds and then at Snowball. A little bloody smell began to fill the air, but the stagnant atmosphere changed slightly.

The husky’s humming sound stopped for a while, then he changed direction and tried to crawl here. Meanwhile, the little white fox couldn’t help looking at the dead stag with eager eyes.

Xia Zuoyi felt something’s wrong and asked in his heart, “098, venison should not be in the diets of huskies and white foxes, especially puppies. They can’t eat raw meat…”

White fox’s recipes include lemmings, birds, bird eggs, berries, or fish.

As for the husky’s recipes, though numerous, they do not include raw meat… Otherwise, vomiting and diarrhea may occur.

098 answered:【This dog is an ancient breed of a Siberian sled dog. It’s wild and strong, and its spleen and stomach aren’t weak. The blood of the white wolf and the white fox also determines their wide range of diets.】

【The host does not need to worry.】

Xia Zuoyi didn’t ask any more questions after hearing his words.

He and the fluffy beasts stayed here. The white wolf was obviously still vigilant so he didn’t get close to the food.

So he slowed his voice and said, “It’ll be very safe here, no one will hurt you. The mountains and forests are free but also dangerous. Remember to find a safe place to rest tonight.” 

The white wolf’s ears moved slightly.

Xia Zuoyi did not intend to forcibly bring the three new canids to the castle. They wandered for a long time, especially the white wolf, and had strong hostility to humans.

After he finished speaking, he turned and left, followed by the fluffy beasts.

When he went to see it again the next day, the stag left before had turned into a skeleton, while the remaining carrion was being eaten by birds.

Xia Zuoyi glanced—there were some less obvious marks scattered around. The white wolf had already left here with the two cubs.

He asked the plushies who followed him to search.

Not long after, the white wolf and two cubs were found in a relatively hidden cave.

The half-sized white wolf hunted a rabbit and was tearing at the tenderest meat on the rabbit with his sharp teeth. Then he placed the meat strips in front of the two cubs.

Xia Zuoyi deliberately made some noises to let the white wolf notice him.

Then, he appeared when the white wolf began to be vigilant again, but he didn’t come close to the cave. He took off the basket hanging on Briquette outside, which contained some chicken livers, berries, bird eggs, lemmings, and so on.

Snowball hunted a stag again.

This time, instead of leaving with the fluff balls, Xia Zuoyi retreated to a safe distance from the white wolf and the two cubs, stretched his long legs, and sat on the stone.

In his small backpack, there’s a lunch specially prepared by Udit, which he’ll enjoy here today.

The fluff balls were obviously curious about the white wolf and the two cubs. After they had eaten and drank enough, they lay down and stared at them. As a result, the white wolf’s ears that had been lowered stood up again nervously and his tail straightened.

The white wolf didn’t immediately eat the stag dragged by Snowball. After the two cubs finished eating the rabbit meat, he stood aside, and his ice-blue eyes swept at Xia Zuoyi from time to time. He was very calm and didn’t move.

After lunch, Xia Zuoyi conveniently packed up his things, said “I’ll see you tomorrow”, and left.

Until the third day, the fourth day, and the fifth day… The white wolf gradually became less alert to Xia Zuoyi’s presence.

Slowly, the white wolf began to eat in front of Xia Zuoyi, then allowed him to approach slowly, stroke his fur, and pick up the two cubs… 

—Their relationship gradually improved and became intimate.

But the white wolf was still reluctant to follow Xia Zuoyi to his castle.

He even became the king of a pack of wolves during this time—obviously not yet an adult, but he defeated the alpha wolf in this pack.

In a messy, mountainous, and rocky area, gray-haired wolves standing on the low stones are looking up—a half-sized white wolf stood on the high stone cliff and howled with his head held high. Then, there were howls from below…

The two cubs huddled obediently behind the white wolf.

And Xia Zuoyi stood not far away and couldn’t turn his eyes away.

After that, he went to the forest to visit the white wolf and the two cubs almost every day. After getting closer to them, he named them.

Xia Zuoyi wanted to let the white wolf follow him back to the castle with the two cubs.

But after saying it twice, and seeing the white wolf’s indifferent appearance, Xia Zuoyi didn’t force it anymore. He thought that since the white wolf had joined the wolf pack, maybe it would be better for them to live in the forest.

Xia Zuoyi maintained the frequency of seeing the white wolf and the cubs every day. Gradually, even the people in the castle began to know that the lord has a plush outside again.

They were discussing how long before the new plush came to the castle.

On this day, Xia Zuoyi took Adai to study how to make hand sanitizer in the alchemy laboratory. For a time, he was so immersed in the experiment that he forgot to visit the white wolves and the cubs in the forest.

—Until Udit knocked on the door and walked in when Xia Zuoyi answered.

“My lord, maybe you should go to the window and have a look…” 

Xia Zuoyi raised his head suspiciously, “What?”

He’s holding a tube of rosewater with a beautiful color in his hand and was about to add it to the liquid soap—this is a liquid made by cutting soap into small pieces, adding water, and then heating it.

There are already soaps on the Western Continent. Although the production cost is high and the sale is slightly expensive, it’s not uncommon.

Long ago, soap was made from boiled lanolin mixed with caustic soda and chalk.

Generally speaking, bar soap is made from suet oil and plant ash, which is rough in shape and not durable.

This method has been around for a long time.

Later, there were more ways to make soap.

For example, by using olive oil and animal fat… Most of the soap-making methods in the Saint Airo Empire are mixed with olive oil or butter, suet oil, and plant ash…

And most countries or cities near the river use fish oil.

In the western continent, soap is mostly used for washing clothes and is not popular because of the price.

Although some people wash their bodies with soap, even aristocrats undoubtedly think such behavior is too extravagant. Most importantly, frequent bathing is not advocated in this era.

Thanks to the backwardness of medical technology and the deviation of medical cognition.

It’s generally believed that bathing will lead to cold or evil wind into the body and frequent diseases—this is bad behavior and should not be done often.

Therefore, if the body odor is heavy, people will wear dried flowers on their clothes or sprinkle powder made of spices, which includes cloves and cinnamon…

Xia Zuoyi thought that since people don’t like to wash their hands and body with soap, it’s better to change direction and develop another cleaning commodity they can’t refuse.

He handed the rosewater to Adai and asked him to pour it into the melted soapy liquid. Then he walked to the window and looked out—in the place where Udit pointed, a little bit of white was hidden behind the tree.

It’s not so much as hiding.

Because the brush-like tail was exposed, it swayed slightly as if trying to attract attention. There are also two cubs fighting together beside the tail.

Xia Zuoyi was surprised, “Ice Cream?”

Udit also knew about the existence of the new plushies, but it was the first time he saw them, “Did the lord give them names?”

Xia Zuoyi pointed to the white wolf with his head sticking out from behind the tree, “Ice Cream.”

Then, he pointed to the black-and-white puppy and the kit with a big fluffy tail, “Eggy1, Rice Cake2.”

With some doubts, Xia Zuoyi turned around and walked out of the alchemy laboratory, taking Udit with him to come outside the castle. 

The white wolf, Ice Cream, saw Xia Zuoyi’s figure in the forest in the distance, and then slowly walked out of the tree. The two cubs were already close to Xia Zuoyi, so now they stumbled and ran towards him…

“Ow.”

When Xia Zuoyi came near, Ice Cream called out softly and swept the bend of his calf with his fluffy tail.

Udit stood not far away and didn’t step more forward after he noticed the vigilance of the white wolf.

Xia Zuoyi picked up Eggy and Rice Cake and was enthusiastically licked by them.

He thought for a while and laughed, “Ice Cream, can I build a nest for you here?”

“Ow.”

Ice Cream’s ice-blue eyes were different from the cold ones when they first met. When looking at Xia Zuoyi now, they have an imperceptible tenderness.

Two days later, a beautiful little house was built at the junction of the mountain forest and the lake.

After the two cubs got acquainted with the plushies, they often stumbled into the castle and slept in it at night. Soon after the white wolf became familiar with his small house, and seeing that the cubs didn’t come back very much, he also tried to enter the castle for the first time.

Translator’s Notes: