Chapter 17

Gu Tingshuang forcibly suppressed this desire.

Gu Tingshuang hadn't set foot on the ground for four years, nor had he been so lively and active as he was now.

With a touch of mischievous and wanton intent, he ran everywhere he could.

Climbing trees, scaling artificial hills, diving into the lake, and even rolling in the mud once.

The young wolf spirit hidden beneath his own consciousness shared in his joy, feeling elated and excited.

Both spirits occupied the divine wolf's body simultaneously, with Gu Tingshuang controlling it and sensing the young wolf's thoughts.

He knew how much a young silver wolf liked the sensation of its back brushing lightly against the side of a mountain rock, enjoyed chasing the fleeting shadows of sunlight, and loved stepping into the chilling springs, with every hair from its ears to its tail shivering in delight.

He could also feel the young wolf's fascination with certain scents—its sense of smell magnified many times over compared to a human's within the divine wolf's body. He could smell the pomegranate flowers above his head brewing fruit, with the fresh and tangy scent of the budding pomegranate seeds tinged with an underlying sweetness.

The whole garden was in full bloom: pomegranates, figs, ginseng trees, bodhi, and celestial oranges.

As he passed by, he willfully disrupted the perfectly trimmed branches of the divine trees, shook off the just-formed fruits, and recklessly crushed flower branches and petals.

He chased rabbits, and pounced on celestial birds, and even the maids tending the garden were startled and laughed, saying, "The little wolf Dianxia raised has gone mad! It was never this lively before!"

The young silver wolf was different from Gu Tingshuang. Because Ning Shiting liked this little wolf cub, others no longer feared the identity of the white wolf god and became quite fond of this furry, harmless little creature.

Two maids pulled out a few pieces of jerky from their sleeves, holding them up to entice the silver-white figure hidden among the trees. “Come on, little wolf, there’s something tasty here.”

The young wolf’s consciousness deep within the spiritual realm grew even more excited, and this body couldn’t help but feel a bit hungry.

But Gu Tingshuang forcibly suppressed this desire.

The little white wolf on the tree did not enthusiastically leap towards the food as it had before. Instead, it climbed even higher and merely glanced back at them.

In the sunlight, its pale eyes shone like glazed amber, beautiful yet carrying a hint of mischief and arrogance.

For a moment, they looked almost human.

“The little wolf has become a spirit!”

One of the maids observed this and came to that conclusion.

Her companion tugged at her sleeve and laughed. “The white wolf god's kind is closest to human in spirit, but the little wolf is still so young. Don’t get so startled.”

They left the jerky where they were, waiting for the little wolf to come and eat it.

Gu Tingshuang controlled the wolf's body to jump down from the tree. He dug a hole and picked up the jerky, but did not eat it, instead burying it.

"I'll bury your snacks here for you. You can come back later to find them."

The young wolf protested a bit in his spiritual consciousness, clearly wanting him to eat it now, but eventually relented, sending out a signal of grievance.

Gu Tingshuang had chosen to abstain from food and sever the seven emotions and six desires since he was young, to prevent himself from succumbing to regrets born of desire. If it weren’t for his spiritual roots being destroyed later, he would most likely have pursued the Heartless Dao.

Though the White Wolf God clan was blessed by both divine and demonic paths, as divine beasts, they inevitably retained the most primal instincts of their kind—territorial aggression, hunger for food, and demands for a mate.

Little by little, he used his spiritual consciousness and fought against these instincts within the young wolf's body, excluding them entirely. Like a ruthless, iron-fisted ruler, he unwaveringly adhered to his principles.

Amid the fragrant garden, he followed a scent that didn’t belong to flowers or fruits.

In the young wolf's consciousness, this scent was particularly familiar.

Among thousands of different scents, only this one evoked a deep sense of attachment in its consciousness.

This attachment allowed Gu Tingshuang to see the young wolf's past, the feeling of being carried back to the den by a beautiful mother wolf under the high-hanging full moon on long nights.

The wolf's teeth gently gripped the nape of its neck, as if clutching its lifeline, lifting it to a completely warm place.

The mountain wind brushed by as the mother wolf, with a mixture of slight disdain and tender care, carried it back to the den. Another tall, strong male wolf returned to the nest, gently licking its fur with a rough tongue.

Human and beast are different paths, but this feeling suddenly reminded Gu Tingshuang of the years before he was ten years old.

It was also a time when the moon was out.

The Wangfei made mooncakes and held him on her lap, singing lullabies to him in a gentle voice.

The only woman in the world who had ever loved him had hands that were soft and strong, with a pleasant fragrance. Her fingertips, painted with cochineal, gently peeled away the pastry he didn't like, feeding him the sweets filled with malt sugar and jasmine.

Following that scent, he entered the Baicao Garden.

The Baicao Garden of Qing Wang's palace spanned thousands of li, encompassing plants from all of Jiuzhou and the six realms. There were many places that even the people in the palace never dared to enter.

He used to play here with the little wolf, often waiting at the entrance of the garden because it was inconvenient to move the wheelchair.

The little wolf's memories of this place were deeper than his own, and it was very familiar with the routes that various small animals would take.

Through layers of flower shadows and lush greenery, the fragrance grew stronger. What came into view was the rising steam and, with his back to him, a figure soaking in a spring pool.

Ning Shiting.

Despite being obscured by the water vapour, and only seeing a partially naked back mostly covered by hair, a glance at that refreshing, slightly blue-silver hair was enough to confirm it was him.

Wolf eyes were many times more acute than human eyes, able to see through the mist and discern the fair, smooth texture of Ning Shiting’s back.

Gu Tingshuang was stunned.

He had only been following the little wolf's emotions, seeking the source of that familiar scent, but hadn't anticipated that the one who could be compared to its "parents" in the little wolf's eyes was Ning Shiting.

Gu Tingshuang had picked up this wolf cub from Spirit Mountain and raised it for two years. Ning Shiting had only been in the palace for less than two months, yet this wolf cub had already developed such deep feelings for him?

The little wolf’s consciousness seemed to sense his emotion, shrinking a bit and feeling more aggrieved.

Unwilling to give up, Gu Tingshuang delved into the little wolf's memories to see its impression of him.

The little wolf’s memories of him were intertwined with its experiences on Spirit Mountain. Activating the little wolf's memories related to him, Gu Tingshuang discovered that the little wolf viewed him with reverence and obedience.

The pack of wolves squatted at the edge of a cliff, howling at the moon, with endless lava waves below.

The little wolf was the only newborn, still clinging to its parents’ neck.

The mother wolf carried it to the center of the pack, receiving moonlight and lava heat. The sky cracked open with a blue slit, revealing a giant divine eye.

It was the long-lost eye of the white wolf god, opening in the long night to bless the newborn life and acknowledge the pack’s achievements.

Seeing this, Gu Tingshuang felt somewhat satisfied and decided to let the matter go.

He had been out for a while, feeling his spiritual energy depleting. It was time to return.

However, just as he took the first step to turn back, the branch beneath the little wolf suddenly gave way with a "kāchā."

Before Gu Tingshuang could react, the little wolf’s body plummeted straight down.

Falling wasn’t enough; the ground below was a slippery white jade slope, used to hold bath incense. Claws couldn’t grip it, and the tail flailed and paws scrabbled without finding any hold.

With a pūtōng, he landed directly in the hot spring where Ning Shiting was bathing, sending up a huge spray of water.

The Author has Something to Say

Being a wolf is not the same as being a persimmon haha [doge]