Chapter 676: Innocent or Pretending to be Innocent?

Jian Yining also has a soft heart.

In the end, he brought over a small twig thinner than a pinky finger and gestured at Xiaobai: "Hurry up and leave, don't act pitiful in front of us. Last time we were kind enough to give you food, and look at you, you brought your whole Clan to snatch everything we had."

"Are you planning to repeat the same trick now? It won't work; we won't make the same mistake a second time."

Using the fiercest tone to say the most cowardly words.

Sheng Hanyu: "Why are you two wasting your breath on it? Let's stew it."

"Puppy meat must be delicious, fresh and tender."

Shi Youxuan:...

Jian Yining:...

Both of them objected.

"Can't stew it, wolf meat doesn't taste good," Shi Youxuan said.

Sheng Hanyu asked her: "You've eaten it? I reckon it's about the same as dog meat." As he spoke, he looked eager to try.

Jian Yining: "This little thing doesn't even have a few ounces of meat on it, it's not worth the trouble. I think we should just forget it."

Sheng Hanyu stepped closer, his cold face expressionless: "Conditions are tough right now, so don't be picky. Even if the Xiaolang has little meat, it's still better than snake meat, and it has fewer bones."

Jian Yining simply blocked his path and shouted at the little white wolf: "Xiaobai, run! If you don't run now, you'll end up in the pot."

Xiaobai didn't run; instead, it took steps toward the campfire on its own.

As it walked, it looked at the three of them, whimpering "woo-woo" incessantly.

It was as if it were saying, "I'm hungry," and "I want to eat meat."

Truly, the ignorant are fearless.

It didn't know what kind of person Sheng Hanyu was—a man who keeps his word—and thought he was just trying to scare it.

Sheng Hanyu: "Huh? Why isn't it afraid of the fire?"

Shi Youxuan:...

Jian Yining:...

Oh, right.

Xiaobai lay by the campfire, spinning in circles one moment and rolling onto its back the next.

It was warming itself by the fire at a full three-hundred-sixty degrees, with no blind spots.

Not only was it not afraid, but it also looked quite comfortable.

Aren't wolves supposed to be afraid of fire?

But Xiaobai wasn't afraid.

Nianyin had said that the "Bai Lang" are very clever and have high intelligence; perhaps that was the reason it wasn't afraid of fire.

The three of them surrounded Xiaobai, watching it warm itself by the fire.

Shi Youxuan and Jian Yining looked at Xiaobai out of curiosity, while Sheng Hanyu just wanted to roast it.

"Woo-woo—"

Perhaps because its body was warm, it began to hope for more.

Xiaobai pointed at the pot with its nose, drooling!

"How about we give it some more food?" Shi Youxuan hesitated.

She was afraid that what happened last time would repeat itself, that feeding Xiaobai would summon "Old White" again, along with all their vicious "relatives."

But Xiaobai looked so cute.

Its pure, harmless little eyes were wet and pitiful.

Looking at it, she couldn't bring herself to hate it at all.

Jian Yining felt the same.

Even though he knew one shouldn't trip over the same stone twice, he just wanted to find a reasonable excuse for an unreasonable act.

He said: "Maybe what happened last time had nothing to do with Xiaobai; it was a misunderstanding..."

Shi Youxuan: "Yes, I also think it was a misunderstanding."

Sheng Hanyu was always annoyed by the two of them singing in harmony, but he wasn't good at bickering and always preferred to express himself through action.

Xiaobai was picked up by Sheng Hanyu, who lifted the pot lid...

"Woo-woo, awoo—"

Xiaobai was startled, kicking and struggling with all four limbs, even trying to turn its head to bite him, but unfortunately, all its struggles were in vain; it couldn't do anything at all.

Suddenly, it stretched its neck as hard as it could and let out a distress signal.

"Awoo—"

The sound was different from its usual milky cuteness; it was sharp and piercing.

"Let go, give Xiaobai back to me. If you do this, you'll soon summon its mother. We've worked so hard to get here; it would be a shame if all our efforts went to waste." Shi Youxuan snatched Xiaobai from her husband's hands.

It was very easy to snatch it away.

"Woo-woo—"

It was terrified.

It curled its body into a tiny ball, burying its furry head deep into Shi Youxuan's arms. Sheng Hanyu was even more annoyed.

"Hmph! So cunning at such a young age; it's even more reason not to let you grow up. Who knows how many people you'll harm when you're grown."

"Xuanxuan, I promised you I wouldn't eat it, so let it go. Keeping it will only bring trouble sooner or later."

Shi Youxuan agreed: "Okay."

She put Xiaobai down and poured some meat out of the pot for it to eat its fill.

While Xiaobai was eating the meat, she kept nagging it on the side: "Xiaobai, go back and tell your mom not to come looking for us anymore. Our food was already snatched away by the wolves of your Clan last time, so even if they come again, there's nothing left..."

Xiaobai seemed to understand.

It nodded while eating.

However, after it had eaten its fill, it leaped into Shi Youxuan's arms and fell asleep instantly, even letting out a faint snore.

Shi Youxuan:...

What the hell?

Is it going to latch onto them now?

What should they do?

Jian Yining began to find excuses for Xiaobai: "Perhaps last time was a misunderstanding; the Big White Wolf wasn't provoked by Xiaobai. After all, when they attacked us last time, Xiaobai had an alibi."

Sheng Hanyu's brows were already furrowed into a knot; he had abandoned his home and children to come here, not to be a guardian for a wolf cub.

His wife was a woman, so it was fine if she was soft-hearted.

But even Jian Yining, a grown man, was soft-hearted, which he found quite disdainful.

Jian Yining suggested: "Let's put it in the grass; it will go back once it wakes up."

Shi Youxuan objected: "No, the grass is too dangerous. Xiaobai is such a tiny little thing, so silly and without any sense of caution; it could easily be eaten in its sleep without even knowing how it died."

Sheng Hanyu tossed out a cold remark: "I think it's smarter than you; it's not certain who would be the one eaten in their sleep."

"Hey, what is wrong with you? You've been contradicting me from the start. It's still so small, and you keep slapping the label of conspiracy theories onto it—is that appropriate?" Shi Youxuan said, displeased.

Sheng Hanyu: "It's appropriate, perfectly appropriate. If your memory is poor, let me remind you: don't forget that a week ago, you were almost eaten by its mother—the Big White Wolf."

"And now you're overflowing with sympathy; I see you've never read the story of Master Dongguo and the wolf."

Shi Youxuan was already very angry.

But he continued anyway: "Oh! Right, I forgot that you learned everything on the sly, picking up bits and pieces here and there. Your learning is all unorthodox, so you wouldn't know the knowledge from textbooks, ha, ha ha ha ha."

"Get lost!"

Shi Youxuan threw a stone at him.

Sheng Hanyu dodged, and it didn't hit him.

She held Xiaobai, and although her maternal instincts were overflowing, she still reluctantly woke it up.

Then she placed it on the ground: "Xiaobai, go back and find your mother. Be careful on the way, and take a detour if you encounter danger."

"Awoo—"

Xiaobai opened its sleepy eyes to look around and discovered it was on the ground.

It immediately leaped into Shi Youxuan's arms without hesitation—nestling back into her embrace, adjusting to a comfortable angle, and then closing its eyes to fall asleep again, very satisfied!

Shi Youxuan sent it away two more times, but each time it would wake up in an instant and then jump back into Shi Youxuan's arms at the first opportunity.

It even stared into her eyes with a pitiful, innocent little gaze!

Clearly, it was because of it that they were almost eaten, yet now, being stared at by its little eyes, Shi Youxuan felt very guilty, as if she had done something wrong.

Later on, Jian Yining carried Xiaobai even further away and specifically made a nest and shelter for it using vines and grass.

But no sooner had he returned than Xiaobai ran back, skillfully jumping into Shi Youxuan's arms once again.

Is it really going to latch onto her?

Sheng Hanyu lifted the pot lid again...

"I'll try again."

Once Xiaobai was asleep again, Shi Youxuan hurriedly carried it and ran in the opposite direction; this time, she placed it in a tree, at a height of over a person's stature.