Chapter 436: Reformed by a Mother’s Love, It’s Only Special to You

The next moment, a wolf’s howls echoed throughout the entire building.

"Wh-what’s wrong with it?"

Chi Rui stared, dumbfounded, watching the scene before him in disbelief.

The she-wolf was roaring at the Wolf King in the cage. Her cries were urgent and fierce, the fur on her pointed face scrunching together.

Ji Qingwu covered her ears. As a mother herself, she knew exactly what the she-wolf was doing.

’What else could it be? Her son had done something wrong, and his mother was giving him a frantic scolding.’

The sound of the howling was so powerful it shook dust from the storeroom ceiling. The murky green in the Wolf King’s eyes began to clear, returning to a bright, grayish-green.

The Wolf King lowered its body into a crouch, bowed its head, and gently pressed the tip of its nose against the iron bars.

It stared at the incessantly barking she-wolf and let out a whine that sounded almost like a plea for affection.

Chi Rui, still not understanding the situation, asked, "What in the world is happening..."

Ji Qingwu replied, "She’s using a mother’s love to get through to her child."

Zhao Mingyan nodded. "Such is the greatness of a mother’s love."

Chi Rui: "..."

The she-wolf let out two more low growls, her scolding growing even fouler.

The Wolf King curled into a ball, opened its massive, man-eating jaws, and bit its own tail, looking aggrievedly at the she-wolf.

Only then did the she-wolf seem satisfied. She left the Wolf King’s cage and crept cautiously toward Ji Qingwu and the others.

Just as Chi Rui was about to call the soldiers to protect the emperor, he saw Emperor Wu Su raise a hand, signaling for them to stay back.

The she-wolf began digging at the ground with her front paws. She would dig a few times, glance at Ji Qingwu, and then continue digging.

Ji Qingwu asked, confused, "What is she doing?"

Zhao Mingyan shook his head, indicating he didn’t understand either.

Ji Qingwu gazed at the sandy pit the she-wolf had dug. She shifted her position, trying to get a clearer view.

The she-wolf’s wet nose twitched again as she caught her scent. Her drooping tail began to wag as she slowly approached Ji Qingwu.

Everyone present could sense that this she-wolf had no hostility. In fact, she seemed unusually friendly toward Ji Qingwu.

Ji Qingwu had never interacted with a wolf before, but she knew how to act around wolf-dogs.

She tentatively held out her hand, palm facing the she-wolf, letting it get used to her scent and sense her friendliness.

The she-wolf’s black nose pressed against her. A warm breath puffed onto her palm, carrying a strange sense of intimacy.

Ji Qingwu felt a small patch of cool dampness on her palm. Her body relaxed, and she tentatively stroked from the she-wolf’s nose to the top of its head.

The she-wolf’s gaze was no longer fierce like it had been with the Wolf King. Instead, it was filled with a hint of longing, as if she were seeing a long-lost master.

"She recognizes you," Zhao Mingyan’s voice came from behind her, laced with a hint of inquiry.

Ji Qingwu said in pleasant surprise, "I don’t know, but she seems to really like me."

As if to prove Ji Qingwu’s words, the she-wolf even nuzzled her palm with its furry head.

The wolf’s fur was thick and a bit coarse, tickling Ji Qingwu’s hand. The corners of her lips curved into a smile.

But when Zhao Mingyan took a few steps closer, the she-wolf’s ears immediately perked up in alarm, and a low growl rumbled in her throat.

Zhao Mingyan raised an eyebrow. "It seems she’s only special to you."

He stepped back, and the she-wolf turned, rubbing her body against the hem of Ji Qingwu’s skirt as if to guard her.

Ji Qingwu found the gesture familiar. Her gaze shifted, and she tried patting the base of its tail. The she-wolf immediately began to wag it joyfully.

Its big, fluffy tail thumped against Ji Qingwu’s knees. THWACK, THWACK.

Ji Qingwu took half a step back and crouched down, cupping the large wolf’s head in her hands.

"It’s you?!" she exclaimed in delight. "You’re Little Wolf!"

Hearing the name "Little Wolf," the she-wolf pushed off with her front paws and lunged forward excitedly, about to pounce on Ji Qingwu.

Almost at the same instant, the she-wolf’s body went airborne, just about to leap into a happy embrace, when a man who had suddenly appeared grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and lifted her up.

The she-wolf struggled, flailing her four limbs. In the cage, the Wolf King also grew agitated and began ramming against the iron bars.

Ji Qingwu pleaded, "Your Majesty, please put her down! She won’t do anything to me."

Even though she was a female and smaller in stature, the she-wolf still weighed around ninety to a hundred pounds, yet Zhao Mingyan lifted her up before his eyes with a single hand.

He commanded, "No pouncing."

The wolf’s eerie green eyes met the man’s deeply cold gaze for a moment before darting away. The wolf tucked its tail between its legs.

Seeing the she-wolf’s frightened reaction, Ji Qingwu hurried forward.

She interpreted for the wolf, saying, "Little Wolf understands. She won’t pounce recklessly. She just wants to play with me."

Zhao Mingyan’s grip loosened slightly, and the she-wolf was set down.

He said with a cold expression, "Behave."

But a wolf’s nature is cunning. The moment Zhao Mingyan wasn’t looking, it dove under Ji Qingwu’s skirt, leaving only its fluffy head poking out.

Ji Qingwu bent down and patted its head, amused.

The she-wolf whimpered, looking up at her as if complaining about the man’s brutality.

A vein throbbed on Zhao Mingyan’s temple. ’If it weren’t a she-wolf, and if Ji Qingwu weren’t protecting it so fiercely, he would have long since thrown it out of the tent.’

Ji Qingwu sighed with emotion. "So you’re actually a wolf..."

Zhao Mingyan asked, "You didn’t know she was a wolf? Then why did you name her Little Wolf?"

Ji Qingwu recalled the past, a smile playing on her lips as she explained, "Back then, I thought she was a wolf-dog pup. I hoped she would grow up to be as fierce as a wolf so she wouldn’t be bullied anymore."

This was right after she had come down from the mountains, before she joined the army camp. She had found the pup on the road, fighting with a wild boar over food. Its body was covered in wounds from the boar’s tusks.

Wolf cubs really do look a lot like puppies, and she still had a coat of yellow baby fur that hadn’t shed yet.

She had rescued the cub and raised it for a while. Later, Little Wolf ran off on her own, and she had been heartbroken for quite some time.

’So Little Wolf returned to her pack,’ she thought, ’and even gave birth to a Wolf King.’

Ji Qingwu stroked its smooth, silver-gray fur and said, "My, how you’ve grown. Little Wolf, you’re so beautiful now."

The she-wolf’s tail poked out from under her skirt and began to wag happily without pause.

’Where’s the bloodthirsty nature of a wolf in that fawning display?’ Zhao Mingyan shot it a sideways glance.

Ji Qingwu asked, "Your Majesty, what do you plan to do with the Wolf King?"

Now that the Wolf King had regained his senses and could no longer be controlled by the Xijin people, the right thing to do was to let the mother and son return to the snowy plains.

Zhao Mingyan said, "Considering his mother rendered a great service by protecting the little master, I will not hold this against him."

Ji Qingwu’s eyes suddenly lit up.

’Could it be that Little Wolf smelled my scent on Yuan Heng, knew the little one was my child, and that’s why she nursed him?’

Zhao Mingyan ordered, "Take the cage outside the camp and release him."

Chi Rui bowed his head. "Yes, sir."

Four soldiers lifted the cage, but Ji Qingwu cried out, "Wait!"

Her gaze fell on the inside of the cage, on a small red dot near the Wolf King’s paws.

It was moving...