Chapter 43: A substitute for gray wolf Tianluo (1)

As soon as he thought that Ruan Qiuqiu probably like a gray wolf named Tianluo, Yuan Jue had a complicated feeling.

Why did that human have such bad taste?

He felt gloomy. What kind of gray wolf would be called Tianluo?

That other guy was a wolf, and yet he was called Tianluo.

Although he didn’t know what a tianluo was exactly, he knew that snails were all low-leveled creatures that didn’t have any consciousness.

(T/N: Yuan Jue is guessing that the luo she’s using means snail, but without seeing the written character for tian, he doesn’t know which tian character she means.)

That gray wolf Tianluo must be a wolf with poor aesthetics.

And yet, she had used such a happy tone to thank that wolf for helping her. She should know that they were the only two people in this cave.

Once again, his nails uncontrollably turned into claws. By the time Yuan Jue returned to his senses, he had already made more holes in the animal hide. He had only recently sewed up the holes.

Yuan Jue even darkly thought; so what if she likes a gray wolf named Tianluo, she was already married to him.

She had married him. A gray wolf who was crippled and disfigured. A gray wolf that had lost everything.

His heart suddenly felt sour. He felt buffeted by overwhelming emotions. He wished that he didn’t care. These emotions brought him suffering and pain that he had never experienced before.

That human probably liked that gray wolf called Tianluo.

Perhaps, she had been pressured into marrying him because of livelihood reasons.

By chance, he was a wolf demon too and that’s why she called him husband. She treated him well because he reminded her of that gray wolf Tianluo.

If it was before, he could confidently say Tianluo was definitely not as good as him.

He wasn’t as handsome as him. His fur wasn’t as beautiful as his. His demon form wasn’t as powerful as his. He wasn’t as strong as him. His status wasn’t better than his. He wouldn’t even be better at digging out a cave and making a stone bed than him.

But now, he has nothing. Nothing at all.

He couldn’t see anything. He was crippled. His fur didn’t look good anymore.

He wasn’t even as good as an average wolf demon that could hunt in the winter and have a small, but safe cave in the center of the tribe’s territory…

Mr. Gray Wolf felt pangs of unspeakable bitterness. It spread from his stump and changed to a childish upset feeling of being wronged.

Ruan Qiuqiu had no idea that her gray wolf husband would think so much or that he was sensitive enough to think he was a substitute for gray wolf Tianluo in her heart.

She deliberated for a moment and put in the leftover chopped up dried meat from last night into the pot too.

It was about 3PM. It was still snowing heavily outside, and she didn’t know when it would stop. She and Mr. Gray Wolf wouldn’t be going out to hunt. In order to save food, they couldn’t eat anything else today after this meal

Since they were only eating one meal a day, it should be okay to add a little bit more dried meat.

Ruan Qiuqiu’s stomach rumbled. She felt as if she was going to get stomach cramps from hunger.

She endured her hunger and glanced at Mr. Gray Wolf whose expression had turned grim. She thought his expression was because he was too hungry from smelling the cooking food.

Based on the size of his demon form that she had seen yesterday, the amount of food in the pot wouldn’t be enough for him.

Ruan Qiuqiu hesitated for a moment and decided to give Mr. Gray Wolf four strips of meat today.

It didn’t take long for the food in the pot to be cooked. Ruan Qiuqiu didn’t rush to take the food out. Instead, she condensed a drop of healing water and dropped it into the food.

The food tasted better than last night’s dinner. Perhaps, it was because she had added salt and a drop of weak healing water to the food today. Ruan Qiuqiu scarfed down the food.

She touched her half-full deflated stomach and softly sighed. She washed the wooden spoon that she had just used and scooped up a serving of food for Mr. Gray Wolf.

Since she knew he was awake, Ruan Qiuqiu explained, “Husband, we only have one wooden spoon. I just used it, but I already washed it. Don’t mind it…”

After she said that, she saw a touch of pink appearing on the wolf’s pale face.

She thought the rosyness appeared because the hungry wolf was feeling better now that there was food.

She pursed her lips into a smile and held out the wooden spoon to feed the wolf.

Yuan Jue had wanted to refuse to eat her food. He knew how valuable food was in winter, let alone when there was a blizzard outside.

Based on his survival experience of 27 years, this type of blizzard would often last for over a week and that the food she brought wouldn’t be enough for both of them.

He was a demon. Even if he didn’t eat for a long time, he wouldn’t die.

Before she had come here, he had been fine. It was merely not eating for over ten days. He could restrain his instincts.

It was one thing if he ate her food last night when he was unconscious. As a male wolf demon, it would be too outrageous if he continued to eat her food.

But, she had teased him. She said that she used this wooden spoon. Did she think that he couldn’t smell it himself? His sense of smell and hearing had gotten better after he had lost his sight.

She clearly had another gray wolf in her heart. She treated him as a food reserve and yet she called him husband…

This human was really too much…

When he swallowed the food that she fed him, his face felt hot. Although the food was fine, it tasted sweet and bitter to him.

Translator Ramblings: As silly as it is that Yuan Jue believes there’s a gray wolf named Tianluo, I think it’s easier for Yuan Jue to believe that she’s being nice to him because he reminds her of someone else than for her to be nice to him for no reason. He’s been treated so badly by his tribe that his self-esteem is low to begin with.

Now that he’s crippled and blind, he feels even more worthless. Ten days before meeting her, he lost everything that gave him self-worth. He hasn’t had time to work through that.

Even if Ruan Qiuqiu didn’t joke around, it would be hard for Yuan Jue to believe someone can be nice to him for no reason after everything he’s been through. Now that he’s figured out a reason, jealousy aside, he can be at ease. I think there’s a tug-of-war in Yuan Jue where past experience has taught him don’t trust others and his desire to want to be close to people, which makes him jump to conclusions a lot.