Walking in the cycle of reincarnation

Chapter 36 White Wolf

Outside the wolf's den, the north wind howled.

The entrance to the cave was half-hidden in the snow, leaving only a narrow slit through which a few slivers of dim sunlight peeked in.

Inside the den, three gray-brown wolf cubs huddled together, their bellies pressed against each other, sharing their body heat, and slept soundly.

A few feet away, a small, snow-white figure was curled up alone, standing out starkly from the surrounding gloom.

The little figure was all white as frost, with a golden thread running down its back from the back of its neck to the tip of its tail.

Its four paws are covered with soft purple jade pads, its ears stand up like sharp blades, its body is smaller than other wolf cubs by a circumference, and its tailbone has two extra segments. It has the appearance of a wolf and a fox, which is different from the usual kind.

The white wolf slowly opened its eyes, its gaze revealing a clarity that was not of beastly descent.

He propped himself up, moved his limbs which were stiff from the cold, shook off the bits of grass from his body, and the golden threads on his back flashed a glimmer of light in the dim light.

Why hasn't the mother wolf returned yet? Could something have happened to her?

Feeling the wind and snow outside the cave, Zhang Nanfeng suddenly felt a rumbling in his stomach, followed by waves of cramping pain.

He hasn't eaten a single thing since the mother wolf left two days ago. Now, he can barely maintain his body temperature.

He looked up at the three wolf cubs.

They huddled together, breathing evenly, their bellies rising and falling with their snores, looking much warmer than him.

Zhang Nanfeng moved his limbs and walked towards them. His feet rustled very softly on the dry grass.

Before they were even three feet apart, the largest of the three wolf cubs suddenly raised its head.

Its grayish-brown stubble had grown in, and with a twitch of its ear tips, its eerie yellow eyes locked onto Zhang Nanfeng, letting out a low whimper, full of warning.

Zhang Nanfeng paused in his steps.

It has been more than a month since he was born.

The mother wolf disliked him from the day he was born. When nursing, she would always feed the other three first before allowing him to come near. Sometimes, if he nursed for a little longer, the mother wolf would growl and push him away, or even lightly bite the back of his neck with her teeth and throw him aside.

The three wolf cubs followed suit, never getting close to him, and forbidding him from approaching. The reason for this was simply that he looked very different from the mother wolf and the three wolf cubs.

To humans, he might be a rare and exotic beast, but among the wolf pack, he was an absolute freak.

Zhang Nanfeng disdained to associate with them.

He originally planned to leave the nest alone once his muscles and bones had fully grown, to explore this new territory, and to seek an opportunity to embark on the path to immortality.

But at this moment, he was extremely cold.

Hunger and bitter cold intertwined, like two centipedes crawling through one's marrow.

When the wolf cub saw him stop, it thought its intimidation had worked. It propped itself up, bared its tiny milk teeth at him, pulled its mouth back, and let its saliva drip like silver threads, its hostility even greater.

Zhang Nanfeng stared at the milk teeth and the beastly eyes filled with rejection and hostility. A surge of ferocity suddenly rushed to his heart, overpowering his hunger and cold.

He pushed off the ground with all four limbs, and his figure shot out like a white rainbow, as fast as lightning.

The big wolf cub was completely unprepared for the skinny freak to take the initiative and was knocked over by the head, falling face-up into the hay.

Without hesitation, Zhang Nanfeng bit down on its throat.

His fangs were far sharper than those of the wolf cubs; the tips of his teeth pressed against the flesh, and with just a little force, he could bite through their throats, causing them to bleed on the spot.

But he didn't kill him.

What he wanted was not killing, but submission.

Even with his throat locked, the wolf cub, taking advantage of its size, struggled and kicked wildly, trying to overturn Zhang Nanfeng.

Although Zhang Nanfeng was small, his body, which had undergone three lifetimes of reincarnation and fusion, was far superior to that of a beast cub that was only a month old.

He steadily adjusted his center of gravity, pressing his entire weight onto it, and slowly tightened his jaw.

The wolf cub's struggles gradually changed tone, from anger to panic, and the force of its kicks became weaker and weaker.

Zhang Nanfeng's teeth had already pierced its skin, and warm blood was seeping out. If it went in just a little deeper, its trachea would be severed.

This newborn wolf cub experienced the shadow of death for the first time in its life.

Its limbs gradually went limp, its belly turned inside out, its tail was tucked between its legs, and it made a whimpering sound in its throat.

Zhang Nanfeng understood.

This is a gesture of submission and begging in the wolf pack.

He loosened his jaw slightly and glanced sideways at the other two wolf cubs watching the battle.

The two wolves, who had already stood up and were about to pounce to help, froze in place when they saw the big wolf being restrained. They looked at each other, then slowly lowered their heads, burying their noses between their front paws, not daring to meet Zhang Nanfeng's gaze.

This is the alpha wolf effect.

Among wolves, there is never any tender negotiation, only a distinction between the strong and the weak.

The position of alpha wolf has nothing to do with bloodline or age, but only with claws and courage. Once the leader is established, the other wolves will instinctively obey, entrusting their body heat, food, and even their lives to the strong.

Zhang Nanfeng sneered inwardly.

As beasts, the victor is king and the loser submits—that's simple and straightforward.

He opened his mouth.

As soon as the wolf cub was free, it immediately rolled away and huddled in the corner where Zhang Nanfeng had been lying, trembling. It was unclear whether it was out of sheer fear or simply unable to bear the chill.

Zhang Nanfeng gestured with his eyes—

Come here and lie down.

The wolf cub hesitated for a moment, but ultimately dared not disobey. Dragging its tail, it carefully crawled back to Zhang Nanfeng's side, lay down on its side with its belly on the ground.

Zhang Nanfeng used the same method, staring intently at the other two. The two wolf cubs became even more obedient, lowering their heads and meekly approaching.

He rearranged the three wolf cubs so that they surrounded him, forming a small ball of flesh.

Zhang Nanfeng lay in the center, his back against the chest and abdomen of the big wolf cub, his belly against the back of another wolf, and his purple claws resting on the waist of the third wolf.

Warmth is gradually returning.

The body heat of the four wolf cubs mingled, like a small flame burning on dry grass.

Zhang Nanfeng was finally no longer cold, and the cramps in her abdomen eased a bit.

Before long, the three wolf cubs fell asleep one after another.

They are still young and their nerves are rough; once the danger is over, they quickly become sleepy.

Only Zhang Nanfeng was wide awake.

He stared with his eyes open at the sliver of light at the cave entrance.

The snow is still falling, and the wind is still howling.

If the mother wolf doesn't come back... what should we do?

He turned his head, looking at the sleeping wolf cub beside him, and recalled a documentary he had watched during his childhood in his previous life—

If the mother wolf does not return for a long time, the wolf cubs, who are a month old, will be driven by hunger to tear each other apart, using the flesh and blood of their own kind to survive, until the last one survives or all of them starve to death.

Zhang Nanfeng felt a chill run down his spine.

In his past life, he had swallowed countless venomous insects without ever feeling any discomfort. But that was infighting, the law of nature. To ask him to bite through the throats of these wolf cubs and suck the flesh of his own kind...

He couldn't bring himself to eat it.

Thinking of this, Zhang Nanfeng gritted his teeth secretly.

If the mother wolf truly hadn't returned, he couldn't wait to die in this den, much less watch his three wolf cubs, driven mad by hunger, pounce on him. He had to go out once the snowstorm outside had subsided. Even if it was just a matter of luck, even if it was just digging up some grass roots or catching a field mouse, it was better than waiting to die.

Having made up his mind, Zhang Nanfeng looked inward and carefully examined the three supernatural powers within his wolf body in this life.