After The Soft And Cute Beauty Marries The Wolf King - Chapter 72

“Hey, hey! I’m talking to you, Lang Sa? Son? Are you deaf?”

“…” Lang Sa snapped out of his thoughts and replied helplessly, “You’re the one who’s deaf!”

His mother shook her furry ears and poked her son’s hand with her slender nails, saying, “You’ve been back for so many days, but your heart is still wandering outside?”

Lang Sa responded, “…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

His father chimed in at the right moment, “She’s saying that while you’ve returned, your heart is still left out there.”

Lang Sa’s temple throbbed, “Did I ask you to translate?!”

*

A few days ago, he went out for a stroll, nearly circling all the countries where humans gather.

How this news got out is unclear—probably because he often spaced out after returning—but somehow the story spread that he went to the human territories to choose a wife.

His father believed it and asked earnestly, “Was it a man or a woman? A human or a wolf?”

Lang Sa was incredibly annoyed—of course, the main reason was that he was indeed thinking about the little prince of Anyu. So, in a moment of carelessness, he blurted out the truth.

His father and mother pondered seriously for a while and then said, “Intermarriage with humans… there’s no precedent for that. But no precedent also means no one has ever opposed it.”

Lang Sa: “…Is that what it means? That’s not what it means!”

His mother said, “It is what it means. Get ready.”

“Get ready for what?”

“I don’t know. Go ask around.”

Lang Sa: “…”

After asking a bunch of questions, in the end, he still had to go figure it out himself.

The Wolf King, who fears nothing, felt utterly speechless in this matter.

How should he put it, he didn’t even know the little prince’s name.

However, perhaps because the topic was actually brought up, Lang Sa found himself thinking about the little prince more and more.

He had never seen someone so beautiful.

He still remembered that when the little prince removed the rabbit mask from his face, the expression hidden underneath was even cuter than the rabbit.

Once the thought took root, Lang Sa felt he couldn’t wait another moment.

He had no interest in learning more about human customs. He just packed a few clothes and some money and set out for Anyu again.

The grasslands and Anyu were far apart, but Lang Sa was so focused on the journey that it only took him four days to reach Anyu’s borders.

However, this trip…

Lang Sa sensed something was wrong when he was about a hundred miles from Anyu.

In his memory, though the people of Anyu lived off farming, they were naturally optimistic, hospitable, and full of endless energy, never seeming to tire.

That place felt like a land where the sun never set—always joyful, always lively.

But now…

Along the way, he hadn’t seen a single person, and as he neared the city gates, Lang Sa even smelled the thick scent of blood!

His heart sank as he tightened the reins and rushed onward.

The scene that met him when he pushed open the city gate would almost become the nightmare of his life.

…Corpses lay everywhere along the streets, the roads piled with bodies that had died with their eyes wide open. The farmhouses, inns, and shops were in complete ruins.

Anything that could be smashed had been, and what couldn’t be destroyed was set on fire.

The air was thick with the ash of burned remains, and as far as the eye could see, there wasn’t a single survivor.

…Even the little brown horse traveling with Lang Sa refused to take another step.

What… happened here…

For a moment, Lang Sa was almost in doubt.

Was this really the Anyu Kingdom he had visited before…

He stood in a daze at the city gate for a moment, then snapped out of it and immediately ran toward the palace!

Lang Sa had never felt his heart race so fast. His chest throbbed painfully, and it felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest.

“Wait for me… wait for me!”

He kept repeating these words in his mind, his thoughts a blank.

Lang Sa never actually made it into the palace.

…From far away, he saw the raging inferno.

The blazing fire lit up the entire sky, and the flames seemed to lick his face even from a hundred meters away.

Lang Sa stared blankly in the direction of the palace, his heart filled with sorrow.

With such a fire, there’s no way it only burned for one day…

His legs felt as though they were nailed to the ground; he couldn’t move at all.

How could this happen? How could… this happen…

Slowly, he walked toward the palace.

The fire was still raging, with no sign of it dying down, and explosions occasionally erupted within the blaze.

The sounds, combined with the flames, were deafening.

The Wolf King, tall and agile, never expected that these few short steps would make his legs go weak.

He finally reached the palace gate, and the overwhelming flames seemed ready to engulf him.

The bright flames were just a few steps away, yet Lang Sa still felt like he was in a daze.

What… exactly happened…

He tore off his cloak and wrapped it around his hand, intending to rush into the palace, but just then, a small explosion sounded nearby.

A charred object tumbled from the air, rolling right to Lang Sa’s feet.

Lang Sa numbly bent down to pick it up, and after wiping off the ash, his heart twisted in pain—

It was a small jade rabbit.

He remembered this!

This was, this was…

That day at the lantern festival, the little prince had this pendant hanging from his waist!

This item wasn’t lost in the palace but had fallen outside the palace gates…

Could that mean, could that mean…

Lang Sa’s heart came alive again.

He must have escaped, he must have escaped!

Lang Sa’s heart pounded like a drum.

That made sense! The palace was heavily guarded, and as a prince, someone must have protected him!

He must have escaped; he must have escaped!

Lang Sa pressed his hand to his chest and quickly recalled Anyu’s geography, immediately identifying the safest escape route from the palace!

He put away the pendant and set off again.

…But fate ultimately refused to show them any more mercy.

Lang Sa had just reached the outskirts when he found the first living person of this journey, by the edge of a cliff.

The man was hunched over, crouching by the cliffside, and was peeling the clothes off a corpse.

…Lang Sa recognized those clothes.

His breath nearly stopped, and his lips trembled.

By the time he came to his senses, he had already shot an arrow through the thief’s heart, gouged out his eyes, and broken the hands that had touched the little prince.

Lang Sa’s mind was blank. He numbly dropped the thief’s body and stared at the ground a few steps away.

…He had finally found him, but…

Lang Sa could no longer support his body. He staggered back two steps and fell to the ground.

He didn’t know how long had passed, but it wasn’t until the cold began to seep into his body that Lang Sa blinked and regained some awareness.

He was covered in blood, the dried stains sticking between his fingers, the touch so sickening it made him want to vomit.

He tore off a small piece of his sleeve to barely wipe his hands clean, then stood and walked forward.

Those two or three steps were so short, so close, yet Lang Sa felt as though he’d used up all his strength.

He trembled as he moved the two entangled corpses apart, carefully wiping the man’s face clean.

The face that appeared before him was so familiar.

Lang Sa could hardly breathe.

The little prince’s clothes were tattered, with the sleeves and waist torn in several places. Any spot where valuables could be hidden had been completely looted. 

Lang Sa had to exert some effort to separate him from the other corpse—the little prince’s hands were tightly clutching the person beneath him, in a posture that showed he had been trying with all his might to protect that person.

Lang Sa wiped the other person’s face clean, and upon closer inspection, he realized that the other person was the little prince’s disabled elder brother.

Unlike the little prince, his brother… most likely committed suicide. The fatal wound was on his neck, a slender, round yet deep cut, and the blood that sprayed out stained the back and front of both their clothes.

A hairpin stained with blood lay next to the two bodies.

Lang Sa undid his cloak and covered the little prince, then bent down to gather him into his arms.

He closed his eyes, his face pale as he leaned against Lang Sa’s chest, obediently, as if he were only sleeping.

But Lang Sa knew that the body in his arms was cold and stiff.

Lang Sa tried to lift the person’s knees to carry him up—at the very least, he didn’t want the little prince to remain so pitifully fallen at the foot of the cliff.

But the person in his arms was as heavy as a thousand pounds, weighing down Lang Sa so much that he couldn’t straighten his knees—he had just stood up, only to immediately fall back to the ground.

The once invincible Wolf King, now unable even to lift his beloved.

Lang Sa held the little prince’s body, gazing at the sky, and for the first time, he found this black-and-white world to be utterly despairing.

Later, Lang Sa’s little brown horse finally found them.

Lang Sa placed the two of them on the horse’s back, found the safest spot nearby, and gave them a proper burial.

Only then did it occur to Lang Sa that the two brothers looked very much alike—they might even have been twins.

Their bond must have been strong… even when they had nowhere to run, the little prince was unwilling to leave behind his disabled brother, while the elder brother would rather kill himself than burden his younger brother.

But they were both dead.

As he erected the gravestone, Lang Sa felt dazed.

To this day, he still didn’t know the little prince’s name.

All he knew was that others called him Xiao Qing’er, and he remembered that Anyu’s royal family name was Xie.

After much hesitation, he only carved a round-faced little rabbit on the gravestone.

Lang Sa also placed the little jade rabbit he had found in the palace into the grave. He put it in the little prince’s hand, letting him hold it tightly.

He couldn’t restore the little rabbit to its original form, but he did his best to clean it.

I found a place near your hometown. I hope you’ll like the scenery here.

…If there is a next life, may you never suffer like this again.

Lang Sa covered the little prince with handfuls of dirt, his heart already drowned in sorrow.

He stayed there for several days, not at ease until he saw that no one was pursuing them.

After leaving, he returned to Anyu, only to be shocked to find that it had already fallen into new hands.

It turned out that a small nation in the distance had set its sights on expanding into Central Plains, so they targeted the agrarian kingdom of Anyu.

Lang Sa captured their king, turned him into a human swine, and hung him on the city wall outside Anyu’s palace. He also captured the strategists and fed them to the beasts on the grasslands.

He avenged the little prince, avenged his family.

…But what did it matter? The dead could not be brought back to life, and the little prince would never live again.

Lang Sa returned to the grasslands empty-handed, without bringing anyone back, nor any news.

He became silent, his temperament gradually growing more unpredictable.

No one dared to ask what had happened—not even his father or mother.

After that, only a creature called Ateus stayed by the Wolf King’s side.

One night, Lang Sa lay in his secret hideaway, gazing at the moon outside.

Ateus was also by his side—recently, Lang Sa’s rutting periods had become more frequent; even this morning, he was still feverish. Ateus worried about him being alone and followed him everywhere.

It lay beside Lang Sa, occasionally lowering its large head to nuzzle his hair.

Lang Sa, with his hands behind his head, stared at Ateus’s paws, suddenly saying, “Ateus, tell me, why did he have to die?”

Ateus froze for a moment.

It bent down, lying beside its master, and its golden wolf eyes gradually grew moist. It buried its head between its front paws, silently shedding tears where no one could see.

Lang Sa didn’t pay it any further attention. He just kept looking at the moon outside, murmuring to himself.

“…Why did he have to die?”

*

Soft footsteps came from behind, and Lang Sa pretended not to hear them, just glancing sideways as he sensed the approach.

The moment the little girl behind him lunged and pushed his back, he quickly balled up the clothes in his hand and threw them back—

Xie Lingyue yelped as she was knocked to the ground.

…Lang Sa himself was a bit disheveled. Xie Lingyue was a little rascal with immense strength. Even though he had prepared himself, he was nearly pushed over.

But as an adult, he still had to maintain his dignity. Lang Sa stood up straight, looking down coldly, and said, “Do you want to die, picking a fight with your old man?”

Xie Lingyue got up, patted the dirt off herself, and loudly shouted toward the door, “Dad hit me!”

Hurried footsteps immediately came from behind the door!

“…” Lang Sa gritted his teeth and said, “Xie Lingyue, why are you tattling on me?!”

Xie Lingyue made a face at him as she clung to the doorframe.

“What are you two up to now—cough, cough, cough!”

Xie Zhiqing didn’t even finish his sentence before a coughing fit interrupted him.

Lang Sa quickly went over to check on him, and as he passed by Xie Lingyue, he patted her on the head.

Xie Lingyue pouted and ran over to Xie Zhiqing as well.

A few days ago, the weather changed, and Xie Zhiqing caught a cold, running a fever for several days. Although he was better now, he still occasionally coughed.

When the little prince was sick, he was very well-behaved, neither crying nor making a fuss, just quietly sleeping all the time.

…But this demeanor was what Lang Sa feared most.

During the days Xie Zhiqing was unconscious, Lang Sa didn’t dare close his eyes—not even once. The moment he did, those nightmarish memories would flood his mind, tormenting him with anxiety and fear.

Fortunately, Xie Zhiqing recovered, though his cough hadn’t fully gone away.

Lang Sa patted his back, asking softly, “Feeling better today?”

Xie Zhiqing, feigning weakness, replied, “You two keep making me mad, that’s why I’m not getting better.”

“…” Lang Sa jerked his chin toward Xie Lingyue, angrily saying, “You’re the one who’s always riling us up.”

Xie Zhiqing chimed in, “Exactly. Go stand over there.”

Xie Lingyue was in utter disbelief. Her lips pouted high as she stomped over to the corner to stand as punishment.

Xie Zhiqing nudged Lang Sa’s arm and gestured toward the corner, saying, “You too.”

Lang Sa: “???”

Xie Zhiqing had his reasons: “You two must have been provoking each other.”

Lang Sa: “…”

Xie Lingyue: “Hehe!!!”

The humble Wolf King, punished to stand in the corner with a child.

But in the end, Lang Sa didn’t behave as well as a child. He pretended to stand there for a while, then found an excuse to move closer to Xie Zhiqing.

“Wear more clothes, don’t get sick again.”

Though it was an excuse, every word came from the heart—he was terrified of seeing Xie Zhiqing pale and asleep.

Xie Zhiqing smiled, pressing his finger to Lang Sa’s shoulder, and softly said, “Don’t always fool around with Lingyue.”

Lang Sa didn’t respond, only taking advantage of Xie Lingyue’s inability to see to hug his beloved little prince.

Xie Zhiqing’s face flushed, but he didn’t resist. He reached out to hug Lang Sa back, standing on tiptoe to whisper in his ear, “I’m fine, I’m all better.”

Lang Sa hummed in response, turning to kiss his lips.

In the midst of their embrace, the Wolf King suddenly felt something pressing against his thigh.

Looking down—

It was Xie Zhiqing’s favorite little jade rabbit. When they left the grasslands, Xie Zhiqing had made sure to bring it with him.

That little rabbit, clear and flawless, had always been tied to Xie Zhiqing’s waist.

Lang Sa looked down at it, momentarily dazed.

The little rabbit was intact, carefully kept by Xie Zhiqing.

When he looked up again, the little prince before him wore a bright, smiling face.

Lang Sa let out a long breath and pulled him into his arms once more.

In this life, his little prince should never have to endure such suffering again.

Lang Sa cradled Xie Zhiqing’s face in his hands, and deeply kissed him.

The kiss was gentle, yet filled with an unspoken promise—a vow that no matter what, he would protect Xie Zhiqing, ensuring that nothing would ever harm him again.

As they stood there, locked in each other’s embrace, the world around them seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of them. The Wolf King, who had once been unable to protect his beloved, now held him close, determined never to let go.

Xie Zhiqing, feeling the warmth and security of Lang Sa’s arms, smiled softly against his lips, his heart at ease. For in this life, he was not alone, and he knew that as long as Lang Sa was by his side, he would never have to face the darkness again.

Together, they would face whatever came their way, and in each other’s arms, they would find the strength to overcome any obstacle.

The past may have been filled with pain and loss, but the future held the promise of happiness and love—a promise that Lang Sa intended to keep, no matter the cost.