Mo Lingwei had woken up an hour ago.
Realizing he was surrounded by a pack of wolves, he knew the situation was dire and didn't make a single rash move.
Upon observation, he discovered that the wolves obeyed the little girl.
So, when the opportunity arose, he took her hostage.
Shen Ningning's face was a mask of panic as she listened to the young man's ragged breathing.
"This isn't good for you... your injuries will get worse," she said cautiously.
Mo Lingwei narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
"My name is Shen Ningning. These are kind wolves. We saw you were covered in blood and were about to save you."
As she spoke, Mo Lingwei glanced over. The wolves were baring their fangs, looking as if they couldn't wait to tear him to pieces.
'This child actually claims wolves are kind? And believes they would save someone?'
Mo Lingwei endured the pain, his tone icy. "Tell them to back off. I'm leaving."
Shen Ningning shook her head. "No, you can't! You're too badly hurt. It's best if you don't move. Langlang said you have too many knife wounds. They won't heal for at least ten to fifteen days."
"I don't want to hear 'no.' Figure something out, or die with me!" Mo Lingwei pressed the stone shard another inch closer.
Shen Ningning felt the sharp pressure against her neck. She let out a choked gasp, tears of pain welling in her eyes.
The Black Wolf King roared, its howl fierce and vicious. An ordinary person would have been scared to death.
But the young man's expression remained unchanged, his eyes a pit of shadows.
Shen Ningning endured the pain. "I'm confident I can heal you in less than three days! When you're better, you have to do me a favor."
"So, I can't let you go. With your injuries, you won't make it out of these mountains! You need me to heal you, and I need you!"
The little girl tried to act tough, but in reality, her small hands were trembling.
Mo Lingwei looked down and saw alarming scars on her exposed arm.
His gaze then met Shen Ningning's bright, tear-filled eyes.
He gritted his teeth. "You're trying to bargain with me?"
Shen Ningning stubbornly jutted out her lower lip, remaining silent.
It looked like she was trying to put on a fierce expression, but was betrayed by the shimmering tears in her eyes.
At this sight, Mo Lingwei abruptly let go. He tossed the stone shard aside and, bracing himself with one hand, sat down on the riverbank, his face stark white with pain.
The pack immediately rushed forward, forming a protective circle around Shen Ningning.
Just as the Black Wolf King was about to pounce and kill Mo Lingwei, Shen Ningning called out, "Langlang! Come back!"
She grabbed the Black Wolf King firmly. "When he's better, he can help me save Grandma. Just calm down, okay?"
Mo Lingwei heard this but didn't move.
The Black Wolf King let out a low growl and finally backed down.
Shen Ningning approached Mo Lingwei. The young man's eyes were closed. The little girl saw that the wounds on his body had split open again from his recent movements.
Fresh blood trickled down his skin, but he only frowned slightly.
Shen Ningning quickly dipped a clean handkerchief into the stream and began to wipe his wounds.
The young man frowned slightly, opened his eyes, and said angrily, "I'll do it myself!"
He snatched the handkerchief away.
By the time he finished, Shen Ningning had already had Wolf Three drag a tattered cloth bundle out of the Wolf Cave.
She untied the bundle, revealing a dazzling array of rare medicinal herbs.
Ginseng, Lingzhi, deer antler, Snow Lotus...
Mo Lingwei slowly opened his eyes. Seeing so many medicinal herbs, a trace of surprise flashed across them.
'But then again,' he thought, 'she lives with wolves, backed by this huge mountain range.'
'The mountains are full of all kinds of wild herbs.'
'It's just that any one of these rare herbs would sell for a hundred taels on the outside.'
'Yet she has them wrapped in a tattered cloth, as if she'd just picked a handful of weeds.'
Under the Black Wolf King's GRUFFING guidance, Shen Ningning crushed the hemostatic herbs in her little hands, then pinched Mo Lingwei's jaw. "Open up, ahh~"
Mo Lingwei frowned. "Get it away. You want to poison me by making me eat so many herbs at once?"
"They're not poisonous. Langlang said they are all herbs that stop bleeding."
Shen Ningning tried to persuade him every which way, but Mo Lingwei simply refused to eat.
Wolf Three, at the side, couldn't watch anymore. It leaped up and pressed a paw directly onto the wound on Mo Lingwei's shoulder.
"HSSS..." He gasped, his lips parting in pain, and Shen Ningning seized the chance to shove the herbs into his mouth.
Mo Lingwei was shocked and furious. "Shen Ningning, you!"
Before he could finish, the little girl pinched his mouth shut. "It's a little bitter, but it's okay! Hurry and swallow so your wounds can heal faster!"
Mo Lingwei's dark eyes blazed with murderous intent.
He had no strength to struggle. Shen Ningning held his mouth shut, and the wolf pack stared from the side.
In the end, he could only resign himself to his fate and swallow.
Shen Ningning watched Mo Lingwei frown deeply from the bitterness.
She let go with her small hand and smiled. "This way, you'll get better faster!"
Mo Lingwei suppressed his anger, closed his eyes, and couldn't be bothered to pay her any mind.
He closed his eyes to regulate his breathing and circulate his energy. But a persistent poison was still ravaging his body, assaulting his organs. The pain was excruciating, as if he were being roasted over a blazing fire.
The poison flared.
'The Sixth Prince sent men to kill me. All those slashes weren't enough; they had to coat their blades in poison, too.'
'Just how badly does he want me dead?'
Mo Lingwei knew that for this potent poison, ordinary medicinal herbs were completely useless unless he took the antidote.
'If I make it back alive, I'll make the Sixth Prince suffer a fate worse than death.'
At this thought, hatred and fury intertwined in his heart.
Just then, Shen Ningning's soft murmuring with the Black Wolf King drew Mo Lingwei's attention.
Mo Lingwei watched as the Black Wolf King lifted its gaze to stare at him, letting out a quiet "AWOO" every so often.
They seemed to be communicating without any barrier, as if the wolf and the girl were discussing him.
Mo Lingwei's brows furrowed.
'She can actually talk to wolves?'
After Shen Ningning finished talking with the Black Wolf King, she stood up. "We're leaving now. If you soak in the Spiritual Spring for a night, you'll definitely be much better by morning."
"Soak in a spring?" Mo Lingwei was puzzled.
「An hour later.」
He, along with Shen Ningning, arrived at a place like a secluded paradise, riding on the back of a wolf.
Shen Ningning had to say all sorts of nice things, and even had the Black Wolf King intervene, to persuade Wolf Three to let Mo Lingwei ride it for a while.
As soon as they reached the edge of the spring, the impatient Wolf Three bucked him off.
Falling to the ground, Mo Lingwei stared at the scenery before him, lost in a momentary daze.
A vast expanse of green forest encircled a crystal-clear spring. The wide pool surrounding it was filled with water the color of blue glass.
The surrounding woods were clearly nourished by the spring water, lush and verdant!
But the entire Cangyun Country had gone almost without rain for three consecutive years.
Besides the reduced crop harvests, many rivers had also dried up.
Mo Lingwei hadn't seen a constantly flowing spring like this in a very long time.
Shen Ningning tilted her head, looked at his astonished face, and smiled sweetly. "Okay, you can go in and soak. This spring water can nourish the body and help your injuries heal quickly!"
Her words had barely faded when the simmering Wolf Three leaped up, pressed with both paws, and shoved Mo Lingwei into the water.
"SPLASH—"
Shen Ningning had intended to go sit in a shady spot nearby.
But Mo Lingwei struggled in the water for a moment, then suddenly reached out and grabbed her small ankle on the bank.
"Shen Ningning! Wait!" A rare look of panic appeared on his handsome, cold, and pale face, completely different from the irritable and severe person he was before.
The childhood trauma of nearly drowning swept over him once again.
"Don't go," he said.