Aunt Qin and Uncle Qin dragged Grandma Qin back to their courtyard in Xiangyun Village.
Inside the courtyard, a circle of constables stood waiting.
Aunt Qin feigned a tearful voice. "It's all thanks to Chief Wang that we were able to find our mother, who's nearly seventy. Otherwise, she would have died in the Wolf Cave!"
Chief Wang was a man over forty with a stern, square face that rarely smiled.
He looked at the Qins and said, "You reported to the authorities that a family member was taken by wolves. But from the looks of the old woman, the wolves don't seem to have harmed her."
'Otherwise, how could we have followed the smell of cooking food all the way to the Wolf Cave?'
When they found Mrs. Qin Sr., she was still stirring a pot of rice porridge!
Aunt Qin sighed. "Chief, there's something you don't know. Four years ago, my mother-in-law found an abandoned baby and has been raising her ever since."
"It was a kind gesture, but who would have thought that as the little girl grew up, she would somehow get involved with a wolf pack? Not only did she incite the wolves to enter the village and hurt people, but she also dragged my old mother-in-law away!"
Grandma Qin hurried forward to explain. "Chief Wang, that's not true! Ningning didn't order the wolves to hurt anyone. I was injured, and she and the wolves were taking care of me."
The moment she finished speaking, Aunt Qin yanked her back and shoved her toward Uncle Qin.
Aunt Qin shot her a cold glare and hissed under her breath, "Watch your mother!"
Grandma Qin tried to step forward again to explain, but Uncle Qin gripped her arm tightly.
"Mother!" Uncle Qin resented his mother for constantly causing him trouble. He growled in a low, angry voice, "Are you still trying to protect that little orphan? She's the reason a wolf mauled my hand!"
"This time, just stop arguing and listen to Gui Hong. Landlord Du just sent over some rice a while ago. You'll only get to eat if you stay with our family!"
Grandma Qin looked at him, disappointed. "You helped Gui Hong abandon me on the mountain. If it weren't for Ningning, I'd already be dead! My son, how can you live without a conscience?"
Uncle Qin said nothing, his face ashen. In short, he was determined not to let Grandma Qin ruin his wife's plan.
「At that moment.」
Shen Ningning and the Black Wolf King had already rushed back to the vicinity of the Wolf Cave.
A scout wolf that had been hiding nearby leaped out.
It howled anxiously, its cries filled with urgency.
It turned out that just moments before, while patrolling the area, it had suddenly heard the sounds of many people approaching.
When it hid in the tall grass to observe, it saw many people armed with sharp weapons and knives, searching for something as they climbed the mountain.
They followed the aroma of food drifting on the air until they found the Wolf Cave.
At that time, Grandma Qin, who had trouble moving, was hauled away.
Not only that, but they also took the food Shen Ningning had left for the wolf pack.
There were about six chickens, four red fruits, and a small bag of white rice.
Hearing this, Shen Ningning's little face flushed with anger. "That mean aunt came prepared!"
'Otherwise, the people she brought wouldn't have come with weapons ready. They were meant for my Langlangs!'
The Black Wolf King's eyes were dark and deep, shimmering with savage ferocity.
It let out a low growl, and the pack answered in chorus.
They were ready to storm Xiangyun Village and take the lives of those people!
Shen Ningning immediately shook her head. "Langlang, no! My aunt must have brought a lot of help. Even if you all go together, there will surely be casualties."
The Black Wolf King and his pack had been too good to her. She couldn't bear to see any of them get hurt.
The little one's eyes darted around. After a moment's thought, she said decisively, "I'll go back to the village first and see what's happening!"
The Black Wolf King let out a ROAR, expressing his strong disagreement.
Shen Ningning stroked its fur with her small hand. "I'll protect myself. Trust me, Langlang. Besides, I have my Immortal Realm. I'm not afraid!"
With that, she scurried down the mountain on her little legs.
The Black Wolf King and his pack followed close behind.
They stopped on a high slope, from where they had a clear view of Xiangyun Village.
They waited for the right moment to act. If anyone dared to bully Shen Ningning, they would swarm down upon them.
As Shen Ningning reached the fence outside the Qin Family's courtyard, she heard Aunt Qin's shrill voice. "Chief Wang, that vicious little girl will definitely be back!"
"When you see her, you can't go easy on her. She can command a wolf pack! If we don't catch her, she'll use those wild wolves to run rampant!"
Chief Wang's expression was grave, and he said nothing.
Just then, Shen Ningning's fierce-but-childlike voice came from the gate. "You're lying! I never told my Langlangs to hurt anyone!"
When the little girl appeared, a flash of triumphant malice crossed Aunt Qin's eyes.
'I finally lured her back!'
Hearing that this was the "Little Wolf Girl" who could control wolves, the constables immediately raised their weapons, aiming at the space behind Shen Ningning.
But there wasn't a single wild wolf in sight.
Chief Wang raised a hand, signaling his men to stand down.
He narrowed his eyes, sizing up Shen Ningning, and grew even more suspicious about the truth of Aunt Qin's report.
'A little girl not even four years old... at best, she barely escaped the wolves' jaws with her life. How could she possibly control a wolf pack and order them to hurt people?'
'How could a pack of wolves possibly understand human speech and listen to her?'
Aunt Qin immediately raised her voice. "Shen Ningning, you ungrateful wretch! The Qin Family gave you food and clothes and raised you like our own, and this is how you repay us? You don't even have the decency to be grateful, and now you're harming us!"
"If we hadn't gone to the Wolf Cave and found all that food, we never would have known you've been stealing from the family this whole time to feed those wolves!"
Shen Ningning immediately retorted, "I didn't steal! The food was my own."
Aunt Qin sneered. "Oh? Then why don't you tell us how you got six chickens?! And those red fruits? Go on, tell us!"
The little girl's watery eyes flickered with hesitation.
'My aunt is too mean. I can't tell her about my Immortal Realm.'
Suddenly, Grandma Qin pulled Shen Ningning into her arms.
She spoke up. "The chickens were wild pheasants caught by the wolves. I'm the one who plucked them. And the fruits were picked from the mountain!"
'Damn this old hag for ruining my plan!' Aunt Qin fumed internally.
Out loud, she coaxed, "Mother, it's come to this, and you're still covering for her? I know you have a soft spot for the child, but you can't just ignore right and wrong."
Grandma Qin held Shen Ningning tightly. "You're the real evil one! After I was paralyzed, you threw me out on the mountain to fend for myself!"
"If Ningning hadn't saved me, these old bones of mine would have been long dead!"
Aunt Qin's voice became shrill. "Stop spouting nonsense! Who said anything about throwing you out on the mountain?!"
Chief Wang could bear it no longer. "Enough! Any more shouting, and I'll take all of you back to the government office!"
Only then did Aunt Qin fall silent.
Shen Ningning turned her watery eyes to the crowd of spectating villagers standing at the courtyard gate.
Her voice was soft and gentle as she spoke. "Uncles, Aunties, can you be a witness for Ningning? That day, a lot of you must have seen my aunt have my grandma carried up the mountain. It wasn't my Langlangs who dragged Grandma away."
'After all, Granny Chen saw it happen.'
'That's right, where did Granny Chen go?' She scanned the crowd, but there was no sign of her.
The villagers looked at each other, all of them wearing troubled expressions.
'We saw it, sure, but how could we dare to testify? Aunt Qin's brother-in-law is Landlord Du!'
'We're just common folk. How could we dare to offend him?'
And then...
A villager known as Lai Zi's eyes darted around before he spoke up. "I'll testify! That girl is lying. Mrs. Qin Sr. was dragged away by wolves!"