Chapter 4

With a small fortune in her possession, the Gray Wolf’s steps felt significantly lighter.

She returned to the mother-and-baby store she had visited that morning. The clerk was the same, and with no other customers in the shop, she was busy stocking new arrivals.

The Gray Wolf stood silently before the counter. "I need two cans of formula, a baby bottle, and a pack of diapers."

These were the items the mother had bought the day before.

The clerk rose and approached, the necklace around her neck swaying with her movement. As she drew closer, a peculiar fragrance still drifted from her. The clerk paused momentarily upon seeing the Gray Wolf’s appearance, but she was not startled. She simply asked as usual, "Certainly. Which brand of formula would you like? How old is the baby?"

The Gray Wolf blinked. She didn't know, so she held up her hands to gesture. "This long."

The clerk was momentarily speechless. "This... it’s hard to tell the age from the length. Is the baby teething?"

The Gray Wolf nodded immediately. "Two teeth."

"Then she must be five or six months old; she can start on Stage 2. This brand is more expensive, but it has better nutrition and won't cause heatiness. This one is cheaper, but the nutrition is sufficient," the clerk said, pointing to the shelves.

The money had come from the cub, so the Gray Wolf pointed to the most expensive one without hesitation. "I want this one."

The clerk quickly gathered the items but did not include a spare nipple.

The Gray Wolf picked up the bottle, puzzled. "Why aren't you giving me a nipple?"

The clerk looked at this unfamiliar customer, intending to say that only regular customers received them, but she quickly changed her mind. "I’m sorry, I forgot. I’ll include it for you now."

The Gray Wolf put the nipple into the bag, satisfied.

The clerk smiled. "Are these a gift? Would you like to look at some clothes?"

The Gray Wolf suddenly realized that, apart from the clothes she was wearing and a small blanket, the cub had nothing.

It was late summer, and the autumn nights were beginning to turn cold. While they, as supernatural creatures, didn't mind the chill, a human cub was fragile and could easily fall ill or perish.

"Then I will buy some."

The clerk immediately led her to the clothing section. "For five or six months, they can wear these. The material is soft and comfortable. We also have matching non-slip socks and sleep caps. If she likes to toss and turn at night, we have sleeping bags that are warm yet breathable, designed with zippers at the bottom for easy changing."

The cub was very still when she slept, so the Gray Wolf decided against the sleeping bag. However, she recalled her own den. Her living space was almost entirely open to the elements. As a wolf, she didn't care where she slept—at most, she would gather some branches and fallen leaves to make a makeshift bed. The overhead branches provided shelter from wind and rain, and on nice days, she would even complain that the branches blocked her moonlight.

It seemed unsuitable for a cub to live in such a place; humans were delicate, and the cub would likely die if she followed them.

The Gray Wolf drifted into thought for a moment before deciding to buy both the clothes and the sleeping bag.

Seeing that she was indeed buying everything, the clerk felt both pleased and worried. "Are you really buying all of this? It might be a bit much for a gift."

"It's not a gift. It's for my own use."

The clerk hesitated, wondering how a mother could not know her own child's age. She scanned the total. "That will be 1,150. Shall I scan your phone?"

The Gray Wolf didn't take out a phone. Instead, she reached into her bag and pulled out a stack of cash, counting out twelve bills one by one.

"There's no fifty," she said, frowning.

The clerk took the money. "I can give you change." She pulled a fifty-dollar bill from the drawer and handed it over.

The Gray Wolf carefully tucked the fifty into the stack of cash and walked out, carrying her bags.

The clerk turned around and grabbed a palm-sized fabric toy from the shelf. "Wait a moment. You bought so much; please take this as a gift."

The Gray Wolf noticed that this clerk was particularly fond of giving things away. In the past, she had rarely interacted with humans; they were usually fearful and repulsed by her kind, often resulting in screaming, running away, or attempts to attack her. Consequently, her impression of humans was not particularly good.

But this human was different. Perhaps it was simply because she hadn't been in her original wolf form during these two encounters; if the clerk saw a wolf, she might be just as afraid as the others.

The Gray Wolf didn't like to guess at human hearts; she only cared about what she saw before her.

After accepting the kindness, she said to the clerk, "Stop offering incense at home. And this," she gestured to the necklace around the clerk's neck, "take it off and don't wear it again."

The clerk touched her necklace, confused. "W-why?"

"Put it down, and your wish will be granted."

The Gray Wolf walked away quickly after dropping these cryptic words.

The clerk stood rooted to the spot, stunned and doubtful. How did this stranger know her wish? This necklace was made of resin and a finger bone from her child who had passed away early; she had worn it for many years.

The Gray Wolf had merely smelled the scent of incense on her. She didn't consume incense offerings, but she found the scent pleasant. She had noticed a lingering spirit around the human yesterday, and today, that spirit was timidly cowering behind the human, only peeking out when the Gray Wolf was about to leave.

The mother's attachment was too deep, and because a bone remained, it kept the spirit of the child from reincarnating.

If these things were put away, perhaps the spirit would have a chance to be her child once more.

These were no longer matters the Gray Wolf cared to concern herself with. She carried the pile of goods back to the mountain. As she passed the villa, the road was packed with departing cars and several trucks loaded with furniture, almost blocking the path entirely.

She bypassed the vehicles and soon returned to her dwelling.

From afar, she heard the fox’s anxious cries. Fearing some danger, the Gray Wolf shifted into her original form and rushed home, only to find the fox jumping around the baby, rolling on the ground, and making frantic, incomprehensible noises, looking as if he had gone mad.

The baby’s blanket was open, her pants had been pulled off, and a diaper covered in waste lay discarded nearby. The baby was kicking her chubby legs in the air, completely oblivious to any trouble.

Seeing the Gray Wolf return, the fox rushed to her side, shouting in a state of collapse, "She pooped!"

The Gray Wolf nodded. "I see. What's the problem?"

The fox collapsed again. "It got on me!! I'm stinky, I'm dirty and smelly, wuwuwu! I’m not eating this human! Take her, take her all, I won't look after her anymore! I want to go home!"

The fox rolled on the ground without a shred of dignity, his smooth fur now a tangled, muddy mess. For a supernatural creature to be tortured to this extent, it was clear he was truly on the verge of a breakdown.

The Gray Wolf took out the diapers she had just bought. She didn't know how to use them, but there were pictures on the packaging. She put one on the baby and dressed her in the new clothes—they were a bit large, but wearable.

After changing her, the Gray Wolf put on the socks and hat. The chubby cub looked even more adorable dressed up, and the Gray Wolf held her up to admire her.

Nearby, the fox continued to chatter about leaving, yet he made no move to actually go.

The Gray Wolf, no longer forbidding him to leave as she once had, said impatiently, "If you want to leave, just go."

The fox stopped howling, shook the dirt and leaves from his fur, and stepped closer. "You promised to take me to hunt mice. I'll leave only after you fulfill your promise."

So that was what he was after.

The Gray Wolf raised her hand, and a bag dropped in front of the fox. It was a pack of frozen chicken feet.

She had passed a grocery store on her way back, and since they were on sale, she had picked some up.

The fox looked at the pile of claws with a stiff expression. "What is this?"

"Chicken."

"Chickens don't look like this."

"Chicken feet."

"Why are there only feet! Where is the meat?"

"The feet were on sale. Cheap."

The fox wanted to throw the chicken feet away, but in the end, he couldn't bear to—it was chicken, after all.

He grumbled, grabbed the bag in his mouth, jumped into a tree, and began to gnaw away, ignoring the dirt on his fur.

The Gray Wolf took out the formula to prepare a bottle for Qingyao, but then she encountered a problem.

There was no water.

They drank spring water directly; the cub should be able to drink it too, right?

Unsure, the Gray Wolf went to a nearby spring to fill the bottle and added a generous amount of formula. She shook it until mixed and fed it to Qingyao.

At her age, the child was quite an eater. She had already digested the morning's milk, and upon latching onto the nipple, she began to gulp it down.

But after only one gulp, Qingyao stopped, shivered, and looked at the Gray Wolf with a dazed, confused expression while still biting the nipple.

"Why aren't you eating?" the Gray Wolf asked, puzzled.

Qingyao had just been chilled by the cold water, but she was so hungry that she latched back on and gulped down the entire bottle.

Satisfied, the cub began