Meng Huaize gathered his scattered herb basket from the bushes and carefully placed it horizontally on the ground, its opening facing Wu Yue. After hastily retreating several steps, he waited expectantly for the wolf cub to climb in.
Wu Yue eyed the basket with icy disdain, making no move to comply. "You expect me to ride on that?"
"How else am I to carry you down the mountain?" Meng Huaize's eyes widened in sudden horror. "You... you can't mean for me to hold you?"
Wu Yue flicked an ear, considering this option perfectly acceptable. With deliberate languor, he stretched his small body before extending one front paw imperiously toward Meng Huaize.
Meng Huaize shook his head so vigorously his cheeks wobbled. His panicked gaze darted about—whether searching for an escape route or some tool to coax the cub into the basket, even he didn't know.
Before he could devise a solution, Wu Yue's patience expired. A low, rumbling growl vibrated from his throat. Though diminished by his juvenile form, the sound still sent Meng Huaize scrambling backward in terror.
With arms stiff as wooden boards, the trembling man extended his limbs like makeshift shovels. He squatted awkwardly, attempting to scoop up the cub without making direct contact.
Just as his fingers neared Wu Yue's fur, the cub abruptly withdrew his paw with a contemptuous sniff. "You reek of that wretched serpent's blood. Disgusting."
Meng Huaize had been entangled in the serpent's tail, pinned beneath the snake demon's bulk. His robes were drenched in the creature's foul blood—utterly filthy.
"What should I do?" he quavered, voice trembling.
"Remove your garments."
"What?" Meng Huaize glanced down at himself, then back at Wu Yue in disbelief.
The wolf cub's ears flattened. "Now," he snapped.
Meng Huaize's gaze drifted over the countless wounds littering Wu Yue's small form—some gaping deep enough to glimpse bone. How could this creature fuss about cleanliness while bleeding out?
With stiff fingers, Meng Huaize peeled off his outermost layer. The under robe bore stains too, but at least the fabric was less saturated.
Wu Yue sniffed disdainfully before permitting the man to lift him.
Earlier, Meng Huaize had trembled at the thought of the demon wolf suddenly tearing out his throat. Yet now, holding this arm-length cub whose fur felt unexpectedly soft—clotted with blood rather than fearsomely bristled—his fear ebbed slightly.
His physician's instincts surfaced as he noted the severity of Wu Yue's injuries. Moving with deliberate care to avoid causing pain, Meng Huaize found his terror gradually replaced by reluctant pity.
Thus did man and wolf begin their descent through the gathering twilight.
They hadn't gone far when Wu Yue's nose wrinkled. "Why do you still reek?"
Meng Huaize, anticipating this, met the cub's glare squarely. "Absolutely no more undressing!" he declared, bracing for protest.
"Why not?" Wu Yue demanded.
Meng Huaize's cheeks flushed pink. "There are many villagers downhill. It would be... improper to meet young women while improperly dressed."
Wu Yue, who had no concept of human etiquette, narrowed his eyes. "And if I insist?"
The color in Meng Huaize's face deepened—no longer from embarrassment, but resolve. Clenching his fists, he proclaimed with tragic dignity, "Then kill me instead!"
Though his words rang with conviction, his body trembled uncontrollably. Wu Yue felt the vibrations through Meng Huaize's arms, studied his determined expression for a long moment, then huffed and settled back. "I already said I won't kill you yet."
Nevertheless, Wu Yue couldn't tolerate the stench of snake demon blood clinging to Meng Huaize. While the human's weak nose barely registered the odor, to Wu Yue's heightened senses—especially in his wounded state—the lingering serpent essence was unbearable.
After much bickering, Wu Yue finally relented and allowed himself to be placed inside the herb basket strapped to Meng Huaize's back.
By now, night had fully descended, making the mountain path treacherous. Meng Huaize staggered occasionally under the uneven weight.
Nestled comfortably atop a cushion of fragrant herbs that masked the offensive blood smell, Wu Yue called out imperiously, "Slow down!"
When the jostling continued, he added, "Stop shaking so much. Walk steadily."
Normally gentle and conflict-averse, Meng Huaize found himself irritated by the cub's arrogance. Fear gave way to sparks of anger. "Then walk by yourself!" he retorted.
The cub's growl vibrated through the basket. "Choose your words carefully, unless you wish to die."
Meng Huaize stiffened. "You promised not to kill me..."
"That was then," Wu Yue said with infuriating nonchalance. "I can change my mind whenever I please."
Silence fell. Meng Huaize bitterly regretted his decision hours earlier to save this ungrateful creature—he should have knocked himself unconscious instead.
As the silver moon climbed higher, Wu Yue's acute ears picked up every mountain sound: rustling leaves, distant streams, and the quickened breaths of the human carrying him. The warmth of Meng Huaize's body seeped through the basket—Wu Yue's first intimate contact with a human.
Jiuyi Mountain's vast wilderness teemed with demons. Most lived and died within its borders, some never venturing beyond their territories for millennia. Others, like Wu Yue, roamed freely—though he preferred desolate regions where strange creatures dwelled.
The weaker demons, especially those lax in cultivation, often fantasized about the human world. Many sneaked away, only to return shortly after—few happy, most humiliated. The bustling human realm with its kind-faced inhabitants remained forever alien to them.
The North Mountain fox who'd married a scholar returned with eight-and-a-half of his nine tails severed, dying soon after. The West Mountain goblins, lacking strong demonic power, barely escaped with their lives after prolonged exposure to humans.
Over time, the human world became Jiuyi's demons' forbidden fruit—a place of whispered warnings. To many, humans were nothing but trouble.
Wu Yue himself rarely visited the human realm, only passing through during hunts. His scant impressions came from others' tales. This human before him... seemed different.
"Hey, human," Wu Yue called out from the basket.
"My name is Meng Huaize," he replied, "though my courtesy name is Yunzhou."
Wu Yue's ears twitched in confusion. "What name?"
Patiently, Meng Huaize explained, "You may call me Meng Huaize or Yunzhou—whichever you prefer."
The wolf cub dismissed this with a flick of his tail. "Why did you save me?"
Meng Huaize kept his eyes on the treacherous path. "You would have died otherwise."
"What's my death to you?" Wu Yue countered. "My survival endangers your life, doesn't it?"
His steps faltered momentarily before he continued in silence.
Annoyed, Wu Yue barked, Meng Zezhou!"
A quiet correction followed: "...Yunzhou."
Through the woven gaps of the medicine basket, Wu Yue watched the rhythmic sway of Meng Huaize's robes. "I've heard your kind wears a mask of virtue, yet harbors venom in your hearts..."
Meng Huaize halted in surprise. "Why would you say that?"
"Every demon in Jiuyi Mountain knows this truth," Wu Yue scoffed from the basket, his voice dripping with contempt. "Especially your human scholars—their hypocrisy runs deepest."
The words struck Meng Huaize like a physical blow. He stopped walking abruptly.
A terrible realization dawned on him. The weight against his back wasn't merely a wounded cub—it was a full-fledged demon. Though Wu Yue had promised not to kill him for now, that guarantee extended to no other human. If he nursed this creature back to health only for it to slaughter his fellow villagers... wouldn't that make him an accomplice?
"Why have you stopped?" Wu Yue demanded.
"When we descend the mountain," Meng Huaize asked, his voice grave, "will you harm others?"
Wu Yue's answering snort vibrated through the basket. "I've no love for humans, but they didn't steal my demonic core. Why would I bother killing them?"
"I didn't steal it either!" Meng Huaize protested hotly before he could stop himself. "I was forced to swallow it!"
"Regardless of how it happened," Wu Yue countered, "my demonic core now resides within you."
Meng Huaize had no rebuttal for this truth. Resuming his uneven steps, he muttered stubbornly, "All I know is I couldn't let you die. Since I've taken your core, if you must reclaim it... take only from me. Leave others unharmed."
Wu Yue grew increasingly perplexed. "What are those people to you? Shouldn't you value your own life more than theirs?"
Exhausted from prolonged tension, Meng Huaize responded with detached weariness, "Keep talking like that, and your life might be in danger first."
"That won't happen," Wu Yue scoffed. "These wounds won't kill me, and no beast in these mountains dares approach me."
"Huh?" Meng Huaize startled. "Then why did you come with me!"
"Who said I followed you?" Wu Yue retorted smugly. "You were the one insisting on carrying me."
"I—I—" Meng Huaize flushed crimson, rendered speechless by indignation.