Spring arrived, bringing warmth and morning light across the land. With not a cloud in the sky, it was perfect weather for an outing, and Green Mountain Forest Park outside Binhai City was bustling with tourists.
Deep within the Forest Park, an area enclosed by barbed wire was the Green Mountain Forest Reserve.
A silver white wolf moved through it, a grass green figure crouched low on its back. On closer inspection, the person wore a loose hoodie, with a few soft curls peeking out from under the large hood.
"Yin, we're almost at the outer perimeter. You can drop me off here," Lin Chen said, patting the wolf's back.
Bai Lang stopped in response. After warily scanning his surroundings, light surged from his body, and a tall, silver haired youth stood up. He reached out and gently tucked Lin Chen's loose hair behind his ear.
"Study hard. When I return from this trip, I should be able to control the deformation of my ears," he said. This was the last part of his humanoid form he couldn't quite control. After receiving the third initiation inheritance, he should master it completely, and then he could go to school in the human world with Lin Chen.
Bai Lang thought, preoccupied. He heard many high school students fall in love. Although Lin Chen said he had no interest in romance, Bai Lang couldn't help but worry when he wasn't by his side. Besides, once the initiation inheritance was complete, he would be able to use that ability.
"What are you thinking about, smiling so happily?" Lin Chen stood on tiptoe and pinched Bai Lang's ear, quite reluctant to let go. How adorable were beast eared youths?
"N-nothing," Bai Lang shook his head, his ears under the silver white fur showing a tendency to redden. He widened his eyes slightly, saying pitifully, "I'm a wolf who grew up in the mountains and never went to school. I'll definitely have to rely on Lin Chen to support me in the future, becoming a 'soft rice' wolf…"
"?" Lin Chen looked utterly speechless. His adorable little wolf boy, ever since he taught him Chinese, had visibly been corrupted. After a long pause, he sighed.
"What did you see online this time? And what's wrong with being a 'soft rice' wolf? When I was little, you took care of me too, so wouldn't I be a 'soft rice' guy? We call this mutual care, what a wonderful socialist brotherhood!"
Besides, as someone who had awakened memories of his past life, even though his previous life was short, adding both lives together, he was roughly forty years old. How could he not afford to support an adorable 'soft rice' wolf? Ah, no, let me rephrase, how could he not afford to support an adorable little wolf boy?
Lin Chen patted Bai Lang's shoulder, saying confidently, "Don't worry, I can definitely support you!"
Bai Lang nodded obediently, watching Lin Chen, backpack on, nimbly move through the forest until he was out of sight. Only then did he transform back into his wolf form and, with a few leaps, disappeared into the dense woods.
What is brotherhood? Although young Bai Lang couldn't go to school because he couldn't control his human form, he was very good at self study.
The first thing he did upon returning to the mountains was dig out his phone from his den, climb onto the large rock with the best signal, and open his phone to search for answers.
"The meaning of brotherhood is: sharing glory and suffering… unconditional support… sharing good fortune, bearing difficulties together."
"You'll have many friends in life, but only one true brother."
Bai Lang nodded repeatedly as he read, as if he understood, filled with confidence. The companion contract was settled!
Sigh, he already missed Lin Chen after being apart for just a short while. He really wanted to finish the last initiation inheritance quickly and go find him. He would start now!
Bai Lang's gaze gradually became firm. A spatial fluctuation spread from his body, and in a blink of an eye, he vanished into it.
At this moment, Lin Chen skillfully pushed aside the rusted barbed wire and slipped through, soon reaching the forest path of the Forest Park.
Here, he wasn't afraid of being discovered.
Although it was still early, and most tourists were only at the outer perimeter of the Forest Park, based on years of being praised by elders, even if someone saw him, they would think he was an early riser, a rare diligent young guy.
As he walked up the stone steps, his thoughts drifted.
Every time, he felt like he was transitioning from a fantasy novel to an urban novel, just like his first time descending the mountain years ago.
He was an abandoned infant left in the mountains, discovered by Bai Lang, and raised on the milk of the Wolf Pack. At that time, Bai Lang's human form was not much older than him, and he didn't understand the language he spoke.
He once thought he was born in a prehistoric beast world, perhaps because he lived too remotely, with Bai Lang being the only beast person.
When he finally grew to five or six years old with great effort and left the valley, he was discovered by a forest ranger and sent to the orphanage at the foot of the mountain.
Lin Chen still remembered how disillusioned he was when he saw the familiar Arabic numerals on the forest ranger's clothes.
It turned out the common tongue Bai Lang taught him was not common at all; everyone clearly spoke Chinese!
Fortunately, at that time, Bai Lang's original form wasn't very large, and because Lin Chen had fed him until he was a bit chubby, with his ears drooping, he looked like a plump puppy.
He followed his scent to the orphanage, disguised as a stray dog near the orphanage.
Through Lin Chen's observations, this world was extremely similar to his previous life yet also somewhat different.
The language and social development were the same as in his previous life, but many historical legends, literary works, and films were quite different. Considering Bai Lang's existence, Lin Chen felt that this might appear to be a modern world on the surface, but secretly harbored unknown fantasy elements.
Because of the language barrier, he was extraordinarily careful, not daring to act too out of the ordinary.
However, since he also grew up in an orphanage in his previous life, life at the orphanage was like a fish in water, and he managed to survive smoothly until now.
Bai Lang's bloodline began to awaken in his senior year of high school, and he started to receive inheritances from time and space.
Three years passed, and he had already received two initiation inheritances, gradually mastering his humanoid form. This was the last initiation inheritance, and it was said he would gain other magical abilities in the future.
Lin Chen listened with great envy. After so many years, this world, apart from Bai Lang, was very scientific, and his only golden finger was his memories from his past life.
Over the years, he had published some web novels online, only using popular elements from web novels in his past life. Although they didn't become hugely popular, he earned enough money to live on.
He planned that once he entered university, he would start using more settings. This world had more realistic literature, so when he wrote cultivation novels, he should earn more, enough to buy a farmhouse in the suburbs, near Green Mountain Forest.
As for why he didn't go to a bigger place, it was all because of his deep love for this forest. Cough cough, actually, it was just that after staying in the forest for so long, going to a big city felt smoky and a bit uncomfortable.
Moreover, through his self study, he also had a little bit of "special ability": he was exceptionally good at growing flowers and plants, so being near the forest might be more beneficial for him.
He was actually a cultivation enthusiast… surviving until adulthood, owning a house with a courtyard in the countryside, growing flowers and plants, writing to earn money, and spending the rest of his time cultivating his mind and body (cultivating immortality), with a wolf eared youth for companionship. It couldn't be more comfortable.
This was his life goal for this lifetime.
But all of this had just been shattered.