Chapter 77 Newest Member (Bonus)

The two of them landed lightly on the other side of the courtyard wall.

The fortress was still wrapped in the darkness before dawn. Only a few lanterns burned along the winding stone paths, their warm light swaying gently in the morning breeze.

Servants moved quietly between the courtyards with baskets and wooden buckets in their hands, careful not to disturb the silence, while groups of wolf guards gathered to exchange shifts before the hunting party set out. The entire fortress was already awake, but unlike the busy streets Xue Yao was used to, everything here was orderly and quiet.

Xue Yao instinctively kept her head lowered as she followed Little Ancestor through the shadows. She had only taken a few steps before he suddenly stopped, looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, and reached into his sleeve. After searching for a moment, he pulled out a small green herb with long, narrow leaves and held it out to her.

"Here," he said quietly.

Xue Yao accepted it with a puzzled look and turned it over in her fingers. "...What’s this?"

"A scent-masking herb." Little Ancestor lowered his voice even further as though he were sharing a great secret. "It’ll hide your human scent for a while."

She raised the herb to her nose and gave it an experimental sniff. The next second, her face twisted in horror. "...It smells awful."

"Chew it."

She looked from the herb to him, then back to the herb again. "Do I really have to?"

"If Brother catches your scent," Little Ancestor replied matter-of-factly, "we’re finished."

Xue Yao stared at the miserable little plant in her hand.’This is definitely poisonous. There’s no way something this disgusting is meant to be eaten. Who looked at this and thought... yes, let’s put that in my mouth?’

She sighed dramatically. ’Fine.’Living is more important than having working taste buds.’

With all the enthusiasm of someone walking toward their own execution, she stuffed the herb into her mouth.

The bitterness hit her so suddenly that her entire body froze.

"...Ugh!" Her eyes watered almost immediately.

She covered her mouth, forcing herself to keep chewing instead of spitting it back out.

’Why? ’Why would anyone make something like this? ’It’s bitter! It’s spicy! It’s... It’s somehow dry and sour at the same time! ’This thing is attacking me from every direction!’

Little Ancestor watched her struggle with obvious satisfaction before nodding. "Good."

Xue Yao glared at him while swallowing with great difficulty.

"What do you mean, good?" she asked hoarsely. "This tastes even worse than it smells."

"That means it’s working."

She narrowed her eyes. "If I get poisoned..."

"You won’t."

"How do you know?"

"I’ve eaten it before."

She raised an eyebrow. "...Voluntarily?"

Little Ancestor suddenly looked away. "...Not exactly."

Xue Yao looked at him for another second before deciding she probably didn’t want to hear the story behind that answer. She smacked her lips several times, hoping the horrible taste would disappear, but it stubbornly clung to her tongue. "...I already miss rabbit."

Little Ancestor looked at her sympathetically before motioning for her to follow. "Come on."

The two of them quietly slipped between the courtyards, sticking close to the darker corners whenever someone passed by. Xue Yao had just begun wondering where exactly they were heading when Little Ancestor suddenly stopped walking. Without explaining anything, he lifted two fingers to his mouth and gave two short whistles.

Xue Yao frowned. "...What are you doing?"

Instead of answering, Little Ancestor simply smiled and looked toward a nearby patch of bushes.

The leaves rustled. A small wolf cub crawled out from between the branches. Then another...Then another.

A fourth little wolf came tumbling out after them, hurriedly brushing leaves from his clothes before running over with the others.

"Young Master!"

"We’re here!"

"We weren’t seen!"

One of them proudly held up a small cloth bundle as though reporting for duty. Another had a tiny bow slung across his back that looked almost as tall as he was. The chubbiest of the four was still chewing on something, his cheeks puffed out so much that he looked more like a squirrel than a wolf.

Xue Yao stared at the four little wolves in complete silence before slowly turning her head toward Little Ancestor. "...Who are they?"

"My friends," he replied before thinking about it for a moment. His expression immediately became more serious, and he proudly corrected himself. "No. They’re my hunting squad."

The four little wolves instantly puffed out their chests.

"We’re very reliable!"

"We’ve snuck out loads of times!"

"We almost never get caught!"

The smallest wolf immediately elbowed the one beside him. "...Don’t say that part."

The others nodded in agreement. "...Right...Forget he said that."

Xue Yao slowly closed her eyes. ’I knew it. I knew something was going to go wrong.’

She pinched the bridge of her nose before looking back at Little Ancestor. "I thought it was just the two of us."

"It was."

She blinked. "Then what happened?"

Little Ancestor spread both hands with a bright smile. "I thought the more the merrier."

Xue Yao looked at the five little wolves standing proudly in front of her.

One looked ready to conquer the world, the other was still eating, and another kept adjusting the tiny bow on his back.

The other two were grinning as though sneaking out of the fortress before dawn was the greatest adventure ever.

She slowly looked up at the dark sky. ’Mother... I think I’ve somehow become the newest member of a gang of little bandits.’

The chubby pup stepped forward, his dark orange tail wagging with excitement. "I’m Mu Dou. I heard you are a very good cook." He said with a thumbs-up.

The one with the bow stepped forward, pushing Mu Dou to the side. He ran his hand through his midnight short hair. "I’m Xiao Feng. I’ll protect you. I am fast and reliable."

"No, I will protect her," another with a brave look said with absolute seriousness. "I’m Tie Tou. I am as strong as my name suggests..."

He paused, looking behind at the pup with the grey fur and freckles on his nose. "That is A-Hui. He is very quiet and observant. He is the scout of the squad." Tie Tou said with a smile revealing his fangs.