Chapter 124

Chapter 124: The next moment, heads of Arctic wolves began poking through the crack of the door one after another.

“Owuuu, what does that mean?” Lin Qianyu gently squeezed the Arctic wolf’s paw. “Good boy, just need to finish applying the medicine and wrap it up.”

The medical kit prepared by the rescue station was fully equipped.

It even included adrenaline.

It was thanks to the rescue station’s medical kit—if they’d had to rely solely on the variety show’s supplies, the Arctic wolf’s unstable condition at dawn would’ve completely caught her off guard.

Arctic wolves are fierce beasts. They’re not vicious by nature, but still not to be taken lightly.

Yet this Arctic wolf, at the moment, looked completely defenseless, gazing at her obediently and gently.

Waking up in a strange place, the wolf hadn’t even had time to feel lost or wary before being drawn in by Lin Qianyu’s gentle voice. Now, lying on its uninjured front paw, no one knew what it was thinking.

“Your boss went out hunting—just left. Might be a while before he’s back. Hungry? Want to eat something first?” Lin Qianyu brought over the milk powder she had mixed earlier along with some rabbit meat.

The Arctic wolf sniffed the rabbit, then leaned toward the milk bowl and gave it a whiff. But just as it steadied itself, the powder inside puffed up. Instinctively, it backed away, but the gauze wrapped around its body restricted the movement, so the powder hit its nose.

Milk powder counts as liquid once mixed. Wet and sticky on the nose, the Arctic wolf instinctively licked it. Upon tasting the milk, its eyes lit up.

Lin Qianyu placed the two bowls side by side in front of it. “Eat more.”

Only when full could it heal better.

The wound, now dusted with powder, no longer looked quite so bloody and grotesque. As Lin Qianyu prepared to wrap it with gauze, she faintly sensed a gaze fixed firmly on her hand.

Raising her brow, she looked up and saw the Arctic wolf staring unblinkingly at the wound.

Lin Qianyu lowered her gaze again, considering the choppy fur she had trimmed earlier. “Ahem... Does it look like... an exquisite kind of mess? This is actually a form of artistic expression.”

“……”

“...I’ll redo the cut once the wound heals.”

“Owu.”

【Pfft—HAHAHAHA!!】

【‘Artistic’ ‘Redo the cut’】

【I’m dying. First we had the Naming Fiasco, now Sister Lin’s facing another career setback. Promise me—don’t touch the scissors again next time. Just let the Arctic wolf chew it off himself.】

...

Injuries take time to heal—as the saying goes, “it takes a hundred days to heal bones and tendons.” While the Arctic wolf’s bones weren’t hurt, the depth of the wound meant walking freely would risk reopening it, so rest was essential.

At this stage, the Arctic wolf couldn’t hunt either.

Had it been in the wild with no one to help, even if it hadn’t died from blood loss right away, it would’ve eventually starved from not being able to hunt.

But here at home, with someone caring for it, there was no such concern.

Lin Qianyu prepared plenty of meat and water, and soaked several extra compressed towels, which could be used as bedding for the Arctic wolf.

She hung up the wrung-out towels, and by now, the soup stewing on the stove was almost ready.Lin Qianyu poured a bowl of rabbit soup to cool and took the lunchbox with fish soup off the stove. The fish inside was still in large chunks. It had been cooked in a pan greased with meat fat; once hot water was added, the soup turned a somewhat milky white.

Although it wasn’t as purely white as the kind sold outside, it didn’t look like a bland clear broth either.

She put the lid on and said, “I’m heading out for a bit. Huihui, help me watch over the Arctic wolf.”

The little spotted seal, who was trying hard to minimize its presence: “?”

“Wuu?!”

Watch over…?

The little seal craned its neck to look at the Arctic wolf, wondering… You’re not going to just eat me if you get hungry, right?

Lin Qianyu was just going to deliver the fish soup—it wasn’t far, and she could be back within ten minutes.

Walking in the snowstorm was still slow-going. If even one step faltered, the next moment she could be swept away by the wind.

Even during snowstorms, Feng Jingye often wasn’t in the shelter. Being a local familiar with the terrain, the production team didn’t put strict limitations on him.

The fish soup was placed inside the arched entrance of an ice house.

As Lin Qianyu turned to leave—plop—something dropped from above and landed straight into the snow on the ground.

Previously, a path had been cleared inside the base, but with the recent heavy snow, any cleared tracks disappeared quickly under the accumulating drifts, so no one bothered maintaining them.

“Jiu!” A snowy owl circled in the air, seemingly searching for a place to land.

“What kind of animal is this?” Lin Qianyu bent over the crater left by the fall and pulled out the prey. It had feathers and wings—looked like some kind of duck or goose.

Hard to tell the species, but it was food for the little animals anyway.

Lin Qianyu held up the prey and waved to the snowy owl. “Let’s go home. The snow hasn’t stopped yet, it’s too dangerous out here.”

For small animals, heading out during a snowstorm was extremely risky—one wrong move, and they could get blown away. Some weren’t so lucky—swept off a cliff or onto fractured ice, leading to their death.

The same danger applied to raptors flying in the stormy sky.

The snowy owl seemed to hear Lin Qianyu’s voice. After circling once more, it adjusted its course and suddenly dove down, using the wind to land on her raised arm.

Its tucked-in talons gripped her coat. Lin Qianyu brought her arm in and used the other hand to shield the owl. “Did you lose more weight again? You look so big, but landing on my arm, you're light as a feather.”

So light—almost weightless.

The snowy owl tilted its head, its round eyes staring at her.

“Stay home a few more days. Get fatter before I let you out to hunt again.” As Lin Qianyu carried the owl back, the polar bear that had gone out to hunt also returned.

Hunting in a blizzard wasn’t easy.

Prey rarely came out in such weather. And if they did, the snowstorm gave them better cover to hide.

So this time, Xuetuan and the others had taken longer than usual.

“Come on, come in.” Lin Qianyu sent the snowy owl inside first, then turned and scooped up the furry snowball on the ground, patting the snow off.

When snow fell on their fur, the fluffballs would shake it off if they felt uncomfortable. But the snow kept falling, and after just a few steps, more would accumulate on them. Once back inside, the rising warmth would melt the thin snow, dampening their fur—an unpleasant feeling, and it took ages to clean by licking.

So Lin Qianyu simply brushed all the snow off them as they came in, even wiping down their furry paws.She patted the polar bear on the head and said, “There’s enough food at home for you all to eat for a while. Wait until the snowstorm stops before going out to hunt.”

The polar bear, squatting at the arched doorway, shook its ears. “Wuu!”

It agreed readily—but whether it would actually listen was another matter.

Lin Qianyu rubbed the thick fur around the polar bear’s neck. She suddenly lifted both hands, fluffing it up, making the bear look even more round and fluffy.

The good-tempered polar bear was like a plush doll, letting Lin Qianyu pinch and play with it.

But as she got closer, it lowered its head to sniff around her neck, seemingly catching a hint of an unusual scent.

“Wuu?” The polar bear squinted, leaning in to sniff more carefully.

Lin Qianyu pressed a hand on its furry head and gave it a bear hug with open arms. “Be good. Go eat. I’ll open a can for you after dinner.”

“Aowoo!”

Just hearing the word canned food made it happy.

As the only sweet-toothed fluffball in the house, the polar bear always ate the whole can.

The little snow leopard and arctic fox were squatting beside the table, lifting their heads to stare big-eyed at the arctic wolf on top of the table.

It was the one brought back last night. The snow leopard and arctic fox both remembered, but now that it was awake, they were quite curious about the white wrappings covering it.

Since waking, the arctic wolf had only seen the little spotted seal—who, in its eyes, was food or emergency rations. Naturally, it hadn’t triggered any alarm.

The scent inside the room was mixed, like many animals living together, so it was hard for the arctic wolf to distinguish.

But now, seeing them clearly for the first time, the arctic wolf was stunned, unsure how to react.

【Why is it suddenly so quiet? They’re not about to fight, are they?】

【The arctic wolf is still injured—it probably won’t start a fight. Maybe some baring of teeth though. Little animals can be pretty territorial.】

Lin Qianyu stepped forward and picked one up in each arm, cutting off the possibility of a fight at the root.

The arctic wolf stared blankly at the two little animals, who now seemed to float upward in Lin Qianyu’s arms, completely confused.

“Let’s all live peacefully together,” Lin Qianyu said, carrying the snow leopard and arctic fox over to the table. “I made fresh milk powder today and some rabbit soup. Want to try?”

The arctic fox wasn’t interested in the rabbit soup, but the snow leopard, hearing that, suddenly turned its head with a ‘whoosh’. “Aowoo?!”

It was curious about everything Lin Qianyu made.

A fluffball that liked strong seasoning.

“I only added salt,” Lin Qianyu said, setting the two down and placing the sliced meat to the side. “Come on, eat while it’s hot.”

When she turned around, she saw the arctic wolf struggling to sit up. She quickly said, “Don’t move—careful of your wound!”

To prevent the arctic wolf from accidentally hurting itself with unconscious movements, Lin Qianyu had specifically used a wooden rod to stabilize its front leg.

The arctic wolf, biting down on the rod on its leg, paused when their eyes met. After a moment, it slowly opened its mouth and spat out the small piece of wood it had chewed off.

“Your bite is pretty strong,” Lin Qianyu said, tossing the chewed wood into the fire pit. She adjusted the slightly displaced rod, untied the bandage, and re-tied it into a bow.

The sound of claws scratch-scratch at the door caught the attention of the little animals in the house. The faint noise made the little snow leopard’s ear tips twitch.Several pairs of beastly eyes turned toward the door.

The arctic wolf even made a move to stand up, propping up its upper body in an attempt to shield Lin Qianyu.

Lin Qianyu was directly blocked by the arctic wolf. She hadn’t expected that, in a moment of uncertainty, this severely injured arctic wolf she hadn’t known for long would instinctively try to protect her.

Her heart softened. It seemed the experts were right—arctic wolves truly were gentle-tempered, docile canines.

Lin Qianyu raised her hand to rest on the arctic wolf’s back, gently stroking its fur in reassurance. “It’s probably your leader coming back.”

Just as she said that, the pack leader outside pushed the door open slightly, poking its head through the gap. “Wuu…”

Lin Qianyu carefully helped the arctic wolf lie back down and called out, “Don’t just stand at the door—come in!”

However, the wolf outside seemed hesitant. It didn’t enter immediately but just kept its head poked through the gap, letting out a low “wuu.”

“Hmm?”

Lin Qianyu didn’t quite catch it.

The next moment, more and more arctic wolf heads began to poke through the door gap one after another.

Like a totem pole, furry heads stacked one atop another.