Yin Ruxu fell asleep on the horse. Chief Wotu was holding his wife in his arms. He was not in a hurry to get on with his journey, so he rode slowly. The scenery around him was something he was used to seeing, and it was no longer new to him. But he could see the princess in his arms to his heart's content.
The more he looked, the more he felt something strange in his heart, sour and bitter. He always wanted to take her to see the most beautiful things to make her happy, and it would be best if she could smile as brightly as the girls in the tribe.
Just now, when he saw her sitting upright in the car, he had a feeling that this woman was like a bird in a cage, with a delicate fragility all over her body. His first thought at that time was to hold her up and let her fly. When he came to his senses, he also found it funny.
It became cold on the grassland at night, but Yin Ruxu was sleeping soundly in Wo Tu's arms, with no sign of waking up. Wo Tu thought that she was different from those tough guys on the grassland. Even newborn lambs looked stronger than her. He was worried that she would catch a cold and get sick, so he waved to the palace maids who were peeking behind her to bring clothes to wrap her up.
The maids hurriedly brought the shawl and cloak over. Wo Tu looked at it and was disgusted. What's the point of having such a beautiful pattern? It's obvious that it can't keep you warm. It's better not to wrap it.
"Do you have a fur coat? Go get one."
The maids went to the cart to open the boxes and took out the fur coat. Wo Tu held the person in one hand, shook the fur coat with the other hand, wrapped the person in his arms and held him in his arms. Na Risong was beside him and witnessed his series of actions, and couldn't help but be amazed.
Their chief never takes care of others, not even himself. He lives his life casually like a wild wolf on a snowy mountain. He has no such a mind. Na Risong thinks he is born with it. After all, he is excellent in other aspects, so it is inevitable that he is not so smart in other aspects. As a result, today I have learned a lot. It turns out that it is not that the chief does not have the meticulous mind, but that he has not met someone who can make him willing to spend his mind.
Look how thoughtful that is! He hadn't even thought of this.
Wo Tu's idea was good, but unfortunately he was rough and clumsy, and when he wrapped Yin Ruxu up, he woke her up. Yin Ruxu was trapped in the thick fur coat, and just opened her eyes. Before she knew where she was, her heart was subconsciously tense, and her eyes were full of panic. She looked up and saw Wo Tu's unshaved chin and the sunset on the grassland above her head.
The orange, fiery, and purple clouds burned through most of the sky, while the other side was still blue and green. The setting sun on the distant horizon had not yet set, like a flame at the center of the world.
She stared at it, and instantly felt relieved.
Wo Tu noticed that she had woken up and saw her expression change. He was moved and rubbed his face against hers. He thought to himself, this is my wife, kissing her is not a hooligan. Unfortunately, his beard was too prickly, and Yin Ruxu pushed him away subconsciously as soon as he approached. Her hands were weak, and Wo Tu calmed down after being pushed by her, so he didn't dare to take advantage of her again.
"I haven't shaved my beard these past few days because I've been busy. I'll shave it when I get back. I promise it won't prick anyone." He also explained. He touched his beard with his hand. Although he didn't think it pricked anyone, his wife was still young and might dislike his beard.
Na Risong and a few others were laughing secretly. They said that he was busy recently. He had nothing to do. Every day he either went to the grassland to trap wild horses or to shoot eagles. He didn't shave because he was just lazy.
"No..." Yin Ruxu said. She either disliked Wo Tu's beard or it was just that he did it so suddenly that she couldn't stand it.
"It's beautiful here." She changed the subject and looked at the sky in the distance.
"There are better places to see. The grassland is beautiful in all seasons. You have only seen a small part of it. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. I will take you to see better places." Wo Tu was very happy because he could tell that she liked it here.
He was worried just now, afraid that the girl from Jinxiu Township would not be used to it. He knew that the people in the Central Plains thought that the grassland tribes were savages who ate raw meat and drank blood. Although they looked down on them, they were also afraid of them. This was why he resisted the princess of Yin before. He didn't want a woman who didn't like her homeland to be his wife. Although this place is not as prosperous as the Central Plains, it also has things that the Central Plains don't have, and it is no worse than anywhere else.
"Look over there, that's the Wolf God Snow Mountain, which is what you call the Hengduan Mountains. There is snow on it all year round, but there is a hot lake in the mountain. The water is hot, so it won't be cold even in winter. Other places are covered with snow. There is hot steam rising around the hot lake, and green grass and flowers are growing. Do you want to see it? I'll take you to see it this winter." Wo Tu pointed to the continuous snow-capped mountains in the distance and said to Yin Ruxu.
Yin Ruxu listened quietly, feeling expectant in her heart. Her dull eyes became brighter and brighter as Wo Tu's voice grew louder.
"That's great." Yin Ruxu stretched out her hand, put it on Wo Tu's arm, and said, "Thank you." She really couldn't do anything more proactive. This was a rare time for her to express her emotions.
In the last ray of light between heaven and earth, Wo Tu smiled at her with his big white teeth, looking happier than her.
They did not stop at night and continued on their way. Narisong asked everyone to hold up torches to disperse the wolves. The most common animals on the grassland were wild wolves. When they smelled human scent, they would gather and follow the crowd, waiting for an opportunity to attack. If the beasts were starving, they would see humans as no different from other animals, and they would still dare to pounce on them, drag them, and bite them.
Wo Tu did not put Yin Ruxu down from the horse, but just held her on the horse all the way. Yin Ruxu did not ask to get off the horse, and stayed with him peacefully.
But after riding for a long time, they also needed to rest. They stopped to rest in the second half of the night. Wo Tu jumped off the horse and picked up Yin Ruxu, asking her to go eat something.
Yin Ruxu returned to the carriage to change her clothes. The maids brought her food. One of them said, "Princess, you look better than before."
"The princess hasn't had a good rest these days. She can't fall asleep at night and often has nightmares. But she slept long today." Another palace maid was somewhat relieved.
Yin Ruxu had just eaten something and drank a cup of tea when she suddenly heard a few wolf howls outside. They were all weak women living in the deep palace. The wolves they had seen were wolf skins that had been made into clothes. They had never seen a live wolf. Frightened by the sound, several palace maids immediately shut up and crowded around Yin Ruxu, saying in a trembling voice: "Princess, there are, there are really wolves!"
Wotu's voice sounded outside the cart. He knocked on the window frame of the cart and asked loudly in a relaxed tone: "Princess, do you want to go see the wolf?"
Only then did he realize that he didn't know the name of the woman he had been holding for most of the day, so he had to call her princess.
Yin Ruxu lifted the curtain and stood on the shaft of the cart. Because the cart was taller, she immediately noticed a few bright green lights in the darkness outside the crowd. They were the eyes of wolves. And Wo Tu, who was standing in front of her, also had green eyes. Under the light of the torch, they looked even more transparent than in the daytime. This made him look more like a wolf. No wonder he was said to be the son of the wolf god.
"Come here." Wo Tu stretched out his hand to her. Yin Ruxu subconsciously put her hand on it, and felt her body lighten, and was lifted up by him onto the horse.
The guards and attendants who came to see off the bride were all a little scared. They heard that the wolves on the grassland were more ferocious than those in the mountains. With so many people gathered here with torches, the wolves still lingered around. They were really brave.
The men brought by Wo Tu were not afraid. To them, these wild wolves on the grassland were just like the dogs they were used to seeing. There was nothing to be afraid of.
Wo Tu was even less afraid, and he led Yin Ruxu out of the team. Yin Ruxu listened to the wolf's howl and nervously grasped Wo Tu's collar. Wo Tu realized that she was afraid, so he didn't approach her. He took the bow and arrow hanging on his horse, drew the bow and aimed the arrow at the green dot in the distance.
"If you don't want to go over and see, I'll kill one and have someone drag it back for you to see." As he spoke, the bowstring was tightened, making a buzzing sound. The shrill wolf howls suddenly became louder, and a few green dots seemed to be afraid. They stepped back and made a whimpering sound.
It was too dark, and she could only see within the range of the torch. Yin Ruxu didn't see clearly, and didn't know whether Wo Tu had hit the target. In fact, she didn't even react to Wo Tu's arrow because his movements were so fast, like lightning. He was still talking, but his hands had already finished.
“Can you… see it? It was so dark and so far away, but you hit it?” Yin Ruxu asked in surprise.
She knew that Wo Tu was very powerful, but in all their previous lives, they had not spent much time together. He had saved her the times with an ordinary knife and dagger, not a bow and arrow.
"Princess, our chief is the bravest warrior in the tribe. His eyes are different from ours. He can see things clearly in the distance even at night. This distance is very difficult for ordinary people, but he is different. His bow is specially made and very heavy. Only he can pull it. He can even shoot eagles in the sky, let alone others." Na Risong praised the chief in front of Yin Ruxu, and felt that he had praised him enough, so he rode over and dragged the dead wolf back.
That day, Song threw the wolf under the torch, and Yin Ruxu found that one of the wolf's eyes was shot through. What a great strength and good eyesight this required. She had seen the commander in the palace of Zhao State shooting arrows. Everyone praised him for his greatness. Zhao Xu also admired him, but compared with Wo Tu, he seemed to be much worse.
Wo Tu was so powerful, but under the iron hoof of Zhao State, he still lost his tribe, just like she lost her homeland.
"It's a pity that it's a mixed-hair wolf with ugly fur. When the weather gets cold, I'll get you a few with nice fur." Wo Tu didn't like the wolf, so he threw it aside and let the other people in the team look at it. Several palace maids hiding in the cart also secretly came down to look, half covering their eyes with fear and curiosity.
Perhaps frightened by him, the crowd became lively again, and the momentum became stronger. The wild wolves dared not linger around and ran away with their tails between their legs. After the excitement, the crowd set out again.
Yin Ruxu slept in Wotu's arms all night. Wotu's young and strong body was emitting heat, which made her pale face red. She didn't feel cold at all. She also saw the sunrise on the grassland. Wotu woke her up to watch it. The red sun rose, brilliant and magnificent, and the whole grassland also woke up.
After walking and stopping for a while, they finally arrived at the Wutu tribe's seasonal base on the morning of the second day.
The author has something to say: kun.