Chapter 7: Letting Go of the Leaf that Knows Autumn

Panting and cursing, Shen Shi spat out, "Damn it! Who the hell sent you to mess with me! Serves you right!"
He felt no guilt over the wolf's death.
This wasn't the twenty-first century; wolves had no rights to protection here.
Suddenly, the wolf's corpse twitched, making Shen Shi jump in fright. He thought, Could it be? It's not dead yet?
But the wolf corpse only moved once. Then he saw Gulu wriggle out from inside it, blood staining its mouth as it carried something.
Seeing Shen Shi awake, Gulu gleefully rushed over, leaping onto his stomach. Its jaws opened, and a round, grayish-white orb, barely larger than a ping-pong ball, dropped into Shen Shi's mouth.
Before he could react, it slid down his throat.
Immediately, a bitter, metallic taste filled his mouth.
"What did you just feed me?"
It was unbearably bitter. Shen Shi couldn't remain lying down anymore; he rolled over and sat up.
Gulu, seeing Shen Shi sit up, broke into a delighted grin.
And Shen Shi was stunned.
It was astonishing!
After the fierce battle with the giant wolf, he was certain he had exhausted every ounce of strength. Yet now, his vitality was returning.
No, not just returning—it was increasing, steadily rising from within his belly: one unit, two, three... ten... twenty.
His strength doubled.
He clenched his fist and could feel it—he was twice as strong as before.
Could this be the legendary inner pellet?
Gulu, meanwhile, licked Shen Shi’s face and mouth with its tongue, full of happiness.
The little creature’s face was smeared with blood; the more it licked, the more blood stained Shen Shi’s face, mouth, and body. But he wasn’t angry; instead, he hugged Gulu tightly and planted a kiss on its head.
That only made things messier.
Gulu let out a series of “gulu-gulu” sounds, desperately dodging Shen Shi’s affectionate attack...

That’s understandable—after so many years in prison, Shen Shi’s socks stank, and his breath was no better.
"You little thing, I didn’t mind you being dirty, but you’re already turning your nose up at me,"
Shen Shi opened his mouth wide, exaggeratedly enough to fit a large ball, pointing at Gulu in disbelief.
He pushed Gulu away, but the creature showed no shame; instead, it promptly hopped off his belly and burrowed back into the bushes.
It didn’t disappear entirely, leaving its little backside squirming and tugging at something.
First came a length of “rope,” which dragged out further, splitting the bush open, followed by wolf legs, wolf haunches, and the wolf’s body.
It turned out the other wolf hadn’t escaped either—it was dead as well.
...
Instantly, Shen Shi realized Gulu had killed the second wolf.
“You little rascal! You’re amazing!” Shen Shi scooped up Gulu. He was certain that if Gulu hadn’t killed the other wolf, he would have died.
Then...
The yellow stuff on Gulu’s mouth...
Shen Shi slowly set the creature down, telling himself, “From now on, I absolutely won’t kiss it again.”
No more kisses, but rewards were still in order.
“You naughty thing!” Shen Shi grabbed its belly, continuing, “I never expected you to know such tricks. How did you learn it? I’ve watched wildlife documentaries, and I know wild dogs attack the underbelly of big beasts, but you can do it too. Impressive!”
Gulu let out a comfortable moan, flipping over and exposing its belly, letting Shen Shi rub it—a sign of trust among animals, so they say.
“Heh...” Shen Shi mused on how lucky he was. Then his stomach rumbled thunderously.
Gulu rolled over and started dragging the wolf’s body again, gesturing for Shen Shi to roast it.
Apparently, Gulu had quickly adapted its taste to cooked food; after just one experience with roasted bird eggs, it now wanted grilled meat.
Shen Shi glanced around. Wolf meat was scattered everywhere; it should be edible, right?
Without a knife, grilling meat wasn’t impossible, but Shen Shi wouldn’t cut from the whole carcass, preferring the shredded remains of the wolf blown apart.
He gathered fresh branches, ignited one end in the fire, sharpened them, then roasted the whole stick for sterilization.

This was ancient times—a fever or stomachache could easily be fatal.
Once sterilized, he skewered the meat for roasting.
There was no salt, so he smeared berries on the meat. No salty flavor—he would settle for sweetness.
Shen Shi congratulated himself on his resourcefulness and culinary skill.
Roasting meat, holding Gulu in his arms, he pondered the nature of this place—was it the world of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio? Was he hallucinating, or was this his golden opportunity?
Sadly, information was scarce—so sparse that Shen Shi couldn’t be sure. As for wolves, who said only Strange Tales had them? Wolves existed in other eras too.
"Too little information—better not to jump to conclusions,"
Shen Shi decided to stop thinking, since the aroma of roasting meat drifted over, making everything else pale in comparison.
He took the cooked meat, split it with Gulu, and ate the rest himself.
It turned out, when you’re starving, anything tastes good—a lie, really.
Wolf meat was truly terrible.
Wasn’t it supposed to be similar to dog meat? Why was it nothing like the taste of dog?
Gulu, on the other hand, was delighted, devouring the meat with gusto. Watching its feast, Shen Shi wondered if perhaps his eating method was wrong—should he try eating prone like Gulu?
...
Of course, Shen Shi wouldn’t stoop to such uncouth behavior. He stood, found the wolf’s digestive tract, and sprinkled wolf waste in a circle.
Eating wasn’t the main concern; Shen Shi didn’t want to attract more predators while dining. And while he was at it, he gathered some bird eggs—why not?
He collected the eggs and lay down, but couldn’t sleep. By midnight, he felt cold; the fire had dwindled to a few embers, the fuel nearly burned out, and the night air was chilly.
He glanced at Gulu, curled up comfortably in his arms, and affectionately patted its head. Its big ears twitched, it smacked its lips, rolled over, and exposed its plump belly.
Shen Shi took his ragged clothes and laid them over Gulu’s bare belly, gently stroking it as the creature slept soundly.
He quietly got up, went to the nearby grass patch, gathered more branches and dried thornbush, and rekindled the fire.
Tomorrow, he couldn’t look for Zhiqiu Yiye anymore; it was time to descend the mountain and go home.