Previous Chapter ◊ Table of Content ◊ Next Chapter

Chapter 187: Let’s Run, Fox (III)

---

   一只鸡显然填不饱狮子这个空虚的肚子，他一边舔着爪子上的油汁，一边默默看着尚可。

A single pheasant was naturally not enough to fill a lion’s empty stomach. As he licked the traces of oil off his claws, he silently watched Shang Ke.

    尚可另外给他端来一碗三鲜汤，用来盛汤的果壳比斑拓鼠那个大了三分之二。

Shang Ke carried a bowl of sanxian soup to him that was in a fruit shell two-thirds larger than the one he had given the mother rat.

    尝过叫花鸡的美味后，穆图虽然有点嫌弃这碗汤，不过对比自己的份量和那只肥鼠的份量，心里还是满意的，爽快地喝了个精光，味道意外的不错。他深深地看了尚可一眼，以前居然不知道这只小狐狸有这种手艺。

After tasting the delicious roasted pheasant, Mutu still drank that bowl of soup despite the disdain he felt for it. He was satisfied with the larger portion he got in comparison to that fat rat and drank it until nothing was left. It tasted pretty good. He observed Shang Ke carefully, he never knew that this little fox would have such good skills.

    这样一个上阵能杀敌、入室能持家的人才，就应该好好放在自己身边。

Such a talent that can fight when needed and housekeep when at home needed to be well-kept by his side.

    吃饱喝足，尚可开始帮穆图清洗伤口，重新上药。穆图身上伤痕纵横交错，刀伤、斧伤、箭伤，不一而足，好几道伤口深可见骨，皮开肉绽，这家伙却像是感觉不到疼痛一般，面不改色。只有在尚可给他敷药的瞬间，才会稍微皱皱眉头。

After having his fill, Shang Ke cleaned Mutu’s injuries and reapplied medicine. Crosses of injuries littered Mutu’s body. Sword injuries, hatchet injuries, arrow injuries and more. Some of them went deep enough to see the bone yet this guy acted as if he couldn’t feel pain as he calmly went through the process.

    尚可用浸泡过药汁的叶子，几乎将穆图的前胸后背给贴满了，然后用热水烫过的麻布条一圈圈固定。麻布是从穆图身上撕下来的，他那件上衣本来就被砍得七零八落了，干脆拿来废物利用。

Shang Ke used leaves soaked in herbal mixes and plattered them all over Mutu. Then he used a strip of cloth he had boiled before to fasten them on. The cloth was made from Mutu’s clothes. His top had been sliced into unwearable tatters anyway, so he might as well make use of it.

    穆图见他动作娴熟，包扎手法干净利落，忍不住问：“你是巫医学徒？”

Watching his experienced movements and perfect bandaging, Mutu couldn’t help but ask, “You’re the witch doctor’s apprentice?”

    这个时代医术落后，还没有建立相对健全的医疗基础。穆图口中的“巫医”，只是懂得一些简单的药理知识，他们更重要的职责是请神祈福，一般由德高望重、经验丰富的长者担任。所以，穆图问的是“巫医学徒”，而不是“巫医”。

Medical development was behind in these times, the fundamentals of medical treatment have not been established yet. The ‘witch doctor’ mentioned by Mutu was just someone who had a bit of herbal knowledge. Their main and more important duty was to ask God for their blessing. The post was normally taken up by an experienced elder of virtue and prestige. As such, Mutu asked if he was the ‘witch doctor’s apprentice’ instead of just ‘witch doctor’.

    尚可摇摇头，额前的长发随着他的动作轻轻摆动。

Shang Ke shook his head, the long bangs in front of his face also gently swayed with his movements.

    穆图正想伸手撩一撩他的头发，却见他起身往外走去。

Shang Ke got up and walked away when Mutu was just about to part his bangs by the enticement.

    “去哪？”

“Where are you going?”

    尚可转过身，拿起剩下的布条，做了一个擦脸的动作。

Shang Ke turned back, picked up the remaining cloth and did a face wiping motion.

    穆图不再多问，默默注视着他离开的背影。洞外的光亮，将他的身材衬托得格外窈窕，白色长发直垂而下，蓬松的大尾巴在他身后轻轻摇晃，如同一把柔软的蒲扇，让人忍不住想要摸上两把。

Mutu did not ask anymore and just silently watched his back. The light outside of the cave outlined his figure into a particularly fair one. His long white hair hung freely as his tail swayed gently behind him like a soft fan. It tempted people to rub it.

    穆图在这只狐狸身上发现了一种与其他兽人截然不同的气质，安静、柔和、与世无争，还有几分似有若无的……妩媚。

Mutu noticed a temperament that was entirely different from the beastmen that he knew of from him. Quiet, gentle and aloof from worldly affairs. He also seemed rather… lovely.

    这样的人，即便只是静静伫立在身旁，也能让人感到舒心，他以前怎么会毫无所觉？

A person like him would make others feel at ease just by having them by their side. So how could he have never noticed him?

    晚上，尚可扛回一头野猪。看他纤瘦的肩膀驮着一只肥壮的野猪，穆图总觉得有哪里不对。

That night, Shang Ke carried a wild boar over his shoulder back. The feeling of a great mismatch plague Mutu as he stared at Yanu’s slender shoulders then at the stout wild boar.

    尚可手起刀落，开始对这头进行野猪切割。看今天的天色，他估摸着明天会下雨，所以猎了一头大野猪回来，免得明天还要冒雨出去打猎。

Shang Ke raised his knife and started to clean the wild boar. From the looks of the sky, it was probably going to rain tomorrow. As such, he went ahead to hunt a large wild boar so he wouldn’t need to hunt tomorrow out in the rain.

    穆图目不转睛地看着他的动作，昏暗的洞穴中，银光闪动，如同跳舞一般，带着一种奇妙的韵律感。

Mutu stared unblinkingly at his movements. In the dim cave, the silver flashes of the knife was like a dance flowing along some unseen rhythm. 

    正在出神间，尚可已经将野猪处理好，预留一半用叶子包好，另外半只则被他做成焖肉，让穆图意犹未尽的吃了个半饱。

While he was spellbound, Shang Ke had already finished dealing with the boar. Half of it he wrapped carefully in leaves, while the other half was covered up and stewed. Mutu managed to be half filled with that.

    半夜时，外面下起了大雨，阴湿的气息让穆图睡得极不安稳。这时，突然感觉胸口传来一阵暖意。

In the middle of the night, it started raining heavily. The humid air caused Mutu to sleep restlessly. Suddenly, he felt something warm on his chest.

    穆图缓缓睁开眼，看到一条雪白色的大尾巴轻轻盖在他的胸口，柔软而温暖的触感，驱散了他身上的凉意。穆图侧头望去，尾巴的主人正团成一团，安静地躺在他身边，他只要一伸手，就能把他裹进怀里。

Mutu slowly opened his eyes and saw a large snow white tail laying gently over his chest. The soft and warm feeling dispersed any chill he felt. Mutu followed the tail to the owner, who was currently curled up into a ball and resting besides him. As long as he reached out he would be able to pull him into his arms.

    这个念头刚起，手臂已经搂过去了。纤细的窄腰，与自己的粗狂形成鲜明的对比。宽松的兽皮滑到肩下，露出大片光洁的皮肤。兽皮裙下，两条修长的腿微微屈起，膝盖贴靠在他的大腿边。

His arms were already reaching for him when that thought popped into mind. His narrow waist was a distinct contrast to his thick one. Under the animal skin skirt, Yanu’s legs were slightly bent and his knee brushed against his thigh.

    穆图下腹收紧，突然感觉喉咙有些干涩。他忍不住凑近，在他颈窝处嗅了嗅，淡淡的体香混合着身体的热量扑鼻而来。

Mutu felt his lower body tense up while his throat suddenly felt dry. He scooted closer and sniffed his neck. His faint body odor and body warmth filled his nose.

    穆图不受控制地在他脖子上咬了一口，狮子的欲望总是来得很快，不过穆图刚刚接任族长不久，还没来得及享受狮王的配偶权。狮族的所有雌性，都是属于狮王的，没有狮王的允许，其他狮子都不能和雌性交配。只有等到成年典礼时，狮族青年才能寻找自己的伴侣。

Mutu uncontrollably bit his neck. The lust of lions always came by fast, but since Mutu had just become the chief of the tribe, he hadn’t had the chance to enjoy the privilege of being a lion king—having a mate. All the females of a lion tribe belonged to the lion king. Without the permission of the lion king, the other lions may not mate with the females. Young men of the lion tribe could only find their own partner when the adulthood celebration happens.

    前任狮王性格专横霸道，将所有年轻漂亮的雌性都视为自己的私有物，即使其他狮子成年，他也不会分配给他们。除非脱离族群，否则他们只能选择一些年纪偏大、相貌平庸作为伴侣。

The former lion king was an imperious tyrant. He viewed all the young and pretty females as his own private goods. Even if the other lions grow to adulthood, he would not allocate anyone to them. Unless they chose another species, they could only choose the older females who had mediocre appearances as their partners.

    摄于狮王的强大，年轻狮子们都是敢怒不敢言。直到穆图向狮王发起挑战，并在战斗中赢得胜利，才终于结束前任狮王专横统治。

Due to the strength of the former lion king, the young lions, although angry, did not dare to say anything back. But his tyranny finally came to an end when Mutu challenged him and won.

    穆图成为狮王不过两个月，距离成年也还有两个月。也就是说，穆图在尚未成年时就凭借自己的勇气和武力打败了强大的狮王，这让他在年轻狮子中颇受推崇，但一些年长的狮子，却未必真心服他。

Mutu had only become the lion king for two months. He was also still two months away from adulthood. In other words, Mutu relied on his own courage and martial skills to fight the powerful lion king before he was an adult. The other lions in his generation had great respect for him, but for the more senior lions, their respect may not be sincere.

    以前的穆图对雌性没什么想法，如今却因为一只狐狸而动情了。至于种族问题，他完全没考虑过。

The previous Mutu did not care much about females, but now he was getting excited for a fox. As for the question of species, he didn’t care about it at all.

    穆图正想深入“研究”一下身边的狐狸，忽见一条大尾巴横过来，一下子盖住了他的脸。随即感觉狐狸伸一个懒腰，然后翻了个身，继续睡他的觉。

Right when Mutu was going to thoroughly ‘study’ the fox by his side, the large white tail swept across his chest to his face. The owner of the tail then stretched and flipped his body, continuing to sleep.

    穆图见他连尾巴也从他身上卷走了，有些不满，大手一伸，重新将他捞进怀里。

Seeing how he didn’t even have a fluffy tail anymore, Mutu was unhappy. He reached out and once again pulled him into his arms.

    嗯，抱起来真舒服。

Mhm, it feels really nice hugging him like this.

    穆图嘴角上扬，紧贴着狐狸的后背，缓缓闭上了眼睛。

Mutu smiled in satisfaction and stuck close to the fox’s back. He slowly closed his eyes.

    第二天，大雨还没有停。好在尚可提前做好了准备，暂时不用担心食物的问题。

The next day, the rain continued. Thankfully Shang Ke had made his preparations beforehand so he didn’t need to worry about food yet.

    他没有发现，穆图看他的眼神，变得有些火热和不可捉摸……

He had not noticed that the way Mutu looked at him had changed into a passionate and unfathomable one… 

    之后的日子，尚可依旧每天出去采药捕食，顺便清理可能留下的痕迹，穆图则负责养伤外带养膘。经过几天的悉心调理，加上他本身的恢复能力，身上的伤基本已经愈合结痂，只是还不能进行剧烈运动。

The following days, Shang Ke continued to hunt and pick herbs while clearing any traces he might have left behind. Mutu continues to heal up and get fatten by Shang Ke. Through the careful nursing of Shang Ke and his own strong healing capabilities, his injuries have pretty much scabbed over but violent movements were still out of the question.

    明明身受重伤、落魄荒野，穆图却被尚可硬生生养肥了好几圈，与他同肥的还有那一窝斑拓鼠。看着它们圆滚滚的身体尚可几乎怀疑它们还能不能跑起来，或许用滚的更快。

Mutu was seriously injured and out in the wilderness, yet Shang Ke had raised him fatter by several degrees. The ones that also fattened up was that family of spotted rats. Observing their plump bodies, Shang Ke wondered if they could still even run. Perhaps rolling would be faster.

    时间不知不知觉过了十来天，尚可仔细查看了周围的地形，提前考察了返回部落的路线。

Over ten days passed by like this. Shang Ke carefully looked over the geography and checked the route back to the tribe.

    此时距离雉狗族血洗狮族大约只剩下半个多月，看穆图的恢复情况，时间应该还来得及。

There was still over half a month before the avanis start their massacring of the lion tribe. From the rate Mutu was healing, they should be able to make it.

    这天，穆图在洞穴中一边无聊地逗弄斑拓鼠，一边等尚可回来。

On this day, Mutu was teasing the spotted rats while waiting for Shang Ke’s return.

    但是直到午后，尚可还没有回来。

But even when afternoon hit, Shang Ke still had not returned.

    穆图有些担心，尚可每天都很准时，很少晚归，今天却迟迟不见踪影。他压抑心中的烦躁，又等了半个小时，依然不见人影，他终于坐不住了，决定出去找人。

Mutu was a bit worried. Shang Ke was always timely and rarely late. Yet he was so late today without any warning. He forcefully calmed the anxiety brewing in his heart and waited another half hour. Seeing how Shang Ke was still missing, he finally couldn’t sit still anymore and decided to go search for him.

    循着尚可平时的路线，穆图快速在林中穿梭。尚可很小心，沿途没有留下自己的气息，直到几十分钟后，穆图闻到了淡淡的血腥味。很快，他就在几片树叶上，找到了还未完全干涸的血迹，还有一股让他厌恶的气味。

Following Shang Ke’s usual route, Mutu travelled quickly through the forest. Shang Ke was very careful, he did not leave behind his scent. But dozens of minutes later, the faint scent of blood was caught by Mutu. He quickly found the still wet blood on top of a couple leaves and the scent he loathe.

    雉狗！

Avanis!

    穆图脸色铁亲，加快速度向气息的源头追去。

Mutu’s face turned terrible and he sped up toward the source of the scent.

    空气中的血腥味越来越浓，穆图在雉狗的踪迹中，准确捕捉到狐狸的气味。

The scent of blood became stronger and stronger in the air. Mutu accurately found the scent of a fox within the avani tracks.

    他确实遇上雉狗了！

He really had ran into the avanis!

    从气味蔓延的方向看来，狐狸显然是想将雉狗引开，以免他们发现自己。

From the direction of the scent, he had evidently tried to draw the avanis away so that Mutu wouldn’t be discovered.

    穆图低吼一声，再次提升了速度，整个人就像一支金色箭矢，快速从茂密的树丛中飞射而过。

Mutu growled lowly and once more sped up. He was like a golden arrow as he flew through the dense forest.

    不过片刻，他听到了雉狗的叫嚣声和战斗的交击声。

He didn’t run for long when he heard the hoots of avanis and the clanging of an ongoing battle.

    冲出树丛，一眼便看到尚可正被几个雉狗围攻。他身形灵动，长发飞舞。左侧的白发上，溅上了一片鲜血，如同一朵绽开的罂粟花。长发拂动间，露出半张绝美的面空，一滴鲜血落在眼角处，就像一颗红色泪痣，为他平添了几分艳色。

Rushing out of the thicket, he saw Shang Ke being besieged. His hair fluttered with his smooth movement. The left side of his white hair was splashed with blood, making it look a bit like a poppy flower. His long hair swayed with his movements, revealing his beautiful face. A drop of blood landed near his eye like a red mole, making him look a bit more seductive.

    霎那芳华，让穆图惊艳不已。

The beauty of Yanu swept Mutu away.

    但此刻也顾不上欣赏，带着凛然的威势冲向雉狗族人。

But now wasn’t the time to appreciate it, he imposingly charged into the group of avanis.

    新仇加旧恨，穆图下手毫不留情，几只雉狗很快被杀得节节败退。

With this renewed hatred of avanis on top of his old hatred, Mutu showed no mercy and killed so many of them so fast they were forced to retreat.

    “撤！”雉狗头领大喝一声。

“Retreat!” The avani leader shouted.

    “想走？”穆图眼中寒光闪烁，将手上的斧头甩了出去，准确地击中一个正欲逃走的雉狗。

“You want to leave?” A cold light flashed through Mutu’s eyes and he threw the ax he was holding. It accurately hit one of the escaping avanis.

    接着，他又从地上捡起一把大刀，和尚可一起，追杀剩下的雉狗。

Following that, he picked up a large sword forgotten on the ground and chased down the rest of the avanis with Shang Ke.

    十几分钟后，战斗结束，最后还是让一个雉狗跑了。

A dozen minutes later, the battle finally ended. But they still let a avani slip through their grasps.

    “亚努，你没事吧？”穆图扶住尚可的肩，关心地问。

“Yanu, are you okay?” Mutu had a hand on Shang Ke’s shoulder as he worriedly asked.

    尚可摇摇头，表示没事。

Shang Ke shook his head to show he was fine.

    穆图四下看了看，沉声道：“收拾一下，我们回部落吧。”

Mutu looked around and then spoke, “Let’s clean up and return to the tribe.”

    尚可自然没有意见，这也是他的打算。而且因为这群雉狗的出现，让他有了由头向穆图透露奸细的身份和雉狗准备偷袭的计划。

Shang Ke naturally did not object as that was what he had planned. Plus, the appearance of this group of avanis gave Shang Ke the thought to tell Mutu who the spy was and the avani tribe’s plan.

    两人返回洞穴，带上食物和武器就上路了。

The two of them returned to the cave and packed up. They left with some food and their weapons.

    尚可事先已经考察过路线，完全不用担心会迷路。

Shang Ke had checked out their route ahead of time, they did not need to worry about getting lost.

    这又让穆图感觉狐狸心细如发，简直就是居家旅行的必备挂件。

His preparations made Mutu feel even more appreciation for the fox; he was simply an essential item for living at home and traveling.

    途中，尚可用文字加比划，将雉狗的计划和奸细的身份告诉了穆图，假称是从刚才那几个雉狗口中偷听到的。

On their way, Shang Ke used writing and gestures to pass on the information of the spy’s identity and the avanis plans as something he had eavesdropped on.

    穆图如今对尚可十分信任，从他这些天对自己无微不至的照顾，以及他不惜将自己当作诱饵，帮他引开雉狗的行为，都让他没有理由再怀疑他。

Mutu now greatly trusts Shang Ke. From the countless days of his nursing and using himself as bait to draw away the avanis, he had no reason to continue to doubt him.

    只是他不太能接受自己的兄弟竟然想将置于死地，甚至不惜与雉狗勾结，平白为部落招来祸端。

But he still couldn’t quite accept the fact that his brother had wanted his death, so much that he even colluded with avanis and caused countless innocent deaths within the tribe.

    穆图压抑心中的沉痛，抬头看向部落的方向，眼中闪烁出一抹决然的寒光。

Mutu repressed the sorrow in his heart and raised his head in the direction of his tribe. A cold light flickered through his eyes.

    这时，一声口哨传来，一个身影站在树梢上，指着远方，回头朝穆图露出一个开心的笑容。白色大尾巴在风中摇曳，阳光在他身上洒下灿烂的光点，美得让人屏息。

At this moment, a whistle came through. A figure stood within a tree, his finger pointed in a spot far away as he turned to Mutu with a happy smile. His large white tail wagged gently in the wind. The mottled light that shone down on him made him so breathtakingly beautiful. 

    穆图身上的肃杀之气一扫而空，纵身跃起，一把勾住狐狸的腰，如疾风一般，快速朝部落的方向掠去。

The murderous intent on Mutu’s body was instantly gone without a trace. He leaped up into the same tree and held Yanu by the waist. Then like a storm, quickly headed for the tribe.

    这次遇袭，唯一的收获，大概就是让他真正认识了这只狐狸。

The greatest thing he got out of this ambush, was that he truly became acquainted with this fox.

SnowTime: I honestly forgot this is the weekend… welp

---

Previous Chapter ◊ Table of Content ◊ Next Chapter