TSWPF -Chapter 458 Negotiation

Wolves are naturally afraid of fire. Faced with such a large blaze, the starving wolves stopped in their tracks, standing on the other side of the flames and howling at Li Qingling and the others.

Li Qingling couldn’t understand what the wolves were saying, so she turned her gaze to the Wolf King. It seemed that the Wolf King was more intelligent, and she could understand what it said.

She stepped forward, stared at the Wolf King, and said loudly, “Do you really want to fight us humans to the death? Don’t you care at all about the lives of your descendants?”

The Wolf King slowly walked forward, staring fixedly at Li Qingling. It couldn’t understand why she could comprehend its words.

After looking at her for a long time, it turned to Ah Huang and mocked him, saying that as the king of the forest, he had actually become a human’s mount. It was utterly humiliating and had disgraced the title of “King of the Forest.”

Ah Huang snorted disdainfully and said that the Wolf King shouldn’t try to sow discord. He wouldn’t fall for it.

He remembered very clearly what had happened back then. If his mistress hadn’t taken him home and raised him, he would have died long ago.

Moreover, in his heart, his mistress and her family were his own relatives. Between family members, there was no such thing as losing face.

If he could be provoked by just a few words, he wouldn’t be called Ah Huang.

Seeing that Ah Huang didn’t take the bait, the Wolf King continued to provoke him.

Ah Huang glanced at the skinny Wolf King and sneered. He said that if the Wolf King really had backbone, it wouldn’t bring its descendants down the mountain every year to rob villagers of their food.

Living even worse than him, yet still daring to mock him?

At least he didn’t have to kill and loot to survive.

Following his mistress was wonderful—he was well-fed, warmly housed, and never had to worry about hunger or cold.

Looking at Ah Huang’s glossy, bright fur, a trace of envy appeared in the Wolf King’s eyes. Since winter began, prey in the forest had grown scarce. He hadn’t eaten his fill in a long time, and his fur had become dull.

The Wolf King asked again whether Ah Huang was determined to oppose them.

Ah Huang replied that he listened to his mistress. Whatever she said, he would do. If the Wolf King had anything to say, it should speak to his mistress directly. She could understand and communicate with them.

The Wolf King’s suspicions were confirmed. With a racing heart, it asked Ah Huang why his mistress could understand their language.

Ah Huang lifted his head proudly and said smugly that his mistress was very powerful.

The Wolf King glanced at Ah Huang, then looked at Li Qingling and asked if she really intended to fight them to the bitter end.

With a cold face, Li Qingling replied indifferently, “That’s what I want to ask you. Do you really insist on opposing us humans? If you hadn’t come down every year to harm the villagers, we wouldn’t have resisted.”

The Wolf King paced restlessly in circles. It said that they never intended to oppose humans—they were just hungry and came down to look for food.

Every winter, there was almost no prey on Ninghua Mountain, forcing them to descend in search of sustenance.

Crossing her arms, Li Qingling frowned deeply. “The villagers’ lives aren’t easy either. Every winter, you come down and make things worse for them. Many people don’t even survive the cold season.” After a pause, she added, “In their eyes, you are their mortal enemies.”

Hearing this, the Wolf King became even more agitated. It asked coldly what she wanted—did it really have to be a fight to the death?

Li Qingling glanced discreetly at the shrinking pile of firewood and felt anxious inside. However, she remained calm on the surface and changed the topic.

“Why don’t you leave Ninghua Mountain and go somewhere else?” she asked. “Many animals migrate in winter. Why don’t you?”

The Wolf King looked at its emaciated descendants, feeling heartbroken. Then it turned back to Li Qingling and said flatly, “This is our base. We won’t move it lightly.”

She was speechless. She hadn’t expected the wolves to care so much about their territory.

“I’m not asking you to abandon it,” she explained. “Just leave for the winter and come back when it’s warm. Otherwise, many of you will starve to death. Even if you come down for food, you won’t survive the long winter.”

She felt that the Wolf King was too stubborn and inflexible.

Weren’t wolves supposed to migrate easily? Why were these ones so strange?

After a moment of silence, the Wolf King asked what she was really trying to say.

Li Qingling threw out her bait. “If I let you have a full meal, will you leave Ninghua Mountain and spend the winter elsewhere? Of course, you can refuse and keep fighting us. But frankly speaking, with your numbers, can you really beat humans? Once our reinforcements arrive, you won’t even be able to escape.”

After saying this, she fell silent and let the Wolf King think.

It felt like an eternity passed before the Wolf King finally spoke. It asked if she was serious about feeding them until they were full.

Li Qingling nodded firmly. “Yes. I never lie.”

With Ah Huang also confirming it, the Wolf King finally believed her. They reached an agreement: as long as they were fed well, the wolves would leave Ninghua Mountain and spend the winter elsewhere.

Li Qingling nodded lightly. When she turned to look at Liu Zhimou, she finally smiled broadly. “Done.”

Liu Zhimou looked at her with admiration and whispered, “What did the Wolf King say?”

“I’ll tell you later. There’s something to take care of now.”

She walked to the villagers and asked how many chickens, ducks, and geese they had. She wanted to buy them.

Combined with her own ducks, it should be enough to fill the wolves’ bellies.

The villagers were confused. After she explained briefly, they all insisted that she shouldn’t pay. As long as the wolves were willing to leave, giving up some poultry was nothing.

Before she could say more, they ran back to their homes to fetch the animals.

Li Qingling smiled slightly and instructed a guard to return to the residence and bring all her ducks.

After arranging everything, she returned and told the Wolf King to wait—food was coming soon.

The Wolf King said nothing and went to talk to Ah Huang instead.

Li Qingling didn’t mind. She walked to Diandian, gently touched his bandaged wound, and asked if it hurt.

Diandian raised his head and said it didn’t. It was a badge of honor for a male.

She praised him and promised to make him delicious food when they got home.

Hearing this, Diandian was so happy he almost jumped, listing several dishes he wanted.

“All of them,” she agreed with a smile.

He glanced ahead impatiently and looked resentfully at the Wolf King. When would they leave? They were delaying his return home for good food.

The Wolf King curiously asked Ah Huang if they often ate delicious food.

Ah Huang nodded proudly and listed many dishes, swallowing saliva as he spoke.

The Wolf King had never even heard of them, let alone eaten them.

He felt envious, but quickly shook his head. He couldn’t be “captured” by humans—it would disgrace him as Wolf King.

He turned away, pretending not to care.

Ah Huang scoffed, saying he was clearly jealous but still pretending.

The Wolf King bared its teeth at him, only held back by fear of the fire.

Ah Huang ignored him and went to Li Qingling, squeezing past Diandian and acting cute for attention.

She chuckled and patted his big head, praising him too.

Ah Huang narrowed his eyes in enjoyment and took the chance to ask for good food as well.

She agreed generously.

He howled excitedly and even nudged Diandian proudly.

Diandian moved away, unwilling to catch his father’s childishness.

Li Qingling stayed beside them to pass the time.

After about three-quarters of an hour, the Wolf King impatiently asked when the food would arrive.

Seeing the dwindling firewood, Li Qingling was anxious, but she calmly reassured him that it was coming.

Just then, the villagers appeared in the distance carrying poultry.

She smiled in relief and instructed them to throw the animals over.

The starving wolves stared greedily, drool dripping from their mouths.

Embarrassed, the Wolf King howled, making them quickly close their mouths.

When the poultry was thrown over, the wolves no longer cared about appearances, scrambling and jumping to grab it.

The Wolf King didn’t move. After everything was thrown over, it looked dissatisfied and asked, “Is that all?”

All? Nearly three hundred birds, and it was still not enough?

Li Qingling shot it an annoyed glance. “Wait. There’s more.”

After another quarter-hour, baskets of ducks arrived.

She felt a pang of heartache and signaled the guards to throw them over.

Without these ducks, her roast duck shop would have to close for a while.