Chapter 1 The Scenery of the Great Prairie

The scenery of the great prairie is enchanting, and galloping on horseback across this vast expanse of land is refreshing, but to be honest, after running for a long time... it's actually quite boring.

Becky's planned route started from Lunber, then proceeded almost entirely along the border of the prairie. It mostly passed through border cities or outposts. Only when passing through a mountain range did they have to detour into the kingdom's interior. Therefore, for a long time to come, all they would see was the endless prairie. Hao Ren found it a bit dull, but Lily seemed to be enjoying it. The latter was still "tied" to the horse's back like an octopus. Although her posture wasn't very elegant, she was quite cheerful. Sometimes, when the mood struck her, she would let out a "woof," her howl carrying for miles, scaring the horses half to death: this girl was having the time of her life.

"What's with her making all that noise?" Becky couldn't help but ask after hearing Lily howl several times. "Sounds like a werewolf."

"I am a werewolf!" Lily turned her head and said happily. She was genuinely happy to be able to tell outsiders about her "otherness" so openly, something unimaginable on Earth. She was naturally fond of freedom, and this place clearly gave her an unprecedented chance to run wild.

"Really a werewolf?!" Becky was particularly surprised. "Don't werewolves all live in the mountains to the west? And your tribal nation seems quite closed off. It's rare to see you running to human countries, let alone learning magic with humans."

"I've lived with humans since I was little!" Lily shouted loudly. She loved this place where she could talk about her identity without any worries. Becky wasn't unfamiliar with werewolves; everyone in this world was familiar with werewolves. What place could be more suitable for the survival of different species? To be honest, if it weren't for the lack of supermarkets, refrigerators, computers, and a lot of good food, Lily would really want to settle down here.

Of course, that thought was a bit impulsive: she hadn't seen the dangerous parts of the Dream Plane yet.

The more Lily thought about it, the happier and more excited she became. So, inspired, she decided to recite a poem. She cleared her throat: "Woof—"

Vivian drove her horse to Hao Ren's side: "The big dog seems pretty excited... What are you looking for?"

Hao Ren kept his eyes on the distance as he replied, "The wolf pack. I think we've already run into their territory, but they don't seem to be hunting over here today. I still remember getting their teeth fixed."

The team had been away from Lunber for several hours and should now be halfway through today's planned journey. Although they were running along the prairie border, Becky had actually chosen a flatter area closer to the interior of the prairie for ease of travel, so it was already within the territory of the black wolves. Hao Ren had agreed to Becky's route in the first place precisely because they could pass through the prairie, and he still remembered his promise to the wolf king.

But the prairie was always wider than you imagined, and the wolves' territory was particularly vast. They roamed and hunted here and there. Unless they happened to meet by chance or had arranged a meeting place, it seemed too difficult to find the wolf pack on this ride.

Vivian was also quite interested in the wolf pack that Hao Ren had mentioned several times. She realized that if they kept running like this, they probably wouldn't meet the black wolves until they reached the mountain village, so she thought for a moment and called out to Lily, "Big dog, how far can your howl carry at most?"

Lily had just finished howling and was now as happy as could be: "That depends on my mood... mood... mood..."

"Stop with the echo," Vivian had an idea. "Then shout at the top of your lungs, as far as you can. You can even shout that you're the King of the Prairie, it doesn't matter."

Lily immediately became wary: "Are you trying to trick me again?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Don't you usually complain that I'm too noisy? Sometimes when I go to the roof to express my feelings, you specifically run up from the basement to protest." Lily complained. She usually had the habit of howling when she was happy, but the quiet-loving vampire had a big problem with it. In fact, it wasn't just Vivian who had a problem with it. Everyone knew how annoying huskies were when they barked, let alone when Lily howled, often causing the dogs in the surrounding neighborhood to bark along with her. She was practically the newest public nuisance in the southern suburbs, so even Hao Ren often told her to control her voice.

Back when she was trying to fit in with humans, Lily was very restrained. She was afraid that her landlord worked at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Now that she was in a desolate place like the southern suburbs, and surrounded by "her own people," she was revealing more and more of her true nature.

"Just shout when I tell you to. Why are you always thinking about tricking you?" Vivian pouted. "I just thought you've been cooped up at home for too long. Now you can yell all you want."

Lily thought about it and honestly believed Vivian's words, then opened her throat and howled: "Woof woof woof woof—"

Hao Ren thought that the black wolves would probably be here soon: wolves have a strong sense of territory...

Sure enough, Lily's howling on horseback finally attracted the attention of the local wolf pack.

Hao Ren saw some shadows flashing past the horizon, and soon after, many black figures followed behind his group. He immediately called out to Becky in front: "Wait a moment, I have something to do."

Becky reined in her horse, not understanding what was happening. The others also stopped one after another, only Lily continued to rush forward, howling on the horse's back, hugging it with both hands and feet. In the blink of an eye, she ran hundreds of meters away, and the werewolf girl's exclamation floated faintly back: "I can't stop! Someone teach me how to stop!"

This girl couldn't ride a horse at all. Although she had confidently stated that she would quickly become proficient when they first set off, in fact, she had only been hanging onto the horse with brute force. Her role on the horse was equivalent to a piece of luggage—and now she couldn't stop!

Hao Ren was immediately anxious when he saw this situation and was about to rush up to save the reckless girl, but he didn't expect that Lily was ultimately worthy of her werewolf abilities. After panicking for a few hundred meters, she successfully escaped danger: the werewolf girl simply jumped off the speeding horse, then rushed up a few steps and ran in front of the horse. She gathered her strength and slapped it with her palm...

A moment later, Lily came back carrying the horse. That's right, she was carrying the horse she had just been riding on her shoulders...

"...I've seen countless rookies who can't ride horses in my life," Becky was completely stunned, "but this is the first time I've seen someone stop like this. Who's riding who here?"

Hao Ren awkwardly laughed and looked up at the sky. He really couldn't explain why he was always surrounded by such oddballs. Lily put the passed-out pony on the ground and muttered with a depressed look: "So annoying, now I have to carry it."

"Alright, it carried you all the way," Hao Ren pressed Lily's head down. "Don't run around next time. Don't try to be brave if you can't ride a horse."

At this time, the black figures following behind the team had run closer. As expected, it was the black wolf pack that Hao Ren was already quite familiar with. The strongest one in the lead was the magical wolf king who was well-read, knew military strategy, understood tactics, and had even studied art.

However, not all of the wolves were here. Only twenty or so wolves had come to meet Hao Ren, and the unfortunate ones who had lost their teeth didn't seem to be among them.

"So it really is you," the wolf king was taken aback when he saw Hao Ren. "You humans are so troublesome, always changing all kinds of cloth on your bodies. If it weren't for the fact that the smell can't be changed, I really wouldn't know how to distinguish you."

Humans in the eyes of wolves are probably similar to animals in the eyes of humans. If they weren't professionals, they probably couldn't even tell the males from the females based on their appearance alone. Fortunately, wolves could rely on smell to recognize people.

"We heard strange wolf howls just now and thought some jerk was trying to steal our territory," another black wolf nodded. "Your method of summoning us is quite unique. Who was howling just now? Nice voice, haven't heard such a clear tone in years."

Lily quickly jumped to the front: "I was the one howling! Are you the black wolves that the landlord was talking about?"

Then she gave Hao Ren a smug smile: "Hehe, I told you I have a talent for singing, you just don't know how to appreciate it."

Hao Ren pushed Lily aside: "You're just repeating three words, woof, over and over again. Stop showing off, okay? And you're mentioning singing in front of Wuyue, you're really confident."

Then he came to the wolf king: "I brought a doctor."