After the Black Moonlight’s "Death Escape" Failed [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: The Wolf and the Whip-Wielder

◎ This Emperor… perhaps it’s better if she takes the throne instead. ◎

The silence was broken by the 11th Princess, who was drenched in a cold sweat. Her experiences earlier that day had instilled in her a bone-deep fear of Jiao Qingyin, so her opening words were flattery that sounded as if they had been rehearsed:

“Truly a pet worthy of Your Highness. So fiercely peerless that even the Royal Guards were helpless against her.”

The “fiercely peerless” little wolf cub shook her paws and let out a milky, high-pitched awoo.

Jiao Qingyin gave Al a cold look. The little cub, who had never been treated coldly by her, let out a whimper, realizing her master was truly angry. She froze, looking up with damp, pleading eyes, her attitude of repentance impeccable.

Seeing this, Jiao Qingyin’s expression softened slightly. She stopped scruffing the cub and instead pulled her into a proper embrace.

Over the past month, Al had grown rapidly under excellent nutritional conditions. She had begun to stretch out and put on weight; she was no longer just a fluffy ball, and holding her was no longer as effortless as before.

“Carry on,” Jiao Qingyin said to the crowd without looking up, smoothing the cub’s ruffled fur. “Don’t mind me.”

The onlookers were collectively speechless. Those who had been terrified by Al didn’t dare make a sound, thinking: Who would dare NOT mind you?!

Many had witnessed Jiao Qingyin nearly shooting the 11th Princess dead that morning. Jiao Qingyin had always held the highest status among them, but because she used to be “simple-minded” and easy to fool, everyone used to flock to her side to fish for benefits. Now, the moment their eyes met hers, they felt a primitive urge to bolt. Those who used to view Odelia Hughes as a “rich fool” now wished they were miles away.

However, Jiao Qingyin handled the personality shift well; no one suspected a soul swap. They simply assumed she had been biding her time and hiding her true brilliance.

Seeing that no one moved, Jiao Qingyin tossed out a “continue your fun” and carried Al out of the tent. Meg and Liz followed closely. The beauties who had been hovering around exchanged hesitant glances, unsure if they should follow.

When they showed signs of standing up, the little cub turned her head and let out a fierce: “Awoo!”

The leader was startled into a dead stop. Jiao Qingyin looked at the cub baring its teeth to defend its territory and followed her lead: “No need to follow.”

The little cub wagged its tail triumphantly.

Really… Jiao Qingyin couldn’t help but tweak Al’s pointed ear. After receiving a shocked, accusing look from the cub, she looked away as if nothing had happened.

She led Al straight out of the camp, thinking the whole way about how to discipline an disobedient puppy. Once the campfires were a distant blur, she turned to the two knights. “Wait here. I’m going for a walk alone.”

Hesitation flickered across Meg and Liz’s faces. This was a garden zone filled with wild beasts, and it was night. It wasn’t safe. Although the White Wolf was a powerful species, this one was still a cub. If something happened, it couldn’t protect her.

But Jiao Qingyin didn’t wait. “Contact me if there’s an emergency,” she said, walking away without a backward glance.

“Your High—”

Liz started to move but was stopped by Meg. The latter shook her head gently. “Just follow orders.”

“But…” Liz watched Jiao Qingyin’s retreating figure. Her black hair was tied high, her silhouette gallant and sharp. She didn’t look like the decadent, lustful Prince everyone spoke of; she looked like a warrior.

Meg sensed something off. She narrowed her eyes, warning her sister: “Whatever you are thinking, do not do anything unnecessary.”

Caught in her thoughts, Liz snapped back defensively, “I’m not thinking anything!”

“Better be,” Meg withdrew her gaze, her tone solemn. “Don’t forget our status. Don’t think about things you shouldn’t.” As she spoke, she gripped the hilt of her sword, repeating those words to herself in her heart.

On the other side, once Jiao Qingyin reached a secluded spot, the first thing she did was give the cub a firm smack on the head.

“Feeling brave, are we?” Jiao Qingyin held the cub up by its forepaws, her tone decidedly unfriendly. “Daring to chase me all the way from home… your nose is quite sharp, isn’t it?”

Al whimpered twice, trying to play dumb. How can a puppy understand human speech? Puppy just missed Master. What did Puppy do wrong?

Hearing the soft whimpers, Jiao Qingyin’s heart inevitably softened. Al seized the chance, brushing the tip of her tail against the back of Jiao Qingyin’s hand. “Whimper…”

“Do you know your mistake?”

“Awoo…” (No mistake.)

“Will you dare do it again?”

“Awoo awoo!” (I’ll do it again.)

When Al had entered the tent, she had seen the crowd of flatterers surrounding Jiao Qingyin. A sudden spike of jealousy and crisis had convinced her that following her impulsively today was the right move. She had zero intention of repenting.

But since Jiao Qingyin couldn’t speak “Wolf,” she saw the cub’s obedient expression and wagging tail as a sign of apology and let her off the hook.

“Did that hurt?” Jiao Qingyin sat against a tree, rubbing Al’s head.

Al immediately let out an awoo and lunged into Jiao Qingyin’s arms, whining and acting incredibly aggrieved. This was behavior she could never perform in human form, but as a beast, she could act spoiled with zero pressure.

As the puppy pounced, Jiao Qingyin finally noticed that one of Al’s ears was now standing upright. She had missed the “ear-standing” milestone! With a sense of regret, she gently kneaded the upright ear.

A strange, tingly itch traveled into Al’s scalp. She reflexively shook her head to rescue her ear. The elastic, pointed ear wobbled like milk pudding.

Jiao Qingyin smiled. This “stupid puppy” who had run all this way to find her had healed the fatigue of the last two days. She lay back on the soft grass, holding the cub up toward the moon.

“Al, I…”

Al perked her ears to listen, but Jiao Qingyin stopped mid-sentence. Her expression shifted through several emotions before settling on a subtle tangle.

“Awoo…?”

“I’m going to change your name.”

The moment she said this, the wolf cub froze. Her tail stopped wagging, and her ears went into “airplane mode” (flat against her head).

Jiao Qingyin began seriously recalling common puppy names from her past life. “Wang Cai (Prosperity), Fu Gui (Wealthy), Da Huang (Big Yellow), Xiao Hua (Little Flower)…”

These bizarre names snapped Al back to reality. she shook her head violently. Fortunately, Jiao Qingyin dismissed them herself. “Hmm… none of those fit…”

Al wiggled her limbs, and as soon as Jiao Qingyin set her down, she nudged her palm with her head, trying to distract her. But Jiao Qingyin seemed determined. “Al is white and soft… how about ‘Little White’ (Xiao Bai)?”

She thought it over and felt it was a good name. She held out her hand. “Little White, shake.”

Al turned around in a huff, pointing her butt at Jiao Qingyin.

“Little White?”

Al’s ears didn’t even twitch.

After several failed attempts, Jiao Qingyin fished a candy from her pocket. “Little White, want a treat?”

Al shifted her bottom away, refusing to acknowledge her. Jiao Qingyin found the resistance hilarious. “Since you like showing people your behind so much, I’ll call you ‘Butt-Pointer’—”

Before she could finish, Al spun around in a fit of shame and rage. She bared her teeth and began furiously digging at the ground with her front paws, like a cat covering its litter—the disgust was palpable.

Jiao Qingyin laughed. She had realized long ago that Al was different; her IQ was high enough to understand human language—not just commands, but actual speech.

Sometimes Jiao Qingyin told stories to the puppy at night. Though the cub pretended to be asleep, every time the plot hit a climax, her ears would twitch or her tail would stiffen.

Having confirmed with Meg that animals with “Mythical Beast” blood often had high intelligence, Jiao Qingyin accepted her special puppy.

“Fine, fine. I won’t change your name,” Jiao Qingyin whispered, pulling the sulking cub into her arms and apologizing in a voice as soft as honey.

Al’s ears flicked. The pink inside of her ears darkened. Without another word of apology, Al found she couldn’t stay angry.

Jiao Qingyin massaged the cub’s paws, thinking she must be exhausted from the run. Al enjoyed the massage but inwardly gritted her teeth: When I’m human, she won’t even let me hold her hand, but now she’s so proactive…

Suddenly, a familiar tingle spread through her paws. Al froze as a laughing voice came from above: “Still hurt?”

Al looked up to see Jiao Qingyin’s palm glowing with a faint fluorescence, healing the small abrasions on her paws. Jiao Qingyin, charmed by the staring puppy, kissed her on the head. “You’re much better than the other Al. I have to hide it from her when I heal her.”

In an instant, fragmented memories clicked together in Al’s mind: the wounds that healed too fast, the lack of pain despite severe injuries, the time Lotin seemed to be hit by illusion magic at the auction…

Al’s eyes widened. She knew Jiao Qingyin read magic books, but she never imagined that all those “coincidences” were her deliberate care. Why is she so good to me?

Jiao Qingyin, seeing Al frozen like a stuffed toy, kissed her again. Her puppy was a bit silly, but so, so cute. Does this mean she’s finally grown into a puppy I can cuddle and kiss freely?

Al, kissed twice, finally snapped out of it. Her fur exploded in a split second.

“Awoo!”

The puffed-up puppy looked like a giant dandelion. Jiao Qingyin laughed heartily. Falling into Jiao Qingyin’s lap and seeing the tiny dimple on her cheek, Al’s mix of surprise and shame dissolved into a sweet, sugary warmth.

The royal banquet arrived. Per the main quest, Jiao Qingyin brought Al to the main palace.

In the original plot, Odelia brought slaves for a dance performance, with Al being one of them. Because Al had been “injured” in the story, she was supposed to be thrown into a cage with a beast as entertainment. Instead of dying, she was meant to kill the lion, splattering blood on the terrified nobles.

Jiao Qingyin wasn’t letting that happen. The quest only said “Bring the protagonist (Al) to the banquet.” It didn’t specify how.

So… Jiao Qingyin arranged for Al to sit at the “kids’ table” to eat. She also assigned ten guards to ensure no one bullied her.

While the System usually turned a blind eye to Jiao Qingyin’s loopholes, its “virus alert” made it remind her several times to stay in character.

As Al sat confused at a table of gawking teenagers, Jiao Qingyin dealt with the Emperor’s subtle probing. Previously, Odelia Hughes was a brainless playgirl, and the Emperor loved that. But lately, rumors said she was “hiding her light” and eyeing the throne.

The Emperor saw Jiao Qingyin’s arrogant, empty-headed behavior tonight and felt a bit more relaxed. She took a sip of wine and asked drunkenly, “Odelia, where is that lover of yours? Why not bring her to the feast?”

Jiao Qingyin’s hand paused almost imperceptibly. “She’s young. I left her in the outer hall.”

“I heard she has white hair and blue eyes? Not your usual type. Bring her in for me to see.”

Jiao Qingyin’s heart sank. She looked at the Emperor and her collection of male and female concubines, and her mood soured. The System sensed her silence. “…”

The protagonist’s “exotic” appearance was usually discriminated against, and with her unhealed scars, most people were afraid to look at her. Only Jiao Qingyin thought she was beautiful.

Al was brought in. The nobles fell silent as the sound of the wheelchair echoed. When they saw her disfigured face, several dropped their silverware. Whispers broke out. In this empire, a blemish-free face was a requirement for even the lowest courtier. They had never seen someone keep a “ruined” person as a lover.

Jiao Qingyin’s hand under the table tightened. Her eyes met Al’s for a fleeting second.

“Those legs… and that face…” The Emperor looked away with a hint of disgust.

Jiao Qingyin smirked. “A little hobby of mine. Don’t let me embarrass myself before my Imperial Sister.”

The Emperor exchanged a look with the High Priest of the Magic Tower. They had planned to test Jiao Qingyin’s loyalty. “She’s… unique. Odelia, you surely aren’t short on lovers. Why not gift her to me?”

The Emperor had zero interest in Al; she just wanted to see if Jiao Qingyin would defy her.

Jiao Qingyin laughed. If her knuckles weren’t turning white under the table, she would have looked like she was agreeing. The Emperor relaxed, thinking Odelia was the same as ever. She then cast a lewd, appraising look at Al’s figure. Ugly face, but if I cover it up…

Suddenly, a loud thud echoed. The Emperor jumped, nearly falling out of her seat. She coughed to regain her composure. “Odelia, what happened?” She looked at Jiao Qingyin’s hand tapping the table and her flat expression. “I almost thought you didn’t want to lend her to me.”

She expected an apology. Instead, Jiao Qingyin spoke:

“You’re right. I don’t.”

She looked at the Emperor with a half-smile and casually unbuckled her sword, placing it on the table.

This Emperor… she suddenly decided she wanted the job herself.