Moonlight Shines on Me - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I left Zhou Di alone for more than half a month so he could settle into his new environment.

During that time, the raw meat I put in was never touched. He only ate human food.

Beastmen could survive on human food, but by instinct, hunting-type beastmen like wolves and leopards were generally supposed to be provided with raw meat.

A White Wolf beastman wasn’t suited to living with humans. He would have to return to a natural territory eventually.

Maintaining human form was extremely draining for beastmen.

But Zhou Di seemed to have become completely unable to accept raw meat.

That would be very detrimental to his future rewilding.

As usual, I changed into protective gear and entered the glass enclosure to spend time with him.

If I wanted to conduct further research, I had to get him familiar with me and make him trust me as soon as possible.

He had never shown any ferocity.

It was as if there were a layer of glass around him at all times, making it impossible to touch his true emotions.

I scratched his chin, cupped his face, and ran through the whole dog-petting routine.

“Come on. Animal form.”

He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

Shook his head?

My spirits lifted.

Finally, a new emotion.

“Beast form isn’t good-looking,” he said hoarsely. “Human form is the good one.”

The joy that had just risen in me crashed right back down. Suppressing my anger, I smiled and asked, “Who told you beast form isn’t good-looking?”

Degrading a beastman’s original form was a serious taboo. It could cause psychological issues.

Zhou Di shook his head again and said nothing.

Seeing that he wasn’t in a good state, I simply stopped pressing him and repeated myself.

“Turn back into your wolf form. I need to examine you.”

His expression was empty. Silently, he lay down on the ground and slowly shifted back into a wolf.

Even though I had seen his photos before, I still stood there in awe for quite a while.

At least when it came to food, the research institute hadn’t mistreated him.

His flowing White Wolf fur hung smooth and fluffy, his coat glossy and sleek. His body was powerful and agile, the muscle lines almost perfectly proportioned. A large frame supported his sharp, massive build.

But all his fangs had been pulled, and his sharp claws were gone as well.

The gaze that should have been fierce was like a pane of glass, clean and utterly devoid of emotion.

I raised a hand and motioned for him to come over, then had him lean into the crook of my arm while I examined his paws one by one.

It felt like holding a giant Czechoslovakian wolfdog.

His entire body was stiff.

I glanced at him suspiciously. “What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable somewhere?”

Tense all over, he slowly shook his head.

I took out an alcohol wipe, cleaned his paws, and pressed them onto the ink pad.

“Not bad. Very standard growth. This fur, this bone structure-quite beautiful.”

My occupational disease kicked in, and I couldn’t help clicking my tongue in admiration.

He let me examine him without moving, his abdomen twitching again and again.

It was rare to encounter such a cooperative beastman.

No biting, no cursing, no screaming.

My mood brightened considerably along with it.

“All done!”

“I never thought I’d get to hold a White Wolf. You’re very precious, you know that? So eat properly!”

I put down the tools and, on impulse, gave the softest fur on his belly a firm rub.

So satisfying.

The moment Zhou Di heard me say we were done, he fled in panic and hid in his den at top speed.

What was that about?

Puzzled, I left the rearing enclosure without thinking too much of it.

Keeping one extra White Wolf took too much energy, so I turned down unnecessary engagements.

It had been seven days since Zhou Di’s last examination, and he hadn’t come out to move around.

I had no choice but to set aside time every day to stay with him in his den.

Recently, he had been eating a bit more of the food sent in, but the raw meat was still untouched.

I decided to start giving him some rewilding training.

Beginning with reclaiming his wild instincts.

When I entered the rearing enclosure, Zhou Di was actually in beast form.

He was curled up inside the natural den made of stone, a pair of eyes glowing faint green.

When he saw me arrive, he seemed a little uncomfortable and buried his head into his belly.

I put down the food, stroked his back a few times along the grain of his fur, and teased him.

“Come on out, beauty. I’ll take you for a stroll in the yard today.”

He gently rested his head on my leg, seemingly unwilling to move.

In the twenty-some days I had spent with him, this was the first time he had initiated any form of closeness.

I froze for a second, then smiled.

“All right. If you don’t want to go out, then we won’t.”

Judging from his past life logs, he likely had severe self-destructive tendencies and only obeyed instructions mechanically.

Strong external stimulation and long-term psychological suppression could both lead to this.

The dens built for wolf-type beastmen were all cave-style.

The stones were uneven and dug into my back a little.

I tentatively patted him. “Get up. Cushion me for a bit.”

Zhou Di thought it over for a while, then circled behind me and lay down.

The downy fur on his soft belly was fluffy, giving off a faint warmth.

Warm and cozy. Even the air conditioning no longer felt so freezing.

Leaning against him, I naturally placed my left hand on his head and stroked his fur.

In the dimness, he curled up and let out a few faint purrs.

I stayed awake and let my mind empty.

Only after I heard his breathing become steady and long did I quietly leave the cave and write a note in the log.

“June 23. All indicators normal. Wariness has decreased. Rewilding training may be attempted.”