While Shao Qian observed the orc, the orc was also observing him. Normally, this child would tremble with fear at the sight of him, hastily escaping even if handed a makeshift bowl of water. Sometimes, the child would even knock over the bowl in panic, and the expression of the child, tearfully distraught, would bring joy to the orc for a long time.
He had also tried to secretly follow the child, intending to find out where he lived. However, to his dismay, every day, this little half-orc would find a grassy spot to curl up and sleep, even though there were abandoned houses nearby. The child never sought shelter from the wind and rain.
Several times, he attempted to engage the child in conversation, wanting to know why he didn’t live in the house, but every time he spoke, the child would run away in fear.
However, today, the child’s transformation was truly strange. The previous day, this child, despite being a half-orc, didn’t show many features of a half-orc. Now, after just two days without seeing him, he had suddenly grown ears, a tail, and even claws on his hands?
This series of changes intrigued the orc. Half-orcs were generally considered to be born with inherent deficiencies. Their genetics were fixed at birth, preventing them from possessing the robust combat abilities of orcs or engaging in the intricate craftsmanship of pure-blooded humans. Consequently, half-orcs were often regarded as natural failures, objects of scorn on the entire planet.
However, today the orc felt that there was something different about this child. He had grown a tail, ears, and even claws. Did this mean that half-orcs could still evolve?
This discovery excited the orc. Perhaps there was something on this planet that could save the half-orcs?
“Kid, have you encountered anything unusual these days?” The orc asked with a sense of urgency. He stood up, covering the distance with a few leaps and landing in front of Shao Qian.
Seeing the orc approach, Shao Qian instinctively took a few steps back. However, his small stature made it impossible to completely avoid the orc.
As he backed away, Shao Qian was slapped to the ground by the orc. Annoyed, Shao Qian was about to use his soul power to push the orc away when the orc, who had just smacked him down, suddenly transformed into a humanoid figure. With an awkward smile, he helped Shao Qian up, saying, “Sorry, I couldn’t control my strength.”
Though startled, Shao Qian felt no malice from the orc, so he didn’t attempt to evade again. Instead, he allowed the orc to lift him up, cautious as he took a step back. “You, what do you want? I—I’m not afraid of you.”
The orc, now in human form, stepped back, raising both hands to show he meant no harm. “I just wanted to ask you how you grew those ears and a tail.”
As the orc stepped back, Shao Qian could finally see his face clearly. The orc seemed to be not so young, with hair purely black and no trace of white, but the muscles on his face lacked the tightness of a young person, and there were fine lines around the corners of his eyes.
The orc, despite wearing an expression of eagerness to know, did not make any further moves. He just stood there, appearing somewhat impatient yet expectant, looking at Shao Qian.
“I grew ears and a tail after waking up from a nap.” Shao Qian took a few steps back, holding the wolf cub, and looked at the orc vigilantly. “I just wanted to bring it here to drink some water.”
“Do you really not remember?” The orc, upon hearing this explanation, seemed skeptical. However, looking at the child’s demeanor, he didn’t seem to be lying. Perhaps the child unintentionally consumed something that caused a change in his physique, but he himself didn’t know what happened.
Seeing the despondent look in the orc’s eyes, Shao Qian couldn’t help but feel a sense of compassion. “Why do you care so much about half-orcs?”
On this planet, orcs were considered to be at the top, possessing formidable combat abilities, sharp claws capable of tearing through the tough exoskeletons of insectoids.
Yet, orcs were also proud and arrogant. They believed that those with only a slight resemblance to orcs were a disgrace to the planet. They even considered the existence of half-orcs as an insult to the Beast God.
Although not all orcs shared these thoughts, the majority did.
So, Shao Qian found it surprising that this particular orc didn’t harbor any disgust towards half-orcs. He had even apologized to a weak half-orc just now.
“Kid, not all orcs dislike half-orcs.” The orc chuckled awkwardly, without much intention to elaborate. He resumed his beast form, crouching back down on the ground. “If you want water, go get it. If you want to stay here, then stay.”
Shao Qian nodded and said, “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” The orc closed his eyes and stopped paying attention to him.
Shao Qian gave the wolf cub in his arms a little water to drink and then cleaned it up. As he expected, it was a silver-colored little wolf with a strange strand of pure white fur on its forehead, lighter than the fur on its body.
While drinking water himself, Shao Qian took advantage of lowering his head and quietly stored a small amount in his spatial container.
Shao Qian drank a bit of water, washed himself, and decided to leave. Carrying the partially dried wolf cub under the sun, he was about to go. Unexpectedly, as he passed by the orc, the orc spoke up, “The origin of the wolf cub in your arms is extraordinary. I advise you not to meddle in this matter.”
Shao Qian was momentarily stunned, then he gently rubbed the wolf cub’s forehead with his nose and said, “Thank you for the reminder. However, it is my companion. Since I picked it up, I won’t abandon it again.”
The orc, named Derek, opened his eyes upon hearing this. He seemed somewhat distressed, scratching his lower forehead and finally snorting, “Forget it, just don’t stray far from the water source in the future. If there’s anything, I can take care of you.”
Shao Qian hesitated for a moment but nodded in agreement. Although he had temporarily pacified the chaotic energy within the wolf cub, it was just a temporary solution. He was uncertain if the cub would face similar issues in the future and if he, with limited knowledge of this world’s power system, could sustain the wolf cub.
“Call me Grandpa Derek from now on,” the orc said lazily as he lay on the ground. “I’ll take care of this little cub in the future, and you’ll be responsible for preparing food for me.”
Shao Qian felt that this deal might not be very favorable. After all, the orc was quite large, and he wasn’t sure if he could gather enough food for him.
“I’ll provide the prey, you just have to cook it,” Derek suggested, realizing that relying on a small half-orc, who looked to be only five or six years old, for his meals might be a bit difficult.
“Okay,” Shao Qian nodded. It seemed acceptable, but he wasn’t sure if he could cook well. After all, in several worlds, his partner had always been the one preparing the meals, and he had been raised to the point of failure.
Upon hearing Shao Qian’s assurance, Derek extended his claws to observe the wolf cub’s partially dry fur. Sensing almost no chaotic energy in its body, he looked at Shao Qian with a hint of surprise. “The energy inside it…”
“Energy?” Shao Qian wore a puzzled expression. “It’s been like this since I picked it up. It hasn’t woken up until now.”
Shao Qian couldn’t help but notice that the orc was probing him. He frowned with some concern. “Grandpa Derek, is the cub not in good health? It hasn’t woken up all this time.”
“It’s okay; it will wake up in a few days,” Derek assured, secretly laughing at himself for being overly concerned. After all, what could a child who appeared to be five or six years old understand?
In the following days, as Derek had predicted, the wolf cub woke up on the third day. The moment it opened its eyes, it bounced up from the ground, taking two steps back and glaring fiercely at Derek, who was lying on the ground.
“What are you growling for?” Derek, annoyed at being awakened, said, “You’ve woken up; why make a fuss?”
“Awuu” Although the wolf cub understood human speech, it couldn’t speak. It took two steps back, snarling at Derek. It probably thought this made it look more intimidating, but in Derek’s eyes, it was no different from a playful little puppy.
Thus, the just-awakened wolf cub was slapped to the ground by Derek. It lay on the ground like a turtle on its back, its short limbs paddling vigorously, attempting to struggle free.
When Shao Qian returned and saw this scene, the wolf cub he had picked up was being pressed down by Derek, its limbs flailing. Shao Qian couldn’t help but find it amusing.
“Grandpa Derek, please don’t tease it,” Shao Qian hurriedly put down what he was holding, rescued the wolf cub, and then cradled it in his arms while patting the dirt off its fur. “You finally woke up.”
At first, the wolf cub struggled when Shao Qian held it, but as he gently patted the dirt off its body and rubbed its head, the cub stopped resisting.
Later, upon seeing Shao Qian, the wolf cub softened its fierce expression. Its quick change of demeanor made Shao Qian sigh in amazement.
“Awuu” The wolf cub nuzzled against Shao Qian’s chest and sniffed him, then, taking advantage of the situation, stood up and tried to lick Shao Qian’s cheek.
The wolf cub felt that the scent from this person was incredibly pleasant, even more so than any other species it had encountered. Sniffing his scent made it feel delighted.
Well, the wolf cub was still quite young and didn’t know how to express its feelings. It believed that after wandering for such a long time, it had finally found this person with a pleasant scent.
Although Shao Qian couldn’t understand the language of animals, Derek could. He heard the meaning behind the wolf cub’s howl and couldn’t help but laugh. This wolf cub actually complained that he bullied it?
Well, he did bully it a bit. But now that you can’t speak, how can Diudiu know what you mean?
Shao Qian still didn’t understand what the wolf cub was trying to express. After comforting the wolf cub, he turned to Derek and said, “Grandpa Derek, you can eat now.”
