I wiped clean all the places she hadn't licked clean.
Then I cut off another large piece of tiger hide and wrapped the eight cubs in it. It would reassure them, because it carried their mother's
scent.
I clapped my hands, feeling a little more relaxed.
Hu Shuo watched me finish all this, dumbfounded. After a long moment, he blurted out,
"Are you a devil?"
A devil?
I froze slightly, and Hu Shuo suddenly seemed to remember something. Fear flashed through his eyes, and his gaze began darting around in panic. He didn't
even dare look straight at me.
A devil, huh?
Watching the panic in the boy's eyes, I smiled...
And reflected in his eyes, I saw my own smile, so beautiful and captivating... even I found myself a little
entranced by that beautiful picture.
The campfire faintly illuminated half my body, leaving one half in shadow and the other in light.
On the illuminated side, my smile was as gentle as a fairy's, like a warm spring breeze. My eyes narrowed slightly, like an innocent child's, and my lips curved into an
arc, like a carefree, innocent girl
laughing among flowers.
But in that shadowed corner, the faint upward curl of my lips looked so sinister and terrifying. In the darkness,
the light reflected in those eyes was
so deep, mysterious, and chillingly cold.
The image reflected in Hu Shuo's eyes at that moment looked like an angel and a devil fused into a single being.
Looking into his eyes, I smiled and answered his question.
"Though I don't know whether I'm a devil, I really did crawl back out of hell... even I can't
count how many times I've fallen into hell
anymore."
Hu Shuo was completely stunned. His gaze held fear... but at the same time,