Chapter 198


    The chat room fell silent the moment the wolf appeared on screen.


    Everyone held their breath, watching the unusual creature with rapt attention, too captivated to even


    type


    The werewolf stopped two meters away from the crowd, its gaze sweeping over the onlookers before


    settling on the six wolves led by Sean.


    The usually docile wolves became visibly restless at the sight of the werewolf, gazing longingly at it,


    straining against their leads, but too wary of Sean to make a move.


    Winnie, sensing the tension, bent down and unfastened the ropes that restrained the six wolves.


    Freed, the wolves nced at Seah, and seeing he had no intention of detaining them, they quickly


    darted behind the werewolf, their tails wagging submissively.


    The werewolf’s sharp eyes softened slightly at Winnie’s obviously conciliatory gesture, but its wariness


    remained intact.


    In response, Winnie simply raised her hand in a polite gesture.


    “We mean no offense,” she said smoothly, “We only kept them overnight to ask for guidance. The


    vigers would like to speak with you.”


    The werewolf considered Winnie, then Sean, and after a moment’s hesitation, it returned the gesture.


    The vigers behind her gasped in amazement at the sight of a werewolf showing such civility. One


    man’s surprise was mixed with a flicker of recognition as if he had seen this scene before.


    The tension among the vigers eased a little at the werewolf’s reciprocation. A returned gesture was a


    sign of a willingness tomunicate, a good sign.


    Winnie knew, however, that this werewolf was only showing them this courtesy because of Sean’s


    presence. Clearly, it wanted to avoid conflict with him.


    Having Sean there was the right move.


    Winnie gestured for the vige chief to step forward. Despite his fear, the chief approached the


    werewolf, mimicking Winnie’s earlier gesture.


    He stammered, “I’m the chief of Cloverfield Cottage. Is there something we’ve done to displease you?


    Our vige means no disrespect. We used to make monthly offerings to the forest, and if we’ve been


    remiss, please instruct us, and we will amend our ways.”


    The chief trailed off, his attitude one of utmost humility.


    The werewolf surveyed the vigers, a flicker of resentment in its eyes.


    After a long moment, it spoke, its voice unnaturally high–pitched, not like a human’s but more like an


    animal’s, sharp and somewhat grating.


    “You’re ungrateful. You no longer deserve my protection.”


    The vigers were stunned to hear the werewolf speak. Once they absorbed its words, fear spread


    among them, and they began to protest in confusion.


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    “We haven’t done anything wrong.”


    “Could there be some misunderstanding here?”


    “We’ve encountered wolves before, but no one in the vige has ever harmed them. We’ve always


    been


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    The chief seeing the werewolf’s displeasure at the sudden noise, quickly signaled for silence before


    respectfully asking for rification.


    Could there be some misunderstanding?”


    The werewolf stared at the vigers without responding immediately.


    an, growing impatient, snapped, “Spit it out. What do you want? No need for dawdling”


    The vigers and crew nearly jumped out of their skins at Sean’s brusque words, instinctively wanting


    to stop him from speaking further.


    However, the werewolf, despite visibly restraining its annoyance at Sean’s prodding, did not react


    negatively Finally, after a tense wait, it spoke again.


    “Over seventy years ago, a hunter from Cloverfield Cottage saved me.”


    As the werewolf unfolded its story, the vigers learned of its long–standing connection with Cloverfield


    Cottage.


    It was a tale from seven decades past when the vige was mired in poverty and the werewolf was just


    a wolf that had begun to awaken its consciousness.


    One day, caught by a serpent in the mountains, it was saved by a hunter who had lost his way. In


    gratitude, the wolf guided the hunter out of the forest and even led him to a century–old wild mandrake,


    ted, the hunter praised the wolf for its intelligence.


    Before they parted, the hunter told the wolf, “You have the makings of a great werewolf who will one


    day seek a human patron to help you transform. When you’re ready, find me, and I will help you.”


    What might have been an offhand remark to the hunter was a promise taken to heart by the wolf,


    nting the seeds of karma between them,


    Over the next seventy years, the wolf diligently cultivated its powers while secretly watching over the


    hunter. But as the hunter became wealthy from the mandrake he had found with the wolf’s help, he


    focused on enriching his fellow vigers. Under the hunter’s guidance, the vige learned to harvest


    and cultivate mandrake


    What began as protection for one man extended to the whole vige. The werewolf not only helped


    them find aged mandrakes but also drew on the mountain’s spiritual energy to nourish their crops.


    Gradually, Cloverfield Cottage became famous nationwide, as prosperous as the hunter had hoped.


    In the quaint vige of Cloverfield, nestled at the edge of the deep woods, there lived a man who had


    long suspected that a mysterious guardian–a werewolf–had been covertly shielding his fellow vigers


    from harm. To honor this unseen protector, he established rules for themunity to follow.


    The vigers were forbidden from excessive deforestation,


    They were not to harm the creatures of the forest.


    During the holidays, the vige would collectively offer tributes to the woods in their name.


    Even after the hunter’s passing, the vigers steadfastly adhered to these ancestralws.


    However, as years blurred into decades, the significance of these traditions faded from memory. The


    hunter’s descendants, and even the vigers, scarcely recalled the reasons behind their customs. The


    tales


    of the werewolf seeking acknowledgment, once told by grandfathers to wide–eyed grandchildren, were


    now dismissed as mere bedtime stories.


    The vigers were oblivious to the pact once made with the werewolf.


    And so, when the werewolf, after years of spiritual cultivation, finally emerged from the woods to seek


    recognition from the hunter’s grandson, it did so with a hopeful heart. It donned a cap and a little coat,


    aiming to appear human, and approached the grandson with anticipation, asking if it resembled a


    person.


    Unfortunately, the grandson, drunk at the moment, burst intoughter upon seeing the werewolf’s polite


    bow and mockingly eximed, “You look more like a fool in a costume.”


    The werewolf’s quest for validation ended in failure, and its spiritual progress not only halted but


    regressed. Were it not for the virtue umted from years of protecting the vigers, the werewolf


    might have had to begin its cultivation all over again.


    Enraged by the breach of promise, the werewolf pondered why it should continue shielding those who


    did not keep their word. Consequently, misfortunes began to befall the vige. The once–thriving crops


    of Cloverfield Cottage were ravaged, and the vigers experienced frequent disturbances.


    When the story of the werewolf’s plight was shared with the guests and crew of a television show


    filming in the area, they looked upon the vigers with eyes full of condemnation.


    “You folks deserved it.”