Life in the Chen household was simple but filled with love, and hatred ( Chen Bai hated Chen Xuan to the core because he believed that Chen Xuan was adopted to take his rightful place as heir to the Chen family merchant and always bullied Chen Xuan as much as possible and not be noticed by his parents ) something Chen Xuan had never experienced before. Despite his cold demeanor, the young boy grew stronger under Chen Mu's care, his sharp intellect and unexplained knowledge of the world setting him apart from the other children in the village. His adoptive father noticed his son's peculiarities but did not question them, instead embracing the child as a gift from the heavens. Chen Xuan had 5 friends Hong Meng, Zhou Rong, Zhou Bai, Bai Ying, Xiao Cuo Cuo, and 1 doctor Shi Gu to care for him, and they soon became his closest companions.
The days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, and the whispers of the missing imperial prince grew fainter. Yet, deep in the heart of the forest, the wolf never forgot the child it had once watched over. It continued to visit the outskirts of the village, watching from a distance as Chen Xuan grew, its curiosity piqued by the child's unchanging expression. It was as if the boy carried the weight of the world on his tiny shoulders.
In the Chen household, Chen Xuan remained a silent observer. He listened to the stories of the village, the tales of battles, and the whispers of love and loss. The warmth of the family's embrace was foreign to him, but he found solace in their simplicity. The coldness of his expression didn't deter his maids, Hong Meng and Zhou Rong, nor his guards, Zhou Bai and Bai Ying, who saw beyond the icy veneer to the lonely soul within. They tried to coax smiles and laughter from him, sharing their own stories of joy and heartache.
Chen Xuan, however, was haunted by his past. The memories of his previous life as An Ni were a blur, but the pain remained fresh. He felt a deep longing for a mother and father who had never truly been his. His heart ached when he saw other children playing with their families, their laughter piercing through his detachment. He often retreated to the rooftop, watching the stars, contemplating his fate. The only time he felt at peace was when he was with the animals he had befriended, his silent kinship with the wolf from the forest a secret he kept hidden.
As the years passed, Chen Xuan grew more adept at hiding his true nature. He learned to mimic the laughter of the other children, to smile when it was expected of him. But his heart remained as cold as the moon in winter, his emotions buried deep beneath the surface. His adoptive father, Chen Mu, grew more puzzled by the child's behavior, but he loved him fiercely, seeing the potential in him that his biological son, Chen Bai, lacked.
Chen Bai, now a young man of seventeen, had grown more resentful of Chen Xuan. His laziness and lack of ambition were stark contrasts to Xuan's sharp mind and quiet determination. Every time their father praised Xuan, Chen Bai felt the sting of jealousy. He began to plot against his adopted brother, seeking to push him away from the family, hoping he would give up and leave.
The tension grew palpable in the Chen household. Xuan, now six, had become adept at navigating the world without sight, his other senses heightened to an extraordinary degree. His footsteps were as silent as the moon's shadow, his movements as precise as the strokes of a master calligrapher. His blindfold became a symbol of his withdrawal from the chaos he had found in the world, and it was in this blindness that he discovered a peace he had never known before.
Hong Meng, Zhou Rong, Zhou Bai, and Bai Ying had all grown alongside Xuan, their bond unshakeable despite the hostility that permeated the air. They were the only ones who saw the cracks in his facade, the brief moments when the weight of his solitude would shine through. They watched him with a mix of admiration and pity, noticing how he would often sneak away to the rooftop at night to gaze at the stars, as if searching for answers in their silent company.
On the night of the full moon, the air grew thick with a palpable tension that even the animals of the forest could feel. Xuan lay in his bed, his heart racing as a sharp pain pierced through his chest. He gritted his teeth, biting back a scream as the curse that had haunted him since birth activated once again. The shackles that had lain dormant around his wrists, ankles, and neck began to tighten, the cold metal digging into his skin, drawing blood. He could hear the whispers of his past life, echoes of his failure and loneliness, taunting him, telling him that this life would be no different.
Suddenly, his raven hair began to lighten, the color of the midnight sky being overtaken by a stark white. His eyes, once a deep, endless red, transformed into a piercing amber, gleaming with an eerie light that seemed to pierce through the fabric of reality. The curse of his reincarnation had started its descent, a burden he had hoped to escape but had instead followed him into this new life.
The curse, a silent specter from his past, grew stronger with every beat of his heart, the chains inching closer to his core. The pain grew unbearable, but he refused to let it consume him entirely. He had suffered worse in his past life, and he was determined to survive this as well. Tears rolled down his cheeks, the salty sting a stark contrast to the cold metal against his skin. Yet, he wept silently, not wanting to alarm his adoptive family.
On the rooftop, the wolf watched the house below, sensing the turmoil within. It had followed Chen Xuan for years, its curiosity about the child never waning. The creature felt a strange kinship with the boy, as if they shared a common bond of loneliness and loss. It had seen his silent battles and had borne witness to his sorrow. The wolf howled into the night, a mournful cry that echoed through the forest, reaching the heavens themselves.
The spiritual essence within the wolf was ancient, a being that had walked the earth for centuries. It had watched empires rise and fall, had felt the sorrow of a hundred human lives, and had seen the best and the worst of the mortal world. Yet, it had never felt the need to interact with humans until it had found Chen Xuan. The creature had been drawn to the child's aura, a unique blend of power and pain that resonated with its own ancient spirit.
The wolf had lived through countless moon cycles, each one a testament to its endurance and wisdom. It had roamed the vast forests, witnessing the dance of the seasons and the relentless march of time. It had seen humans come and go, their lives as fleeting as the snowflakes that melted on its fur. But the bond it had formed with Chen Xuan was something it had never experienced before, a connection that transcended the boundaries of their species.
The curse that gripped Chen Xuan grew stronger each night, and the wolf could sense the turmoil in the child's soul. It knew that it could not bear to watch him suffer alone any longer. With a silent resolve, the creature approached the village, its eyes fixed on the rooftop where Xuan lay underneath on his bed. It leaped gracefully, landing in front of the room as it walked in cautiously towards Chen Xuan as it came closer and closer until it was next to Chen Xuan. Xuan felt the warmth of the creature's breath against his cheek and the roughness of its fur as it nudged him gently.
Startled, Xuan sat up, his hand reaching out to touch the wolf. The creature flinched at first, unaccustomed to the tender contact, but it soon grew still under the child's trembling hand. The chains of his curse loosened slightly, the pain receding like a tide. Xuan felt a warmth spread through him, a comfort he hadn't felt since the day he was born into this world. The wolf had come to him, not as a predator but as a protector, a silent guardian of the night.
Their bond grew stronger with each passing moon, the wolf visiting Xuan every night, their shared loneliness a bridge between two disparate worlds. Xuan would whisper his fears and hopes to the creature, and it would listen, offering a silent companionship that eased the burden of his curse. The boy's tears would fall onto the wolf's fur, and it would lick them away, a gesture that seemed to convey an understanding beyond words.
A year passed in the blink of an eye, and Xuan turned eleven. He had grown into a young man, tall and lean, with an aura of power that was palpable to those who knew him. The Shadow Wolves Clan ( named after Chen Xuan wolf who had become a family to him ) had become a beacon of hope, a force that struck fear into the hearts of the wicked. Their deeds were legendary, and their clan became a mysterious entity that no one could see or know as they are a part of the shadow realm that cannot be detected or touched by normal means.