The Card Cultivation System
CCS-112

Xika was speechless looking at Xuehao's back leaving with tears in her eyes. He doesn't know what to do. It would be rude if he let her run away. But it would also be awkward if he chased after her. Xika knew the white wolf needed a lot of courage to talk about it.

After thinking for a while, Xika decided not to chase after him.

Space split open and a black wolf came out from it. He didn't say anything. Just looking at Xika who was looking back at him.

Xika did not know what to say. Did Heiliao hear their conversation earlier?

"I came to join" said the wolf. "But it looks like the party's over." He looked around and there was no other wolf but himself.

But something's weird. The remaining meat was still very much while there was no single wolf. He looked at Xika.

"Eh, anu."

Heiliao did not speak. He approached one of the piles of meat and ate it. Xika did it too. They ate in a quiet atmosphere. No one's talking at all.

"HOI! I thought where you were. I asked all the wolves to know!"

Huo Bing appeared carrying a few kilos of meat and made the weak wolves frightened by the sight of a few kilos of meat drifting by himself. In fact he asked all the wolves just the reason that he could take more meat. He could sense Xika's existence because they were still one body.

Xika and Heiliao were not bothered with Huo Bing. They were already ordinary with their mouths continuously chattering nonstop. This time he chatted about the variety of meat available.

Then Huo Bing realized the atmosphere and stopped. He began to eat in silence and tried to guess what happened.

A question flashed through Xika's mind for quite some time. He hesitated to ask. On the one hand he did not feel good about the matter about Heiliao's lover, let alone in this kind of situation, but on the other hand he was also curious. Finally after the heavy bagumul, his curiosity won.

"Eh, Heiliao. You said before, lover, uh the woman you love isn't a wolf? Then.....he's what?"

".........."

As usual, Heiliao did not answer him directly. He remained silent for a while before opening his mouth.

"I'm not sure. But it looks like he's the."

Heiliao's words succeeded in making Xika and Huo Bing stop putting food into their mouths. They stared at the wolf with wide eyes.

"Eh, no offense, but what......the star is alive?"

Huo Bing nodded in agreement. Then he recalled Heiliao saying that Xika was a star card and looked at the boy suspiciously.

"........I don't know."

That answer made Xika and Huo Bing even more confused. Huo Bing especially. The bird looked at Heiliao in confusion.

"Don't look at me like that. I don't know what he is. But you saw it too, didn't you? When we first met, I showed you some of my memories."

Xika nodded. He remembered seeing stars that were growing bigger and bigger. The star seemed to be about to hit him. Then he closed his eyes and the star disappeared, replaced by a beautiful, shining woman. Her beauty was on par with Xingli's.

If from the memory he saw, it was reasonable to say that the woman Heiliao loved was a star. But hearing it like that feels weird. Xika was about to ask why their relationship was not going well but she immediately put it off.

It seemed that Heiliao had encapsulated his memory before letting Xika see it, so he looked at the whole story in outline. He guessed that the cause of their relationship like that was the disappearance and the appearance of the woman. The picture he saw featured Heiliao sometimes with the woman and sometimes himself. What does the appearance and disappearance of the woman have to do with the fact that she is a star?

"Eh, Heiliao. You mentioned star cards before, didn't you? What if you're wrong? How about you repeat your life for the wrong man? What if the person you're waiting for isn't me and everyone else out there?"

"I'm not wrong."

Xika was confused.

"Ehhh...Where do you know?"

"Eitherway. I just."

That answer was simply not the answer Xika had expected. He thought about it for a while but still did not understand. So he tried to find another topic.

"What star card is that?"

"Not knowing."

".........."

This time Huo Bing spoke.

"If you're right, why is Xika called a star card?"

"Of course."

"........."

"Is it because of my name? Xing Xi( ⁇ star) and Ka( ⁇ card) so I'm a star card? What about you Huo Bing?"

"Hm? Hold still. My name means fire and ice. Then it means I'm......."

"The half-baked bird!" exclaim Xika with spirit.

"Damn it!"

"Eh, wait a minute. My name doesn't mean a star card. Xing Xi( ⁇ ) in my name is taken from Heng Xing Xi( ⁇ ) which means galaxy. So my name means galaxy card, not star card."

Then they all fell silent. Huo Bing and Xika glanced at Heiliao simultaneously to see how the wolf was reacting. All he saw was a silent grunt.

"Xing( ⁇ ) in your name can also mean stars. But don't think about it for now. At least, we know one thing for sure."

Heilao spoke with a serious face and made the two curious. They close their faces and ask.

"What's that?"

"Huo Bing."

"Yes?" huo Bing replied puzzled over Heiliao's call.

"You........"

The black wolf paused for a moment to see the reaction of the two and it made them even more curious.

"It's a Half-Grown Bird! Pfttt........Puahahahahaha............. You see his expression? Did you see his expression?"

Heiliao's previously solemn face instantly changed as he laughed. Likewise with the other two. One laughed, while the other stared in confusion and annoyance.

"Ftt.......Heiliao, he-she-expression it....pftttttt......."

Heiliao was already unable to answer Xika because she was busy laughing. Then Xika also followed. The two laughed back and forth for a while and made the half-baked bird figure even more annoyed.

"Shut up! Disabled Boy! You too, Wolf Shred!"

Then Xika answered Huo Bing's remark and the two debated for a while with Heiliao watching from the side. Every now and then he would chimed in or heat up one of them and their debates grew even more intense. The black wolf smiled. He is grateful to have made the right decision. He is grateful to be able to repeat his life and be with his two brothers now. Just like this is enough. It doesn't need anything else.

In his heart there was still an empty place. But he was tired of looking for a filler. Just leave it like that. If the sky allows it, then one day the place will be filled again. If not, he doesn't care. He had enough brothers like this. He will not ask for another. I wish I could enjoy a time like this forever. But unfortunately the tasks pile up and he has to finish first.

"Ah, it's Heiliao! How do you plan on finishing your job earlier?"

"Eitherway. But I'll definitely finish it in time."

Xika nodded.

"But three years is long enough, right? What am I supposed to do for that long?"

"Calm down. You'll get through it fast. But not for you Wolf. You'll get through it slowly. Very slow."

"Be quiet, Half-Ratured Bird. You'd better make yourself mature in three years."

"Damn it! Why do you all call me that?"

"Because you're half-baked."

"Agreed."

"Damn it!!!"

Then they laugh together and spend the day eating and drinking together. Wolves also provide a drink, although it is a pond. But the pools are several and each has a different taste. Xika could only give up drinking by way of a wolf. He became part of the wolf pack. He should also drink and eat like them.

Then they fell asleep at midnight. Two figures were watching them. A white figure with a dejected look, and another steel-haired figure with a complicated gaze. And the night passed.

Xika woke up with shortness of breath. Something hairy covered his nose and made him unable to breathe. He shifted Heiliao's tail and returned to breathing. He opened his eyes and the sky was still dark. It seems he woke up too early. It's still night. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

But a thought flashed and prevented him from sleeping. He partied with Huo Bing and Heiliao until midnight. Given his sleeping habits that always get protests from Huo Bing, normally he will wake up when the day is bright. Why is the sky still dark?

Then he faintly heard whispers. It made him even more confused and suspicious. And he dared to open his eyes. It took a few seconds for his vision to work properly. He was surprised when he saw not the sky but the heads of wolves directly above him.

"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Xika's shout succeeded in making the wolves surrounding her retreat while waking Heiliao and Huo Bing up. Huo Bing was not very important anyway, because he entered Xika's dantian so asleep. It turned out that what Xika saw before was not the sky but the heads of wolves.

"Well, he's up."

"You're talking too loud, anyway."

"I told you we should talk slower."

Xika immediately woke up and saw dozens of pairs of wolf eyes staring at her.

"W-what are you doing?"

They don't answer. They just muttered to each other and then left disappointed until only a few wolves remained.

Xika. He looked at the newly awakened Heiliao. The wolf seemed to be unconcerned with the other wolves surrounding it earlier. Then Xika heard a screech.

"YAHOO!!!!"

The screech came from a she-wolf. Xika had not yet asked, the wolf had spoken.

"Leader Heiliao is very handsome."

After saying that he immediately ran away accompanied by some female wolf friends who were both fascinated with Heiliao and now there were only three of them. Xika glanced back at the wolf and found its fur very tangled. It seems like the wolves like messy looks too. If likened to a human, maybe Heiliao is like a man who just woke up.

Heiliao looked at Xika in confusion.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Why don't you look bothered by those wolves?"

"Maybe because I'm used to it."

Xika frowned.

"What do you mean by getting used to it?"

"Well, whenever I wake up I always find them."

"Attent. So you're saying they always do that when you sleep?" xika asked as she stuck out her palm asking Heiliao to wait for a while.

"It looks like it." replied the wolf cared.

Xika looked at her brother with a look of disbelief.

'Mo-monsters.......'

He would not be able to sleep if he knew there were dozens of heads that would notice him when he woke up. Heiliao experiences something like that every day? He doesn't know what to do.

Heilao stretched his body for a while then looked back at Xika.

"Well, see you then."

It took Xika two seconds to realize what the wolf was talking about. Then he nodded.

"Yes. Finish it on time."

The wolf nodded back. Huo Bing woke up and formed his body.

"After three years, we'll go to find out the parents of this child. Don't be late."

Heilao. Then he gave a final glance before running away leaving his two brothers. He will complete his task as soon as possible. After that, they will regroup together.