“Woo… Awooo…”
That low, guttural growl, as if squeezed from the very depths of a throat, pierced through the rushing sound of the waterfall like a cold awl stabbing into Lin Xi’s ears.
Wolves!
And from the sound of it, there was definitely more than one!
Lin Xi’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. The joy and hope she had felt just moments ago from lighting a fire and discovering the spiritual spring were immediately replaced by a bone-chilling dread.
The thing she feared most had happened after all.
The scent of the rabbit’s blood, combined with the firelight that stood out so starkly in the dark night, had finally drawn the forest’s top pack predators!
Instinctively, she shielded Huzi behind her. Clutching a sharp stone, she stared fixedly at the cave entrance. The firelight inside cast her long shadow against the rocky walls, where it flickered unsteadily.
Huzi also sensed the lethal threat. Every hair on its body stood on end as it arched its back, hissing a warning from its throat. Its emerald eyes glittered with an unprecedented ferocity under the fire’s glow.
“Awoooo—!”
A high-pitched howl rang out from outside the cave, seemingly calling for the rest of the pack. Immediately after, seven or eight eerie green pinpoints of light flickered behind the curtain of the waterfall—like ghostly lanterns, dimming and brightening with greed and bloodlust.
They were observing. They were testing her.
Lin Xi’s heart hammered against her ribs as cold sweat slid down her forehead. She knew that wolves were incredibly intelligent animals. While the waterfall was a natural barrier, it wasn’t insurmountable for a starving pack. Once they realized there was only a weak human cub and a cat inside, they wouldn’t hesitate to charge in!
What should I do?
Fight? That was a death sentence. With her strength, she could barely handle a rabbit, let alone a pack of hungry wolves.
Call for help? She immediately tried to broadcast her fear and plea for help through her newly strengthened mental power.
However, this time, the surrounding forest fell into a deathly silence. The small animals that had been seeking shelter from the rain near the cave had long since fled at the first sign of the wolves. Wolves were the natural enemies of all herbivores and small omnivores; their presence was a death sentence. No small animal dared to stay within a wolf pack’s hunting range.
Against a more powerful predator, her animal allies were powerless.
She could only rely on herself!
Lin Xi forced herself to calm down, her mind racing. She couldn’t show even a hint of fear! In the world of wild beasts, fear equaled weakness, and weakness equaled death!
She stared deathly at that pair of eyes behind the water curtain that the bright, piercing eyes belonged to the alpha wolf. Then, she made a decision that was bold to the absolute extreme.
Instead of retreating, she took a step forward, fully exposing herself to the firelight. She squared her tiny chest and condensed all of her mental energy into a single beam—like an invisible needle—and thrust it precisely into the consciousness of the leading wolf!
This time, what she communicated wasn’t fear or a plea for mercy, but a cold, egalitarian, and even slightly threatening intent!
‘I know you are hungry.’
‘But this cave is my territory. The prey inside is also mine.’
‘I am very small and weak. This single rabbit isn’t even enough to fill the gaps between your pack’s teeth. Is it truly worth charging into an unknown, fire-lit cave for such a tiny morsel of food?’
‘The forest is vast and prey is plentiful. Leave this place and find a target more worthy of your efforts. Otherwise, even if you get this rabbit, you will inevitably pay a price!’
As she projected these thoughts, she slowly raised the torch in her hand—a dry branch burning vigorously. The orange-red flames leaped in her grip, radiating light and heat, as well as the natural deterrent that fire holds for all wild beasts.
Behind the curtain of falling water, a flicker of commotion rippled through the wolf pack.
The leading male wolf was clearly stunned by a reaction from Lin Xi that completely defied her status as “prey.” It could sense that although the intent transmitted by this tiny human cub was nascent, the calm and resolve contained within it were highly unusual.
It tilted its head, its massive skull appearing and disappearing behind the water curtain, its eerie green eyes flickering with scrutiny and appraisal. It could smell the blood of the rabbit inside the cave; that scent was a lethal temptation for it and its pack. They hadn’t had a decent meal in days, and the torrential rain had made hunting even more difficult.
The alpha took a step forward, tentatively dipping a front paw into the icy flow of the waterfall while letting out a threatening low growl from its throat. It was applying pressure to Lin Xi, weighing the risks of charging through the water barrier.
Lin Xi’s heart climbed to her throat. She knew this was the most critical moment. If she flinched, the pack would launch an attack without hesitation!
Instead of backing down, she did something even crazier.
She violently swung the torch in her hand toward the cave entrance!
Whoosh!
A trail of sparks was flung into the waterfall’s spray, letting out a hissing sound as they were instantly extinguished.
This gesture was pure provocation!
The alpha wolf was thoroughly enraged! It felt its authority being challenged by a tiny, insignificant creature!
“Awoooo!”
It let out a furious roar and, hesitating no longer, violently arched its back—looking as though they were prepared to charge directly through the waterfall!
It’s over!
In Lin Xi’s mind, those were the only words left. In the end, she had overestimated herself and underestimated the raw ferocity of wild beasts.
However, at this hair-raising moment, an abrupt change occurred!
Rumble!
A massive crash echoed—not from the heavens, but from the upper side of the cave!
A jagged rock the size of a human head, tangled with mud and debris, suddenly tumbled down the steep cliff face. With uncanny precision, it slammed right into the flank of the wolf pack!
“Awoo!” One unlucky wolf was struck in its hind leg, letting out a shrill, piercing shriek.
The pack’s formation was instantly shattered. Every wolf snapped its head up warily, staring toward the direction where the rock had fallen.
Then, an even more incredible scene unfolded!
“Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!”
In the treeline above the cliff, over a dozen squirrels suddenly emerged! Like a squad of well-trained slingers, they clutched fist-sized stones and leftover nut shells, hurling them downward with reckless abandon!
While these small pebbles couldn’t cause any real physical damage to the thick-hided wolves, the dense, overhead barrage was incredibly harassing!
Dazed and disoriented by this sudden “stone rain,” the wolves retreated one after another to dodge the assault.
But it wasn’t over yet!
“Hmph! Hmph!”
From the dense thicket on the other side of the cave came a series of heavy, ragged pants. Suddenly, a massive and burly silhouette—like a runaway mini-tank—burst out of the brush!
It was an adult wild boar! Its two long tusks, sharp as knives, glinted with a cold, pale white light under the flash of the lightning!
This boar had clearly been stirred up by the scent of the wolves and the commotion caused by the squirrels. Known as the “armored ruffians” of the forest, wild boars have notoriously explosive tempers, especially when their territory is encroached upon. Viewing the wolf pack as intruders, it let out a deafening roar, lowered its head, and charged straight at the wolves!
Though the wolves were fierce, they didn’t dare face a maddened adult boar weighing over two hundred pounds head-on!
The alpha wolf let out a sharp, urgent howl, signaling the pack to scatter and avoid the boar’s collision.
In an instant, the area outside the cave descended into absolute chaos.
Squirrels were throwing stones from the sky, a wild boar was rampaging on the ground, and the wolf pack was left in a frantic mess, struggling to cope. Where would they find the time to care about the tiny “prey” hiding inside the cave?
Lin Xi watched this scene—which rivaled a Hollywood blockbuster—with her jaw dropped and her mind a total blank.
She knew this wasn’t a coincidence.
It was her animal allies!
Though the small animals were terrified of the wolf pack and dared not draw near, they hadn’t abandoned her! Using their own brand of wisdom, they launched an attack from a distance, creating chaos to break the siege!
As for that wild boar, Lin Xi sensed a faint, familiar intent radiating from it. She remembered now—while searching for flint earlier, she had passed a patch of overturned earth and knew it was the boar’s feeding ground. At the time, she had sensed a sleeping sow and several piglets; instead of disturbing them, she had detoured around the area, leaving behind a mindful wave of “I mean no harm” goodwill.
She never expected that this casual act of kindness would result in such powerful reinforcement at her most critical moment!
Under the combined harassment of the wild boar and the squirrels, the wolf pack looked utterly disheveled. The alpha wolf clearly realized that tonight’s hunt was a total failure. If they lingered any longer, they would not only go hungry but might even suffer casualties.
With great reluctance, the alpha turned back to cast a deep, lingering look at the shocked human cub holding the torch inside the cave. Its gaze seemed to carve Lin Xi’s image into its very bones.
Then, it let out a low howl—a command to retreat.
Like a receding tide, the entire pack vanished into the dark curtain of rain, disappearing without a trace in an instant.
The wild boar huffed and snorted on the spot for a moment. Seeing the enemy had fled, it turned with a triumphant air and plunged back into the thickets.
Up on the cliffside, the squirrels chattered a few times as if declaring victory before scurrying back into the trees.
Outside the cave, silence returned, leaving only the “patter-patter” of the rain and the distant roar of the waterfall.
Lin Xi’s legs gave way, and she slumped onto the ground. The torch fell from her hand with a clatter, the flames licking the damp earth with a persistent hissing sound.
She… had survived again.
Looking out at the dark mountain forest, her heart was filled with an unprecedented sense of awe.
She had thought she was fighting a lonely battle.
She hadn’t realized that, without even knowing it, she had gained the creatures of the entire forest as her most solid support.
She wasn’t alone.
It was as if she were the Queen of this forest, guarded collectively by all its living souls.
Once the relief of surviving the disaster passed, an even stronger thought surged into her mind.
No! I’m still too weak!
She relied on her allies this time, but what about next time? What if she encountered an even stronger enemy, or was caught alone?
She couldn’t count on the protection of others forever! She had to possess a power that truly belonged to her—a power capable of protecting herself!
She glanced at the flint on the ground, then at her own tender, small hands. A clear and resolute plan began to slowly take shape in her mind.