Noticing Gu Chengyan’s gaze, the youth turned his head and gave him a faint smile.
From a distance, this child looked like a handsome youth with broad shoulders and long legs, a feast for the eyes, but in some of his behaviors…
Gu Chengyan shook his head and finally, exhausted, knelt and sat before the cottage door.
Seeing his haggard expression, the youth’s face darkened instantly. He turned his head and glared at the male wolf, a flash of ruthless ferocity in his eyes.
With the crisis temporarily averted, Gu Chengyan relaxed. He took a medicinal pill, swallowed it, and then relit his torch.
It was then that he realized.
Those who had attacked him were all wolves of the same kind: the Snow Mountain wolves. They had pure white fur, slanted eyes, wider mouths, and tails that were longer and fluffier. However, following the youth were not only Snow Mountain wolves, but also several gray-brown grassland wolves.
The snow-white male wolf was extremely wary of the youth. Ever since the youth appeared, its back fur had remained bristled, and its fangs had stayed bared. Its yellowish-brown eyes were wide, exposing a full set of sharp teeth; the fur on its snout was wrinkled into deep folds, and its ears were splayed out to the sides.
The one-eyed female wolf followed behind the male, her body crouched low as she emitted short, ferocious roars at the youth. The youth glanced at her and let out a soft chuckle from his throat.
In reality, the female wolf was a young adult Snow Mountain wolf. She had pure white fur, a sharp snout, and dark, shadowed rings around her eyes. All in all, she was a very beautiful young she-wolf and a smart, vicious one that always charged to the front in every fight.
She had never been provoked like this before, especially not by a human. Even though the male wolf sensed the danger and wanted to stop her, the little she-wolf ignored his warning and lunged forward suddenly.
The youth had long anticipated this move. He shifted his stance and stepped aside, moving with a grace that looked languid yet was pinpoint accurate as he seized the female wolf’s upper jaw.
The she-wolf had never encountered anyone so reckless as to court death in this way. She bit down hard, intending to snap the fingers of this arrogant, ignorant creature. But the moment she clamped her jaws shut, the youth lazily withdrew his fingers and, before she could react, tightly gripped her entire jaw.
She had never been pinned by the mouth like this. She tried to pry her jaws open, her front paws batting at the youth’s arm while her hind legs extended their sharp claws to kick. But she never got the chance to finish these movements. The youth’s other hand, which he had freed earlier, reached for the back of her neck.
Snap.
That was the last sound the female wolf heard in this world—her neck had been snapped clean by the youth. Her tongue lolled out, and blood and saliva dripped from the corners of her mouth. The youth, looking slightly repulsed, frowned and tossed the carcass far away.
Seeing his mate perish, the male wolf was finally provoked beyond reason. It let out a long howl and charged forward, leading the pack. The wolves behind the youth did not need any “command”; they lunged forward as well, clashing with the Snow Mountain wolf pack.
Gu Chengyan watched for a while and found that although the youth was unarmed, he was not at a disadvantage. It was as if he were intimately familiar with wolf packs—familiar with every posture, movement, and expression, and even more so with exactly when and how they would attack.
In facing the wolf pack, even with his sword and bow, Gu Chengyan had felt a degree of trepidation. But the youth was different. Even when surrounded, he remained composed, confident, and steady, treating the male wolf like a cat playing with a mouse.
He was truly… somewhat wicked in nature.
Seeing that the youth could handle the situation with ease, Gu Chengyan stood up and pushed open the door to the small house.
This circular cottage was fifteen feet in diameter, which was just right for keeping livestock: it could house the thirteen sheep they had brought from the Royal Court, the “Night-Shining White” horse Tie Zhu had bought, the roan horse that pulled the cart, and the chickens gifted by Tara Eji. When Tie Zhu was still there, the flock had produced two lambs, making the total count fifteen.
After Gu Chengyan ducked into the room, he saw pools of fresh blood covering the ground. The sheep were huddled in terror behind the two horses. The large white sheep he loved most was lying in the center of the pen, a large, gaping hole in its throat, its body twitching.
Seeing him, the big white sheep bleated and struggled with all four hooves, trying to stand up and walk to his side as it always did. But the gushing blood quickly dyed most of its fleece red. Its breathing was heavy huff, huff, huff a sound that pierced Gu Chengyan’s heart.
“Da Bai…”
He hurried forward, knelt beside the sheep, and took out his handkerchief, pressing it hard against the wound. But the wolf bite was deep, and the cloth was soon saturated, becoming so heavy that Gu Chengyan could barely hold it in place.
The white sheep bleated softly, using its last ounce of strength to nuzzle its head into Gu Chengyan’s arms. Its round, obsidian eyes looked at him, wet and glistening, as if trying to memorize his face. Gu Chengyan’s eyes reddened as he watched a gray mist rise in the eyes of the white sheep in his arms until its breathing gradually faded away.
The other startled sheep huddled to the side, but the “Night-Shining White” horse moved slowly toward Gu Chengyan, nudging him with its head.
Gu Chengyan looked back. The horse’s eyes were large and bright, and in the flickering firelight, they even reflected his own bewildered figure.
“Ah Bai…” Gu Chengyan’s voice was hoarse, his tensed shoulders slowly slumping. He gently stroked the horse’s neck but could not speak another word.
The white sheep had been gentle by nature, with soft, warm fleece. Through many long, agonizing nights when his poison flared, it had been the one to stay by his side. Watching the white sheep grow cold on his lap, Gu Chengyan couldn’t help but stroke the clean, curly wool on top of its head, bidding it a final farewell.
Seeing him like this, the white horse leaned in again, nudging him gently with its head. Even the roan horse stepped forward, offering comfort in the same way. The little lamb, which had been protected in the innermost circle by the big white sheep and the rest of the flock, emerged trembling, looking at him with curiosity. The fuzz on top of the lamb’s head was soft and floppy, and its hooves hadn’t finished growing their hair; the way it tilted its head to look at him made it look exactly like a little scruffy dog.
Gu Chengyan was amused by its appearance. Losing control, a tear slipped from the corner of his eye, sliding along his jawline and falling onto the white sheep.
The lamb rolled its bright black eyes, suddenly bounded forward in excitement, and licked Gu Chengyan with its tongue.
“…Eh?”
The lamb’s tongue had barbs on it, making it ticklish. After a moment of shock, Gu Chengyan suddenly understood—tears were salty.
He was both exasperated and amused. The sorrow he felt over the death of the white sheep was, miraculously, dispelled by the little lamb’s behavior.
Forget it. Life and death are fated; the white sheep was always destined for this day.
Gu Chengyan took a deep breath and turned to look out the window—the chaotic battle between the wolves in the snow had finally come to an end.
The large, bulky male wolf was limping away toward the Holy Mountain with its tail between its legs, amidst a sky filled with flying wolf fur. Behind it, the remaining five Snow Mountain wolves were covered in blood; some had their tails ripped off, others had their ears bitten to shreds all in a miserable state.
The youth was bare-chested. After the exhilarating battle, his entire body was glistening, smoothed by the heat of his sweat. The rising steam condensed into a mist, like a thin veil woven into the air, draping over his streamlined shoulders, back, and narrow waist. The battle had been fierce, with constant tearing and pulling, yet the youth remained unscathed, with only a few splatters of blood on his body.
Seeing the enemies defeated, the youth wiped his face casually with his forearm, accidentally smearing a bead of blood from his cheekbone into a red streak that flew diagonally into his hairline. His features were already striking, and with that red smear, a mysterious, wild aura was added.
The male wolf kept looking back as it walked, repeatedly trying to take its mate’s corpse, but every time it approached, the grassland wolf pack would attack it in unison. Helpless, it could only gaze at the female wolf’s body from afar, letting out shrill, painful howls.
The youth glanced at it with disdain and suddenly tilted his head back, howling like a wolf king summoning the moon. The wolf pack, busy cleaning the battlefield, heard the sound and stopped to join in. Before long, loud wolf howls echoed throughout the entire valley.
Gu Chengyan understood: the pack was celebrating their victory. But such a large-scale chorus of howls inevitably scared the sheep and horses in the pen again. The little lamb let out a whoosh and burrowed back behind the sheep. The roan horse kicked out in fear, while the Night-Shining White horse pulled at its reins, stepping back and forth on the ground, its eyes full of panic.
Gu Chengyan was just about to calm the white horse when he suddenly glimpsed something in its reaction: whenever he mentioned the small cabin or his savior after coming down from the snow mountain that day, the horse would react in exactly this way. Since then, even when he went up the mountain, the horse would refuse to go toward the northern slope. Even if Gu Chengyan dismounted to walk, it would pull at his sleeve from behind.
So, in truth, it was… afraid of wolves?
Thinking this way, the footprints cleaned up inside the cabin and the dragging marks in the dust weren’t those from wolf tails sweeping the snow? Gu Chengyan’s brow jumped; he felt as if many threads were instantly connecting.
At the same time, the howling outside ceased. The youth gestured with his eyes for the pack to clear away the corpses in the valley, then turned his head, reached down, and touched a bulging leather pouch at his waist.
Confirming that the contents of the bag hadn’t been lost, he breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up, found Gu Chengyan inside the room, and walked toward him with a smile.
Seeing the youth enter, Gu Chengyan instinctively pushed the white sheep toward him, his voice soft and small:
“Da Bai is dead…”
The youth was stunned by his movement. He looked at Gu Chengyan and then at the sheep. When his gaze swept over the wound on the side of the sheep’s neck, a look of revulsion crossed his eyes.
Gu Chengyan felt nothing amiss. He only stroked the sheep’s head, sighing with self-reproach, thinking he should have been more alert and reinforced the doors and windows earlier. The youth seemed not to understand his words, his expression shifting between hesitation and struggle.
Finally, he let out a light sigh, hugged the white sheep, and took two fat marmots out of his leather pouch, stuffing them into Gu Chengyan’s arms.
Gu Chengyan was stunned.
The youth pointed to the wound on the sheep’s neck, made a ferocious face, shook his head at Gu Chengyan, and then pointed at himself, waving his hands.
Gu Chengyan: “…?”
Immediately after, the youth patted the two dead marmots he had dumped into his arms, puffed out his chest proudly, and beamed at him.
Gu Chengyan: ???
Seeing that Gu Chengyan was full of confusion and did not react, the youth stared at him for a long time. His cheeks gradually turned red, and finally, he scratched his head and let out a heavy sigh.
Then, the youth suddenly leaned down and took a bite out of the side of the big white sheep’s neck.
Gu Chengyan: ?!!!
The youth tore off a small piece of blood-stained neck meat, chewed and swallowed it in front of Gu Chengyan, and once again offered the sheep and the marmots to him. While offering them, he looked at Gu Chengyan’s lips with eager anticipation.
Gu Chengyan opened his mouth, eventually unable to hold on any longer, and closed his eyes. Under the youth’s panicked gaze, he slowly drifted into sleep.