On their way back, Lu Yao and the others happened to run into Song Qingsong, who had been sent out to look for them.
The moment Song Qingsong saw Lu Yao carrying Song Ziyu in her arms, holding Song Zixuan’s hand, while Song Hongsheng followed behind carrying the unconscious Song Ziyang, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
When he had first heard what the four Song brothers had done, he immediately felt that disaster was imminent.
Those four scoundrels were capable of absolutely anything.
Fortunately, the children were safe.
Otherwise, Hongyi’s wife would probably have killed those beasts herself.
Walking up to Song Hongsheng, Song Qingsong asked quietly,
“Brother Hongsheng, why don’t I see Song Qing’an and his three brothers?”
The moment Song Hongsheng recalled the horrific scene he had witnessed earlier, he instinctively glanced toward Lu Yao, his eyes filled with lingering fear.
Then he lowered his voice and replied,
“Qingsong… if anyone asks later, just say you don’t know anything. As for the rest… we—”
Before he could finish speaking, a chilling howl echoed from the direction they had just left.
“Awooooooo!”
Song Qingsong nearly stumbled and fell.
His face turned deathly pale.
“Brother Hongsheng… was that… a wolf?”
Song Hongsheng’s expression wasn’t much better.
He tightened his grip on Song Ziyang and said,
“Let’s go. Tell everyone to start fires. The patrol needs to double the night watch.”
As if she hadn’t heard anything at all, Lu Yao continued walking at the same pace while holding Song Zixuan’s hand.
Song Zixuan, however, clutched her hand tightly.
The usually composed little boy looked frightened and nervous.
He pressed himself closer and closer to her.
Meanwhile, Song Ziyu buried her face against Lu Yao’s neck and refused to look up.
Gently, Lu Yao comforted them.
“Zixuan, Ziyu, don’t be afraid.
“Even if wolves come, Mother can protect you.
“Not only that, Mother can even get you wolf meat to eat.
“Your mother is very capable.”
Song Ziyu still didn’t move.
She was probably still recovering from her earlier fright.
Song Zixuan, however, visibly relaxed.
He secretly glanced behind them.
Seeing nothing there, his tense body finally loosened.
By the time they returned to camp, most people were preparing to sleep.
Families with several quilts had wrapped themselves up in all of them.
Those with only one or two ragged blankets huddled together for warmth.
Anything was better than nothing.
Even the poorest families had managed to bring at least one quilt when fleeing.
Tonight, the value of those quilts became painfully obvious.
Song Hongsheng escorted Lu Yao and the children back to the spot they had chosen earlier.
He gently set Song Ziyang down on the cloth spread across the ground.
Straightening up, he sighed.
“Sister-in-law, this isn’t going to work.
“You know how cold northern nights can be.
“How can the children endure this?
“You don’t even have a single quilt. Tonight…”
Lu Yao interrupted him.
“Brother Hongsheng, could you help me spread a message?
“If anyone is willing to sell a quilt, I’ll exchange one wolf for each quilt.”
Song Hongsheng’s eyes widened.
“Sister-in-law… don’t tell me you’re planning to…”
As he spoke, he pointed toward the direction from which the wolf howl had come.
Lu Yao nodded calmly.
To her, it seemed no more significant than eating a meal.
His voice grew hoarse with concern.
“Sister-in-law, don’t.
“What if something happens to you?
“What will become of these three children?
“You saw today how quickly someone targeted them when you weren’t around.
“If anything happens to you, none of them will survive.”
But Lu Yao’s tone remained unwavering.
“Brother Hongsheng, I’ve already made up my mind.
“You don’t need to persuade me.”
If I don’t go hunt wolves, she thought, how am I supposed to openly produce the dozen wolf carcasses sitting in my space?
This was the perfect opportunity.
No one was going to stop her.
Still, when she looked at the three children, her expression softened.
“Brother Hongsheng, while I’m gone, please watch over them for me.
“I’ll be back very soon.”
Then she turned to the little girl hanging tightly around her neck.
“Niu Niu, Mother is going to find some meat for you.
“Can you stay with Big Brother for a little while?
“This time Mother won’t leave you by yourselves.
“You’ll stay with this uncle, okay?
“Mother will come back soon.”
Song Ziyu was already old enough to understand some things.
The moment she realized Lu Yao was leaving, she wrapped her arms around her neck even tighter and refused to let go.
Song Zixuan also blocked her path.
His small body pressed tightly against her leg.
For a moment, Lu Yao felt helpless.
She decided to start with the easier one.
“Zixuan, you’re the oldest.
“You’re the most sensible.
“If we don’t have quilts tonight, all of us could freeze to death.
“Can you bear to watch your brother and sister leave you forever?”
The words hurt even as she spoke them.
She hated discussing something so cruel with a child.
But right now, she had no other choice.
Fortunately, Song Zixuan finally wavered.
Seeing that, Lu Yao pressed her advantage.
“You know Mother is strong.
“Mother can protect all of you.
“I’ll come back safely.
“I won’t let you down again.
“Can you trust me this once?”
At last, Song Zixuan released her leg.
Only then did Lu Yao gently pry Song Ziyu away from her neck.
Patiently, she coaxed the little girl.
“Niu Niu, look.
“Big Brother trusts Mother now.
“Shouldn’t you trust Mother too?
“Stay with this uncle.
“He’ll protect all of you and won’t let bad people take you away again.
“Mother is going to avenge you, okay?”
Song Ziyu looked at Song Zixuan.
The boy stretched out his arms and took his sister.
Meanwhile, Song Qingsong made one final attempt to persuade Lu Yao to stay.
She didn’t even look at him.
After entrusting all three children to Song Hongsheng, she turned and sprinted toward the direction from which the wolf howl had come.
In the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the darkness.
Song Qingsong sighed.
Picking up Song Ziyang, he followed Song Hongsheng back toward the camp.
Once she was out of sight, Lu Yao found a secluded spot and entered her space.
The space contained everything she could possibly need.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t openly use any of it.
Having supplies but being unable to take them out felt like freezing to death while sitting atop a pile of blankets.
Her gaze swept across the ground.
More than a dozen wolf carcasses still lay there.
Although they had been stored inside for over a day, they looked as fresh as if they had just died.
Apparently, the space preserved whatever was placed inside.
Lu Yao conducted a quick experiment.
She attempted to remove one wolf from the space.
Nothing appeared outside.
It seemed the automatic replenishment only applied to the space’s original contents.
Afterward, she casually prepared a cup of instant noodles inside the space.
Taking her time, she finished eating before leaving.
By then, about half an hour had passed.
Since she wasn’t far from an actual wolf pack, Lu Yao decided to check on the fate of the four Song brothers while she was out.
Moving silently through the forest, she soon reached the area.
The woods were eerily quiet.
Only the wind howled through the trees.
Taking out a military flashlight from her space, she clenched it between her teeth and quickly climbed the nearest large tree.
From above, she scanned the surroundings.
There wasn’t a trace of any living creature.
Only then did she jump down.
Cautiously approaching the site of the earlier attack, she swept the flashlight around.
Everywhere the beam passed, there was blood.
Blood splattered across nearby tree trunks as well, reaching surprisingly high.
The battle had clearly been brutal.
Severed hands and torn scraps of cloth still littered the ground.
After carefully inspecting the area, Lu Yao confirmed that all four men were gone.
Only then did she leave.
When she was about a hundred meters from the refugee camp, she finally removed four wolf carcasses from her space.
Grabbing two wolves in each hand, she dragged them through the leaves.
The thick layer of fallen leaves actually made the task easier than expected.
Back at camp, Song Hongsheng had already spread Lu Yao’s offer.
The reactions were mixed.
“Lu really has guts.
“She actually went to fight wolves.
“The question is whether the wolves killed her or she killed them.”
“You’d better hope for the best.
“If something happens to Lu, we’ll lose our only doctor.”
“Do you think anyone will actually trade a quilt for a wolf?”
“I wouldn’t.
“My family still has grain.
“In this weather, without a quilt you won’t even live to see tomorrow’s sunrise.”
Regardless of what people said, Song Hongsheng repeatedly looked toward the darkness behind the camp.
Again and again.
On the thirtieth time he checked, he finally saw a slender figure emerging from the darkness.
Dragging something enormous behind her.