Chapter Eighty-Four

Chapter Eighty-Four

Not long ago, Xiaofu had been searching for rabbit burrows in the snow. The overnight blizzard had covered all scents and traces, making it worry about not finding any rabbits for its master today, until it spotted a streak of bright red blood in the distance.

The splash of red on the pristine white snow was strikingly obvious. Xiaofu rushed over to find a dead rabbit, half-buried and stiff in the snow.

Any human would wonder: who killed this rabbit, why was it left here intact, could it be a trap, and so on...

But the only one here was a dog, an inexperienced, naive sweetie with no idea about the wilderness, only keen on eating.

Excitedly eyeing its prey on the snow, it picked it up, ready to show its master, oblivious to the lurking danger nearby.

White wolves, blending with the snow, lay in wait downwind, silently watching the jubilant dog picking up the bait. They rose silently, with the leader wolf stealthily approaching and swiftly grabbing Xiaofu by the nape, darting away.

The wolves came quietly and left just as silently, fast and efficient.

By the time Lin An and the others realized Xiaofu was in trouble, the wolves had already carried it back to their den.

The wolves lived in a cave halfway up a tall mountain, hidden from view below by the snow-covered slopes, making the cave invisible except for the white snow.

Xiaofu barked all the way, to no avail, and now it truly couldn't smell its master's scent.

The leading wolf carried Xiaofu into the cave, which wasn't very large. It reached the end quickly, where a mother wolf lay with several chubby wolf pups crawling around.

Xiaofu was unceremoniously dumped among the pups. The leading white wolf looked at the pile of little wolves mixed with an out-of-place dog, then laid down beside the mother wolf.

The other dozen white wolves also settled down, crowding the small cave. The pups clambered over them, playing joyously.

Squeezed in the middle of the wolf pack, Xiaofu couldn't feel the slightest joy.

It eyed the exit, trying hard to navigate through the furry mass, but escaping was as difficult as climbing to heaven.

These wolves were enormous, even the pups only slightly smaller than adult dogs. Xiaofu, trying to climb over a blocking giant wolf, was knocked back by a pup, curiously sniffed and licked by two others, and even tackled by another as if it were a toy.

After finally escaping the wolf pups and climbing over hills to the exit, Xiaofu was promptly grabbed by the nearest wolf and thrown back to the innermost part of the cave.

Xiaofu: So frustrated.

Several escape attempts followed, each thwarted just short of the exit. The wolves, seemingly resting with closed eyes, were actually highly alert, vigilantly monitoring every pup, including Xiaofu.

Exhausted and infuriated, Xiaofu stood at the back, barking furiously at these canine traffickers.

The wolf pups curiously watched it, then started mimicking Xiaofu's barking.

“Woof~”

“Awoo~”

"Woof, woof, woof!" Don't imitate me!

"Xiao Fu's scolding was drowned out by the wolf pups' cries, even less audible than some louder cubs."

The white wolf that brought Xiaofu back and the mother wolf lay together, resting closely. Regardless of Xiaofu's escape attempts or the pups jumping on them, it remained indifferent, eyes closed as if asleep.

It was only when the cave filled with the rising din of pup yelps that it opened its deep blue wolf eyes, gazing at the noisy young.

Its gaze was icy and unforgiving.

Xiaofu was hit.

Or rather, Xiaofu and the pups were all reprimanded, none spared, in a display of strict fairness.

The wolf stood up, its massive paw smacking the loudest of the pups on their heads, leaving them dizzy and almost concussed.

Realizing the danger, Xiaofu immediately shut up and shrank into a corner. Unfortunately, after disciplining the other pups, the large wolf didn't spare Xiaofu, deftly moving through the others to deliver swift smacks.

Xiaofu lay sprawled on the ground, limbs splayed, just like the other pups after their reprimand.

"All the wolf pups quieted down, perhaps fearful of another beating, crawling forward to the corner farthest from the wolf, where Xiao Fu was."

They huddled together and softly whined themselves to sleep.

Xiaofu, pressed underneath: ...

It wanted to crawl out but the pups were so heavy. Despite being only slightly smaller, they were incredibly hefty. Xiaofu, wary of another reprimand, dared not make much movement and could only quietly struggle to wriggle out.

The cave was eerily quiet, with a dozen wolves resting silently, their eyes closed. Xiaofu, under the weight of several warm, furry pups, struggled for a while and finally... fell asleep.

"Xiaofu, Xiaofu, where are you?" Lin An was almost frantic, having thought Xiaofu would return soon, but hours had passed with no sign of it.

"Don't worry, An. Maybe it just got lost. With all this snow around, there are no landmarks, and Xiaofu can sprint so fast, it might be searching for us right now," Xu Fang comforted.

"But, but I'm here, it wouldn't have gone far." Just as Lin An relied on Xiaofu, Xiaofu too had always depended on Lin An. Before the teammates arrived, they were each other's only companions.

But now, Lin An's world included a loved one, trustworthy companions, and friends who accepted him, flaws and all.

But for Xiaofu, there was still only him.

"I should have kept an eye on it. It's so small, what if it got caught by a wild animal?" Lin An was beside himself with worry, on the verge of tears.

"Found it!" Ouyang Dong ran over, panting.

"You found Xiaofu?" Xu Fang immediately asked, Lin An looking over expectantly.

"No, we found footprints," Ouyang Dong said, catching his breath.

Seeing Lin An's disappointed face, Xu Fang felt like kicking Ouyang Dong. "Why breathe so heavily when speaking? Don't you know An is worried?"

Following Ouyang Dong, they saw Shen Xiuzhe and Grandma Wu examining tracks on the ground. The wolf pack moved nimbly and covertly, but the fresh snow from last night left distinct paw prints.

"It's snow wolves, at least a dozen based on the footprints," Shen Xiuzhe said gravely.

"Wolves?" Lin An's eyes widened in shock, his gaze suddenly drawn to a patch of bright red blood nearby, his mind reeling as if struck by a blow, unable to process further.

The rabbit used as bait had long been taken by the wolves, who wouldn't carelessly leave their food around. If not for the urgency, they might have even buried the bloodstains, leaving no trace for other creatures to find.

"It's not Xiaofu's blood, I checked. It's likely rabbit blood," Grandma Wu explained, seeing Lin An's dazed expression. "Dog blood and rabbit blood smell different."

These words brought some relief to Lin An: "Really?"

"Yes, I guarantee it with over fifty years of experience as an explorer. It's definitely not Xiaofu's."

"That's a relief, but... was Xiaofu taken by the wolves?" Lin An's anxiety persisted. Xiaofu was so small, even timid around children, let alone a pack of wolves. Were they planning to keep Xiaofu as reserve food?

Or had Xiaofu already been...

Lin An refused to continue thinking.

Shen Xiuzhe stood up, the paw prints of Xiao Fu had disappeared nearby, leaving only a large number of wolf tracks, confirming it was taken by a pack of wolves. In fact, he felt Xiao Fu's chances were slim, but he couldn't tell Lin An that now.

"Before the next snowfall, let's catch up." Whatever Xiao Fu encounters, the least they could do is find it.

Dead or alive.

The RV turned around, heading back the way they came. This time, Shen Xiuzhe didn't slow down, speeding across the vast snowy landscape, although they had to stop occasionally to discern the direction of the wolf pack.

As the RV sped up, its passengers started to sway and shake. Lin An's head had already been bumped several times, but he still pressed against the window, hoping to suddenly see Xiao Fu.

"At this time, Xiao Fu would have finished its meal. I wonder if it’s still hungry, or if it's scared," Lin An murmured.

In reality, Xiao Fu had eaten its fill, even a bit too much.

It was licked awake by wolf cubs, wondering why they liked licking it so much, leaving its fur wet. Xiao Fu, slightly disdainful, forgot that it also loved licking its owner, but the hygiene-conscious Lin An was always on guard, so it rarely succeeded.

The hungry wolf cubs rushed to their mother to feed, while Xiao Fu sneakily eyed the cave's exit, plotting another escape.

"However, the wolf that had hit it kept staring, making Xiao Fu too nervous to move rashly."

Soon, several wolves entered the cave, carrying dead rabbits and two sheep, placing them at the back of the cave.

The white wolf that had been watching Xiao Fu stood up and nudged it towards the mother wolf.

Xiao Fu, pushed over, understood its intention and strangely comprehended its thinking.

Were these creatures treating it as a cub? Expecting it to feed on milk?

It was an adult, a fully-grown dog!

It hadn't drunk milk in a year!

Xiao Fu stubbornly refused to move, sitting down in protest. It used to act like this when secretly taken for walks by its owner, a skill it hadn't used in a long time but was still proficient in.

"The snow wolf cocked its head, finding the cub troublesome, then brought a rabbit to Xiao Fu."

Xiao Fu ate meat, but its diet consisted of processed meats or jerky; it only ate fresh meat in the forest, cut into small pieces for it.

Faced with the rabbit corpse staring back at it, Xiao Fu even stepped back.

"Master, it's staring at me!"

The snow wolf eyed the uncooperative cub for a while, then silently tore the rabbit's skin and flesh with its teeth, placing the meat in front of Xiao Fu, followed by a low growl.

Confronted with the blatant threat, the timid Xiao Fu immediately began eating the meat.

"After one piece, there's another, and after that piece, yet a bigger one."

Whenever Xiao Fu stopped, the snow wolf would bare its fangs and growl.

Finally, after struggling to finish the entire rabbit, the snow wolf ceased and shared the remaining prey with the other wolves.

It seemed to be the leader of the pack, slightly larger in size than the others, commanding absolute authority within the group.

As the pack feasted and Xiao Fu planned its escape, a deep, hoarse howl suddenly came from outside.

"Xiao Fu, still shocked by the sudden appearance of more wolves, watched as the cave's wolves growled menacingly, as if confronting an enemy."

Unlike the growls that threatened Xiao Fu to eat, these were cold and murderous, akin to battle cries, tensing the atmosphere in the cave instantly.