Foxes and Wolves

Watching those Little Red Birds fly off triumphantly with the Great Serpent clutched in their claws, Wang Wu hesitated no longer. He crawled straight out of his snow hollow and charged toward that low hill. Not to uphold justice, not to fleece the Gray Rats.

Rather, when it came to such a wonderful thing as ransacking a household and wiping out a lineage, everyone who saw it deserved a share. Taking a little profit for himself was not excessive, right?

The two- to three-hundred-meter distance vanished quickly beneath Wang Wu's feet. He made no effort to hide himself. Before he could charge up the hill, more than a dozen chittering Gray Rat Knights crawled out of the dug-open snow hollow. They looked fierce and furious, but fear outweighed everything else.

More than half a year had passed. Although Wang Wu's Growth Rate had been stuck at 90%, his body had grown nearly twice as large.

The intimidation of that size alone was enough to make those Gray Rats suffer.

Wang Wu stopped thirty meters away and stared hard at the Gray Rat Knights. Surely those fellows would not be so blind to the situation.

Sure enough, after less than a minute, more than a dozen Gray Rat Knights emerged carrying two Great Serpents nearly ten meters long. They set them down ten meters in front of Wang Wu, then turned and fled, terrified that they would be eaten if they were one step too slow.

They really knew how to handle things!

These little rats could be taught!

Wang Wu was very satisfied. He stepped forward, grabbed the two Great Serpents that were still twitching faintly, and turned to leave. He honored his word and followed principles; he hoped this fine custom would be passed on and flourish.

By the time he returned to his snow hollow, the two Great Serpents had stopped moving completely. See? This was what happened when you had no Bloodline Talent and had not maxed out your Ice Resistance.

Wang Wu felt not the slightest pity, nor did he have any awareness of becoming Xu Xian. He opened his bloody maw and feasted.

Just one Great Serpent provided him with 400 points of Satiety, along with an extra 2 points of spiritual energy. Clearly, during summer and autumn, this Great Serpent had been at least middle management—yet now it had met a bloody slaughter.

After eating and drinking his fill, Wang Wu sighed with emotion, entered Level 5 Stealth, and fell into a deep sleep. It had been a long, long time since he had eaten so much. His Growth Rate had not increased for nearly two months. Spring was coming; being able to eat his fill was wonderful.

Two days later, hunger woke him again. So he ran to the snow hollow at the tunnel entrance and squatted there, waiting for food to come knocking.

Yet the entire day was quiet. He did not see even one Gray Rat Knight.

Instead, the tracks he had left in the snow before were painfully conspicuous.

"This dwelling cannot be kept. It should already have been exposed."

Though he had no concrete proof, Wang Wu did not dare underestimate the Gray Rats' morals or intelligence in the slightest.

It would be fine in the short term, but in the long run, who could say?

After chewing a few mouthfuls of ice and snow, Wang Wu decided that once the snow melted and stopped leaving tracks, he would move.

The weather gradually warmed, and the thick snow slowly began to melt.

The only thing that did not change was that Wang Wu was still going hungry.

Several times, he wanted to muster his courage and imitate the Gray Rat Knights by finding a nest of hibernating snakes. Yet in the end, caution always gained the upper hand.

The world was desolate now, a vast expanse of white. The thick snow would easily expose his tracks. He had never thought himself powerful yet. What if he encountered an irresistible force? How would he keep playing then?

Besides, he was not a native rat. How would he know where snake nests were?

Better to keep chewing snow. At least it guaranteed 50 points of Satiety every day.

And so, in the blink of an eye, another half month passed. The three months of winter had ended, and the temperature was visibly rising. On the sunny slopes of the valley, great swathes of snow had already melted away, revealing barren earth.

It seemed to be some kind of signal. The Sprites in the valley suddenly became more numerous. Every morning, Sprites gathered on the sunny slopes, basking in the sun, absorbing Golden Particles, and converting them into spiritual energy.

It was as if everything had finally returned to the proper track.

Wang Wu was so hungry that his eyes had turned green. His Growth Rate, originally at 91.2%, had fallen to 88% after nearly twenty days of hunger. Yet even so, he still did not feel it was safe enough, so he remained dormant in his snow hollow every day.

His side was on the shaded slope. Though the snow there was melting as well, it remained thick overall.

The only good news was that the Gray Rat Knights did not seem to have come for revenge. The traces Wang Wu had left during his last outing to extort them had long since become a chaotic mess due to melting snow and the passage of other Sprites, making them impossible to investigate.

A new day arrived. From the very moment the morning sunlight streamed down, it seemed to proclaim that today would be exceptionally warm and clear. By noon, the temperature would likely rise above freezing.

Countless Golden Particles fell from the sky alongside the sun's golden glow. At the top of the sunny slope on the western side of the valley and among the treetops of the valley's great trees, huge numbers of Sprites were packed together.

Many of them were old acquaintances.

Among those large trees, the Little Red Birds' flock seemed to have split into several groups, so several new leaders had been chosen.

On that landmark-like cliff, a newly ascended Flame Scorpion King nearly two meters long strutted onto the rock that represented supreme authority.

All that could be said was that last year's Scorpion King had left behind a rich legacy—or perhaps a rich family estate. In any case, this newly ascended Scorpion King was far too strong.

Wang Wu could not help secretly rejoicing. More than half a month ago, when the Gray Rats had raided the snake nest, he had even considered copying them and raiding the Flame Scorpion Clan's nest on the cliff.

Luckily, he had not acted rashly.

Besides this Scorpion King, this year's newly popular Sprite also included a Black Centipede with a pair of wings on its back.

Naturally, it too came from an old-established Sprite clan that had continued on from last year.

With a low hill as their clan territory, their foundation truly was abundant.

However, what truly astonished Wang Wu was a dark-horse-level wandering Sprite clan that had come from who knew where.

It was a flock of Wild Chickens.

Really, at first Wang Wu thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

But it was true. On the eastern side of the valley, in the former territory of the snake nest the Gray Rats had dug out, more than thirty Wild Chickens had occupied the place. Not only did they run wild in the eastern valley, they often crossed the border into this side of the valley.

Over the past few days, they had taken turns beating up the Gray Rats, Black Centipede, and Fire Scorpion. They were incredibly fierce.

The strongest Wild Chicken leader could actually fly from one side of the valley to the other in a single breath. Those sharp claws and that agile figure made Wang Wu drool.

He had even made a plan to sneak over under cover of night and catch one...

Yes, he felt it was about time to end this long period of dormancy. After a few more days of weather this warm, most of the snow would melt. Though wild grass had not yet grown, the shrubs would provide him with a decent environment for Stealth.

He had been careful and cautious, enduring hunger, all while waiting for the snow to melt.

He could no longer restrain his desire to become a valley Sprite hunter.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck!"

At that moment, the Golden Three Minutes had not yet ended when frightened, terrified cries suddenly rose from the hill where the Wild Chickens were gathered. The thirty-odd Wild Chickens scattered in panic as though their camp had been blown apart, not even caring to absorb the Golden Particles.

For a moment, the entire sky above the valley was filled with colorful pheasants streaking past. It was quite a spectacular sight.

But Wang Wu, hiding in his snow hollow and dreaming of delicious pheasant meat, was startled. He did not dare move, because the Wild Chicken clan, a dark horse and an outsider that had beaten every other Sprite faction over the past few days, was extremely formidable. Yet now they had been frightened into scattering. Someone powerful had definitely arrived.

This was terrible. He should have hidden inside his dwelling today and not come out.

While he was trembling with anxiety, a large gray fox appeared atop that hill.

The fox did not walk on all fours. Instead, it imitated humans and walked upright on two legs. It stood around one and a half meters tall and even wore the kind of Five Poisons jacket only human children wore. It looked comical, but appearing here at this moment, it carried an eerie air.

Wang Wu took only one look before immediately closing his eyes, not daring to even breathe loudly.

The Gray Fox strolled about as leisurely as if walking through a garden. It only frightened away the Wild Chickens, yet did not hurry to hunt them. From that alone, Wang Wu could tell it had accomplices lying in ambush ahead.

Sure enough, only a few seconds later, another burst of shrill clucking rang out. On the western side of the valley, five of the largest and fattest Wild Chicken kings had been caught. The one responsible was a green wolf.

But strangely, this Green Wolf also stood upright and walked like a human. It was around two meters tall and wore a bizarre sheepskin coat. At first glance, one might have thought it was an old shepherd.

A true wolf in sheep's clothing!