Luring Wolves

When he returned home, Li Yu had not gone to the Laundry Room today.

She had already prepared breakfast. Seeing him return, she hurriedly called out, "Little Brother, come eat. Aren't you going to the Martial Arts Hall today?"

"Not today." Li Xiao smiled and took the bowl and chopsticks. "Eldest Sister, you and Dad should rest properly at home today. Don't go out."

Training at the Martial Arts Hall was his own business; it was not as though he had to go every day.

Li Yu nodded. Seeing the dark circles beneath her younger brother's eyes, she could not help asking, "Didn't sleep well last night? Why not rest at home for a couple of days?"

"It's fine. I know what I'm doing."

Li Xiao took a mouthful of rice, but he was calculating when it would be best to use that Howling Moon Incense.

After breakfast, Li Xiao cut off several pieces of roe deer meat, wrapped them in cloth, and tucked them into his chest.

He carefully checked his bow and arrows again, confirming that he had enough arrows before slinging the bow over his back and heading out.

The valley he was going to lay behind the Back Mountain of a neighboring village, not far from Granny Wang's village.

While hunting, he had once seen traces of a Wolf Pack there.

There had been seven or eight wolves, including a Wolf King with black fur that looked especially fierce.

Back then, he had only dared to watch from afar before leaving.

It was early spring now, and there was still little prey in the mountains. The Wolf Pack had endured a winter of scarce food; this was when they were hungriest and most aggressive.

Li Xiao knew clearly that this was a dangerous move, but ordinary lessons would never work on someone like Granny Wang.

And if he personally killed someone, there was no guarantee it would not cause a stir.

Avoiding the villagers, he took a side path toward the valley. The Mountain Path was rugged, and the morning dew soaked his trouser legs, but the icy sensation only made him more alert.

When he reached the valley entrance, he slowed down and listened closely—the woods were silent save for the rustling of leaves in the wind, yet a wild aura faintly seeped through the stillness.

Li Xiao found a concealed rock to hide behind, took out the bottle of Howling Moon Incense from his chest, and then removed a small piece of roe deer meat.

Following Old Man Zhang's instructions, he pinched out only a tiny bit of Scent Powder and carefully mixed it into the meat. Then he threw the meat into an open patch some distance away from himself.

After doing all that, he held his breath, nocked an arrow and drew his bow, his eyes fixed tightly on the movement around the meat.

Before long, a faint rustling came from deep within the forest.

Li Xiao's heart tightened. Several pairs of gleaming green eyes lit up behind the bushes, followed by a gaunt Gray wolf that cautiously stepped out. It sniffed the air, then charged straight for the roe deer meat.

With the first wolf out, three more soon emerged. All looked ravenous as they fought over the meat.

Li Xiao did not move. He waited—he remembered that the Wolf Pack he had seen last time contained more than just these wolves. The Wolf King had to be nearby.

Sure enough, moments later, a Black wolf nearly half again as large as the others slowly emerged from the woods, its sinister gaze sweeping over the Gray wolves fighting for food.

The wolves immediately stopped, lowering their heads and obediently retreating to one side. They clearly held it in extreme awe.

The Wolf King walked over to the meat and swallowed what remained in several bites. Then it raised its head and sniffed hard, its gaze locking onto the direction where Li Xiao was hiding.

Li Xiao's heart clenched. He knew the Wolf King's sense of smell was keen; it had likely caught his scent.

The Wolf King let out a low howl, its amber eyes fixed dead on the rock concealing Li Xiao, filled with undisguised hostility.

It slowly raised its head and gestured with its muzzle toward Li Xiao's direction.

A Gray wolf following closely behind immediately understood. A threatening growl rumbled from its throat, its limbs tensed, and it lunged toward the rock like an arrow off the string.

Its movements were swift and vicious.

Li Xiao's gaze sharpened, the bow and arrow in his hand already poised to strike.

There was not the slightest hint of panic.

He could even clearly see the Gray wolf's ribs rising and falling as it ran, as well as the fierce glint in its eyes.

Whoosh!

The bowstring trembled, and the arrow shot forth with a shriek through the air, flying precisely toward the Gray wolf's skull.

A distance of more than ten zhang was nothing more than an instant to Li Xiao, whose archery was growing ever more refined.

Splurt!

Without any suspense, the sharp arrow pierced through the Gray wolf's skull, the feathers on the arrow tail still trembling faintly.

The Gray wolf's charge abruptly halted. Its massive body swayed, then crashed to the ground with a bang. After twitching twice, it went still.

One arrow, one kill!

The valley instantly fell silent. The remaining Gray wolves were startled by this sudden change and instinctively backed away several steps. Their gazes toward Li Xiao now held a little more fear.

The Wolf King's pupils suddenly contracted. It stared at the wolf corpse on the ground, then at the vague human figure behind the rock. The growl in its throat grew deeper, carrying the furious rage of being provoked.

Yet it did not order another attack. It had clearly realized that this human was not someone to be trifled with.

The speed and accuracy of that arrow were enough to make any beast wary.

Li Xiao did not lower his guard. He continued aiming at the Wolf King, his fingers tightly hooked around the bowstring.

He knew that arrow had only temporarily intimidated the Wolf Pack. Once the Wolf King recovered its wits, or hunger completely clouded its mind, the coming assault would only become fiercer.

He slowly rose from behind the rock, confronting the Wolf King's gaze without yielding an inch.

The bow and arrows in his hands were his confidence.

The Wolf King stared at him fixedly, then glanced at the bait on the ground. After hesitating for a long while, it finally let out a low growl, lowered its head, and prepared to enter the Dense Forest behind it.

Li Xiao did not pursue it, nor did he lay down more bait.

That arrow had been both a warning and a test.

Now, it seemed that the Howling Moon Incense was indeed remarkably effective, and his archery was enough to handle the situation before him.

Li Xiao walked over to the wolf corpse and examined it. After confirming it had stopped breathing, he dragged it into the bushes and hid it—he did not want to leave behind any traces.

After finishing all this, he took out the roe deer meat mixed with Scent Powder again. Following the route he had planned, he tossed down a small piece at intervals, creating a trail all the way toward Granny Wang's home.

This time, he moved even more cautiously.

He knew that after the clash just now, the Wolf Pack would become more vigilant—but also hungrier.

The moment Li Xiao's figure vanished at the end of the Mountain Path, the valley's silence was broken by another rustle.

The Black Wolf King poked its head out from the edge of the Dense Forest, warily scanning its surroundings.

Only after confirming that the bow-wielding human had gone far away did it slowly emerge.

It walked to the rock where Li Xiao had hidden and pressed its nose to the ground, sniffing carefully as a low whine escaped its throat.

The remaining Gray wolves also followed it out, their gazes roaming between the bloodstains on the ground and the lingering scent of the bait. Hunger made their eyes burn hot once more.

One of the wolves could not resist sniffing in the direction Li Xiao had gone, but the Wolf King suddenly roared at it. Frightened, it shrank its neck and dared not move again.

The Wolf King lowered its head and licked the scraps of roe deer meat left on the ground.

That strange scent mixed with Howling Moon Incense stirred its appetite once again.

It had endured the entire winter with an empty belly. That tiny piece of meat from before had not even been enough to fill the gaps between its teeth.

Yet this scent was like an invisible hand, drawing it toward a certain direction.

(I saw some readers asking why the protagonist did not just kill someone and run, then come back once he was strong enough and slaughter everyone in an entire city.

That truly left me speechless. The protagonist has family, and he is not strong enough himself. Willow City is relatively stable; if they ran outside into War and Chaos, they might die.

I wrote in the very first chapter that this is a slow-burn story. If you do not like that, please do not enter. The protagonist is not Dragon King either.

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