Shooting the Heavenly Wolf
Deji Village was in utter chaos, surrounded by a pack of wolves.
If Zaxi, whose authority commanded everyone's respect, hadn't kept a firm grip on the situation and issued one order after another, keeping the herders too busy to think about anything else, things would probably have started spiraling out of control by now. Before the wolves even broke in, the villagers might have thrown themselves into confusion.
At that moment, no one had time to spare for the yaks grazing outside. The wolves had already brought down more than a dozen of them, tearing into their prey and gorging themselves without restraint beneath the lights shining out from the village. The cattle that had escaped the wolves scattered in terror.
Some wolves, still hungry, even turned their greedy eyes toward the fence around Deji Village, glaring at the herders running back and forth inside. They kept lunging at the fence, eager to get into the village.
At first, shining flashlights into the wolves' eyes had some effect. But as time passed, the pack gradually grew accustomed to the light. They bared their teeth at the beams and let out threatening growls and snarls, no longer darting around as wildly as before.
The herders banged knives and clubs together to make as much noise as they could, shouting at the same time as they did their utmost to drive away the wolves approaching the fence.
But the wolves kept closing in, growing ever more impatient with the bluster from behind the fence.
"Buddha, protect us!"
At that moment, Zaxi held a string of prayer beads, turning them over and over in his hand as he tried to calm himself.
Bodhisattva, protect Deji Village and keep it safe and blessed!
The hunters Deji Village had brought in