Wolf Tracks on a Snowy Night

Jiang Fu'an looked closely. There were three wolves.

Their fur was caked with snow, nearly blending into the snowy slope. Only those six points of green light gave away their presence.

At the sight, Jiang Fu'an merely lifted his eyelids, calmly turned back around, and continued on his way without haste.

As a seasoned hunter, he had dealt with wolves far too many times.

He knew that wolves were cunning and suspicious by nature. Upon finding prey, they would never pounce at once.

They would observe, sizing up whether their prey posed any danger.

During this time, a person's reaction often determined whether the wolves would attack next.

If you panicked, let your gaze dart away, stumbled in your steps, or even turned and ran...

Those glowing green lights would immediately become black shadows lunging at you.

Wolves were clever. They could read "fear."

Of course, one could not confront them head-on either.

Staring directly back at them, or instinctively bending down to pick up a stone or reach for a weapon, all counted as provocation in a wolf's eyes.

Those creatures were full of savagery. Not only would they not be afraid, they would instead have their fighting spirit stirred and launch probing bites and pounces.

But in the end, humans were not part of a wolf's usual diet.

To wolves, a two-legged creature that stood upright and could wield weapons was also an unfamiliar beast that required caution.

As long as you steadied your mind and kept walking as you should, most wolf packs would weigh the pros and cons before retreating on their own.

Jiang Fu'an could remain so calm now not only because of experience, but because he had confidence in his heart.

He was wrapped in thick cotton clothes, and several extra layers of tanned hard leather were bound around his arms and calves. It would not be easy for wolf fangs to bite through all that in one go.

The enormous basket on his back was useful as well. It protected the backs of his thighs below and covered up to the nape of his neck above, shielding the vital areas of his back tightly against a wolf's sneak attack.

More importantly, his right hand had been gripping that saber tightly all along.

He had spent ten taels of silver on this long saber in the county town. Its blade was heavy and its edge sharp.

As long as it landed a blow, no matter where it struck a wolf, it would be enough to make it suffer.

He maintained an even pace, but the corner of his eye was like a hook, sweeping behind him from time to time.

Sure enough, the three wolves followed, hanging twenty or so paces behind him at neither too great nor too close a distance.

They neither gave up nor closed in.

Jiang Fu'an relaxed slightly.

That was a good sign.

At the edge of the Mizhang Mountains, where countless dangers lay hidden amid ice and snow, he had no desire to fight if he could avoid it.

Time passed bit by bit. The only sound across the snow was the crunch of his own footsteps.

This stretch of road felt especially long, and every step required him to stay on high alert.

At last, the view suddenly opened up.

The dense forest fell behind him, replaced by vast fields and ridges blanketed in snow.

But at that moment, the snow piled along the field ridge to his left exploded!

A gray shadow lunged for his throat without warning!

Almost at the same time, the three wolves that had been trailing behind suddenly burst into motion, kicking up snow spray as they madly accelerated toward him!

"Clang—!"

A clear metallic tremor tore through the silence of the snowfield.

Jiang Fu'an's right hand, which had been resting lightly on the hilt, moved.

The long saber left its sheath, drawing a bright arc through the air and striking the waist and belly of the wolf leaping from the left without missing.

The wolf let out a whine and crashed heavily into the snow, splashing red across white.

Cunning bastards!

Jiang Fu'an snarled inwardly. He had not been entirely unprepared for this ambush.

The wolves' coordination was far swifter than he had imagined.

The second wolf had already taken advantage of his unfinished swing, darting forward like black lightning and sinking its teeth fiercely into his saber-wielding right arm!

Its fangs pierced the outer cotton cloth and clamped hard onto the stiff leather beneath, producing a teeth-aching scrape.

Meanwhile, the other two wolves had already split left and right, circling around the obstructive basket on his back. They were about to leap at him from the front!

His back was shielded by the basket and could not be bitten through for the moment, so they immediately changed targets.

A wolf hung from his right arm, restricting his saber.

And enemies were about to strike from the front!

Jiang Fu'an's pupils narrowed slightly. The situation had become perilous in an instant.

Yet there was still no panic on his face.

His left hand flashed to his waist and flicked out like a ghost!

"Shing!"

A spark of cold light shot forth. It was a close-fitting dagger, plunging precisely into the side of the wolf's neck where it hung from his right arm!

The wolf's body suddenly stiffened, and its bite immediately slackened.

Jiang Fu'an seized the chance to jerk his arm hard, flinging off the limp wolf corpse.

Lowering his gaze, he saw several deep dents in the leather around his arm. It throbbed faintly, but fortunately, there was no blood.

At that moment, the two wolves in front had already pounced!

A fetid gust hit his face, their fangs white and grim.

Jiang Fu'an had no time to retrieve the dagger. His right hand swept the long saber upward with all his strength!

The blade flashed like a bolt of white silk, whistling through the air as it hacked fiercely into the chest and belly of the first wolf to charge in.

"Awooo—!"

A shrill cry rang out briefly, then stopped abruptly.

The wolf tumbled away, dragging a long trail of blood across the snow before lying still.

The final wolf witnessed two companions die one after another in the span of a few breaths.

Its charge came to a sudden halt. A muffled whine escaped its throat, and it twisted around without hesitation, tail tucked between its legs as it fled wildly toward the forest it had come from, vanishing into the snowy curtain in the blink of an eye.

Only after that last gray shadow had completely fled did Jiang Fu'an drive his long saber into the snow.

He too seemed to have had the bones pulled from his body, collapsing butt-first into the thick snow as he gulped down breaths of air.

Those few exchanges had seemed as swift as a hare leaping and a falcon diving, but every instant had demanded an all-out burst of strength, draining both his mind and body.

Together with the nearly half-hour of tense travel and confrontation beforehand, he felt weakness seeping through every limb and bone.

But he did not dare rest for long.

After catching his breath a few times, he pulled out the dagger and walked toward the three wolves on the ground.

Most likely, they were not fully dead yet. He needed to finish them quickly.

Besides, the corpses could not be wasted. He had to bring them back.

Once their blood was drained, they would be much lighter to carry.

His blade rose and fell, ending them one by one.

Warm wolf blood seeped into the snow, spreading into patches of dark red.

As he worked, Jiang Fu'an inwardly sighed in relief:

Good thing there were only four. If I'd run into a pack of ten or so wolves, today might have been dangerous.

It seemed that strength alone was still not enough.

Jiang Fu'an decided that once he returned, he would thoroughly study the techniques recorded on that beast hide.

With his aptitude of a Five-Element Spiritual Root, and no chance of gaining access to a Spiritual Vein, his road of immortal cultivation was destined to be long.

Before then, learning solid self-defense skills was more practical than anything else.

After draining the blood from the three wolves, he packed together several clean snowballs and roughly wiped away the blood staining their fur. Only then did he stuff them one by one into the large basket on his back.

Rising to his feet and securing the basket again, he quickened his pace toward Xu Family Village.

There were no further incidents on the road.

As he neared the threshing ground behind his house, a low shout suddenly came from the direction of the house Foundation being built nearby:

"Who is it?!"

Jiang Fu'an turned to look.

A heavily bundled figure holding a wooden stick poked his head out from behind the low wall of the construction site. From that outline, he appeared to be Xu the Elder.

Jiang Fu'an was somewhat surprised.

In this freezing weather, with dawn nearly here, Xu the Elder was still keeping watch and patrolling?

Wasn't he afraid of freezing himself sick?

Since he had been spotted, Jiang Fu'an could only lower his voice and answer:

"It's me! Jiang Fu'an!"

The figure over there clearly froze for a moment upon hearing this, then hurried over at a jog.

Sure enough, it was Xu the Elder. A layer of white frost had formed even on his stubble.

By the faint light, he examined Jiang Fu'an and asked in surprise:

"Boss? Where have you come back from?"

Jiang Fu'an gestured at the basket on his back with his chin:

"I hunted a few wolves. Remember to bring your second brother over for lunch at noon.

"I'll have your sister-in-law make a pot of wolf meat to drive off the cold."

Hearing this, Xu the Elder craned his neck to look into the basket again.

Dark shapes were piled inside, making their full forms impossible to see, but they were indeed animal carcasses, and the heavy scent of blood could not be faked.

Only then did he completely believe it. A look of admiration and lingering fear immediately appeared on his face.

But before he could finish voicing the doubts in his heart, Jiang Fu'an had already waved a hand and headed straight for his own small courtyard.

Xu the Elder opened his mouth, then swallowed the rest of his words.

He tightened his collar and turned back toward the construction site.