Volume One, Chapter 17: The Wolf Pack Approaches the Village?

Xu Mo did not bring a hunting rifle; instead, he tucked a machete at his waist. Clutching the military saber given by Ye Hongxing’s father tightly in his hand, he quickly concealed it in his sleeve and strode out of the yellow earth house.

The sound of drums and gongs thundered deafeningly.

When Xu Mo reached the front yard, he saw Old Xu and Xu An jogging out toward the street.

Following the clamor of drums and gongs, Xu Mo soon spotted Xu Da Tou and the others.

At this moment, Xu Da Tou’s face was full of rage. He pounded the big gong while shouting, “Wolves have invaded the village! The Chu family has been attacked...”

Xu Mo intended to step forward and ask what had happened so late at night, but hearing his shout, he immediately turned and ran toward the Chu family’s place.

Minutes later, Xu Mo arrived outside the Chu household.

At that moment, people had gathered in three layers around the house.

The villagers were murmuring anxiously.

“Damn it, what kind of curse is this? All four members of the Chu family were mauled to death by wolves.”

“Damn it! I’m going home to get my gun and kill those damned beasts.”

“Brother Niu, I’ll go with you!”

All the men present, regardless of age, with bloodshot eyes, turned and headed toward their homes.

Xu Mo frowned, squeezed through the crowd, and strode into the house.

Inside, the old blind man sighed as he spoke quietly with the village chief.

The four members of the Chu family lay on the ground, bloodied and mangled beyond recognition.

The village chief glanced at Xu Mo and said, “Heizi, go to my house now and bring the key to the ancestral hall. Although the Chu family died tragically, since it happened here in the village, they can be laid to rest in the ancestral hall.”

Xu Mo ignored him, stepping forward to stare at the disfigured corpses.

“I’m talking to you!” the village chief kicked Xu Mo’s backside. “Go get the key quickly!”

Xu Mo turned to face the chief and said, “Uncle, gather all the villagers in the ancestral hall.”

“What are you planning?”

“Uncle, a few days ago, I killed the wolf king. Da Tou and the others also brought back seven snow wolves... Wolves are cunning and vengeful. They’re here to retaliate against us. I suspect the pack might still be hiding in the village.”

“Impossible!” The village chief’s face suddenly changed, instinctively denying the claim. But the more he thought about it, if the wolves really were still in the village... then it would spell disaster.

Now, all the able-bodied men in the village were riled up, armed with weapons, preparing to hunt down the wolf pack outside the village. Once the men left, the elderly, weak, and women left behind would be defenseless against a wolf attack.

Xu Mo didn’t waste more words with the chief. The situation was urgent; he needed to return immediately.

As Xu Mo rushed out, the village chief also hurried outside, shouting, “Villagers, the wolf pack may still be in the village. Don’t scatter or go home alone!”

Wolves!

Their keen sense of smell!

Their fierce desire for revenge!

In his haste, Xu Mo had left the gloves and face covering made from the wolf king’s fur back in the yellow earth house.

If the wolves caught that scent...

Thinking of this, Xu Mo ran faster.

It had been many years since the last wolf attack on the village—but not never.

Over a decade ago, Huangjia Village was once attacked by wolves. Although they killed over twenty wolves in the end, the villagers suffered heavy casualties.

Ordinary people had no chance against snow wolves.

Especially now, under the cover of nightfall, these stealthy snow wolves were like harbingers of death.

Xu Mo ran all the way back to the yellow earth house.

Seeing the madwoman poking her head out from under the quilt, he exhaled in relief, grabbed two hunting rifles, and loaded the bullets.

Handing one rifle to the madwoman, Xu Mo’s expression turned serious. He pulled her hand out from under the quilt, placed her finger on the trigger, and said gravely, “I’m going out now. If you’re in danger, press here.”

The madwoman nodded vaguely in understanding.

The yellow earth house had only a small window, so Xu Mo found some mud bricks and blocked it up. Then he fetched a wooden beam from the shed and brought it back.

Placing the beam next to the door frame, once the door was closed, the beam would fall into place to brace it shut.

Holding his rifle, Xu Mo stepped into the front yard, looking toward the house where flames flickered. Hesitating briefly, he called out, “There are wolves in the village. Be careful.”

After speaking, Xu Mo no longer hesitated and dashed outside the courtyard.

Shangye Village was small, and every household had a yard.

But because heavy snow had sealed the mountains, all the woodsheds, pigsties, and cattle pens were empty.

If the wolves were still inside the village, they must be hiding in these places.

Squinting his eyes, Xu Mo pictured a three-dimensional map of Shangye Village in his mind.

Starting from the Chu family home and slowly expanding outward.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Mo removed the wolf king’s fur face covering and sliced it into small pieces with his machete.

Snow wolves had a keen sense of smell, right?

Then he would spread the scent of the former wolf king all over the village.

He scattered the small pieces of wolf fur in various corners, carefully scanning the snow for any clues.

Meanwhile, the village was in uproar. Upon hearing that the wolves might be hiding in the village, men and boys of all ages took up guns, spears, and sticks, searching everywhere.

“Found them!”

Suddenly—

Xu Mo’s eyes lit up as he fixed his gaze on the snow wolf paw prints on the ground.

Fearing that the village’s noise would scare off the pack, Xu Mo didn’t hesitate. He stealthily followed the tracks, creeping forward.

At Ye Hongxing’s cattle pen.

The pen was large and built outside the yard.

The wolf tracks vanished just outside the cattle pen.

Gripping his rifle, Xu Mo squinted and scanned the vast cattle pen.

“Hey!”

Seeing no movement inside, Xu Mo suddenly shouted sharply.

That shout was startlingly abrupt.

At the instant the shout echoed, a black shadow leapt out from the cattle pen with astonishing speed.

Xu Mo was prepared. Leaning back with cold eyes, he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The gunshot rang out as the snow wolf collapsed heavily to the ground, bright red blood splattering.

The gunshot alerted the villagers searching for wolves in the village, who quickly arrived on the scene.

One shot hit the wolf’s neck. Xu Mo somersaulted up, then quickly ran into the cattle pen and grabbed a cattle rope hanging on a pillar.

Shangye Village was built nestled among mountains, with only two roads accessible by humans.

Though there were many paths, the heavy snow had made them impassable for now.

Holding the cattle rope, Xu Mo ran toward the back of the village.

With such a commotion, the cunning wolf pack would not stay long.

Xu Mo didn’t know which path the wolves would use to escape, so he had to take a gamble.

As he ran, he shouted loudly, “Villagers, guard the village entrances! Tonight, not a single wolf is allowed to escape!!!”

Earlier, when he encountered the wolf pack in the mountains, there were about twenty-three or twenty-four wolves. Xu Mo had killed the wolf king, and Da Tou’s group had slain seven more.

Now, at most, fifteen or sixteen wolves remained.

Fifteen or sixteen wolves were no match for the villagers.

As long as they forced the wolves out, the crisis would be resolved.