Chapter 32: Wolves

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Obviously, this topic made Wei Chiyu think of something very unhappy, but he endured it.

Zhou Xiaoli tactfully changed the subject and did not continue asking.

The two of them chatted as they walked towards the village.

Early the next morning, Foreman Cao came to find them and brought them to the brick kiln factory.

As they were looking to buy a huge amount, the factory would take some time to make it. Coincidentally, they would not be able to start building the houses until a month later, so they agreed to come back in a month to take the goods.

After paying the deposit and signing the contract, they returned home.

Next, they had to work hard to earn money!

Her compass was not ready yet and so, she could not use it to fool, erm… earn the money of those rich people.

Zhou Xiaoli could still earn some money by catching fish using the fish basket, but it would not be sufficient to help them get rich.

Thus, Zhou Xiaoli thought of hunting.

On the 26th of July based on the lunar calendar, Wei Chiyu suddenly pulled Zhou Xiaoli aside after lunch.

“There’s a way to earn money here. Do you want to come?” Wei Chiyu went straight to the point without beating around the bush.

“What?” Zhou Xiaoli was curious.

“Have you heard that the wolves on the mountain often came down the mountain recently?” Wei Chiyu asked.

“Oh, I’ve heard about that. Hasn’t it been quite some time already? Why? Are you going to the mountains to hunt wolves?” Zhou Xiaoli was a little suspicious.

Wolves were social animals. When there’s one, it’s very likely that there would be a group nearby.

“I guess so.” Wei Chiyu told him about the bounty notice posted by the mayor.

Recently, the wolves on the mountain had caused trouble by coming down the mountain and feeding on the villagers’ livestock.

The surrounding villages were impacted severely and it made the villagers live both in fear and anger of the wolves. Many villagers were furious and had formed teams to catch wolves.

However, not only did they not manage to catch the wolves, they got injured as well. By doing so, they also angered the wolves and they retaliated.

Not only did they hunt the villagers’ livestock, they also wrecked the crops grown. The villagers became terrified.

There was really no other way. After the mayor reported the matter to the county magistrate, he posted a bounty. Whoever could solve the wolf problem would be rewarded with 100 taels of silver.

Zhou Xiaoli finally understood. “So, you want to go for the bounty?”

Wei Chiyu shook his head. “Not me. It’s us.”

Zhou Xiaoli raised her eyebrows. “The two of us? I’m a weak woman. Are you sure you want to work with me?”

The corner of Wei Chiyu’s mouth twitched when he heard the words ‘weak woman’ from her.

Nonetheless, he said with certainty, “I’m sure. I’ve information on the wolves. I set a trap beside a cliff which was not far from their nest, but I need someone reliable to cooperate with me to set the trap in action.”

“You’re agile. Hence, you just need to climb up high and cooperate with me.”

In the end, he added, “When the time comes, we’ll split the bounty and the wild wolves equally. How about that?”

Fifty taels of silver and a few wild wolves were still very tempting.

Moreover, Zhou Xiaoli knew what Wei Chiyu could do, so the rate of him succeeding would be very high.

Thus, the two of them hit it off and reached an agreement.

—-

In no time, the news that someone from Boyu Village had wanted to go for the bounty spread around like a gust of wind.

People in the village continuously discussed this among themselves.

“Oh my, is it true? Did someone from our village say that they want to go for the bounty for hunting wolves?”

“How could it be fake? That day, my niece-in-law went to the mayor’s house to do something. She saw with her own eyes that the demon from the Lu family and that Zhou fool’s daughter came out of the mayor’s house together.”

“Ah! Then they’re really bold to do so. Aren’t they afraid of dying?”

“Hey, it’s for the bounty of 100 taels of silver. I heard that a while ago, quite a number of people teamed up to catch the wild wolves in the mountains.”

“I know that. I heard that not only did they not manage to catch any, they even angered the wolves such that they all received injuries of different extent. Wolves were known to be the most vengeful.”

“Most importantly, that little demon from the Lu family actually dared to bring that jinx along. With these two together, they can forget about coming out of the mountain.”

“That’s right.”

…

Zhou Xiaoli and Wei Chiyu heard a lot of gossip as they went up the mountain with their weapons.

“Hey, did you hear what they said? I’m a jinx. How dare you bring me into the mountains?” Zhou Xiaoli joked.

Wei Chiyu frowned. “Bullshit.”

“Ah?” Zhou Xiaoli was stunned.

Wei Chiyu: “Just take that they’re farting. You don’t have to take it to heart.”

Zhou Xiaoli came back to her senses. Was Wei Chiyu comforting her? She couldn’t help but laugh at that.

Wei Chiyu was puzzled. “What are you laughing at?”

Zhou Xiaoli: “I often heard them say that you are a man-eating demon.”

Wei Chiyu could not help but turn to look at Zhou Xiaoli. “Do you think I am?”

Zhou Xiaoli shrugged. “Didn’t you say that they were farting? Actually, I think so too, haha.”

Wei Chiyu couldn’t help but smile.

At this moment, the birds in the forest suddenly flew up as if they were frightened. Then, there was a fishy smell in the air.

The ground shook slightly as if something was rushing over.

“Quickly climb up the tree,” Wei Chiyu called out to Zhou Xiaoli. He grabbed a branch and pulled Zhou Xiaoli up.

Just as the two of them climbed up the tree, they saw a pack of wolves running over.

However, they had no intention of stopping. Instead, they turned left right at their tree and ran into the dense forest.

“Eh? What’s wrong with these wolves?” Zhou Xiaoli was confused.

Wei Chiyu’s expression turned serious. “The wolves seem to be organized when they run in groups.”

Zhou Xiaoli hugged the tree with both hands and looked in the direction where the wolves ran to. “Why don’t we follow them and take a look?”

“Yeah.”

The two of them climbed down from the tree and quietly approached the direction which the wolf pack had headed for.

At first, it was very calm.

However, when they finally passed through a purple bamboo forest, they heard howls. Just by listening to the howls, they knew that there were many of them.

The two of them immediately lightened their footsteps and approached slowly. Finally, they stopped at the start of the slope.

They could see the wolves clearly from here, and it was relatively safe from afar.

The two of them climbed up a tree and found a spot with a good view to observe.

There were dozens of wolves there, but they did not seem to belong to the same camp and instead, they were in a confrontation stance.

The wolf pack led by the gray wolf was larger, while the wolf pack led by the white wolf was smaller in numbers.

“Wolves are social creatures. They have a very strong hierarchy and are territorial. Usually, they are led by a wolf king.”

“However, civil wars like what we are seeing today often break out as multiple wolves want to fight for the position of wolf king,” Wei Chiyu said softly.

Zhou Xiaoli looked on quietly. “The white wolf seems to be injured. His side seems to be on the losing side.”

Wei Chiyu nodded. “The white should be the original wolf king, the leader of the pack. He is probably injured and is at his weakest right now. The gray wolf took advantage of the situation.”

At this moment, the white wolf king seemed to have sensed something and suddenly turned its head to look over.

The man and the wolf’s eyes met.

Zhou Xiaoli was stunned.

What she saw in its eyes was not ferocity, but a kind of sadness and pleading?

How could a wolf show such emotions? Zhou Xiaoli was suspicious.

“I want to help it.” The words came out almost subconsciously.

After saying this, even Zhou Xiaoli was stunned by her own words.

Wei Chiyu also looked at Zhou Xiaoli in surprise.

Zhou Xiaoli pointed at the white wolf and said, “It seemed to be asking me for help.”