However, she was more interested in the surrounding pack of wild wolves. Perhaps it was a side effect of hacking away at zombies in the apocalypse, but seeing these things now made her want to swing a few blades at them.
Wait, it seemed one of the wolves belonged to this man.
Xu Ying looked following the man's gaze and saw another wild wolf crouching on his other side.
That wolf looked quite old, and it was injured; blood was dripping steadily, staining its fur.
Despite this, the wolf held its body upright, baring its teeth and snarling at the opposing wolf pack.
The two groups of wolves, standing on opposing sides, were in a state of high tension.
The man also gripped the half-section of a machete in his hand, his sturdy arms instantly bulging with muscle.
The wolf pack sensed the man's intent to attack; the alpha wolf gave a direct command, and the rest of the pack charged forward instantly.
The aged wolf beside the man also lunged out immediately.
Chaos erupted all around as the man swung his machete rapidly toward the wolves.
"Lao Hui."
In the end, it was too old; it couldn't compare to this young and vigorous pack. After only a few exchanges, the man's wolf lay exhausted on the ground, with several new wounds upon its body.
The man cried out in distress and rushed directly to the old wolf's side. Seizing the opportunity, the wolf pack lunged toward the man with great speed.
One wolf even bit down on the man's thigh. He acted as if he felt no pain; his eyes flashed with an uncontrollable rage, and his teeth ground together with a clicking sound, like an infuriated lion.
He swung the machete with fierce precision toward the wild wolves.
Watching the man's face grow increasingly pale, Xu Ying's expression turned cold as she thought of the first time she met her Master—how he had been surrounded and attacked by a crowd over a single cabbage.
How was his situation any different from the man before her? Those people had become almost indistinguishable from wolves in their pursuit of food. She pulled two brand-new machetes out of her Space.
She ran quickly toward the man, reaching out and swinging a machete directly at the wolf biting him.
With a *thud*, the wolf's head fell off.
The man's cold expression cracked!
This woman was quite a tiger!
"Here." Xu Ying tossed the other machete directly to the man.
One shouldn't underestimate these machetes; they were weapons forged by ability users in the apocalypse, and they were incredibly sharp.
During the apocalypse, it was with these very machetes that she had carved out a path through first and second-tier zombies!
The man's dark eyes flickered as he glanced at her. He took the machete and lunged toward the wolves with great speed. With one downward stroke, a wolf's head was instantly split in two.
Blood sprayed across the man's face with a *whoosh*. His gaze grew even more sinister as he swung his large hand.
Then, several flashes of phosphorescence from the machete streaked past, and another wolf fell to the ground.
Feeling the power of this blade, the man was filled with shock.
With this new machete, it was as if the man's meridians had been cleared.
In the blink of an eye, three wolf carcasses lay on the ground. Seeing that things were going poorly, the alpha wolf howled a few times toward the sky, then leaped away. The rest of the pack followed suit, and in an instant, several wolves vanished without a trace.
Dragging his injured leg, the man rushed toward Lao Hui on the ground. He dropped his machete and pulled Lao Hui into his arms, his eyes filled with nothing but despair: "Lao Hui."
"Hey, big brother? Are you okay?" Xu Ying ran to the man's side and asked worriedly.
The man's figure paused for a moment. Without a word, ignoring his own injuries, he tore a piece of cloth from his clothing and quickly wrapped it around Lao Hui's wound.
But the blood soon soaked through the cloth. Seeing this, the man became flustered and clumsy, like a child; his fingers were stiff and trembling.
The man lifted his head. His blood-stained face was devoid of life, and his lips moved slightly: "Help me look at it, thank you."
Xu Ying was startled by his appearance and immediately said, "I'll watch it here, you go!"
The man dragged his injured leg and quickly ran toward a distant hillside.
After a short while, he returned with some medicinal herbs in his hand.
He crushed the herbs haphazardly in his hand and pressed them onto Lao Hui.
Xu Ying watched, dumbfounded. This man was far too crude.
"Big brother, how about I do it?"
Huo Chen hesitated for a moment before nodding and handing the herbs to Xu Ying.
Xu Ying took the herbs, found a stone slab and a rock, and crushed the herbs. While the man wasn't looking, she secretly took a packet of medicinal powder from her Space.
Mixing the powder with the herbs, she walked toward the man.
Looking at the injured old wolf, she knelt down. The old wolf had its eyes weakly closed, its body rising and falling with shallow breaths.
Sensing someone approaching, its body arched slightly, full of defensive instinct.
The man gently stroked its head: "Lao Hui, it's okay."
Hearing its master's voice, Lao Hui dropped its guard and slumped weakly onto the ground.
Xu Ying carefully applied the herbs to the old wolf's wound and then used the cloth the man had torn earlier to carefully tie it into a bow.
Looking at the neatly tied bow, Xu Ying's lips curled into a satisfied smile.
"Thank you." The man's body tensed. Looking at the conspicuous bow on Lao Hui, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Xu Ying said nothing. She looked at the man and reached out to pull at his pants; in the apocalypse, such things happened frequently, and Xu Ying didn't think there was anything improper about it.
Instead, the man abruptly pushed her back.
"You, you, you... what are you doing!" The man's bronze skin was instantly stained with a suspicious shade of red.
Huo Chen looked at Xu Ying with a guarded expression. This woman actually wanted to take off his pants; this was too... too scandalous.
This girl was not only a tiger, but also... also shameless.
"Applying medicine! Your thigh was bitten; how can I do it without taking off your pants?" Xu Ying asked, puzzled.
She looked up and saw the redness on the man's earlobes. She raised an eyebrow. Was he shy?
"Then apply it yourself. I won't look."
After saying this, Xu Ying tossed the medicine to the man and turned her back.
Huo Chen took the medicine, glanced at Xu Ying to ensure the girl wouldn't peek, and then nervously hurried behind a tree. Only then did he take off his pants to apply the herbs to the wound.
Once the medicine was applied, he hurriedly pulled his pants back up, failing to notice that the moment the herbs touched the wound, the bleeding stopped instantly.
"Thank you. How do you plan to deal with this wolf?" Huo Chen recovered quickly. The flush faded from his face, and he asked her expressionlessly.
"Big brother, which village are you from? What's your name?" Xu Ying wanted to take these wild animals out to sell.
But if this guy reported her, she would be finished. To be safe, Xu Ying felt she needed to ask clearly.
Huo Chen's expression turned somewhat strange: "I am from the same village as you."
Xu Ying was somewhat surprised. From the same village?
Although this man had a fierce appearance, he wasn't old; he should be around her age. If he was from her village, why had she never seen him?
"You know me?"
Huo Chen shook his head, then nodded: "Mm."
"You know me? Then who are you?" Xu Ying asked curiously.
Huo Chen's dark eyes glanced at Xu Ying: "I am Grandma Huo's grandson."
Upon hearing this, Xu Ying instantly knew who he was. In her past life, she had heard of Grandma Huo at the end of the village, who had picked up a grandson called "Wolf Cub."
It was said that Grandma Huo had found him while gathering pig grass on the mountain. When she found him, there was also a wolf cub by his side. Outsiders said he was a child born of a female wolf.
(End of Chapter)