Chapter 9: Wolf

"Awoo——Awoo——"

The wind roared in her ears, sounding like the howling of wolves. Yu Zhen shuddered and said through gritted teeth, "Little lady, could it be... could it be wolves?"

"No, the wind and snow are too heavy; you misheard."

Xu Weishu spoke softly, "Don't talk." Every time she opened her mouth, the cold wind poured into her stomach, making her throat feel as if it were being sliced by a knife. She couldn't be bothered to speak and simply kept her head down as they hurried along.

After walking for nearly half an hour, a campsite actually appeared ahead. People were moving about, and the faint glow of firelight could be seen, completely blocking the road. Xu Weishu took a distant look and breathed a slight sigh of relief; it seemed to be a merchant caravan.

The center was filled with horse carriages carrying crates, and everyone was gathered in a circle around a vigorous bonfire.

In the Great Yin Dynasty, despite the chaotic state of the world, encountering bandits while traveling was quite common, but merchant caravans were very professional.

Merchants valued their reputation above all else; a single signboard could be worth a hundred thousand gold pieces. As caravans traveled the four directions, if they encountered people in distress halfway through, they would lend a hand; this was a customary rule.

Xu Weishu remained cautious. As soon as they approached, the caravan became alert. Even though they were girls and quite young, when traveling the martial world, one had to be wary of women. A man in his forties, dressed as an accountant, stepped forward and asked, "Where are you ladies heading?"

Xu Weishu smiled and said, "We are going to the capital to visit relatives, but we lost our way in the wind and snow halfway through. Our carriage is broken, and the driver has disappeared. Could you do us a favor and let us sisters have a cup of hot water?"

Her heart was also racing with anxiety, fearing they might encounter bad people.

Someone from the bonfire came over to greet them.

They politely let the two women in, and not only did they provide hot water, but they also gave each of them a bowl of flour porridge.

They had simply thrown some flatbreads into the pot to boil them.

Clearly, the caravan's cook needed a bit of improvement in culinary skills!

Xu Weishu did not stand on ceremony. She expressed her thanks, produced some auspicious water, and shared it with Yu Zhen.

Since arriving in this world, although the amount of auspicious water she could control was pitifully small, its effects were astonishingly good.

As the warm flour porridge entered their stomachs, both of their bodies instantly felt much warmer.

The so-called auspicious water was merely high-quality, pure water found in the world, not heavenly water. In the Kaihuang Dynasty, she had only used it to raise pets and plants to keep her little creatures in a "good mood" so they would grow well; she had never thought this substance could cure illnesses.

Furthermore, once people in the Kaihuang Dynasty fell ill, it was certainly not something a mere bit of auspicious water could cure. She hadn't expected that in this world, auspicious water would act like a panacea, capable of strengthening the body daily and even curing diseases to save lives.

Unfortunately, the quantity was becoming increasingly scarce. If the white light of the Jade Bi were more abundant, there would be more auspicious water; as the white light depleted, the water vanished as well.

Xu Weishu was no longer the Jiu Wei who could manipulate the world's waters into all sorts of wonders.

"Little lady, let's hurry back to the capital."

Yu Zhen was extremely worried.

Xu Weishu nodded. Going to the capital was certainly not safe. She suspected that the people who kidnapped Xiaobao and intended to capture her came from the capital, but regardless, she had to return to investigate the situation before making any further plans.

Even if the opposing party intended to act improperly, they likely wouldn't dare to be too arrogant in the capital.

While Yu Zhen was constantly trembling with fear, Xu Weishu wasn't particularly afraid; she just found it troublesome. Although she had started as an ordinary girl, her many years of experience in the Guixu had long since made her nerves incredibly thick.

As the master and servant were lost in thought, a series of wolf howls suddenly drifted in from outside—piercing and urgent!

Yu Zhen gave a violent shudder, terrified. "Wolves... it really is wolves..."

The entire camp fell into a massive uproar, like boiling water.

Not far away, packs of wolves were gathered in dense numbers. There were so many that they couldn't even be counted; there were only the bone-chilling, glowing green eyes that made one's heart numb.

Yu Zhen was trembling uncontrollably.

The guards desperately expanded the circle of fire, drawing their swords and blades. Their expressions grew tense, and they even began to feel fear.

The owner of the caravan was a young gentleman, but he had considerable experience in the martial world. Seeing the situation, his expression changed drastically. "The heavy snow has blocked the mountains for many days; these wolves are likely starving and won't leave easily. Everyone, be careful."

In fact, the wolf pack was more urgent than the gentleman imagined.

Leading the way, a wolf king, whose size was a full circle larger than the other wolves, let out a howl, and the entire pack pressed forward.

The caravan side immediately felt their hearts leap into their throats.

The guards gritted their teeth and rushed forward, all holding torches, looking ready to fight the wolf pack head-on. Xu Weishu thought for a moment, turned around, and asked one of the caravan guards for a bow.

The guard, perhaps following someone's orders, actually gave it to her, though he did cast a few extra glances her way.

Xu Weishu had no energy to explain. She took a tooth tied with a red silk cord from around her neck—it was a wolf's tooth—raised her hand, drew the bow, and notched an arrow.

Yu Zhen was startled. "Little lady!"

At her cry, everyone around turned their heads simultaneously. They watched in horror as Xu Weishu released an arrow. With a *whoosh*, it plunged into the snow right in front of the alpha wolf's eyes. Everyone's hearts instantly sank—it was over, wouldn't this enrage the wolf pack?

The gentleman's face turned ashen. He raised his hand to signal all the guards to prepare, cursing inwardly that he would never shelter such unpredictable women again.

Everyone was on edge, but unexpectedly, the wolf pack did not move. On the contrary, that wolf sniffed the arrow shaft, let out two low whimpers, and sat down.

The other wolves followed suit, all sitting down.

The group: "............"

Xu Weishu tossed the bow and arrow aside and stepped out of the circle of fire. Yu Zhen's face turned pale with fright as she screamed, "Little lady!?"

Shouting was useless. Many people couldn't bear to watch and closed their eyes. A perfectly good girl, about to become meat in a wolf's mouth—sigh, how tragic, how tragic!

Even those who had initially thought Xu Weishu was unreliable couldn't help but sigh in wonder.