Volume 2: Winter’s End
The rabbit’s pounce failed. It bared its teeth, drooling, and simultaneously kicked forcefully with its hind legs. In the splattering white snow, it once again lunged at Shu Xun with extreme speed. Shu Xun raised an eyebrow slightly, pondering whether the rabbit had gone mad from hunger or something else. At the same time, the sharp claws gleamed with a cold light sharpened, not retreating but advancing, directly meeting the oncoming attack.
As it turned out, even a rabbit that bites couldn’t beat a juvenile spirit beast. However, at the same time, Shu Xun also expended some of his limited spiritual power. Looking at the dead rabbit beside him, a hint of seriousness appeared on Shu Xun’s chubby little face. The eyes of the rabbit were entirely red, making it impossible to discern the position of its pupils, giving it an eerie appearance. Shu Xun had observed the two rabbits that Ye Qian had hunted before, and although they also had red eyes, the pupils’ location was clearly visible.
Looking up at the sky, the ethereal blue veil had already tinted a large expanse of the sky, and it wasn’t far from here. Shu Xun went forward, grabbed the long ears of the rabbit, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and dragged the rabbit towards Micro Lake.
In the snowy white forest, the scene of a small dumpling, not even as tall as rabbit ears, dragging a large rabbit appeared oddly amusing. Just as Micro Lake was in sight, Shu Xun suddenly felt a strong tremor in the ground. The vibration wasn’t very intense, and Shu Xun wouldn’t have noticed it if his size wasn’t so small.
At the same time, Shu Xun released the rabbit’s ears, and rolled on the ground, quickly evading. The vibration behind him continued, not disappearing. Simultaneously, a low panting sound echoed in his ears. Shu Xun almost exploded with fur, without looking back, he focused on a Baiyan tree in front of him, sharpened his little claws, exerted force beneath his feet, leaped onto the Baiyan tree, and then, with agile movements, used the branches to climb several meters high, stopping at a sturdy fork in the tree.
When he looked down again, Shu Xun puffed up his cheeks. The rabbit he had laboriously dragged back was now being stepped on by a white wolf at its feet. If he had known, he would have just put the rabbit in his backpack. Blaming his slight cleanliness obsession, Shu Xun didn’t want to put a bloody rabbit in his backpack, preferring to drag it instead. The white wolf, even after claiming a rabbit, still gazed upward at Shu Xun with a menacing look.
Shu Xun decided to sit on the tree branch, swinging his two short legs outside, adopting a leisurely posture. The white wolf, evidently possessing a certain level of intelligence, growled with bared teeth in response to the provocation. However, it seemed that climbing the tree was too challenging for it. After circling the tree twice, the white wolf, holding the rabbit in its mouth, turned and left.
Watching the white wolf’s figure disappear behind the slope, Shu Xun finally jumped down from the tree, puffing up his cheeks. Although he lost a rabbit, at least he escaped danger. After all, with Shu Xun’s current abilities, killing a hungry wolf was still quite challenging. Moreover, based on Shu Xun’s understanding, the color of the white wolf’s fur destined it to face difficulties in survival. The white wolves that managed to survive were the top predators in the jungle.
Thinking he had escaped danger, Shu Xun walked toward the micro-lake with small steps. After a moment, Shu Xun had already left the range of the Baiyan tree forest. Just as Shu Xun left the Baiyan tree forest, a fierce gust of wind suddenly rushed in.
Without time to think, Shu Xun hurriedly dodged to the side. However, the cunning predator was a formidable opponent. Shu Xun narrowly evaded the first attack, but as soon as he landed, the second strike swiftly followed, blocking Shu Xun’s escape route.
With no way to escape, Shu Xun immediately sharpened his claws, gritted his teeth, turned around, and prepared to face the white wolf. The giant mouth of the white wolf was right in front of him, and Shu Xun could almost feel the heat from the wolf’s breath. Just as the white wolf was about to pounce, a gray giant shadow came at high speed. With a single strike, the white wolf was sent flying, crashing to the ground at a considerable distance, creating a flurry of white snow.
The white wolf howled, quickly rolled over, stood up, and faced the newcomer, showing its fangs. A pair of fierce, murderous eyes stared relentlessly.
Shu Xun, also looking bewildered, gazed up at the larger wolf in front of him. It was a gray wolf, not as brightly colored as the white wolf, but much larger and more robust. The gray wolf stood steadily in front of Shu Xun, slightly crouched, ready to leap at any moment, but it didn’t bare its fangs. Instead, it locked its emerald-green eyes tightly on the nearby white wolf.
The white wolf clearly possessed intelligence. The two wolves with different fur colors stared at each other, seemingly evaluating one another.
Shu Xun quietly shifted his small body, but it didn’t attract the attention of the two wolves. Shu Xun wasn’t sure if they didn’t notice him or if they were too preoccupied to care. Shu Xun initially intended to move a certain distance away and then run, but just as he stealthily took two steps, the gray wolf seemed to have eyes on the back of its head and moved one step with him.
The sudden movement of the gray wolf froze the actions of both Shu Xun and the white wolf. Shu Xun genuinely stood still, not daring to make any more movements, while the white wolf once again lowered its body and roared softly.
In Shu Xun’s perception, wolves were highly intelligent creatures with tactical knowledge. According to Shu Xun’s speculation, in a situation where there was a wild rabbit and a significant difference in size between opponents, the white wolf was likely to choose to leave, and the gray wolf would not relentlessly pursue to the death, especially if it meant putting the white wolf in a perilous situation. This was also the reason Shu Xun was anxious to leave because, given his size, he couldn’t even compete with the white wolf, let alone this enormous gray wolf.
However, things turned out completely contrary to Shu Xun’s expectations. The visibly inferior white wolf unexpectedly launched the first attack, swiftly pouncing with an unwavering intent to fight and a ferocious glare.
Amidst the flurry of white snow, the two fierce beasts collided. Once the clash began with its sharpness and the intensity of combat, it meant an endless battle until one side perished, as wolves wouldn’t cease their fight unless death intervened.
The battle concluded within a short few minutes, the outcome entirely within Shu Xun’s expectations due to the vast difference in their strengths. At least during their struggle, the gray wolf still had the energy to divert its attention briefly to the little creature preparing to escape, even ending the fight quickly as Shu Xun was about to flee. It then leaped up, landing in front of Shu Xun, and gave him a lick.
The small Shu Xun was momentarily thrown off balance by the lick, sitting down on the snowy ground. Before he could react to the surprising turn of events, the gray wolf before his eyes suddenly transformed into a humanoid figure, revealing himself to be Shu Xun’s teammate, Ye Qian, still without any clothes on.
Then, under Shu Xun’s gaze, in the winter world blanketed by falling snow, Ye Qian, with a calm expression, walked towards the direction of the micro-lake. He picked up his clothes one by one and put them on.
In the live chat:
“Ah! Why did they censor it? I want to see Little Ye!”
“Little dumpling’s expression is shining, turned into a stone!”
“Ye Qian is mighty, the giant wolf is the coolest! Heroically saving Little Dumpling!”
“By the way, isn’t that white wolf a bit strange? Is Little Dumpling worth such a desperate fight? With the intelligence of a wolf, can’t it discern this choice? Or is it just a white wolf?”
“Just now when Ye Qian licked, it was definitely uncontrollable. To prevent scaring Little Dumpling, Ye Shen didn’t even look back at his clothes, directly transforming into a human form. Still, he ended up scaring Little Dumpling. Haha! Ye Qian’s thought process is impressive!”
“Little Dumpling seems stunned, is it from the lick or the scare? His dumbfounded look is so cute!”
The live chat was lively. The audience was both tense and entertained by the thrilling scene and the subsequent developments.
It wasn’t until Ye Qian was fully dressed that Shu Xun snapped out of his rigid state and blurted out, looking at the towering figure before him, “Why did you lick me?”
Ye Qian, clearly processing the meaning of the statement, deadpanned in response, “Taste.”
Shu Xun tugged at his hair, paws crossed, looking serious. “Oh, my taste is not good at all.”
This time, Ye Qian paused for a longer time before answering, “This way, your scent carries mine. I can track your position and deter other creatures.”
Rarely did Ye Qian speak so much at once. Shu Xun’s little head finally caught up, realizing that Ye Qian, as a fully awakened giant wolf bloodline carrier, belonged to the top-tier in any world. So, Ye Qian had infused his own scent onto Shu Xun to mark his territory.
“Hahaha, Little Dumpling’s thought process is also quite unique. It seems like he misunderstood that Ye Qian wanted to eat him.”
“‘Although I, Ye Qian, am strong, I wouldn’t eat someone of the same kind’. Little Dumpling seems to have some misunderstanding, always worrying about being eaten.”
“Has no one noticed that God Ye spoke so much at once?”
The live chat was buzzing with excitement, and Shu Xun quietly patted his small chest, then suddenly jumped up, looking proud. “I hunted down a big wild rabbit. We can have meat tonight!”
After saying that, Shu Xun immediately headed towards the Baiyan tree forest with enthusiasm, and then found the gentle slope where the white wolf disappeared. Shu Xun had left the Baiyan tree forest quickly, and since the white wolf was following behind, it naturally didn’t have time to eat the food in its mouth. As a result, after a few turns, the big wild rabbit was still going to end up in Shu Xun’s hands. Thinking this way, Shu Xun quickly followed the white wolf’s footprints to the destination. However, there was nothing there. Not to mention the rabbit, not even a single hair of it could be found. Moreover, there were no traces of anything being placed on the snow, only a row of wolf footprints.
Shu Xun was suddenly puzzled. Wolves were said to be cunning, but they couldn’t walk on snow without leaving a trace. So, was the wild rabbit swallowed whole when it was caught by the white wolf? This seemed unlikely. What exactly happened? Did the wild rabbit disappear into thin air? Thinking of the white wolf’s actions just now, facing death with such determination for a bit of food, was it a desperate decision to fight to the death rather than starve?
Footsteps sounded behind him, and obviously, Ye Qian had also followed over. He stood next to Shu Xun and spoke, “Rabbit?”
Shu Xun awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. “I did catch a rabbit this big!” As he spoke, he extended his small arms and gestured.
Ye Qian chuckled, “Heh.”
Shu Xun sighed again, feeling mocked once more. “There’s a large area with bloodstains where I killed the rabbit!”
Ye Qian, “Oh.”
Shu Xun: “We can go and take a look!” Saying this, Shu Xun’s eyes lit up. Indeed, if the rabbit had truly disappeared into thin air, what about the bloodstains? Had they also vanished? This might be the only way to verify the whereabouts of the wild rabbit.
Ye Qian looked up at the sky, and Shu Xun followed his gaze. Due to the unexpected series of events just now, quite some time has passed. The blue veil on the horizon was now close as if it would blend into the surroundings in the next moment. Shu Xun’s eyes suddenly contracted, and his small brows furrowed tightly. He even subconsciously wanted to rub his eyes. At the same time, Ye Qian’s gaze was sharp, as if he had seen something difficult for others to comprehend.
