met free Chapter 17 Wolves
Chapter 17 Wolves
The master and his apprentice set off for the snow-capped mountains as the sun rose.
At the foot of the mountain, a gentle breeze caressed their clothes. Xu Xiaoxiao took a deep breath of the fresh air, her heart filled with anticipation and nervousness for the upcoming challenge.
At first, the mountain path was relatively flat, and they walked briskly. Xu Xiaoxiao looked around curiously and asked her master about the medicinal value of the roadside flowers and plants from time to time.
Li Changchun patiently answered the questions while keeping an eye on his surroundings, not missing any signs of danger.
As the altitude gradually increases, the temperature drops sharply, and a biting wind howls past, cutting like a knife against the face.
Xu Xiaoxiao wrapped her cotton coat tightly around herself, and her steps became heavy, but her eyes remained firm.
They rested briefly in a sheltered mountain hollow, drank some hot water, ate some dry food, and continued their journey after regaining some strength.
The closer you get to the depths of the snow-capped mountains, the more rugged and difficult the road becomes, with deep snow, requiring immense effort for every step.
Xu Xiaoxiao accidentally stepped on a rock hidden under the snow, slipped, and fell forward.
At that critical moment, Li Changchun reacted quickly and reached out to pull her back, averting a dangerous situation.
"Thank you, Master," Xu Xiaoxiao said, still feeling a bit shaken.
"Be careful, the road conditions here are complicated, don't get distracted," Li Changchun solemnly warned.
After several hours of arduous trekking, they finally arrived at the legendary area where goblin herbs might grow.
Looking around, all he could see was a silvery-white world. Li Changchun, relying on the clues he had found last time, began to carefully search for traces of the goblins. Xu Xiaoxiao followed closely behind, not daring to blink, for fear of missing any crucial clues.
“Last time, I saw the goblins around here. Just as I was about to check, a dozen snow wolves suddenly appeared, so we don’t need to be careless,” Li Changchun said, keeping an eye out for dangers while searching for the goblins.
Upon hearing her master's words, Xu Xiaoxiao's heart tightened, and she subconsciously gripped the sword in her hand, her eyes scanning her surroundings warily.
At this moment, apart from the howling wind, the surroundings were deathly silent, but they all knew that danger could strike at any moment.
Li Changchun bent over, carefully examining the tiny marks in the snow, stopping to observe them every few steps.
Xu Xiaoxiao followed closely behind, not daring to breathe.
Suddenly, a slight rustling sound came from the side. Li Changchun abruptly raised his head and whispered, "Be careful, something might be wrong!"
In an instant, a dozen pairs of eerie green eyes appeared behind a snowdrift not far away; it was a pack of snow wolves.
The snow wolves slowly emerged, revealing their sharp fangs and letting out low growls, as if warning the master and apprentice not to invade their territory.
Xu Xiaoxiao's heart suddenly raced, but she remembered her master's instructions and forced herself to remain calm.
Li Changchun shielded Xu Xiaoxiao behind him, slowly drawing his sword. The crisp sound of the blade rubbing against the scabbard was exceptionally clear in the silent snow-covered mountains.
His gaze was steady as he kept his eyes fixed on the wolf pack, trying to find their weak point.
The wolf pack slowly closed in, and the encirclement gradually tightened.
Xu Xiaoxiao's palms were sweaty; she knew she had to stay calm.
She took a deep breath and, according to what she had learned, mobilized her internal energy, preparing to deal with this crisis together with her master.
In this icy and snowy landscape, the master and apprentice confront a pack of wolves, and a life-or-death struggle is about to unfold, while their quest for goblin medicinal herbs is plunged into an unprecedented crisis.
The wolf pack seemed to have lost patience and launched the first attack. A large snow wolf pounced on Li Changchun like an arrow.
Li Changchun dodged to the side, his sword flashing out a cold light as it grazed the snow wolf's fur, forcing it to fall awkwardly to the side.
But this was just the beginning. Seeing this, the other snow wolves attacked from different directions.
Li Changchun unleashed his fierce swordsmanship, the sword shadows flashing before him like a silver barrier, temporarily blocking the wolf pack's attack.
Not to be outdone, Xu Xiaoxiao, standing behind her master, seized the opportunity and took out several homemade smoke bombs from her bag, throwing them towards the outer perimeter of the wolf pack.
The smoke grenade exploded instantly, filling the air with thick smoke and causing some chaos in the wolf pack's movements.
"Xiaoxiao, take this opportunity to retreat towards Stonehenge over there!" Li Changchun pointed out the direction to Xu Xiaoxiao while fighting off the wolves.
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoxiao took the lead and ran towards Stonehenge. She trudged through the snow, nearly falling several times.
Li Changchun fought and retreated, using his exquisite swordsmanship to prevent the wolf pack from gaining any advantage.
With great difficulty, the master and apprentice retreated to Stonehenge. The stones of Stonehenge are tall and densely packed, forming a natural barrier.
The wolf pack loitered outside the formation, howling angrily, but found it difficult to break through.
Li Changchun and Xu Xiaoxiao leaned against the boulder, panting heavily. They knew that this was only temporary safety, and they had to find a way to get rid of the wolf pack as soon as possible and continue searching for goblin medicinal herbs.
Just as the master and apprentice were catching their breath at Stonehenge, the wolf pack began to make new moves.
Several stronger snow wolves dispersed and lined up in a fan shape outside the megalithic formation. Their eyes were fixed on the master and disciple inside the formation, and then they began to frantically dig at the snow in front of the formation with their claws.
As the snow was cleared away, some loose stones at the base of the stone structure gradually loosened, threatening the once stable megalithic structure with the risk of collapse.
Li Changchun sensed something was wrong and frowned. He knew that once Stonehenge collapsed, they would once again be exposed to the sharp teeth and claws of the wolves.
At that moment, the sky suddenly became overcast, a howling wind swept in, and large swaths of dark clouds covered the snow-capped mountains.
Immediately afterwards, heavy snow began to fall, drastically reducing visibility. This made the situation even more difficult for the master and apprentice. Because the temperature was low at the high mountain peak, it occasionally snowed. Under the raging wind and snow, the stability of the megalithic formation became increasingly worrying, and the temperature inside the formation dropped rapidly. Xu Xiaoxiao shivered from the cold, her teeth chattering involuntarily, and she could barely hold the sword in her hand.
Seeing that Xu Xiaoxiao was suffering from the cold, Li Changchun quickly took out a spare cloak from his bundle and wrapped it tightly around her body. At the same time, he slowly channeled his internal energy into her to help her resist the cold.
"Xiaoxiao, don't be afraid. Let's find a way to stabilize Stonehenge first." As he spoke, he began to look for points of leverage within the formation to reinforce it, moving some smaller stones to fill in the loose foundations.
However, the wolves dug more and more fiercely, and the shaking of Stonehenge became more and more obvious.
With the support of her master's internal energy, Xu Xiaoxiao gradually regained some warmth and strength. She stood up and fought alongside her master.
She untied a long whip from her waist; it was one of the weapons she practiced with, though she didn't use it often, but it came in handy now.
She wielded her long whip, the tip striking the wolves that were close to the front of the formation with precision, forcing them to retreat temporarily.
However, with the wind and snow, the power of the whip was greatly reduced, and the wolf pack seemed to have seen through her intentions, only dodging slightly before continuing to dig.
Just as Stonehenge was about to collapse, Li Changchun shouted and poured all his inner strength into his sword, unleashing a powerful sword aura towards the densest part of the wolf pack outside the formation.
Wherever the sword energy reached, snow flew everywhere, and the wolf pack was scattered by the powerful force, forcing them to stop digging at the megalithic formation.
However, this action also consumed a lot of Li Changchun's internal energy. He swayed slightly and his face turned a little pale.
"Master, please rest and replenish your energy." Xu Xiaoxiao gave Li Changchun the dried meat and hot water from her bag, and went to keep watch.
After retreating briefly, the wolf pack quickly regrouped. They seemed to sense the depletion of Li Changchun's internal energy, and their eyes gleamed with even greater ferocity.
One of the whitest wolf kings let out a long howl, as if giving the order to attack.
The wolf pack changed tactics, no longer blindly charging Stonehenge, but splitting into several small groups and running quickly around it. Their footsteps pounded the snow, making a dull sound and kicking up clouds of snow.
As the wolves ran, the airflow around Stonehenge began to become turbulent, and the wind and snow within the stone circle became increasingly fierce.
The already loose Stonehenge began to shake again under the interference of this external force.
Some stones rolled down from the top of the formation, making a chilling sound.
Seeing this, Xu Xiaoxiao was extremely anxious. She knew that if the Stonehenge was completely breached and her master's inner strength was exhausted, their chances of survival would be slim.
In order to buy her master time to recover his internal energy, Xu Xiaoxiao decided to risk acting as bait.
She tightened her grip on her sword, took a deep breath, and then rushed out through a gap in Stonehenge.
When the wolves saw someone take the initiative to attack, they immediately stopped running and locked their target on Xu Xiaoxiao.
Xu Xiaoxiao deliberately made some provocative moves in front of the wolf pack. She brandished her sword and shouted loudly, trying to attract all the wolf pack's attention.
The wolf king pounced on Xu Xiaoxiao first. Xu Xiaoxiao dodged to the side, but the snow under her feet made her movements slightly slower. The wolf king's claws grazed her sleeve, tearing a gash.
Xu Xiaoxiao dared not stop. She ran away from Stonehenge, with the wolf pack in hot pursuit. They were extremely fast, leaving a trail of claw marks on the snow.
Fortunately, I hadn't slacked off during my training, otherwise I would have been in the wolf's den long ago. I ran forward with all my might, not daring to look back at all, my heart was pounding in my chest.