Life beneath the cliff seemed to have been put on slow motion.
Gu Liang's body recovered at a visible pace, the daily morning dressing of his wounds becoming a silent routine. The initial shame and awkwardness had been replaced by a pragmatic calm. He understood this was the price of healing, and Emma, with her gaze deliberately averted, preserved his dignity as much as possible.
He began taking on more responsibilities—reinforcing the cave entrance's cover, attempting to twist rope from the ramie fibers Emma had prepared, and even using the entrenching tool to dig a small emergency storage pit at the back of the cave.
Emma, like an untiring explorer, spent her days venturing into the surrounding area, refining their map, and seeking out every usable resource. She brought back more edible tubers and wild greens, and discovered minerals and clays suitable for dyeing. The coil of coarse hemp rope in the side pocket of her backpack grew longer and stronger with each day.
Yet the unease sparked by those enormous footprints lingered like an unshakable shadow.
That afternoon, Emma ventured out again, heading toward a more distant area where she suspected a small salt deposit might be exposed. Gu Liang remained at camp, tending the fire and continuing to process the ramie fibers.
The slanting sunlight warmed the cave interior. Gu Liang sat at the entrance, his fingers slightly reddened from repeatedly twisting the coarse fibers, yet he found joy in the task. This creative labor gave him a sense of grounding.
Suddenly, a faint, piercing, drawn-out howl pierced the forest's silence from the distance.
Gu Liang's hands froze, every muscle in his body instantly tensing. This was unlike any sound he'd ever heard—different from the low growls of the leopard tribe, different from the clamor of bandits. This howl carried a primal, heart-stopping wildness and... hunger.
The source seemed to be in the direction Emma had departed.
His heart clenched violently. Gu Liang dropped the hemp rope, leapt to his feet, and grabbed the stone axe leaning against the cave wall along with the metal whistle. He rushed to the cave's edge, straining to peer in the direction of the sound, but the dense foliage blocked his view entirely.
What should he do? Had Emma heard it? Was she safe?
The howl sounded again, closer than before, and now it seemed more than one voice was echoing it!
Fear wrapped around his heart like icy vines, but this time, Gu Liang refused to let panic consume him. He forced himself to calm down, his mind racing.
Emma was strong and cautious. She had weapons and extensive experience. But unknown beasts, especially those hunting in packs, were unpredictable dangers. He couldn't just wait.
He glanced inside the cave. The fire needed tending—it was their guarantee of safety and warmth for cooking at night. The camp also required someone to watch over it.
But Emma might be in danger.
With almost no further hesitation, Gu Liang made his decision. He swiftly covered the fire with ashes, leaving only a small, dark red ember glowing at its center. Then, grabbing his stone axe and tucking the lighter bone knife Emma had left him into his belt, he took a deep breath and dashed out of the cave.
He followed the well-trodden path Emma usually took, sprinting toward the source of the howling. His footsteps were light, ears pricked, straining to catch any unusual sound in the forest. His palms were slightly sweaty from gripping the stone axe, but his gaze was unusually resolute.
He couldn't lose Emma. Not merely because he depended on her for survival, but because in this world of despair, she was his only light and companion.
After about ten minutes, the forest ahead thinned, revealing a rocky slope strewn with boulders. The howls came from below the slope, clear and distinct, filled with aggression and agitation.
Gu Liang crouched low, using rocks and bushes for cover as he cautiously approached the edge of the slope.
The sight before him made his blood run cold.
In the clearing below, Emma stood with her back against a massive boulder, a hunting knife in hand, her gaze as cold as frost.Her bow lay discarded a few paces away, its string seemingly torn by sharp claws. Surrounding her were five massive gray-black wolves, their eyes glowing green! Baring ghastly white fangs, drool dripping from their mouths, they emitted low, threatening growls as they slowly closed their circle.
One wolf bore a fresh gash across its shoulder blade, blood gushing freely—clearly Emma's handiwork. Yet this wound only fueled the pack's fury.
Emma's situation was extremely perilous! Though her hunting knife was sharp, facing five hungry wolves working in perfect coordination meant close combat was a suicide mission.
Gu Liang's heart pounded wildly, cold sweat instantly soaking his back. Armed only with a stone axe and a bone knife, charging down would be suicide.
What to do?!
His eyes darted around frantically, suddenly locking onto several loose, precariously balanced boulders above the slope. An idea flashed through his mind like lightning.
Instead of attacking the wolves directly, he mustered every ounce of strength and hurled his stone axe with all his might at the fragile rock layer beneath the support points of those boulders!
"Thud! Crash!"
The axe struck the rock with a dull thud, followed by a bone-chilling screech of friction. Boulders of varying sizes thundered down the slope, kicking up a cloud of dust and crashing directly into the rear of the wolf pack!
This sudden "landslide," though small in scale, was enough to cause immense terror. The wolves were thrown into chaos by the falling rocks and billowing dust behind them, instantly creating a gap in their encirclement.
"Emma! Over here!" Gu Liang bellowed at the top of his lungs, simultaneously drawing the bone knife from his waist and waving it dramatically at the wolves to draw their attention.
Emma grasped the situation the moment the rocks began tumbling. Without hesitation, she seized the chaos to burst through the gap like a cheetah. Ignoring the fallen arrows, she charged straight up the slope toward Gu Liang.
The alpha wolf let out a furious howl, attempting to rally the pack for pursuit.
"Run!" Gu Liang shouted at Emma as she reached him. Turning, they fled for their lives toward the camp.
After a moment of chaos, the wolves closed in. Their speed was terrifying as they galloped through the forest, their howls carrying the scent of death.
Gu Liang and Emma ran with every ounce of strength they had left, their lungs burning fiercely. Gu Liang's newly regained stamina was rapidly draining away, but he gritted his teeth, daring not to slow his pace.
The wolves closed in relentlessly, their foul stench nearly upon his back.
Emma, running ahead, suddenly slammed on her brakes and spun around. She yanked Gu Liang backward, positioning herself in front of him. Her hunting knife held horizontally, her eyes hardened with resolve as she prepared for a final, desperate fight.
At that critical moment, Gu Liang spotted a makeshift warning device they had set up not far ahead—a taut ramie rope suspended over a foot off the ground, connected to several hollow wooden tubes hanging from branches. The slightest touch would send a deafening clatter echoing through the forest.
"Snare!" Gu Liang shouted hoarsely, yanking Emma aside as they leapt to the side.
The two wolves closest behind them, caught completely off guard, slammed into the inconspicuous rope!
Clang! Clang! The suspended wooden cylinders collided, producing abrupt, piercing noises that echoed through the silent forest like thunderclaps!
This deafening clamor, utterly beyond the beasts' comprehension, made the pursuing pack halt abruptly. They stared in bewilderment toward the source of the sound, their momentum stalling instantly.
Seizing those precious seconds, Gu Liang and Emma surged forward again, sprinting out of the area and leaving the wolves' howls far behind.
They ran until they could see the cliffside cave, then collapsed, exhausted. Leaning against a tree trunk, they gasped for breath, sweat pouring down like rain, their faces pale as ghosts.
Emma turned to look at Gu Liang, who was equally breathless and shaken. Her chest heaved violently, her eyes filled with complex emotions. There was relief at surviving the ordeal, but also a deeper, indescribable feeling.
She knew clearly that if Gu Liang hadn't acted decisively just now—creating chaos and remembering the location of that simple trap—she would likely have ended up as wolf fodder.
"...Thank you." Emma's voice was hoarse from running, yet it carried more solemnity than any words she had ever spoken.
Gu Liang shook his head, too exhausted to speak, leaning against the tree trunk as his chest heaved violently.Amidst the turmoil of their life-or-death escape, he distinctly felt that the most humiliating wound deep within his body no longer throbbed with festering agony. Instead, it pulsed with the resilient tightness of fresh, healing flesh. Days of medication and careful tending had forged that searing shame into a pure, mending wound.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long across the clearing, intertwining them in the forest glade. In the silence after their narrow escape, a bond of trust beyond words had been forged in the crucible of life-and-death trials, tempered into something unbreakable.
He was no longer the vulnerable one requiring constant protection. In critical moments, he too could become her anchor.
Returning to the cave, Gu Liang was nearly spent. Yet as he watched the flickering campfire and Emma silently inspecting her hunting knife—her gaze softened slightly—his heart filled with an indescribable sense of fulfillment and peace.
The wolves' howls remained terrifying, the forest still treacherous. Yet he knew that whatever lay ahead, they would face it together.
Mutual aid was no longer just a phrase—it was a vow etched between life and death.
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