I am invincible, that's why I lie down. You're using your entire clan to rebel?

The black wolf took another half step forward.

It remained motionless between the light of the fire and the darkness of the wilderness.

But its gaze remained fixed on the iron pot.

Qin Mu stopped holding the branch and stuck it back into the edge of the fire.

Then he sat down again on the overturned wooden box by the fire, lifted a corner of the iron pot lid, took out a piece of meat, placed it on a clean large leaf, and put it on the edge of the fire near the open space.

He returned to his original seat and sat down again.

The black wolf looked at the piece of meat placed on the edge of the fire, then raised its head and glanced at Qin Mu.

It did not go forward immediately.

It stood there, as if judging whether the piece of meat was a trap or real.

Qin Mu did not look at it.

He picked up his bowl of soup, which was already half-cold, and took a sip.

After a while, the wolf finally moved.

Its steps were slow; first, it crossed the boundary between firelight and darkness with its front paws, and then with its hind paws.

It walked up to the piece of meat, lowered its head, and gently touched the surface of the meat with the tip of its nose.

Then it bit the piece of meat, took a few steps back, retreated to the boundary between light and darkness, put the meat on the ground, and lowered its head to eat.

It doesn't eat quickly.

Qin Mu watched it finish eating and said, "There's more."

He picked up another piece of meat and placed it on the same leaf.

This time, the wolf didn't retreat to the shadows to eat as it had done before. It simply approached, lowered its head, picked up the piece of meat, and slowly finished eating it on the spot. Then it looked up at Qin Mu.

Qin Mu put down the empty bowl, leaned against a tree root, and looked at the wolf: "You can understand me. Then stay."

The wolf stood there quietly, neither approaching nor leaving.

The fire reflected two tiny clusters of light in its eyes.

Qin Mu did not speak again.

He leaned back against the tree roots, his gaze fixed on the fire.

The others were less tense. Some picked up their bowls again, while others poured out their cooled tea and replaced it with a hot one.

The wolf lay down at the boundary between light and darkness, its ears still erect, but its posture had relaxed somewhat.

The wind blew across the open fields, carrying the smoke from the fire in different directions; the night was still long.

The wolf was still there when it was light the next day.

It lay at the edge of the clearing, under the roots of a dead poplar tree, its front paws crossed on the sandy ground, its tail loosely wrapped around its side.

Its breathing was steady and long.

The morning light fell on its back, making the very light dark blue sheen on its fur shine slightly.

It heard someone coming out of the tent, its ears twitched slightly, but it didn't look up.

Lin Xiaolu was the first to step out of the carriage.

She was fastening her belt, not fully awake yet, with lingering sleepiness in the corners of her eyes.

She bent over and climbed out of the car, then straightened up to stretch. She had only been halfway through her stretch when she saw the dark shadow lying under the tree roots.

Her hand paused for a moment, then slowly lowered.

She didn't shout, she just stood there and watched for a while.

The wolf still didn't raise its head.

The fire was still burning, but it had turned into a dark red charcoal base and was still emitting wisps of smoke.

Qin Mu was squatting by the fire, poking at the ashes with a twig, adding two thin pieces of firewood, and blowing on it. The flames licked back up.

He only looked up after he finished doing this, glancing at the black figure under the tree roots and then at Lin Xiaolu.

Lin Xiaolu hesitated for a moment, then went back to the carriage to take out the leftover dry rations from last night, broke off a small piece, and placed it not far from the edge of the fire.

The wolf then raised its head, glanced at Lin Xiaolu, and then looked down at the piece of dry rations.

Then it stood up, walked to the fire, picked up the piece of dry food, took a few steps back, lay back in its original position, placed the dry food between its front paws, and slowly chewed it.

People gradually got up.

Han Xin'er saw it when she stepped out of the carriage, and she paused for a moment.

She paused for a moment, then continued with what she was doing.

When Xu Fenghua stepped out of the carriage, she glanced at the wolf, her gaze lingering on it for a moment before she looked away.

Yin Sutang was the last to emerge from the carriage.

She stood by the carriage shaft, her gaze lingering on the wolf for a few moments, then she turned her head slightly: "This kind of wolf is very rare even in Northern Wilderness."

Qin Mu stoked the fire a little more vigorously: "It has its own ideas. Not just anyone can make it follow you."

Yin Sutang didn't say anything more, but just glanced at the wolf again, then walked to the stream, squatted down, and scooped up water to wash her face.

The morning breeze blew across the open field, dry and cool, causing the fur on the wolf's back to sway slightly.

It still lies there.

Qin Mu sat by the fire for a long time.

He didn't look at the wolf.

He only occasionally poked at the fire with a branch to keep the flames burning steadily.

The morning light slowly spread across the eastern horizon, dyeing the entire wilderness a gentle gray-gold.

The wolf still lay beneath the roots of the dead poplar tree, its front paws crossed and its tail loosely wrapped around its side.

Its breathing was more even than before, and its ears were no longer constantly turning to catch every sound as they had when it first arrived.

Qin Mu finally put down the branch in his hand, raised his head, and looked at the wolf.

He spoke, his voice neither loud nor soft: "You've been probing me all night. Have you made up your mind?"

The wolf's ears twitched.

It raised its head, and its gaze met Qin Mu's in the air.

There was no evasion or haste in those deep green eyes.

It looked at Qin Mu.

Then it slowly stood up.

Its movements are slow, lacking the tension of pouncing or fleeing.

It stood there, its gaze still fixed on Qin Mu.

Qin Mu looked at it, then smiled and said, "Looks like we'll have to resort to force."

He stood up, brushed the grass clippings and dust off his robes, and strode toward the wolf.

He walked slowly.

The wolf did not retreat.

It stood there, its front paws slightly outstretched, its center of gravity lowered.

Qin Mu stopped three steps away from it.

He didn't bend down, he didn't reach out, he just stood there.

Then he moved.

He raised his left hand slightly and made a half-circle in the air.

The wolf sensed something it had never experienced before, like a mountain slowly pressing down on it—not heavy, yet impossible to ignore.

Its limbs bent slightly, but its knees did not bend.

It is still standing there.

Qin Mu pressed his hand down another inch.

The wolf's front paws finally bent slightly, not kneeling, but just slightly, as if pressed down by an unseen gust of wind, before quickly returning to normal.

Its gaze never left Qin Mu's eyes.

Qin Mu stopped.

He didn't press down any further, but simply maintained that posture.

After a few breaths, the wolf straightened its front paws again.

It stood there, its posture less tense than before, but its gaze was more steady.

Qin Mu lowered his hand and took half a step back.

He didn't look at it again, but turned around, walked back to the fire, and sat down again.

The wolf lay down again under the roots of the poplar tree, in the same posture as before, but it lay down half a step closer to the fire than before.

Qin Mu picked up his half-cold teacup, took a sip, and without turning around, said in a calm voice, "Let's go, pack up. We're ready to leave."

The crowd began to move one after another.

Some people gathered up the bedding, some buried the ashes, and some repackaged the leftover dry food from yesterday.

The wolf was still lying at the base of the poplar tree.

The wolf suddenly stood up.

It stood very quietly, without making a sound, but its posture changed from relaxed to alert in an instant.

It didn't growl or bare its teeth; it simply turned its head to the side, its ears pointing northeast.

Then it cried out.

The sound wasn't loud; it wasn't a roar, but rather a short, pointed murmur.

Jiang Zhaoyue was bending down to tidy up the felt mat when she heard the cry. She straightened up and looked in the direction the wolf was looking—the wilderness was just like what she had seen earlier, with nothing there.

Her gaze returned to Qin Mu: "What's wrong with it?"

Qin Mu's gaze also fell on the wolf, and after a few moments, he said, "It seems to need our help."

The wolf stopped howling when it heard him speak. It turned its head, glanced at Qin Mu, took two steps toward the northeast, stopped, and looked back at him.

Lin Xiaolu stood beside the carriage, still clutching the bag of dry rations she hadn't had time to tie tightly: "Does it... want us to follow it?"

Han Xin'er stood beside her, having already woven a new little grasshopper from a blade of grass in her hand: "Judging from this, it seems like you're not just taking a casual stroll."

Qin Mu did not answer immediately.

He stood by the fire, his gaze fixed on the wolf's back as it turned away from him.

After a moment he said, "Let's go take a look."

He stepped forward and followed.

The wolf didn't turn back, but kept a distance that wasn't too close or too far, and walked along an almost invisible path across the withered grass, heading northeast.

The group exchanged glances and followed, walking along the path that had been blown so thin by the wind that it was almost unrecognizable, through a patch of low bushes, and around several large boulders that had been smoothed by the wind.

The wolf walked ahead at a leisurely pace, occasionally stopping at a fork in the road to check the direction before continuing on its way.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the terrain ahead began to become steep.

The once flat wilderness was cut off by several intersecting rock walls, revealing a narrow crack.

The rocks on both sides of the crack were a darker color than elsewhere, covered with a layer of dark green moss that gleamed with a moist sheen in the morning light.

The wolf stopped in front of the crack.

It turned its head to look at Qin Mu, then lowered its head and disappeared into the crevice, its figure quickly being obscured by the rock walls on both sides.

Qin Mu stood at the entrance of the crack, listened for a moment, and then he also squeezed in.

The crack was deeper than he had imagined. The rock walls on both sides almost brushed against his shoulders as he passed by. The path under his feet was a mixture of gravel and coarse sand, making a soft, rustling sound when he stepped on it.

After walking about twenty steps, the space in front of us suddenly opened up.

It was a hidden cave.

The cave entrance was much larger than he had imagined, with the top more than two people above the ground. Sunlight slanted in through the cracks, making the moisture on the cave walls glow slightly.

The cave was dry and quiet, with a faint smell of dust that had settled over many years.

The wolf was standing deep inside the cave, its back to him.

It didn't make a sound or move; it just stood there quietly.

Qin Mu's gaze passed over it and landed on a recess in the inner wall of the cave.

There were some things piled up there.

The dried grass leaves were laid out to form a shallow nest.

Several pieces of chewed-up bone were scattered around the edge, along with some faded hair fragments.

In the innermost recessed corner, you can vaguely see several small, motionless figures huddled together.

Footsteps sounded one after another behind them. Jiang Zhaoyue was the first to come in, followed by Lin Xiaolu, Han Xiner, Xu Fenghua, Yin Sutang, Chen Wanqing, Su Wan, Mingyue, and Zhao Alan.

Yun Suxin was the last to enter, standing at the edge of the cave entrance, without venturing deeper.

All the women's eyes fell on the small figures.

"That's..." Lin Xiaolu's voice suddenly softened, "...its child?"

The wolf remained silent.

It simply stood in front of that shallow spot.

Qin Mu walked past the wolf, squatted down, and looked down at the shallow den covered with dry grass.

The edge of the trap was made of woven branches and vines, with several heavy stones weighing it down.

The stone made a dull thud as it fell to the ground, the sound echoing through the quiet cave.

The wolf pups did not move.

It wasn't until the first ray of light peeked in from the hole and fell on their grayish-brown fur that the middle one stirred slightly.

It raised its head and looked at him with its eyes that were not yet fully open.

Qin Mu reached out and gently moved the fence made of thick branches aside.

The wolf pups remained curled up in the same spot, neither running out nor howling.

He looked at them for a while, then he stretched out his hand, palm up, and slowly placed it into the opening of the trap.

The smallest of the wolf pups moved.

It slowly stood up, took two steps toward the hand, then stopped, hesitantly lowering its head.

A moment later, it finally put its head into the palm.

Qin Mu did not stop immediately.

He remained in that position, waiting for the wolf cub to remove its head from his palm on its own.

Then he withdrew his hand, stood up, and took a step back.

The black wolf had reached the front of the shallow den and lay down.

The wolf pups hesitated for a moment, then one by one slowly moved to its side, found their place, and curled up inside.

"It seems this trip wasn't entirely about fighting," Qin Mu said.

Lin Xiaolu crouched a few steps away, watching the wolf cubs settling down again: "Brother Zhao, should we take them with us?"

Qin Mu did not answer immediately.

He glanced at the black wolf.

The wolf was lying on its side on the ground, and its cubs were curled up against its belly.

At this time,

Qin Mu suddenly noticed that there seemed to be another world hidden deep within this cave...