Chapter 1123 — Valentine's Day Special: Xiao Ning's Story, Part 8

He had nearly lost his self-control. Though he had reined himself in at the very brink, could they truly act as though nothing had happened?

No doubt about it — the bond between them was now far more ambiguous than before.

"Let's wait and see. They shouldn't come into the cave." Wei Zhao said flatly.

But those words were meant only to comfort Yu Ning; as for the standoff outside, even Wei Zhao had lost his confidence. These wolves were most likely desperate with hunger — in this vast, snow-covered wasteland, finding food was no easy matter for a pack. And now that they had found their quarry, they would not give it up so easily.

One or two wolves might have known better and backed off, but the situation now was hardly so simple.

"Oh..." Yu Ning was still frightened. She burrowed a little deeper into Wei Zhao's arms, then summoned her courage: "Will you hold me...?"

Wei Zhao gave no answer. He had already erred once; he could not err again. He did not reach out to hold Yu Ning, nor did he push her away. At this moment, his heart was a tangle of contradictions.

Seeing Wei Zhao unmoved, Yu Ning felt a flicker of resentment — yet it only stirred her competitive spirit all the more. Coming back to herself, she took the initiative and embraced him, resting her head against his chest and listening quietly to his heartbeat. In that moment she forgot the terror of the starving wolves; in Wei Zhao's arms, she felt utterly safe.

The pack had gathered at the mouth of the cave. What was being tested now was patience. Once daylight came, they would withdraw — but what they were waiting for was for the people inside to lose patience and come out, or else to make certain that the fire within posed no danger.

At last one wolf grew impatient. It crept tentatively toward the cave. Hunger had conquered the fear the fire inspired — with nothing to eat, there was only starvation.

"Ah—!" At the sight, Yu Ning could not help but cry out. "Didn't you say they wouldn't dare come in?"

"Even a cornered dog will leap over a wall — how much more a starving wolf?" Wei Zhao smiled bitterly. He had underestimated the boldness of the wolves around here.

Wei Zhao was not afraid of the starving wolves; he could be sure of escaping a pack's attack unharmed. What he feared was that while they set upon him, they would turn on Yu Ning. He could not possibly kill so many wolves at once — that was simply unrealistic.

"I'm scared..." This time Yu Ning was not lying. She truly was afraid.

"Heh... it's all right." Wei Zhao reassured her, though his eyes were fixed on the wolf that was tentatively entering the cave.

The wolf advanced and halted by turns, as though it too understood that all before it was not so calm as it appeared. But it was starving beyond endurance, and after a brief probing, it began to creep impatiently toward them.

"Ah—!" Xiao Ning cried out despite herself, her arms tightening around Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao frowned. He had not expected this wolf to be so bold. But matters had come to such a pass that there was no hope of driving it back.

In an instant, the will to kill rose in Wei Zhao. He hoped only to make an example of one and warn the rest — otherwise the problem would not be solved.

"Wait here a moment. We'll have meat to eat in the morning." Wei Zhao gently lifted Xiao Ning's hands from his body as he spoke.

Xiao Ning was plainly reluctant, but there was no help for it — she could hardly wait for the wolf to come to them. So she obediently let go of Wei Zhao, though she said to him, "Be careful..."

Wei Zhao said nothing. Instead he abruptly charged at the wolf, raising his leg and kicking it in the head. The bold beast did not even have time to whimper before it was sent flying, slamming hard against the stone wall of the cave. It was dead.

The savagery of Wei Zhao's move startled the pack outside. The wolves that had crept forward, restless and eager, all fell back two paces.

Xiao Ning also cried out instinctively. She had not imagined Wei Zhao was so formidable — one kick and the wolf was dead. It eased her taut nerves considerably.

After kicking the wolf to death, Wei Zhao did not return to Xiao Ning's side. He stood where he was, watching the pack outside the cave with cold eyes.

The wolves were indeed somewhat frightened. They knew Wei Zhao was dangerous prey. But hunger kept them from leaving; they still waited outside the cave, watching for their chance. Perhaps in their eyes, formidable as Wei Zhao was, he was still no match for a whole pack — for if he were truly so powerful, he could simply charge out of the cave and slaughter them all.

"Eagle... I'm a little scared. Will you come back?" Yu Ning called out to Wei Zhao without thinking.

Wei Zhao did not answer. He could not leave his post now; he had to keep a close watch on the pack's movements.

Seeing that Wei Zhao paid her no heed, Yu Ning pouted in displeasure — though Wei Zhao plainly could not see it, for he had no eyes in the back of his head.

After a while, two more starving wolves could no longer contain themselves and came creeping tentatively toward Wei Zhao.

Two wolves he could still handle with ease. What Wei Zhao hoped for now was that the pack would keep coming a few at a time — then he could deal with them all. What he dreaded was that they would not, but would instead rush him in a swarm. That would be trouble.

When the two wolves reached the mouth of the cave, one sprang swiftly at Wei Zhao, while the other did not lunge at him at all — it went for the carcass of the wolf he had just killed.

A cold smile flickered at the corner of Wei Zhao's mouth. This wolf was clever enough — and it seemed the pack's sense of teamwork was pitiful indeed, each beast with its own designs. The two wolves were meant to face the enemy together, yet one had turned aside to drag off a fellow wolf's carcass.

Wolves are carnivores, and they will eat the carcasses of their own kind. So that wolf, judging Wei Zhao too hard a target, had turned to drag away its companion's body. But how could Wei Zhao let it succeed? First he finished off the wolf that had lunged at him with a single punch, then, with a speed that left no time to stop him, he killed the one dragging at its fellow's corpse.

Cleverness had undone it. Wei Zhao gave a cold laugh, piled the three carcasses together, and watched the pack outside with icy eyes.

Two more probing wolves had become corpses, and the pack outside grew far more wary and cautious. They retreated another good distance — yet still showed no sign of leaving.

Wei Zhao had not expected the pack to be so persistent. But dawn was still a long way off, and he could only stand there and hold his ground against them. Now it was a contest of patience. Wei Zhao had no problem with that; he only hoped the wolves would tire of waiting and leave.