After finishing her meal at Old Man Li's house, An Moxue went straight into the deep mountains. She hadn't seen the two little ones for several months and wondered how they were doing.

An Moxue used all her strength to move lightly through the mountains and forests, rushing towards the wolf pack's territory.

Several hours later, it got dark. In the distance, An Moxue heard the howling of wolves and whistled.

A moment later, it seemed as if two strong gusts of wind came. Just as An Moxue was about to retaliate, she realized that the ones who came out were two little ones. She happily called out, "My darlings, is that you?"

Two wolf howls echoed in response to An Moxue.

At this moment, the two little ones pounced over and knocked An Moxue down into the snow. The two wolves rolled around in the snow, one person and the other two.

"Hehehe..." The girl's laughter mingled with the wolf's howl.

An Moxue played with the two wolves for a while, and seeing their imposing appearance, she said to them, "You've grown up now, it doesn't seem appropriate to call you by your childhood names anymore. Let's give you new names! How about Swift Wind and Lightning? The older brother will be Swift Wind, and the younger brother will be Lightning, okay?"

The two wolves howled in response, clearly liking the new names An Moxue had given them.

"Gale, lightning, let's go home together." An Moxue took out a snow sled from her space, put it on the two little ones, and then took out a lantern and lit it.

An Moxue said with great enthusiasm, "Let's go!"

Two grown snow wolves, true to their reputation as kings of the night, pulled An Moxue along as they galloped through the forest.

An Moxue sat on the snow sled, feeling the thrill of speeding along. She felt no fear of being in the dark forest at night, only joy at seeing the two wolves.

"Gale, lightning, faster!" In the dark forest, the girl's light voice, along with the occasional howl of a snow wolf, came from afar and then receded again.

When An Moxue and the two wolves arrived home, it was already midnight. When they got home, the kang (a heated brick bed) that An Moxue had lit when she left at noon was still there. She lit the firewood, gave the two wolves some raw meat, and poured some water from her spatial well for them.

Before, when I was with An Moxue, we always drank water from the space well. After not drinking it for several months, the two wolves finished eating the meat and drank all the water in the basin.

An Moxue tended the fire and said to the two wolves, "You've both grown up now. When I'm home, if you come back, come back at night. Go back to the mountains during the day, understand? And you mustn't hurt people without reason. Of course, if they have any intention of harming you, we can't let them get away with it either, understand?"

"Awoo, awoo," the two wolves responded softly.

"Hmm, not bad. You've grown into a big wolf in just a few months. You need to be a good leader of the pack and stay away from the deep mountains to avoid being hunted by humans, understand?"

The two little ones responded with "Awoo, Awoo".

Have you come back to check on the house these past few months? Hopefully, no bad people have broken in.

The two wolves howled twice more.

"Good girl. Next time I don't come back, neither of you should come back, okay? I'll come looking for you when I do. Let's go hunting tomorrow."

Two wolves surrounded her. When she heated the kang (a traditional heated brick bed), they followed her into the kitchen; when she went inside, they followed her inside. Even at night, An Moxue slept at the head of the kang, while the wolves slept at the foot, never going to the kitchen.

The next day, when An Moxue woke up, she saw two wolves lying obediently on the kang (a heated brick bed), their heads facing her, staring at her expectantly.

After finishing breakfast, An Moxue led the two little ones into the deep mountains.

Perhaps because of the heavy snowfall, travel in the mountains was difficult and the animals could not run. An Moxue led the two little ones on a killing spree. Whenever they saw a small animal, An Moxue would shoot an arrow at it, and Jifeng and Shandian would rush over to retrieve the prey.

With excellent teamwork between the two wolves, An Moxue hunted many pheasants and rabbits, as well as two roe deer and a deer throughout the day.

Seeing that it was almost time and they had hunted most of the prey, An Moxue led Gale and Lightning back.

......

As the year drew to a close, An Moxue brought gifts to the county public security bureau. She gave Director Li two bags of pastries she had bought in Kyoto, two bottles of wine, and half a roe deer meat to share with the other police officers in the bureau.

After leaving the police station, An Moxue found a secluded spot, put on her "big sister" makeup, and went to Er Gouzi's place in the black market.

When Er Gouzi saw that it was An Moxue, he excitedly said, "Big sister, I'm so glad to see you! I've been looking forward to your visit every day these past few days!"

"What's wrong? Did you receive the package? Are you worried about it being a burden?" An Moxue asked.

"Big sister! We're just running a small business, barely making ends meet. We don't have much capital to turn around!" Er Gouzi said, fawning over her.

"What are you afraid of? If you accept it, I will come to pick it up. It's just that something came up and it took a little longer. I won't blame you," An Moxue said nonchalantly.

Upon entering the house, Er Gouzi hurriedly went to pour water and make tea for An Moxue, but An Moxue said, "Aren't you in a hurry and feeling anxious? Go get it!"

Er Gouzi said, "Of course not! Even if you're in a hurry, a little while won't make a difference. Besides, you've already seen me, Big Sister." After saying that, he poured An Moxue a cup of tea before going to get his things.

Er Gouzi brought over two boxes. An Moxue opened them and was surprised to find nearly a hundred ancient books and maps, including more than a dozen rare copies. The boxes contained all sorts of books.

After An Moxue finished reading, she asked, "How much?"

Er Gouzi hesitated and couldn't say anything.

An Moxue said, "Just say what you want to say."

"Big sister, as you can see, these are all good books, and some of them are rare copies. They weren't easy to find, so they cost a lot of money. This..." Er Gouzi looked at An Moxue, unsure of how to begin.

"Speak!" An Moxue shouted, startling Er Gouzi, who blurted out, "I need three hundred yuan."

Er Gouzi genuinely felt that spending 300 yuan on these books was not worthwhile. They were a bunch of tattered books, many of which were considered shameful and belonged to the "Four Olds" category. If they were discovered, he would be criticized and denounced.

"That's it?" An Moxue thought it was something serious. Books are so expensive!

"That's it. Big sister, I really didn't make any money off you." The main thing is that An Moxue is always reliable, and this book has to find someone who likes it. If An Moxue doesn't want it, he's really afraid he'll be stuck with it. Three hundred yuan! That's not a small amount.

"Okay, I understand. I'll take all your books. If you feel bad about it, tell me if anything unusual has happened this year so I can broaden my horizons. Also, please prepare some paper money for my ancestral worship, just like last year's."

"Okay, big sister, when do you need the paper money?"

"Now?"

"Yes, enough for you, sister. It just arrived. That's why they say it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. That's fate."

"Deliver tonight. Please help me take these two boxes of books over there as well. We'll meet at the usual place. I also have three wild boars and some pheasants and rabbits. We'll settle the bill together then. All the boars are big boars."

"Okay, big sister, it's almost the New Year, I'll charge you five cents more per pound than before."

"Is there anything new?"

"There really is one. It's strange, but there's a family in Ankou Town. The man went out to make his way in the world a few years ago, and his family thought he was dead. Then, just as winter was starting, he came back. But his wife says he's not him, and his parents all say he is. No matter what the woman says, she insists that the man isn't her husband. Does that count?"

"And then what?"

"Everyone says that woman is crazy, but apart from denying that the man isn't her man, she's perfectly normal. Apparently, they still sleep in separate rooms."

An Moxue had a feeling that this was not a simple matter and that she should investigate it when she got back.